Sleepy Hollow cancelled

A few weeks ago, Pro7, a German TV station, added the series “Sleepy Hollow” to their rooster. From the beginning, though, I was suspicious about the scheduling. Running a horror series with a high body-count after two episodes of a ‘chick’ series like “Grey’s Anatomy?” Very suspicious … or stupid.

There was hardly any advertising for the series which, while very popular in the US, is not widely known in Germany. Sure, we know about the headless horseman (since Tim Burton, if not before…), but we don’t know all that much about the oodles of series that run in US television. Yet, hardly any advertising for a new series. Other stations have done better. So has Pro7, with other series.

Why the placement right after “Grey’s Anatomy?” Sure, the actor playing Ickabod Crane is rather cute and can pull off fashion that’s not just a year, but 250 years ago. Apart from that, though, there’s not much that would suggest coupling the series with classic ‘chick’ material. “Sleepy Hollow” is bloody, dark, full of corpses, and full of demons. So, if I had to couple it with a series Pro7 already airs, it would go before or after “Supernatural.”

Why the break from the ‘15’ schedule? For decades, German TV has adhered to an unspoken rule. After 8 pm, series and movies start at 15 past. They start at 8.15, 9.15, 10.15 and so on. When did “Sleepy Hollow” start? 10.10.

Given the placement behind two episodes of a ‘chick’ series like “Grey’s Anatomy,” the possible audience for the series would have had to switch stations. Now, is it likely they would switch 5 minutes early? The placement at 10.10 means that either the viewer has to discard the last 5 minutes of whatever they were watching before (and not seeing the end of a an episode or movie sucks) or turn in 5 minutes late to “Sleepy Hollow” (which means missing the first 5 minutes, deadly for a series as complex as this one).

“Sleepy Hollow” clearly was misplaced, therefore, but was it intentional? I can’t really believe that, since buying the licence of a successful TV series can’t be cheap. They will eventually show the series completely, I guess, but where? Hopefully not their ‘chick’ station Sixx. They have some mystery and dark romance there, but no full-fledged horror so far. Could they run it during one or two nights? Quite likely, perhaps around Halloween. It wouldn’t do the series justice, though. It’s another TV series broken by stupid placement and missing advertising, like “Doctor Who.” (And don’t get me started on that, please…)

Shame on you, Pro7! If you spend money on a TV series, put some thought into the scheduling and do the series justice. You owe it to the series and the viewers.

Romance vs Zombies

First of all, I have to admit I am not a fan of romance novels. Never have been, in fact. I find them boring and, at least partially, pointless. But that’s me, I prefer other books. One of the ‘classics’ of romance novels you will find mentioned a lot is, of course, “Pride and Prejudice.” And there’s a newer version around, called “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” I couldn’t withstand this one, because zombies make everything better in my experience - even romance novels.

To be honest, I managed to snatch a lot of Jane Austen books in e-book format for free (when I started reading e-books, quite a while ago by now). And, to be even more honest, I haven’t finished any of them and only started one or two. It’s the overwhelming combination of the language and the content that make it hard to impossible for me to get anywhere with Miss Austen.

For someone like me, to whom English isn’t the native language (and certainly not the language of Miss Austen’s time), reading the books is a hard chore, not a pleasure. And for someone like me, who doesn’t really ‘dig’ romance novels, reading any of her books with the heroines that only want to secure a good marriage, is even more of a chore.

I’m well aware that at her time, a woman not getting properly married was a woman in trouble. That the wealth and social standing of the husband was also the wife’s. That a woman who married below her social standing would be ‘downgraded,’ not manage to get her husband ‘upgraded’ instead. I am aware of all those facts.

They make me wonder, however, why many people today still seem to love those novels and, most of all, “Pride and Prejudice.”

Which brings me to the ‘modern’ “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” Unfortunately, the author does a very good job at copying Miss Austen’s style. Unfortunately, because that means the book isn’t any better or easier to read than the original. I haven’t managed to finish the original, so I can only guess where the differences (apart from the glaring obvious one - the zombies) between both versions lie. I guess the marriage arrangement of the five sisters in the end are the same as in the original. I guess all the fight scenes in the novel do not exist in the original, as there a) are no zombies to fight and b) it’s improbable Miss Austen (or most other writers of her time) would have written such action scenes.

