tv schmooz & reviews

2011 Emmy Nominations Are Here!

The thing about the Emmys and most award shows that people hate is that  it’s always a mix of a little bit of good and a whole lot of bad. Crappy shows/actors/actresses get nominated only because they’re the popular choice, or because they’ve been nominated before. I don’t know who the Emmy voters are, but they love the idea of nominating anything that’s already been nominated in the past because it probably makes their job a lot easier for them and it’s the safe bet. Mother fuckers, stop going with safe bets! Choose people who actually deserve that shit! 

So here’s the major lineup:

Best drama series: Boardwalk Empire, Friday Night Lights, Dexter, Game of Thrones, TheGood Wife, Mad Men.

The only major surprise here is Game of Thrones, which is awesome because it’s definitely my favorite new show of the TV season. Very deserving. Boardwalk Empire bored me to death, but it’s one of those critically acclaimed shows so I get it. FNL is in it’s last season and although I never watched it, fans and critics alike have loved the show all the way through. The rest are predictable.

Best comedy series: Modern Family, 30 Rock, Glee, The Office, The Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation.

This category is usually bullshit. And this year continues to be the same. I stand by the fact that Modern Family is decent, but nowhere near great. The show was quite good in the early part of season one, but lost it’s flare later. Season 2 has been really lackluster, but of course it won the Emmy last year for best comedy so it’s going to win again. However, the biggest mother fucking insult in this category is the nomination of Glee. THE WRITING ON THIS SHOW IS HORRENDOUS. IT IS A TRAVESTY OF UNIVERSAL PROPORTIONS. I really can’t say enough about how bad Glee is. Sure, it’s entertaining to many and the musical performances can be fun, but as an overall show it’s a pile of moldy dog crap. The other nominations are expected and kind of sad because they’re all just okay (with exception of Parks and Rec which has been pretty good).

The biggest snub in this category is most definitely Community. This season was surprisingly and outstandingly great. It’s just not a popular show, so of course, no nomination. 

Drama actress: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife; Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men; Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU; Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law; Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights and Mireille Enos, The Killing.

I really don’t watch any of these shows regularly, so I can’t comment too much, but this is going to go to Julianna Margulies again. I like Kathy Bates as much as the next person, but Harry’s Law is a pretty dull show. I guess she works what she’s given.

Comedy actor: Steve Carell, The Office; Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock; Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory;  Matt LeBlanc, Episodes, Louis C.K., Louie; Johnny Galecki, Big Bang Theory. 

The most awesome nomination in this category is hands down Lous C.K.’s nomination! He is really fantastic as a comedian and pulls off a wide range of subtleties in the show. Joel McHale should have been on this list.

Drama actor: Jon Hamm, Mad Men; Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire; Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights; Michael C. Hall, Dexter; Hugh Laurie, House; Timothy Olyphant, Justified.

As much as I dislike Boardwalk Empire, Steve Buscemi is good. I’m under the impression that Hugh Laurie will continue to be nominated for best actor in a drama even long after he’s dead. He’s not bad, but House most definitely is and he isn’t pulling any type of Emmy worthy performances. I don’t watch Justified but critics and fans alike enjoy the show very much so I’m sure they’re happy for the Olyphant nomination.

Comedy actress: Tina Fey, 30 Rock; Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie; Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation; Laura Linney, The Big C; Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope; Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly.

Okay, if you haven’t watched United States of Tara you won’t get it, but my god Toni Collete is an AMAZING actress and it’s sad to not see her get a nomination. She easily outperforms the list of actresses in this category. No big surprises here though minus a Courtney Cox snub. I thought this year would be her year.

Supporting drama actor: Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age; John Slattery, Mad Men; Alan Cumming, The Good Wife; Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones; Josh Charles, The Good Wife; Walton Goggins, Justified.

Peter Dinklage! Woo.

Supporting comedy actor: Ty Burrell, Modern Family; Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family; Ed O’Neill, Modern Family; Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family; Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men; Chris Colfer, Glee.

