Prequels and Sequels and Spinoffs, Oh My!

November 21, 2016 | LizT.

If you are someone who is tired of seeing the same 7 or 8 franchises roll into theaters time and time again, I feel bad for ya, son. I got 99 problems, but that is definitely not one of them!

I LOVE them! And I’m not saying all of them or any of them deserve Oscars.

Look…it’s true, some of them are not good at all! But for every stinking sequel there’s a Force Awakens. For every sloppy spinoff, there’s an Agent Carter (her cancellation is not her fault!) or a Rogue One (which I’m already certain will be blowing us all away in under a month.) And for every poorly written prequel there’s a Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. And I’d watch a thousand bad prequels for the chance to get something as delightful as Fantastic Beasts in front of my eyes!!

We are certainly living in the age of reboots, re-imaginings and big budget franchises. But again I say, I LOVE IT! When word broke that Disney had purchased Lucasfilm and there would be a slew of new stories from that galaxy far, far away I was overjoyed. I love expanded universes. The deeper a story goes, the more involved it gets, the more I can lose myself in the fiction. That’s what makes the worlds of Harry Potter, Marvel and Star Wars so compelling and why they inspire the ticket and merchandise sales that they do.

Do you run the risk of overkilling something people dearly love? Of course. But the alternative is putting that franchise up in a box never to be touched. Never to be reimagined by someone who comes along and loves the world JK Rowling has created as much as JK herself. Art imitating and inspired by art is such a cool thing.

JJ Abrams grew up on Star Wars, got into movies because of Star Wars and there he was directing his very own Star Wars movie. No matter what you thought about the film itself, doesn’t that inspire you?! JJ is one of us, one of our people (we the geeks) and he got to do what so many of us have only dreamed.

Just think, Harry Potter fans…think of the possibilities that the Wizarding World of JK Rowling holds for you. That world is not closed off. It’s not a 7 book, 8 movie story. There’s so much more and that means big things for you and your imagination!

So I say, prequel it up all you want, Hollywood. Just use Fantastic Beasts as a barometer on how to do it and do it well.

44 Reasons Why It Is Good To Be a Nerd

November 12, 2015November 12, 2015 | LizT.

It is so darn good to be a nerd right now. And if you don’t consider yourself a nerd, let me go ahead and give you your very own, personal invitation. It is never too late to join our tribe.

We may come off a little strong at first, but we love when people come to the Dark Side (or the Light, if you’re into that sort of thing.) Don’t mistake our passion and zeal for anything other than just that.

Sure…there are trolls. But trust me when I say, we take care of our own! Here are 44 reasons why right now is the time to join us…and together we can rule the fandom!!!

1. STAR WARS EPISODE VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS (tickets have been purchased!! Internets have been broken. This is the big leagues.)
2. Star Wars Episode VIII (ok we don’t know what it’s called yet, but the script is written and the funds are already designated!)
3. Star Wars Episode IX (we don’t even know who’s directing this one, but trust us…we’ll be there!)
4. Star Wars: Rogue One
5. Rumors of a young Han Solo film (rumors are our bread and butter. Get used to it.)
6.Star Wars Rebels (It’s only on season 2, plenty of time to catch up!)
7. Anything else Star Wars that is in the Disney pipeline. (If you aren’t sensing a trend then there may not be hope for your induction into our society.)
8. Ok…we do like some other things too…try Star Trek (anything with Star in it makes the short list!)
9.New Star Trek TV show in the works

10. Any and all things Marvel (ie: the next 14 items on the list)
11. Marvel’s Jessica Jones (this one premiers in 7 days so you better catch up and watch all of Daredevil on Netflix stat!)
12. Marvel’s Captain America Civil War (trailer will be dropping very soon.)
13. Marvel’s Doctor Strange
14. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy 2
15. Marvel’s Spider-Man
16. Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok
17. Marvel’s Black Panther
18. Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War Part 1
19. Marvel’s Ant Man and the Wasp
20. Marvel’s Captain Marvel
21. Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War Part 2
22. Marvel’s Agents of Shield (currently in season 3 on ABC)
23. Marvel’s Agent Carter (season 2 starts in January)
24. Marvel’s Luke Cage and Iron Fist (both coming to Netflix along with season 2 of Daredevil.)