Is the novel a good one? Well, it might be better than the original. Zombies usually make things better. Will I read it again anytime soon? Not even if you put a gun against my head. A bullet to the brain might be less painful. It’ll be faster, at any rate.

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” has not converted me to romance novels. It hasn’t made them worse to me, either, since that was hardly possible, so not much harm done.

Loki - Agent of Asgard

It’s been a while since I’ve really been reading comics (well, apart from the free online ones, I read quite some of those regularly). Much longer since the last superhero comics I’ve read (I think that was Young Justice, for the short time the series ran in Germany). But, well, I’ve always liked Loki (especially since Avengers and Thor) and I couldn’t really withstand the new series by Marvel he stars in.

Getting the first issue online was a great thing, since I’m currently miles from the next comic store. I would prefer having the comic book in my hands, but online whenever I want to is good as well.

I knew the comic was coming, since I’d seen previews on various sites, but I only really realized I wanted it, when it really came out. I saw a few pages that had been posted on Facebook. I liked what I saw. I liked the comic, once I read it. I laughed out loud at this panel, which comes at the end of the two pages Loki needs to get the Avengers to fight each other, so he’s free to complete his mission.

Loki will, of course, never be a perfect, shining hero. That’s not in his nature, not in his current incarnation, not in the past ones, not in the future ones. But he makes a very good secret agent or, as Marvel puts it in the summary for the series, Asgardia’s one-man secret service.

He wants to break free from the expectations. That’s what he died for, to bury the villain Loki and get a new chance. He wants to be utterly himself, not slipping back into the role the universe wants him back in. By serving the All-Mother (unlike Odin All-Father, who is dead, the All-Mother is a triumvirate of three goddesses who rule the new Asgardia), he can purge his records in Asgard, removing the old legends, the old facts. New legends for old - a chance to have a new life without the burden of the past. A way out of the box, the expectations of the others, is worth working hard for.

However, with the end of the first issue, I do have the feeling getting away from his old self will be a good deal more difficult than he thought.

I like the style of the comic and the humour and will follow it for a while (not sure how long). If you like a devious main character, Agent of Asgard is a good one for you.

New Year's Eve

Well, here I am, three hours from 2014. I know it was a slow year for my blogs, especially this one and Feminism Wow. I did a little more updating on Writer’s Blog, since I have been writing a lot more, story-wise, than during the last few years.

I’m spending a calm evening at home, as it were. I’m working on “Living Conditions,” one of my stories, rereading old Loki Files (#2 currently), playing a little “Ballad of Solar” in-between, and listening to Meatloaf. But that’s okay, I like calm evenings at home.

The next year I plan to get a better grip on the Cambridge comma (my mortal weakness), among other things. I also hope not to leave my blogs out in the cold as I did this year, even though some of my vigour might have drained from me. My burnout taught me one thing for sure: sometimes it’s not worth getting all hyped up about something. Why should I get all angry and, perhaps, sick about it when everyone else doesn’t care, after all? There are still quite some valid reasons to get raving, though, so I will be writing. Not tonight, however, I’m keeping true to my principle of ‘no bitching between Christmas and New Year.’

Biggest shock of the year? Well, I am on Facebook! Mostly because my brother in everything but blood made me, so we could chat there in peace. Which we do ‒ very often. I’m almost done with my accounting course, too, so next year I’ll be job hunting. I still can’t believe I learned it so well…

Happy New Year and a Good 2014 to everyone still reading this blog! Have a great day/night, just as I do!

End of Year Greetings!

Just a little something...

Avengers

Yesterday I finally got around to watch the Avengers movie (yup, late, I know). And, yes, I admit Loki was a main reason for me watching the movie (not just because Tom Hiddleston is a cutie, but also because Loki makes a damn interesting villain). However, I was positively surprised and think I’ve definitely found a keeper for my DVD collection.