Lamest category win? Supporting comedy actor! Of course every damn adult actor on Modern Family was nominated. They’re all good actors, but honestly none of them were amazing this season. If anything, Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet continue to be good on the show. Jon Cryer, go the hell away. Nothing, and I mean nothing about Two And a Half Men is Emmy worthy. I’m not a fan of Chris Colfer, but I understand his nomination. I’m just glad that none of the rest of the Glee cast got nominated this year.

I’m going to beat the dead horse again with my anger over Community snubs! The entire cast has been amazing this year, especially Donald Glover. Both he and Danny Pudi deserved nominations.

Supporting comedy actress: Julie Bowen, Modern Family; Sofia Vergara, Modern Family; Jane Lynch, Glee; Betty White, Hot in Cleveland; Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live; Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock.

No major surprises here. I loved Sofia Vergara on the first season of Modern Family, but she plays the exact same note this season. Not bad, just not award deserving. Julie Bowen I do like. AND AGAIN, COMMUNITY SNUB!? Alison Brie, you are the best supporting comedy actress in my heart. 

Supporting drama actress: Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife; Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire; Christine Baranski, The Good Wife; Michelle Forbes, The Killing; Margo Martindale,Justified; Christina Hendricks, Mad Men.

Kind of a weak category, but none of these are a major surprise, except for maybe Michelle Forbes for The Killing. Horrible show, great actress. 

The two big anger subs overall that people seem to spout are for Community and Fringe. Scifi has never done well in the Emmys and so it’s sad that amazing performances like John Noble’s go unrecognized. It’s great to see little surprises like Louis C.K. pop up, but otherwise everything here can be expected. Womp womp.

True Blood - Season 4, Episode 2 “You Smell Like Dinner”

Episode 2 continues right where the season opener left off and although it may not be the most exciting episode of the series, it gives us a lot of good, solid story progression. Spoilers ahead!

We start off by finding Jason tied to a bed. Obviously, someone controlling the hillbillies wants Jason out of the picture. Or do they? We discover near the end of the episode that Felton and Krystal are back. Felton is shooting blanks and Krystal suddenly has this huge desire to pop babies out of her body, so to guarantee that they have werepanthers, Jason gets turned! I remember hearing spoilers about Jason becoming a werepanther in the book series and I think it’ll turn out to be a good development for his character down the line. The only thing I don’t like is that this means there’s one less human on the show. And speaking of human, shouldn’t Jason be half faerie as well? He got the short end of the stick when it came to supernatural stuff, but I guess his abs make up for that as shown by this episode.

True Blood has finally decided to bring back Steve Newlin and the LODI in connection with the Russell Edgington story, which is great because vampire politics has always been True Blood’s strong point. Hoyt gets beat up by the LODI folks, he and Jessica fight, and in her most developing moment yet, she decides, “fuck this shit. I want a real man.” so she goes back to Fangtasia to score herself a hottie.

We also get some history on Bill and Nan Flanagan circa 1982 London, and while I don’t really care for flashback sequences in True Blood, I love the character of Nan Flanagan so I approve. When you hear the phrase “like a boss” you think Nan Flanagan. I don’t know why I keep saying her last name as well. You just gotta. Nan Flanagan convinces Bill to usurp vampire royalty and this sequence is pretty fantastic because we now understand what Bill has been up to since we see him in the very beginning of season 1. We also get to see how fucked up Sophie-Anne dies, therefore allowing Bill to become King of Louisiana.

Of course, the meat and bones of this season (and episode) is the fact that Marny is a crazy ass witch (and necromancer, which we’re told is a lot more dangerous because they can control vampires) and wants to bring people back from the dead. Jesus is finally like, “whaaaat?” and Lafayette kind of just sits there. Bitch, run your ass out the door like Tara did! When Tara does come back, she finds Eric sucking on Marny’s neck so she prepares to stake a fool, but this causes Lafayette to join in on the witch chanting that erases Eric’s memory. In writing it sounds dumb, but it worked pretty well on screen.