25. DC has a lot of exciting things coming to our eyeballs soon as well (they just haven’t all earned their own number slot in this nerd’s estimation, but some are worthy like…)
26. DC’s Suicide Squad
27. DC’s Justice League
28. DC’s Arrow (currently in season 3 on The CW)
29. DC’s The Flash (currently in season 2 also on The CW)
30. DC’s Supergirl (kicking major butt in it’s first season on CBS)

31. The Walking Dead
32. Once Upon a Time
33. Doctor Who
34. Game of Thrones
35. More Jurassic Park
36. Word of more Indiana Jones is in the ether.

37. A little thing called Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (translation: more Harry Potter)
38. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (translation: even more Harry Potter)
39. Netflix and Hulu are making it easier than ever to catch up on your nerd. In my day you had to wait for DVD sets to be released and either rent from Blockbuster (yeah that was a thing) or just spend the $29.99 to own it. You’ve got no excuses anymore! LOST, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Heroes, Supernatural, X-Files they can all be yours!)

40. Speaking of The X-Files, you better get started cause new X-Files is coming our way in January. Jump on it and believe!
41. Star Wars Battlefront (if you aren’t a gamer yet, why not let Battlefront pull you in!)
42. Any and all things Disney (they make things other than Star Wars and Marvel movies as well. I know…crazy!)
43. Oh, speaking of Star Wars…there is so much amazing expanded universe literature coming out. (Start reading! Reading is cool! There’s a lot to catch up on!)
44. There are plenty of other awesomely nerdy things coming out before and after and in between all that’s listed above. But I’m trying to think past December 17th, 2015 and I’m finding it very hard to do.

Well…you have a lot of homework to do so you better get started now. See you on the other side where I’ll be waiting with your Nerd membership card*. We will engage in an obligatory lightsaber battle and a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock. It’s what we do!

*Membership card not guaranteed.

30 Days of Nerdy Hair – Day 12

June 12, 2015June 12, 2015 | LizT.

Day 12: Agent Peggy Carter from Captain America: The First Avenger

Now that Marvel’s Agent Carter has gotten a season 2, we will be able to learn even more about Steve Roger’s lady love. Their love story may not have gotten a happy ending, but Peggy never let that sadness define her journey. She went on to be a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D. And another all around bad ass female in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She’s strong and powerful, beautiful and vulnerable. Just like any really great character she has layers!

And her hair is as fantastic as she is!!

Sometimes the best hair for the job, is a woman’s!

It’s That Time Again…

February 18, 2015February 18, 2015 | LizT.

Today is Ash Wednesday. Which mean the beginning of the Lenten season. For the past 2 years, I have given up the hardest thing for me to give up… Television. And I see no reason to stop this year. When I’ve given up TV in the past, I have found myself more focused, more motivated, more productive. Not only in my regular daily life, but in my spiritual life as well (which.. of course.. is the whole point!) Giving up something you love for someone you love is a bit of a no brainer. And that’s what Lent is for me. Giving up TV for the one who gave his life for mine? Ask me for something hard, why don’t ya.

It may not be particularly hard, but it won’t be a cake walk by any means. Especially when TV is so good these days. Here are 10 reasons that I will miss TV for the next 40 days…

#1 – Downton Abbey

Oh Lady Grantham, I will miss you and your snappy one liners!

#2 – Arrow

Umm…I forgot what I was talking about!

#3 – Flash

Check out last Friday’s post (click here) about couples that I am shipping these days. #SnowBarry is definitely in there!

#4 – The Walking Dead

This one is pretty self explanatory! Daryl must live! There is no other option for him!

#5 – Agent Carter

This lady is kicking ass and taking names. She also got picked up for a second season, which is excellent news!!

#6 – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Shield has actually been on hiatus since the winter finale (which was a doozy.) But it is returning on March 3rd, which means I will miss out on the mid-season premier and will have to catch up on it first thing after Easter!!

#7 – Revenge

If I believed in guilty pleasures, then I would definitely consider this one of them.

#8 – The Mindy Project

Week to week this show has been getting more and more adorable. And with the big Mindy/ Danny baby news, it promises to be even more interested in the days to come.

#9 – Hart of Dixie

Oh no… I forgot what I was talking about again!! Wonder why…

#10 – Netflix

Aside from the regularly scheduled program of day to day TV watching, there are the many treasure troves available on Netflix. Re-watching Arrested Development. Starting a new show like House of Cards. Watching movies whenever I want to. All that is going to have to wait till after the celebration of the resurrection of Christ Jesus, Lord and Savior… otherwise knows as Easter, of course!

Until Easter hits, I’m going to be very careful where I look. Spoilers are everywhere.