The totally awesome world of fan fiction

It’s hard to believe that, only a couple of years ago, I swore off fan fiction.

No, it’s not because I’m a literary snob. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never read The Great Gatsby or The Count of Monte Cristo, which is a bit sad given that my day job is a bookseller. Fan fiction simply flew right over my head. The strange thing was, I was in fandoms, but the nagging sensation to obsessively read and even write fic never tugged inside of me.

I was simply a passive observer, smiling and commenting to the occasional fic, but ultimately taking more stock in canon, such as the Tenth Doctor’s heart eyes with Rose, or Sherlock’s melancholy violin playing.… Read More

Sherlock: A Study in Anticipation

Last July, a modern-day version of Sherlock Holmes debuted on the BBC starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the consulting detective and Martin Freeman as his assistant, Dr. John Watson. Written by Doctor Who show runner Steven Moffat and actor and co-writer Mark Gatiss, Sherlock soon built up a cult audience across Britain, the United States, and elsewhere, garnering a slew of award wins and nominations, and securing Cumberbatch as a bona fide star.

This New Year’s Day, the second series of Sherlock – once again, three ninety minute installments – will premiere on the BBC. Being the resident Anglophile, I’ve always had a thing for Sherlock Holmes.… Read More

Game of Thrones: Season 2 in Production

Oh boy. Just when I finally accepted that it’d be a while before I saw any news on Game of Thrones‘ second season, they give us this production teaser.

Who/what are you looking forward to seeing most next season?

Confessions of a newly-converted closet Gleek

I have a closet confession, and lean in real close, because this is about to get personal: I am a closet Gleek… and a brand new one, at that.

Before you ask yourself where I’ve been the last two years, let me explain. I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with Glee. Going back to the first season, I knew it existed and everyone was talking about it. Hell, even Lauren tried to get me to watch the pilot. But after sectionals, my interest sadly waned off, and just to add insult to injury, many of my close friends wrote the show off from the get-go.… Read More

First Impressions: “Grimm” tells tales we’ve heard before

Let’s face it: Friday night is hardly the slot a show wants to start out on – particularly if it’s competing with shows of the same genre in the same time slot. This is one of the huge challenges that NBC’s new show Grimm faces. It’s a fantasy drama that revolves around the idea of fairy tale legends being based in fact, and the people whose job it is to keep them at bay.

These are hardly new ideas. Secret warriors who fight to keep humanity safe from dangers they don’t know about, generations of families with the same, burgeoning responsibilities, monsters that walk among us – all of these are popular ideas in a modern fantasy setting.… Read More

Great things ahead for The Walking Dead season two

It’s been over ten torturous months since we last had the privilege of an episode of The Walking Dead. When we last left Rick, Lori, and the rest of the survivors of television’s only currently running zombie apocalypse, they were driving away from the burnt out shell of the CDC, their most immediate beacon for safety. Now, we rejoin them back on the road in the season premiere, which airs this Sunday night on AMC.

“What Lies Ahead,” the hour and a half season premiere of series, picks up where the last season left off. After the explosions, the screaming, the overt action of it all, it’s nice to see the series return to the drama that really made it stand out as a great show in 2010.… Read More

In Defense of the Brony: A “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” Tale

Witty writing. Great artwork. A dedicated fanbase, largely over eighteen. None of these things immediately bring Saturday morning cartoons to mind, but My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has broken the mold.

You might have heard of it by now – particularly with its second season coming up, starting on the 17th. After some harsh words from Wired Magazine, the show has received some attention – not all of it positive. Fans of the show who aren’t considered quite the target audience, called bronies, have been maligned as obsessive, inappropriate, and downright strange. Not only is this an extreme generalization, it’s also largely untrue.… Read More

Behind the Scenes of The Walking Dead: Zombie Eyes

My far and away favorite new show last year was AMC’s The Walking Dead. The second season isn’t for a while, but to tide us over for now, AMC has given us this great behind-the-scenes clip about the makeup behind the zombies’ creepy eyes. I’m pretty impressed with the detail in them, even up close!

The video’s still frame is fairly gruesome if you’re a wuss for the faint of heart, so we’ve got the video for you after the jump.… Read More

Bedlam’s Theo James and David Allison “feel at home” in America

Bedlam may not make its US television premiere until October 8, but star Theo James and creator and writer David Allison were on hand at San Diego Comic-Con to debut the pilot to an audience of hundreds.

This last Saturday, we took a break from the hustle and bustle of the event to talk with both men about the development, production, and genesis of BBC America’s newest supernatural series.… Read More

The curious case of Doctor Who

Needless to say, this wrap-up of the last mid-series of Doctor Who comes at a bit of a delay, but for good reason. Over the last several weeks, I’ve been wracking my brain to come up with a consensus about the last spoonful of episodes dished up by Aunty Beeb. On one hand, in terms of locations, plot, advertising, you name it, the show had never been bigger, with plenty left in store for September.

On the other hand, by the end of series – and consequently, the end of “A Good Man Goes To War” – I was mostly left slack jawed, confused, and even a little disappointed.… Read More