I'm sure if anyone still remembers the 1980s cartoon show Voltron, but in this new series, eight years have passed since the events transpired from the first show. The gist, King Zarkon was defeated and Lotor was killed. Voltron was hailed triumphant until Sky Marshall Wade, a corrupt, Galaxy Alliance officer made sure the lions went rogue thus decommissioned. This begins the springboard of the first of the three-parter starting with
The New School Defenders
Written by Todd Garfield
Directed by John Delaney
Story by Todd Garfield and Jeremy Corray
Supervising Director Steven E. Gordon
Summary:
Flight academy cadets, Daniel and Vince gets a chance meet one of their Voltron heroes, Cmdr. Lance McClain after he singled them out for speaking out of turn in class in wanting to know about Voltron and the members. It was all Daniel spouting about Voltron and Vince was in for the ride for being guilty "by association" as Lance puts it.
It was a long standing order by Sky Marshall Wade that any mention of Voltron was grounds for a summary expulsion. When the two cadets finally learn the whole covert nature of Lance, Pidge and Hunk while maintaining to be the epitome of great soldiers, Vince and Daniel were immediately tasked to switch the keys found on Wade's uniform. Soon, half the mission was underway and Keith broke Black Lion out from Wade's military complex.
Review
Me? What did I do? [Vince]
Guilt by association. [Lance]
When I first show the episode, I was quite excited and was really glad the premise of the show was set eight years after the events where the 1980's show left off. I really wasn't looking forward for a re-make.
Summary
The exciting conclusion of this second installment, started with the tree spirits carrying off Peter to their colony. The tree spirits dipped him in their magical pool where Peter as he swam from one end to exit on another opening, the short passage showed us that the waters healed Peter's injuries. The tree spirits also bestowed him powers due his innocence which the three elders (ruling body of the tree spirits) recognized and tasked Peter to find the orb so they can send the Pirates, Hook, the lost boys and Peter back to where they belong because their kind was becoming a threat to tree spirits existence.
My thoughts
I won't leave you with a very long post for this one. Just the highlights.
Elder Fairy 1: Four thousands years lost in one night!Peter: I'm sorry. They tricked me. Elder Fairy 1: You wanted to give them what we gave you. Please the one called, Hook. Allowed his greed and ambition to corrupt your innocent heart - Peter: I made a mistake. Elder Fairy 2: A mistake that has cost us dearly. For that you must pay.Elder Fairy 1: You shall walk for the rest of eternity without any memory of who you are, where you came or those you loved.Elder Fairy 2: Your innocence - the innocence we trust and recognized will be the only guide - raw and heartless.Elder Fairy 1: Listen carefully, you will feel great loss, grief...Elder Fairy 2: Torture, distress, heartache...
The fairy elders angered by the destruction of their colony handed down a heavy penalty to Peter which I transcribed above. Please excuse if there were missing words, I didn't transcribe this using my headset. Anyway, it was one of the highlights of the second installment for me. It gave me goosebumps and to so see the effect of the curse (below) it made sense why in the books Peter came across as too unaffected to be bothered and just wanted to have fun flying in and out of the clouds. It made me wonder if some bits of the elder fairy curse have latched on to Peter's character much later on that he didn't expect at all.
Throughout the two installments, Willing incorporated the right amount of details surrounding Peter's father and Hook's apparent friendship with the man. He also showed how sly a tongue Hook was. I thought Ifans did a fine job still injecting a subtle expression that we knew Hook was yet again twisting facts to his liking.
This 'friendship' made me imagine that perhaps Hook and Peter's father were the best mates in the arms trade and as luck have it, Jenny (might have first fallen for Hook) had finally grown tired of the life Hook was leading that she started to stay away from him. She opted to concentrate in playing the theater shows as Hook related to Peter. Jenny perhaps saw even the difference between Hook and the other man. He could have been the reason why Jenny further distanced herself from Hook. Of course, as Hook said "...it was a fair duel."
I thought those tiny revelations gave enough of an emotional kick to the stomach. Rowe's portrayal of Peter who was coming to grips of what happened to his mother (from the first installment) was sucker-punched when Hook admitted he was the one who killed his father. In the end of it all, a good wrap up to the prequel well, almost. *smiles*
Tottle's did ask what happened to Peter's shadow? I found a good fanfic exploring where Neverland part two left off and all things in between.