Overall this episode was a good one because it gave us both character and story progression. There was still a lot of filler, including evil baby, Sam/Tommy, and Tara coming back, but overall, it worked. I like how they decided to mesh a few of the stories together (Sookie encountering Jessica, Tara/Eric running into the hot mess of the witch coven with Lafayette/Jesus), but hopefully they fully integrate most of the plot lines into one or two main stories as the season continues.

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Likes

- Lafayette and Tara together IS FULL OF WIN. I love them when they’re feisty. They really shine when they get to be something other than suspicious and sullen.

- It’s sad to see her go, but at least Sophie-Anne had a bloody ass death. Also, Nan Flanagan’s line to Bill after the fact: “Now go clean yourself up. You’re covered in queen.”

- Eric built himself a cubby in Sookie’s house, hahaha.

Dislikes

- Arlene hating her baby is getting tired and making her look even more like a bitch than she already is.

- Sookie lied to Tara about where she was. Really? She didn’t think her best friend could handle it? Then again, Sookie is a horrible friend.

gilltron5 asked: Dude that Hall H incident happened like three rows in front of me, leave it to one guy to ruin something great for everyone.

Oh man seriously? I wasn’t in Hall H at the time, but a few of my friends were sitting in the back. They said they didn’t know what was happening at the time. They thought someone had a heart attack so medics had to come, haha.

5 Reasons You Should Not Go To Comic Con

There are many good reasons to go to San Diego Comic Con. Adversely there are also a few reasons you should stay the hell away. Here are 5!

1. You hate crowds and lines

If no one has told you yet, Comic Con boasts a crowd of about 120,000 people. In one building. Well, mostly one building. That’s a shit ton of people you’re going to be surrounded by and the number one thing any con goer knows is that you’re bound to spend half your day waiting in lines. Finding parking? Wait in line. Getting your badge? Wait in line. Getting swag? Wait in line. Going to Hall H? Camp out overnight and wait in line. IT’S JUST THE TRUTH!

2. You want to complain about Comic Con

It’s become extremely popular to exclaim to the world how you’ve been going to Comic Con since you were a fetus and how back then, it was legit man, it was totally legit. It was about comics and meeting cool dudes like yourself and how Stan Lee was totally accessible back then and that one hot chick who you almost talked to kind of looked at you for half a second. 

Comic Con has changed. It’s expanded. It’s become a mother fucking media monster of an event. And personally, I love it that way. It’s become accessible to the masses and has definitely introduced people to comics. Although comics may no longer be the main focus, anyone who’s anyone in the comics world will STILL be at Comic Con. The show is just no longer exclusive and indies, so of course it sucks now right? There are TONS of other comic conventions across the United States, many in Southern California, so if you want an event that’s exclusively comic related, go to those. There’s seriously a shit load of them. Let people who truly love and enjoy Comic Con for what it is attend, because we know they’re out there.

3. You want to complain about Twilight

Twilight exists. Some people are crazy in love with it and some people are crazy in hate with it. Your opinion is your own and whatever stance you decide to take, no one really gives a crap. As annoying as it is to hear fan girls screaming at the top of their heads about the movie series, it’s also annoying to hear anti-fan boys screaming back at them about how “gay” and “lame” the series is. We get it. It’s totally in and manly to hate on vampires. Now get over it and find something legitimate to complain about like third world poverty or your mother’s cellulite.

4. You are broke

So, nothing against the unemployed, poor, or broke out there (because hell, I often am one in one of those categories), but attending any kind of event that requires a $105 entrance fee isn’t really for you. However, Comic Con is still doable (haha, doable) for those on a budget. You can pack your own food, stay with friends and volunteer to bypass the fee. Comic Con just isn’t doable if you have no money at all unless you plan on turning tricks in the Gaslamp District as slutty Slave Leia.

Last year I went with an unnamed friend who heard wonders about Comic Con. She heard about all the freebies and after parties and celebrities and decided that she was totally going to be a part of it. I offered to let her stay with my friends and me and soon discovered what a mistake that turned out to be. She had no cash on her and wasn’t getting paid until that Saturday, so we all ended up shelling out money to feed her for a few days (not to mention she ate our food we brought from home because she didn’t bring any herself). Not fun.

