To my everlasting shame (NOT!), along with reading copious amounts of books, I watch far too much television. So without further ado….
1. Can I just say that my heart is absolutely rent by the series finale of ‘Spartacus’? Few shows get to go out how they want to, and the parallels with the come-hell-or-high-water face-offs in that final episode could not be missed. That the rag-tag bunch of Spartacus’ warriors would not go quietly into that good night made it all worthwhile. It was a finale worthy of the series (especially that shout of ‘Fuck your Mothers!’). But that final shot at the end of the credits with the irreplacable Andy Whitfield, made the tears well up. Congratulations to Liam McIntyre for finishing so well where Andy had begun. But I will forever miss the vulnerability, humanity, beauty and passion Andy brought to the role. ‘Spartacus’, you will be missed.
P.S. Dustin Clare needs to find more work, and fast! Thank you Manu Bennett for wasting no time and signing on to Arrow!
2. Thank God I still have Game of Thrones! But DAMN, that third episode on Sunday really ramped things up. I almost felt sorry for Jamie Lannister. Then my sister reminded me he’d thrown a child off a building, and I got over it. As for Brienne–am I the only one who felt the screaming wasn’t quite faithful to the character? I figured her for one who would fight like ten cats, but silently. However, the circumstances were horrific. The actress is entitled to her interpretation. Also, cannot wait to see what happens with the dragon–I suspect it will not end well for the slavers.
3. Last night I saw Defiance on Syfy. I managed to stay up till 1am to get to the end. I was dedicated because of Rockne S. O’Bannon. I forgive him for Cult–after StarQuest–and more importantly, Farscape–he’s entitled to a dud. But I will always go for him with the same intensity I go for Joss Whedon (yes, Buffy is STILL my favourite TV show ever).
He did not disappoint.
How they managed to pack all that character development, story momentum, world-building and good old-fashioned fighting (yes, there were fights and actual battles!) into two hours, I will never know. But it’s safe to say this is my new obsession. I adore the fact that the teenage daughter is not a sullen girl on the outs with her papa. Instead, she’s a sullen kick-ass companion that would make Chloe Grace Moretz approve. I also like–everything else. This is the most imaginative series I’ve seen with alien races since Farscape. I’m a Trekker, but there’s a certain formula to a lot of their aliens. Rockne has never given in to that. It’s on display here in way that brings fond memories of Star Wars and the famous Han Solo bar fight scene.
If you weren’t sure about a show that’s a video game, or you were exhausted by Syfy’s descent into horribly done B movies, take a gander at Definace. Even the special effects are good. Clearly, they deprived themselves of at least three Sharktopus movies with the budget for this series. And for that alone, Defiance deserves to be celebrated.
(It’s also really nice to see Darla from Angel again. I’ve missed her. I actually liked her last show, No Ordinary Family. but I guess not a lot of other people did.)
But mostly it’s just amazing, fast paced, original and satisfyingly developed. I can’t wait for next week.
Though how I will reconcile this with Monday episdoes of The Voice remains to be seen…::sigh::.
R.S.A. Garcia 
I thought the maid of Tarth wouldn’t be screaming like that either! I was so glad they left in (what happened to Jamie)…I was very concerned they were going to write it out as they have done with the character that was meant to do it!
I figured, on reflection, that it was probably the director’s decision. The action is happening off-screen and he probably wanted her screaming so we’d know the situation was dire. We can’t see it after all. But yeah, either way, I feel like the character had to give way to artistic choices and it was kind of annoying because I love Brienne’s badassness. But what do I know, I haven’t read the books :-).
You haven’t read the books!? But you seem like a hardcore fan! haha. Actually my advice is don’t read them until after the series, simply because the first book is exactly the same as the series but book two sees slight changes and now with series 3 they have cut a lot of stuff. I still love the series but it makes me love it a little less because I then get annoyed that things have been changed! So if you want to remain loving it…don’t read them yet! 🙂
I am a hardcore fan! Of the series ;-). I made the concious decision not to read them until after the series is over, precisely because I think they’re two different animals and I’ll just spend too much time fretting over how they’re different or waiting for some favourite bit to happen.
In fact, I years ago decided that if a book comes out, I’ll see the movie first if I can. The book’s almost always better, so you’re not disappointed either way. Worked out good for Hunger Games, but I had to read the rest, so now I’m screwed for Catching Fire and Mockingjay lol. However, I was always sorry I bothered to read Jurassic Park, Circle of Friends and Shining Through. The movies were WAY better.
p.s. I welled up when Andy made the finale screen as well! “I AM SPARTACUS!”
He was just awesome, you know? And that last scene, just made it all poignant. Here we were, losing both the series and the original Spartacus. It was so bittersweet to see him again.