Summary:
Raised on the streets of turn-of-the century London, orphaned Pete and his pals survived but their fearless wits as cunning young pickpockets. Now, they are rounded up by their mentor, Jimmy Hook to snatch a priceless, some believe,magical treasure which transports them to another world. Neverland is a realm of white jungles and legendary mysteries of eternal youth, where unknown friends and enemies snatched from time welcome the new travelers with both excitement and trepidation. These groups include a band of 18th century pirates led by the power-mad Elizabeth Bonny, and the Native American Kaw tribe led by a Holy Man, which has protected the secret of the tree spirits from Bonny and her gang for ages, and that has meant war. But as the fight to save this strange and beautiful world becomes vital, Hook, Peter, and the ragamuffin lost boys consider that growing old somewhere in time could be less important than growing up, right here in their new home called Neverland.
My Thoughts
This two-parter presentation held an interesting origins tale of a well-beloved fairy tale, Peter Pan. The movie jumped right in by showing us a mysterious hooded man, a tree spirit and two glowing meteorites that questions abound so fast to the point I couldn't help but let the action roll out. The opening music held that bit of wonder and lent even the power these rushing meteorites have.
One thing that puzzled me was how the orb landed in the Spanish Main? The answer I could think of was 400 years back (a tinsy spoiler) Fludd must have an assistant then but unfortunately through the years lost the alpha orb (for the lack of the better description) that it found it's way to the Indian tribe then the alpha orb traveled to the Spanish route where it found itself almost in the hands of Elizabeth and her pirate crew. The orb would have been a part of her booty had she not fired a shot on it that transported her and her crew elsewhere.
Summary:
Cinder: a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's she find herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation.
Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future.
Blurb:
Regina and Mr. Gold play dirty politics and take opposite sides when
Emma runs for a coveted Storybrooke public office against Sidney.
Meanwhile, back in the fairytale world that was, Rumplestiltskin tries
to track down the ultimate power source in order to help his son avert
the horrors of a meaningless war.
Inspired by the summer blockbuster directed by M.Night Shyamalan
Story by: Dave Roman and Alison Wilgus
Art by Nina Matsumoto
Based on the series Avatar: The Last Airbender
Created by Michael Dante DiMartino an Bryan Konietzko. Based on the Screenplay written by M.Night Shyamalan
A Del Rey Manga Trade Paperback Original
Contents:
The Last Airbender: Prequel: Zuko's Story
Acknowledgement
Bonus Materials
One of the town's residents begins to remember their fairytale past, and Storybrooke mourns the loss of one of their own. Meanwhile, in the fairytale world that was, the Evil Queen attempts to find a heartless assassin to murder Snow White.
My thoughts
After finding about the episode title, was a telling hint (and from the tweets I've read) that something bad was going to happen to Storybrooke's Sheriff, good and bad at the same time. It was a short of a roller coaster of emotions and sat mulling about the episode once it came to an end.
Summary: After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson is finding his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson, a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any normal friends. But things don't stay quiet for long.
Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: the magical borders that protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters, the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millennia. Only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name: The Bermuda Triangle.
Together with his friends, Percy must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family, one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.
From imdb.com David - aka John Doe - must choose between staying with Kathryn or leaving her to be with Mary Margaret, with whom he's fallen deeply, and inexplicably, in love; and Emma catches Sheriff Graham in a lie. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale world that was, Prince Charming is about to encounter a life-changing event that will forever alter his destiny.
I do try to keep it spoiler free :D Oh, and a month ago (I think), Josh Dallas held a tweetcast and it was at this episode when it happened. Too bad, we were still three episodes away. I'm not complaining since I'm happy StarWorld is showing it at near-match airing times.
From imdb.com As Sheriff Graham deputizes Emma, the ground shakes and a giant sinkhole mysteriously appears at the edge of town. But a curious Henry's life is placed in danger when he decides to explore the innards of the sinkhole to see if its contents can link the inhabitants of Storybrooke to the fairytale world. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale world, Jiminy Cricket yearns to leave the family business and transform into the person he wants to be.
From Fantasticfiction. After the death of his mother, Michael Keddington finds employment at the Arcadia nursing home where he befriends Esther, a reclusive but beautiful elderly woman who lives in mourning for her youth and lost love. Michael faces his own challenges when he loses his greatest love, Faye. When Michael is falsely accused of abusing one of the Arcadia's residents, he learns important lessons about faith and forgiveness from Ester -- and her gift to him of a locket, once symbolic of one person's missed opportuninites, becomes another's second chance.
Richard Paul Evans, author of the beloved #1 bestselling classic The Christmas Box,begins a wonderful new series with this stunning New York Times bestseller -- a bittersweet reminder of life's most precious gifts...
I don't know where to start raving about this show. The production looked like a lot of thought went through the development and the efforts made by the crew were tangible or noticeable enough through the props and the fabulous costumes used. You can feel that it was serious business in re-imaging the tale of Snow White. The SFX wasn't scrimped too.
