Doctor Who

Imagine a sci-fi TV show that is part mystery, part comedy, a fantastic story and an interesting cast of characters, monsters, and aliens with a touch of romance. Throw in a blue police box that is able to travel through time and space and you have a hint of what Doctor Who is. The Doctor is the last Time Lord, a traveler with a soft spot for humans who takes it upon himself to travel the stars and set things right. The current show of Doctor Who has had Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith all play the Doctor, each with their own touch on the character's personality, he is the same character with the same memories and experiences. However, unlike other shows who will have unexpected cast changes, the multiple versions of the Doctor is written into his character. He is almost always accompanied by a companion, some who span a short story arc, while others last several seasons. Similarly, each companion impacts the Doctor in their own way, often playing a persona that serves as a foil for the Doctor. Doctor Who has a wide range of monster and aliens that are used as antagonists, the most well known being the Cybermen and Daleks, both from the old series, and the Weeping Angels and the Silence being from the modern series.

The story centers on the Doctor and the companion. Each season arc often focusing on the companion to the extent of the companion being the crucial point on which the entire season hinges. The episodes will often seem to be a simple single story with the occasional two part episode, but looking back after the final episode of each season, you are able to see all the pieces as they are falling into place and how the entire season focused around one point. You are able to see how much the companion and the Doctor develops over the course of the season. Doctor Who is fairly family friendly, with a more child friendly spin off, The Sarah Jane Adventures, as well as a more adult and risqué spin off, Torchwood.

I would definitely recommend that you check it out if it sounds interesting, but I would strongly suggest that you watch a different episode from a couple different seasons before you write it off. Each pairing of the Doctor and companion adds a different flavor to the show. Eccleston's Doctor is more angry and blunt, while Tennant's Doctor is more compassionate and has righteous anger and Smith's Doctor is more imaginative and naive, and each companion changes the feel a bit. All of the episodes of the modern series are available on DVD, Netflix and Amazon Instant Video. Check it out...seriously!

Random Filler Post

So I have had a long week. I kept thinking yesterday (Monday) was Thursday, today was Friday and tomorrow I am working my typical Saturday schedule so who knows what I will be thinking tomorrow will be. And I just tried to use my laptop like the touchscreen computer that we have at work o_O

Anyway, I figured I would do a random filler post with some of my favorite stuff because I am seriously brain dead right now.
Favorite animal: Penguins
Favorite color: bright orange or lime green
Favorite kind of pizza: Hawaiian (if the sauce is BBQ) or BBQ Chicken pizza

So...yeah....3 things is enough, right? If not, you'll be over it.

To Kill a Mockingbird

I have spent literally several hours thinking about what favorite thing I wanted to blog about this week. I don't want to do a repeat of something that I just blogged about and I would do a blog about my favorite music to listen to, but it is either hugely dependent on my mood or it's purely vocal or *seriously* opera (as I type this, a particularly angelic version of the hymn 'Down to the River to Pray', sung by Katherine Jenkins, is playing in the background). So, I guess you are stuck reading about one of my favorite books. Now just give me a few minutes to decide which book is my favorite

-7 hours later-

Ok...I think I've got it. While I will not claim that this is my favorite book of all time, I do find myself reading this book again and again, once for school and other times for fun. I first read it in ninth grade and at least three times for fun. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is the quintessential story of life in small town Alabama in the Great Depression. The story is told through the eyes of Scout, a young girl, as she learns to deal with racism and prejudice, imagination, and growing up. Scout, her older brother, Jem, and their neighbor's nephew, Dill, spend their summer telling stories about their reclusive neighbor, 'Boo' Radley, with each story getting just a bit more exaggerated and imaginative. Then they realize that Boo is leaving them small presents in the knothole of the tree in the front yard.

When Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping a young white woman, Atticus Finch, Scout and Jem's father, is appointed to defend Tom. Regardless of the many citizens that look down their nose and think less of Atticus for defending Tom, he agrees to defend him to the best of his abilities. When it becomes public knowledge that Atticus is defending Tom, other children taunt Scout and Jem for their father being willing to do something that others would consider below them. Scout is willing to defend her father's honor by fighting the kids, disregarding her father's request to not fight. An lynching is attempted, with Atticus standing up to the mob, but it is ultimately dispersed when Scout, Jem, and Dill show up and talk the mob down. Much more happens during and after the trial, culminating in a murder in self-defense, but I don't want to give it away.

In my mind, Atticus Finch is one of the premier father figures in literature. He is willing to put his honor on the line by defending Tom, something that most other lawyers would have considered career suicide. He is willing to put his life on the line when the crowd comes to lynch Tom. And he is wise, stating that "you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it". This is a book that I would encourage everyone to read at least once. But be warned, in keeping with the vernacular of the day, that there are a few choice phrases that some may find offensive, specifically a racial slur that is used quite a bit.  I would also recommend checking out the 1962 film with Mary Badham in the role of Scout and Gregory Peck starring as Atticus.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

"Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked" begins the opening credits to one of the best children's animated shows I have ever seen. It is the story of Aang, a 12 year old airbender who is found frozen in an ice berg, Katara, a water bender from the Southern Water tribe, and Sokka, Katara's hardheaded, but bighearted, brother. As the show continues, you quickly find out that Aang was trapped in the ice berg for 100 years and he is tapped to be the next Avatar, the person who is a bridge between the physical and spirit world and capable of all four types of bending. But to become the Avatar, he has to learn the other three forms of bending. As the first season occurs, the three travel to the North Pole to be taught by the benders Northern Water tribe. But Aang and company is being hunted by Zuko, the exiled son of the Fire Lord. As the story and seasons progress, Aang travels to the North Pole, to Bah Sing Seh, the capital of the Earth Kingdom, and into the heart of the Fire Nation, finding friends and allies in some of the most unexpected places.

The show spanned three seasons, each one focusing on a different bending style. And that is one thing that I especially respect about this show: the directors set out to tell a story and they told it. After the story was told, the show was over, which is something that you rarely see (and something that several shows could stand to learn). While this is a kids' show and can be a little bit slow starting, it has some of the best character development I have ever seen in a TV show, kids' show or otherwise. It's almost impossible not to feel triumph when Aang understands earthbending, or holds his own in a battle with a firebender. The characters are written like real people, not flat like characters often are in kids' shows, each with their own personality and witty one-liners.

There are several episodes that seem like filler material when you first watch them, but looking back, you see that it is fleshing out the characters more. One such episode is an episode towards the end of the second season when one of the main voice actors passed away during production and it caused the directors to do an episode which was a collection of short stories, each focusing on a day in the life of a different character. Some are funny and whimsical. One character helps create a zoo. Another pair spend a day at the spa, becoming closer friends. Others are heart wrenching, such as the one who visits the grave of his son, who was killed in the war.

If this is a show that sounds interesting, all three seasons are available on Netflix Instant Watch as well as Amazon Instant Video. I seriously recommend that everyone give it a shot and watch at least the first several episodes. Let me just warn you that the first few episodes are a bit slow. Now excuse me while I go find my season one set of Avatar: The Last Airbender so I can watch it again.

The Count of Monte Cristo

Murder. Deception. Duels. Knife Fights. Fireworks. Carnival. Pirates. Love. Loyalty. Justice. Revenge. Things that help make a movie great. You can find all this, and more, in The Count of Monte Cristo. The Count of Monte Cristo is the story of Edmond Dantes. Dantes is accused of being in league with Bonaparte after a ship mate sees Bonaparte ask Dantes to deliver a letter for him while he is in exile when Dantes and his crew have to seek refuge on Elba. Dantes is unfairly imprisoned without a trial. While in prison, he meets a priest who gives him an education, a means to defend himself and a means to escape through a tunnel that the priest has been digging during his time in prison. He also helps Dantes to realize and understand why he was put in prison. The escape plan doesn't happen exactly as planned, but Dantes does escape soon after his failed attempt and is rescued by some smugglers, who take Dantes under their wing. They do eventually return to France and Dantes after having 13 long years in prison. I would talk more about the story, but that would spoil the movie for you if you haven't seen it quite yet. Let's just say that Dantes does live happily after he is done exacting his meticulously planned revenge on everyone.