5. You are a jerky mcjerk face mean ass

Comic Con is supposed to be a fun filled event where you dress up as your favorite characters, buy cool exclusives and see your favorite stars. But for some people, Comic Con is about being an ass hat. The general crowd is a pretty decent bunch, but you’re sure to come by people who push, shout, and fight because their mothers never loved them. Remember, people are there to have fun. Part of that involves being nice and respectful to each other. Even if someone else is being rude, give them the benefit of the doubt and return with kindness. But if someone is being a jerky mcjerk face mean ass on purpose, punch them in the balls. Or if they don’t have balls, punch them in the uterus. I give you permission.

Falling Skies - Series Premier

Scifi has been given a bad name. When most people hear a show involves science fiction, they go, “aliens and time traveling and robots and space? No thanks!” It’s unfortunate for them because shows like Firefly and Battlestar Galactica are some of the most amazing series to have ever existed in time and space. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Falling Skies.

The show premiered on June 19th with its first two hour-long episodes. Smart move considering scifi usually requires a decent amount of back story and buildup to set up its world. The only thing you really need to know about Falling Skies is that it’s about an alien invasion. Humans aren’t doing too well because our major cities have been effed up pretty badly. Very typical alien invasion stuff, and I think that’s where the problem lies. It’s just not all that interesting.

You immediately start off with the knowledge that aliens have invaded, destroyed most of the human population and not much else. Where did they come from? Why are they on Earth? What do they plan on doing with the planet and its inhabitants? We really have no clue, and while this could be taken as good, thrilling information to be discovered, it’s not. I just didn’t care about the aliens and I didn’t care too much about the humans either. AND I AM A HUMAN! I generally like things that are similar to myself.

Sidenote: why are non-humanoid aliens ALWAYS naked!?! Do they not have shame where they come from? At least wear armor. I mean, even if you like having your family jewels hang wild and free, protect that shit with some decent armor if you’re fighting an interplanetary war. Eventually, you’re going to get shot in the head or the nuts and you would be smart to cover those areas.

The protagonist of the show is Tom, a university history professor played by Noah Wyle, a good looking man. The overall cast is pretty good looking with the likes of Moon Bloodgood (she must have had a lot of trouble growing up with that name) and pretty, angsty teenagers. As a smarty pants, Tom is second in command of a group of soldiers and common folk going to some random place that they’re told they should. We’re told that survivors should split up into groups of 300 because aliens might come and attack if the groups are larger. Why don’t these aliens just attack anyway? These “smaller” groups of humans are trying to kill them! The show goes back and forth on being a family drama and a science fiction show, neither of which pans out that well. 

Overall, the show is weak because of two reasons: the conflict isn’t thrilling enough and the characters are plain. We have no real reason to care about Tom and his homies besides the fact that they’re humans and not aliens. In Battlestar Galactica, the enemies of the human race posed the question, “why should humans be allowed to exist?” and that’s a pretty damn good question. Humans destroy the environment, enslave a multitude of other species and can’t even get along with each other. We’ve done a hell of a lot more damage to the planet than any other living creature in existence. There needs to be a reason we are rooting for the protagonists besides the fact that they look like us. In Falling Skies, the cast of characters just are. 

I began watching episode 3 today and stopped about 10 minutes in when they explained that Tom’s son that is being held prisoner by the aliens and need to be rescued so that they can do testing on him (but NOT to save any other the other human prisoners). Tom, if nothing else, is a good father and strong family man, but he just sort of goes, “Hmm… He might die from the testing and there are tons of other children, most of whom are probably orphans, but alright, let’s fuck with my son anyway.” I had to stop. Shit just don’t make sense on Falling Skies.

I want to close by saying that this isn’t a horrible show by any means. I’m sure there are a decent amount of people who will enjoy the show, whether it’s able to stay on the air or not. I might be unfair by judging the series so early on, but from what I’ve seen so far, I just don’t care enough to stay along for the ride. So, my first Falling Skies post will also be my last. For any of you out there watching, let me know if things progress!

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Likes

- Umm…. I’m honestly having trouble thinking of things I really like about the show. Okay, I found one. It’s not horrible.