Some people might get lost with the way the show was presented. The events taken place in Snow White and Prince Charming's world would run along side our reality until both stories reach one common ground which is Emma. I can't say much else for spoilers but I thought that made it an inventive way of writing the story. I was half expecting to see a subtitle: In a distant world much like our own where magic rules and evil queens are real... instead it wasn't the case. It was straightforward and fast-paced. Editor Geoffrey Hildrew did a great job in keeping the momentum going between scenes. Cinematography brought by Stephen Jackson delivered an enchanting touch for both worlds. I can't wait for more.... :)
Summary from Goodreads: The Flynn brothers have inherited more than a New Orleans plantation. They've inherited a ghostly presence… and a long-kept secret.
Aidan Flynn, a private investigator and eldest of the Flynn brothers, scoffs at the haunted-house rumors—especially since Kendall Montgomery, a tarot card reader who has been living in the mansion, is the one to tell him the tale of a woman in white. But when he finds a human bone on the grounds and another by the river, Aidan delves into the dark history of the Flynn plantation.
Forced together to uncover the truth, Aidan and Kendall realize that a serial killer whose victims seem to vanish into thin air has long been at work…and that their own fates are about to be sealed forever unless they believe in the unbelievable.
I read this years back after the TV show ended its run. I wasn't disappointed at all with the book. Few authors can capture the voices of TV characters and Martha Wells did an awesome job here. I felt like I was watching another episode of the show in fact, it made me wish this was turned into an episode. :D Great exploration piece, enjoyed another peak into Sheppard's ATA gene difference which made me also wish the show's writers have expanded more into that mythos they've put forth. I thought it would delicious background to play around while the team where in the Pegasus Galaxy.
Oh, seeing Joe Flanigan in all the challenges Wells put the character through would make all Sheppard fans want more. Rodney and Sheppard's camaraderie (which sometimes mean trading barbs with the scientist)was executed very nicely and we see a briefly that he cares for the major in his own huffing way. :) Teyla fighting against the drug etc.
Title: Deadly Gift (The Flynn Brothers Trilogy)#3
Author: Heather Graham Website
Status: Bought book
Pages: 387
Summary from Goodreads Caer is spending this Christmas among strangers. Brought to Newport, Rhode Island, from her native Ireland to nurse ailing millionaire Sean O'Riley, she's living a life few can imagine. But money can't hide the tension between O'Riley's trophy wife, his paranoid daughter, the eccentric aunt in the attic and the staff members who run the house.
When O'Riley's business partner goes missing, family friend Zach Flynn arrives. Determined to help him solve the case, Caer becomes enmeshed in a mystery that weaves together the sins of the past with one family's destiny…and a spirit that watches the mansion, possessing a deadly gift.
After a rough week at Starfleet Academy, James T. Kirk and his friends blow off steam at San Francisco's hottest new club. Their good times come to a screeching halt, however, when one of the cadets is attacked by someones who seemingly appears out of thin air.
Bones and his medical team save the cadet's life, but they uncover the horrifying consequences of the attack. Meanwhile, Starfleet's investigation reveals the assailant is actually a brutal serial killer from the past–a mysterious entity known only as the Doctor. Who is the Doctor, and why has he returned after disappearing more than twenty years ago?
At the urging of CommanderSpock, Cadet Uhura is called to decipher a message from the Doctor. Spock has no idea that by enlisting Uhura's help, he has placed her firmly in the Doctor's sights.
Before long Kirk, Uhura and Bones are caught up in the Doctor's dangerous web as they race against time to stop the killer before he strikes again.
My thoughts If you haven't seen JJ Abrams Star Trek movie reboot go rent a copy to get a little acquainted with the established main characters.
The freshman album had a unified tone
throughout which was interesting because even with the slower tempo songs, it
still felt the songs were connected with the following song and so on. I don't
think I've listened to something like this from my respective favorite artists
from their own freshman albums. So that little difference made buying this
album that cost me two arms and a leg (joke) and finding an appropriate courier
to deliver it to me, worthwhile. Although after seeing my credit card bill
afterward, I'd say, Ouch. Lolz.
The album gave me a tip of a
diversified range of music styles to tickle my modest musical palate. I noticed that a soloist can easily have a signature prevailing in their tracks for this first outing, I didn't find it yet. Maybe my ears are not that trained or I
was practically in Cloud 9 every time I listened to this album. Anyway, just by
the tracks, the vocals were varied that added flavor. It wasn't over the place
too. I don't know if for his second and third album, his signature style of
singing has exerted itself.
Rate: 5 mics out of five
The Tracks
Next Stop To Happiness An upbeat song
that suggested a person has been striving for all opportunities and finally
it paid off and soon this individual was on the fast lane. This was the first song off the
12-track album.
The Way It Is
A mid-tempo song about love's dying embers and what it would take to keep it.