The characters are well-developed and their stories are well told. It is easy to develop a kinship of sorts with several of the characters, liking those who are more positive, such as Dantes, the priest and Jacopo, one of the smugglers, and disliking, even hating, former friends who are deserving of Dantes' vengeance. There is a definite master/student kinship that is evident in the interactions between Dantes and the priest, but there are often times when the friendship between Dantes and Jacopo steals the show. There is a true brotherhood that is conveyed in their interactions, showing that although they were brought together through an interesting scene involving a knife fight to the death, true friends can be found anywhere, which causes Jacopo to say to Dantes when his life is spared that 'I swear on my dead relatives, and even on the ones that are not feeling too good, I am your man forever.' In fact, Jacopo is crucial in the ending, saving the life of someone dear to Dantes, saying correctly that 'God watches you out the corner of His eye.'

While this movie has been made and remade quite a few times, I have only ever seen the 2002 version, with James Caviezel in the role of Dantes. However, if you have the option (and the patience), I would definitely recommend reading the book. But make sure that it is an unabridged version. It can be quite hefty, but it is worth the approximately 800 page read. While the movie follows the general plot of the book, many aspects, such as relationships and scenes, specifically the ending, are changed, simplified or omitted altogether. If you don't have the patience to read it, the movie is still fantastic. It's a good date night movie to watch with your special someone, or even by yourself.

Final Fantasy VI

To be a great game, regardless of genre, in my mind it needs to have a great story, characters with whom you are able to identify and connect, an art style that makes it stand out and a score that evokes emotions. For me, one of my favorite games would have to be Final Fantasy III, which was later localized in America as Final Fantasy VI. The story focuses on a thief ‘treasure hunter’ and rebel leader named Locke Cole, a mysterious young woman with mystical powers who is under the control of the Empire named Terra Branford, and a number of other characters who are all connected in a grand story. This may seem like a simplistic game, but playing through the game, you will feel an entire gamut of emotion, ranging from the pain of losing friends to the joy of loved ones found, and the betrayal that comes from being stabbed in the back. To save the world, you will travel across the lands and seas, through mountains and underground, through different realms and even to a post-apocalyptic wasteland of the world as the story progresses.

One thousand years before the events of the game, three entities known as the Warring Triad initiated a conflict that would come to be called the War of the Magi. This quarrel grew to catastrophic proportions, unleashing magical energy into the world which transformed afflicted humans into espers—magical beings who themselves were used as soldiers in the war. Eventually realizing the horrific calamity wrought by their hands, the Triad returned free will to the espers and sealed their own powers, becoming stone statues. Their only request was that the espers ensure their power remain locked away so it might never be used again. The espers carried their stone gods to a hidden land, sealing themselves off from the realm of humans. The concept of magic gradually faded to legend and myth as mankind built a society extolling science and technology. And this is where your story begins. (Note: This summary was taken from Wikipedia.)

You are able to control as many as four characters in battle. However, it is very strict about which companions you will have at specific points in the game. But this is done organically as various events in each character’s storyline. There will rarely be a point in the story where you feel like you are overwhelmed by the enemies and unable to defeat them with the current party. The customization choices for the characters are fairly extensive. Each character has a specialization, but as you progress through the game, all of the characters gain the ability to learn magic and gain different abilities through equipping various items and relics. 

This game was originally released on the SNES console so it has the 16 bit sprite look similar to that of The Secret of Mana or The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. But that doesn’t detract from the game. There have been several releases and compilations of this game, with the most recent being on the PSN. The soundtrack is similar to that of any game of the SNES era, but you are able to get updates and new compilations of the soundtrack from the original composer. 

There are many scenes that I am able to remember from playing through this game a couple times, and this is after not having played it in about two years. My favorite of those being the opera scene. Interested in finding out what the opera scene is? You should play this title. Even with being an eighteen year old title, I would still give this 9 out of 10 for a grade. And this is why I call Final Fantasy VI one of my favorite video games.