Dislikes

- The aliens are super generic. They’re like “evil” aliens you’d find in any other scifi show or movie. And we just do not know enough about them yet. From the lack of what we know, they kind of don’t make sense.

- I feel fucked up saying it, but Tom’s youngest son is annoying. He’s this little child in the middle of an alien invasion, but I would be mildly pleased if he died, just for the shock value.

10 Things You Should Know Before Going To Comic Con

So you’re one of the 120,000 people who snagged a ticket to San Diego Comic Con eh? Lucky you! Each year has become harder and harder to gain access to the event, and scoring tickets in 2011 is like winning the ultimate nerd lottery. If you’ve gone before, you know what kind of insanty to expect in the coming weeks. But if this is your first time, and my god will it be a crazy good experience, here are 10 things you should know before going to Comic Con to make it the best experience possible.

1. Prepare yourself before leaving for San Diego. The more you prepare before you make a trip down to San Diego, the better. Pretty much anything can be bought nearby, but you’re sure to find things cheaper at home and spend a lot less time waiting in line. Don’t forget to bring things like sunscreen, cash (there are ATMs, but the lines take FOREVER), an extra luggage/suitcase for your free junk if you’re flying, batteries and chargers and food if possible. If you’re filthy rich or just have enough money to make it rain bills whenever you want, then you can probably ignore this. But if you’re like everyone else, having things on hand will make your life easier during this extremely busy weekend.

2. Make a schedule. The Comic Con website (www.comic-con.org) starts releasing event information about a month before the convention. This includes stuff like autograph signing schedules, film festivals, awards shows and most importantly, panel schedules. The information for panel schedules usually isn’t released until about two weeks before the convention, so expect to start seeing something on the website around July 5-10. Each day will have it’s own separate schedule of events from anime screenings to sneak previews of movies to writing seminars to popular TV show panels and can be extremely overwhelming (or in my case, exciting).

Once all the information has been released for the entire weekend, you’ll want to take at least an hour to sift through the programming and see what you want to attend. If you’re a fan of TV and movies, there will more panels than you can possibly attend with many of them overlapping. I always make a list of the panels I want to see and even include backup panels that occur during the same time in case the one I want to go to is packed. I also schedule in things like autograph signings and screenings so I can prioritize what I want to do. Be sure to include rest time, as well as time to explore the exhibit hall.

3. And on that note, don’t expect to do everything and meet everyone you want. One of the worst things you can do to yourself is go to Comic Con EXPECTING to meet that one celebrity or buy that one exclusive toy. If you try hard enough, you can make it happen, but don’t set yourself up for failure because it was your life’s goal to touch Robert Pattinson. Remember that there are over 100,000 other people and at least a handful of them are also looking to do that exact same thing you are.

More than likely, you’re going to have a jam packed list of things you want to do and see. You are a magical wizarding god if you are able to do everything you want because I really do consider myself a Comic Con pro at this point and I rarely get to see half the things I plan on seeing. Last year alone, I wrote down over a dozen panels to attend and guess how many I went to? One. Seriously. I personally love to spend a lot of time in the exhibit hall because there are seemingly an UNLIMITED number of things to do there, so I can definitely lose track of time. Unexpected autograph signings and giveaways happen all the tie. Sometimes you just have to pick and choose what type of activities and events you want to do over others.

4. Don’t grab everything you see. As I mentioned before, the exhibit hall is the place to be. The second you enter, you’ll see an enormous amount of swag and freebies waiting to be grabbed. This is like heaven for Asians because we love free shit. Even if it’s a ketchup packet. We’ll take it. Normally grabbing up free things is good, but Comic Con seriously offers so much stuff that you WILL end up throwing a good chunk of it away. Have you seen that TV show Hoarders? I bet there are Comic Conners on that show who just have rooms filled with previous years’ junk. Every first timer makes the mistake of picking up random comic books and pins and tote bags that will and do weigh them down as the weekend goes along. I’ve seriously ended my Comic Con nights with feet, back, and shoulder pains because I was carrying over 50 pounds of miscellaneous junk around for 10 hours a day.