Technically, it started with Thor, which was on TV this Sunday (currently also known as the day before yesterday). As there wasn’t anything interesting on TV apart from it, I decided to give Thor a chance, arguing with myself that, even if the story were bad (which is wasn’t), I’d at least get to see a few good-looking guys. I have to admit that the trio of Odin (Anthony Hopkins), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) makes for very good family dynamics. And there is this to keep in mind, too:

But back to Avengers. Joss Whedon and the script writers have done an amazing job with the story, which I greatly appreciate. I like action sequences (I like them, perhaps, even more than quite some women), but I don’t want a movie which is just made up of them. I have to add here that I haven’t seen the other Marvel movies (apart from the X-Men ones and the Spiderman ones … the first series I enjoy, the second annoys me). Ironman, Hulk, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow, therefore, aren’t exactly that familiar for me (well, I know the 80s version of the Hulk, that is). Neither do I know a lot about S.H.I.E.L.D. or Nick Fury. I could look them up, but my Marvel Encyclopaedia is buried beneath heaps of other books.

They bring the group together in this movie, which means a lot of play with the dynamics, which I enjoy a lot. Seeing the different characters with their different world views act and react is a lot of fun. The action sequences fuse with that, allowing each fight to be more than just a spectacle (they are spectacular, no mistake about that).

My eyes, though, usually are more on the villain than on the heroes, as the villain has to be a lot more interesting. Among the heroes, we have the usual mixture, basically. People who are good by nature (Captain America, Thor), people who want to atone for past mistakes (Black Widow, Hawkeye, Bruce Banner … though he atones for Hulk’s mistakes), people who are in it for fame (Ironman). And a hero who isn’t a hero, strictly speaking (goes both for Nick Fury and for Phil, I guess) So let’s start the unavoidable litany about the villain, shall we? Here we go, take a deep breath.

I just love Loki! There, now it’s out. It’s not just the actor, even though his way of portraying Loki has quite some influence on it. The character of a villain these days has to have depth, otherwise the whole ‘I will rule the world’ business (the standard goal of every villain) will be boring. And Loki is a prime example of a motif-driven villain. At the base of his plans is a feeling. The feeling of always being overshadowed by Odin’s true son, Thor. Right on top of it is his memory of the last time, when he was ruler of Asgard for a short time. He had reached his goal, only to lose everything. Put a certain dose of delusions de grandeur on top of it, add his view of humans as a weak race that needs to be dominated, and top it off with his cesspit of a mind. This is a villain I just love to watch doing his thing, even though I agree with Phil that he’s destined to fail. Loki dominates every room he’s in, even if it’s a cell. He has the self-assurance of a true god of Asgard, even though he’s not technically one of them (in the Marvel universe, at least). He can be charming, but can turn around and become harsh and abusive in the span of a short conversation. He knows no scruples, yet he’s not ‘bad to the bone,’ either. He might lack conviction, but he surely isn’t going to let that stop him.

What else has Avengers got?

Humour. Another thing I want from a movie, especially one with a lot of action. There are loads of great one-liners and funny conversations in it. The script writers have shown a great instinct for timing and punch lines in the movie. (I personally love the scene where Thor tells Loki to listen before being tackles by Ironman and Loki watches them move away and says “I’m listening.” … bad timing for an attack, but great timing for a gag.)

Good effects. The movie is balancing out the ‘futuristic to sci-fi’ with the ‘realistic’ quite well. The Helicarrier looks almost plausible (the sort that might be plausible in 10 or 20 or 50 years). The weapons aren’t over the top, even though they are that step ahead of ‘what we’ve got.’

Better looks. Compared to former versions of the main characters, the current ones have a lot more style. Not as close to the comics in some cases, maybe, but much better for the big screen.

Effects and looks together make the movie more believable, which is important for movies based on comics. Comics never survive a 1:1 conversion. What works when drawn on paper doesn’t necessarily work on the screen as well. Take your usual superhero outfits, without some alterations, only very few of them work. Or take technology, it needs to look realistic, even if it’s not. 2D to 3D (even if the movie isn’t 3D, every prop in it is) does have its problems.

Overall, I enjoyed Avengers a lot. I liked the story, the well-choreographed action, the looks. It’s a keeper for my collection, that much is for sure.