I watched an outstanding documentary last week called “Playing God”, which was a BBC broadcast hosted by Adam Rutherford. The main purpose of the documentary was to discuss the concept of synthetic biology. I won’t discuss it to a great extent but it is essentially “playing God” by manipulating genes and creating new biological creations in labs (or even on the street).
The process isn’t overly complicated either - these “building block” type cells are used to manipulate the genome of other cell structures and create new life capable of doing things they shouldn’t. The documentary opens up with immediately addressing this fact by bringing up “spider-goats” which have been genetically engineered to produce strong webbing within their milk - absolutely bizarre.
The documentary was absolutely fascinating and was really eye opening. It’s incredible to see the type of things scientists are working on and what the future has to offer.
You can find the entire film available on YouTube here.
Meg and I finished Season 1 of American Horror Story this past week. I’ve written about how much I enjoyed the first couple episodes of American Horror Story, and found myself growing a bit tired of the formula. Each episode tends to have the same beats of action, and after realizing what these are, you can predict how the episode is going to unravel.
I have to admit that the last two episodes of the season were very enjoyable though. There were some decent plot twists, but if the finale is any indication of what awaits viewers in season two - I might be tuning out.
Either way, it was still a pretty decent show. Dark enough to hold interest, and mysterious enough to keep you entertained and guessing. If you haven’t seen it yet - definitely check out the first episode: you’ll most likely be intrigued enough to continue.
There is something wonderful about the Starz original series Party Down. The show revolves around a catering company called Party Down in charge of various events in the Los Angeles area. The show features an array of outstanding improv actors and actresses who play their roles perfectly. Each episode is a new party, or catered event in which all hell usually breaks loose.
I really enjoyed the series, and thought that it was a great show featuring a great cast (Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Ken Marino, Martin Starr, Jane Lynch, etc). Ken Marino as Ron Donald is honestly one of the best sitcom roles I’ve ever seen, so if for nothing else you need to look that up. If you haven’t checked it out yet, or ever heard of it - now would be a great time to catch up. Unfortunately after only two seasons the show was cancelled and plans to make a film are in the works. There are only 20 episodes in total so it’s really easy to just devour the show.
Here are a couple clips for you to check out:
Casey meets Henry
Ron Donald Dos and Don’ts
PC Police
Ron caught in a compromising situation
Buy it on Amazon.ca:
Party Down: Season 1
Party Down: Season 2
I went into the British show Misfits completely blind. It has come recommended by a lot of people, and I knew it was something I needed to watch but didn’t realize how awesome it was actually going to be.
The show is centered around five convicted teenagers who have been sentenced to perform community service together, until a mysterious storm hits, giving each of the teens super powers. It’s very similar to the television show Heroes without all the melodrama and complex ideas that ended up tearing viewers away. The acting in the show isn’t outstanding by any means, but the stories and characters really give the show an ensemble feel, each character just as important to the story as the last.
Unfortunately after the second season, one of the main characters decided to leave the show. The third season is only four episodes in right now and I’m unsure what has happened to the chemistry and magic that the first two season had to offer. I’m unsure if I’m going to continue on with the show, it seems that the writing and overall tone of the series has changed drastically in the break between the two seasons, and I think I might abandon it.
If you enjoyed the first season of Heroes, or enjoy any “supernatural” television shows, I highly recommend checking this out. It’s a lot of fun (for the first two seasons at least).
Meg and I watched a lot of “spooky” things this past Hallowe’en. Trying to get into the spirit of things, Meg suggested we try out the new FX show American Horror Story. I was hearing good things about it as well so we tried out the first episode and instantly fell in love with it.
The general storyline revolves around a family who has just moved into a haunted house. The show follows some of the “spirits” in the house and the impact these hauntings are having on the family. The show has been described as being somewhat “Lynchian” in nature - drawing a lot of similarities of David Lynch’s works, especially Twin Peaks. It is bizarre and absolutely shocking at times, but it is a great show.
The “horror” aspect kicks off really quickly in the first episode, and even the introductory title sequence is unsettling and jarring. After the first episode you start to figure out the beats of the story and begin to predict oncoming scares, so the terror wears off slightly - but the show is definitely a new favourite. It’s very obviously from the mind of Ryan Murphy though, so it does feel a little bit like Nip/Tuck only with a harder edge and less complication.
I definitely recommend checking this out. Watch the pilot episode and see how you feel. If nothing else, the pilot acts as a great standalone horror story.
That didn’t take long! Finished season two of Community this week, and I have to admit that it was even better than the first season. I had no doubt that it would be as good as the first season, and I wasn’t disappointed. There’s something really unique about Community. Each episode feels different; an homage to Pulp Fiction, a horror episode based around a zombie virus, another paintball epic two-parter styled as a Western/Star Wars plotline? It’s a great show and more people need to check it out. Even though each episode can be its own entity, there is still a consistency that runs throughout the episodes and ties them all into one another.
I have to admit it’s also been quite a while since I enjoyed an ensemble cast like this. I feel like each character is able to move the plot forward regardless of being assigned a general character archetype. I have to admit that Dean Pelton and Abed are definitely my favourite characters - but I absolutely love to hate a lot of the other ones.
If my cramming two seasons of one television show into three weeks isn’t enough of a signal to watch this show, I don’t know what is. WATCH THIS.
Buy on Amazon.ca:
Community: Season 2
- DVD
Remember when I announced that That 70’s Show was coming to Blu-ray? Well turns out the transfers aren’t overly shabby. Here are a couple image examples from the ABC Family HD broadcasts of the show, just to show the negatives Mill Creek will be working with.
More information here.
It took me a couple years but I finally watched the first season of Community. I taped the premiere when it first aired and absolutely despised the first episode. I thought it was cheesy sitcom humour that wasn’t overly well written and with forced character development. I couldn’t stomach it and I put it on the back burner. A couple weeks later everyone was buzzing about how hilarious it was and all I could do was think back to that atrocious first episode and think “That show??”
People kept telling me to stick it out past the first couple episodes, that it got better - so this past month Meg and I watched the entire first season and thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure, the first three or four episodes are severely forced, but once everyone gets into the swing of things - the show becomes something that I really enjoy watching now.
If anyone else has experienced the same emotions I have after seeing the first episode, all I can do is echo the same advice of my friends - tough it out. It’ll get better. For those who told me to watch it - thank you. You were right. It’s clever, well-written and I look forward to finally watching season two.
Buy it on Amazon.ca:
Community: Season 1
DVD
Community: Season 2 DVD
Meg and I recently picked up the first two re-released seasons of 3rd Rock from the Sun. We had been meaning to pick up the old releases but somehow never managed to. Then I found out that the original DVD sets contained the syndicated broadcasts of the episodes. Those were the cut episodes that you usually see on TV, where a couple minutes of the episode, specific jokes or scenes would be cut out entirely to cram it into a timeslot.
I’m glad we waited because Mill Creek has re-released the “uncut” episodes and packed the series sets with lots of special features. It’s great getting back into the show; it’s significantly funnier than I remember. Now I just have to look forward to the re-release of the other four seasons!
(Source: tvshowsondvd.com)