One of the good things to do at the end of each day as you’re in your hotel is to go through all of your free junk and see what you will and won’t want a month from now. THROW SHIT AWAY IF YOU DON’T WANT/NEED IT. I’m telling you, you’re going to amass such a huge amount of free swag that going back home will be such a pain (both figuratively and literally). And if you already know you’re not going to want something in the exhibit hall, don’t take it. Save the Earth man!

5. Try something new. As you already know, there are a crap load of things to do during the Comic Con weekend. While you may have a full schedule planned, leave some room open to explore. Visit a part of the convention center you haven’t seen yet or check out a random panel that’s open. This especially applies to the exhibit hall as it’s literally impossible to see everything going on in one day. There are hundreds upon hundreds of raffles, screenings, game testings and giveaways happening at a time, and even when I visit a booth for the fifth or sixth time, I find something new.

6. On the note of trying something new, explore Downtown San Diego. Downtown San Diego is surprisingly beautiful and fun. It’s probably the classiest downtown area I’ve ever visited and is especially nice during the Comic Con weekend. There are an enormous amount of restaurants, shops and events to attend during the weekend even if you didn’t already have Comic Con to keep you busy. The marina offers great sites and food and is within a walkable distance from the convention center.

7. Be polite and courteous to everyone. Comic Con is a busy fucking weekend. Not only are there attendees, there are industry people, security workers, vendors, celebrities and more. Treat everyone like a star! You are guaranteed to run into assholes here and there, but that doesn’t mean you have to be one as well. I can’t tell you how many times being nice has worked to my advantage, whether I wanted access to free swag or entrance to an autograph signing. People appreciate legitimate kindness. When something good happens to me at Comic Con, I really try to do something nice for something else.

Last year I was waiting in line to enter the Scott Pilgrim experience. My friends were off doing other things, so I talked to two people also waiting in line who ended up being really nice, awesome people. One girl told me that she was a film student who really looked up to Edgar Wright. As we got inside the area, we spotted Edgar, but he was busy talking to people and being hounded by fans so we didn’t get to see him ourselves. A few minutes later, I was wandering around the exit as Edgar walked by. I asked him for an autograph and got one! But as I was walking around, I spotted the same girl I was talking to in line and offered her the autograph because I had already met a ton of other celebrities that weekend. We didn’t even know each other’s names. I’ll probably never see her again in my life, but I know she was really truly happy about getting his autograph. Do something nice for someone else during the weekend. It can’t hurt.

8. Be prepared to wait. The only thing that you will experience more during Comic Con than excitement is waiting in line. This is like the secret step child that Comic Con hides from everyone. If something is entertaining or worthwhile, it’s going to require a hell of a wait. If you want exclusive swag, you sometimes have to wait in line for an hour to get it. If you want to get into that super awesome panel in Hall H, you might have to wait OVERNIGHT to get in. Even getting some damn coffee at Starbucks requires a long wait.

Bring a friend. Bring an MP3 player. Bring a snack. Bring something to entertain yourself while you wait for hours on end. Or, get to chatting with people in line. You can make a new acquaintance or if you’re even luckier, get hooked up with something free that they might not want!

9. Check out a comic. So what’s the name of this event that we’re going to called? Comic Con? Oh, right. I have to admit that only a year or two back I never really read comics. I read comics in that I vaguely knew about the Justice League and watched the X-Men cartoon as I was growing up. But seriously, even if you’re not into super hero stuff, visit independent comic booth vendors and check their stuff out. Comic books are a highly underrated form of entertainment and can be even more well put together than many of today’s novels and films. There is a reason why blockbuster movies are taken from comic books. There are a crap ton of children’s comics, comics for the LGBT, comics written by and for women as well as your standard assortment of super hero stuff available everywhere at Comic Con. If you can’t find a comic you like, you’re not trying hard enough. Or maybe you’re just a Nazi.

10. Have fun. This might seem like a “no duh” type of deal, but you will be surprised at how many people you encounter who seem like they’re having the most miserable time of their lives. Remember, you’re at Comic Con because you’re there to experience something fun, something new, something exciting. Don’t let the stresses of the day get to you. Sit back and relax for a few minutes if you’re overwhelmed and remember how fortunate you are to be one of the few who snagged a ticket while everyone else sits at home crying themselves to sleep because of the Epic ticketing system fail.

If you have any questions or want any other detailed info, feel free to send a message/post and I’ll get back to you!

5 Reasons You Should Go To Comic Con

To say that I enjoy San Diego Comic Con would be similar to saying that Twilight fans are mildly irritating and odd, which is to say, a huge understatement (no offense if you like Twilight, just try not to be bat shit crazy about it). This upcoming Comic Con will be my fifth consecutive year attending, and I must say that it is the highlight of my year. I would gladly punch a group of toddlers in the face to attend and they would gladly allow me to if they knew what Comic Con was like. Unfortunately, most tickets are already sold out, but there are still 1-day passes and eBay available for those crazy enough to attempt a last minute purchase. Here are 5 reasons you should!

1. It’s like nothing you will ever experience elsewhere, EVER

Everyone says Comic Con is the holy grail nerd mecca jizz in your pants excitement extravaganza of the year. Or well, I do. And it’s because it’s an event like none other. Where else can you literally get more free swag than you can carry? Where else can you randomly run into people like Joss Whedon (pictured below!) and Simon Pegg? Where else can you dress up as a serial killer and have people applaud you for your realistic oozing blood? Not Disneyland, I’ll tell you! If you enjoy any form of entertainment, Comic Con has something for you.

2. FREE SHIT

As any person who has ever attended Comic Con in the past will tell you, there is seriously a ton of free shit to be had. The largest room in the convention center is the Exhibit Hall, which conveniently takes up like the entirety of the freaking bottom level of the San Diego Convention Center. It’s filled with artists booths, independent comic book artists, boutique comic and toy shops, and most importantly, giant ass booths by some of the entertainment industry’s top players like DC, Marvel, Sony, Warner Brothers, and Nickelodeon. Free shit is constantly being passed out everywhere in the exhibit hall. While a lot of it is random stuff like buttons, postcards and lanyards, you’ll find awesome treasures like posters to your favorite TV shows and exclusive swag that will literally never be had outside of the convention center (unless you’re willing to shell out cash on eBay).

 I got two Mega Man foam hand gun thingies from the Capcom booth last year. As you can see I was totes excited about it.

3. You can see/meet your favorite TV/movie star, author, comic book artist and more!

This one is a no brainer. Everyone knows that you can meet the biggest TV and movie stars at Comic Con, but you can also meet a schmorgesborg of people such as comic book artists and writers, set and costume designers, book authors, video game developers, online comic creators, musical artists and producers/directors. One of the great things about Comic Con is that it’s really opened up as a gigantic entertainment expo. It’s not just comics, TV and movies.

 Even the Old Spice guy is at Comic Con!

4. Downtown San Diego is amazing

You technically don’t have to attend Comic Con to experience Downtown San Diego, but it’s truly a part of the overall experience. Most downtowns I’ve experienced in other cities are small or large metropolises with a number of hoodlums and other shady people waiting around the corner. Downtown San Diego is surprisingly gorgeous and filled with great restaurants, bars and stores with an especially fantastic nightlife during the Comic Con weekend. Whether it’s your first Comic Con experience or not, I highly suggest checking out events and places outside of the convention center like the marina, Petco Park Stadium, hole in the wall restaurants and attractions nearby. Even large companies are realizing that people are spending time outside of the convention center and offer free swag to passerbys outdoors.

5. Your friends will be filled with a burning envy of a thousand suns

Just a few years back, Comic Con was something most people had never heard of. Now, even the 90 year old cat lady next door knows what’s up. You shouldn’t necessarily be going to an event to brag about all the fun and excitement you’ve had, but hell, if you’re gonna do it, do it with Comic Con. Not only was I able to bring back tons of free stuff for friends and family, but I was also able to attend awesome panels, see sneak previews, and meet celebrities like Ryan Reynolds, Joel McHale and Emily Deschanel! And that was just last year alone.

 Ran into Mr. Joss Whedon, randomly walking around in the exhibit hall.

If none of the 5 reasons to attend Comic Con sound appealing, you most likely hate life. But that’s okay, because there are now thousands upon thousands of others waiting to experience what the many already have: the holy grail nerd mecca jizz in your pants excitement extravaganza of the year. Hope to see you there!

True Blood - Season 4, Episode 1 “She’s Not Here”

True Blood is a damn smart show. It’s always able to trick me into believing that the current season is going to be an intriguing and exciting one that packs a punch. Season 1 fully delivered on what it was supposed to be, and season 2 did to a lesser extent. Season 3 is where things got muddled because there was so much promise early on that fizzled out as the season closed. This premier has me pretty hooked as well, but if it follows in the same way season 3 did, I’m going to punch myself in the head.

Season 4’s premier made a great move by having Sookie involved in a time jump to a year later. True Blood really needed some off time for its characters because seasons 1-3 was only a two month time span. That’s just a shitload of happenings for the characters to go through.

SHORT EPISODE RECAP TIME! Sookie discovered that fairies are evil, meets bellhop again, meets grandpa and gets to see him die. She comes back to discover that she’s been missing for 12 and 1/2 months so everyone thought she died. Eric bought her house secretly and now wants to control Sookie. Bill presumably killed Queen Sophie Anne and is now King of Louisiana, scheming secretly about witches. Lafayette is being pushed by Jesus to join his coven of witches, which features a crazy ass Mrs. Dursley a la Harry Potter. Sam is hanging out with well to do shifters and only shot Tommy in the leg (who is now hanging out with Hoyt’s momma). Hoyt and Jessica are now a real couple who argues and Jessica is confused about whether she wants something more. Jason is a legitimate cop who is taking care of a village of inbred rednecks and Andy is still sheriff, but is hooked on V. Arlene and Terry had their devil baby and discovered that he likes to rip off Barbie heads. Oh! And Tara’s an MMA lesbian living in New Orleans.

Did I forget anything?

I sure as hell hope not because while the stories seem interesting and promising, that is just way too many fucking pieces to hold together in one season. Obviously Alcide will come into play soon and Eric will get a much larger story, so it’s hard to tell what they’re planning on doing with all of these separate story lines. As someone who has not read the novels, all I know about the season so far is that Fiona Shaw’s character is supposed to be the “main baddie” and a lot of this season revolves around Eric. I know that they’ve also brought in a love interest for Sam (who we meet as a shifter at his shindig) and made the witch waitress a larger character.

The main trouble True Blood has gotten itself into is wanting to create multiple story arcs for the great cast. I love the actors. For the most part, they do really well. Even the characters they portray are likable enough. But most of them are just not deserving of their own completely separate story lines. This show really needs to get back to it’s story telling in season 1 where everyone revolved around Sookie. That’s how and why the damn books work. Having a few characters stray into their own works a bit, but not all that well considering what a hot mess season 3 turned out to be. Hoyt/Jessica/Arlene/Terry/Andy/Pam/Jesus/Lafayette/Alcide all need to revolve around the major players of Sookie, Bill, Eric, Jason, Sam and Tara. I would even say that Jason, Sam and Tara should be revolving around the Sookie/Bill/Eric story lines. Season 2 got away with having two major story arcs because they resolved one earlier than the other and brought the entire cast together in the end. Season 3 did no such thing and I’m just afraid that they’re setting up this season to fail in the same way.

Don’t disappoint me this time around True Blood! Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

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Likes

- The fairyland situation was handled nicely! I like that they’re kind of fucked up and twisted.

- Sam finally stopped being a loner and learned to chill with his own kind.

- Jason is still lovable but no longer a dumbass (?). Hopefully it sticks.

- Bill is king (as seen below)!

Dislikes

- Arlene, Terry and their damn baby need to go away!

- Love Lafayette, but not Jesus. I would be suspicious of witchy stuff as well.

- Yes, V is addicting. We don’t need crazy ass Andy to tell us that as well.