Book 12 (of 52) – The Deathless

The Deathless – Keith R. A. DeCandido

It’s class ring time for the seniors at Sunnydale High, which means that something bad must be about to happen.  In this case, it is an attempt to resurrect Koschei the Deathless while dealing with two figures from Russian folklore.

I first came across Keith DeCandido many years ago on a Spider-Man mailing list when he was an editor working on Marvel’s prose work.  Over the years, I have read a few of his own works, all of which have dealt with licensed characters, and he does a good job of conveying the feelings of the setting the reader is used to from the original work, be it comics or television.  Here, he manages to place his story after the events of the third season episode The Zeppo, with the characters wearing the bandages and the bruises that came out of that adventure.

 

Post Mortem – Ringer

8 years after the end of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar returned to TV with Ringer, and expectations were that she would help bring ratings respectability to the network that was formed by the merging of her previous two television homes.  Sadly for all involved, that was not the case.

Ringer was originally slated for CBS, but the network pushed it off on its corporate sibling when it became clear that the tone of the show was not a good fit for the Tiffany network.  The show had Gellar playing two roles, twins who, outside of the pilot, never appeared on screen together.

Unfortunately, the show was never able to settle on a direction.  Plots meandered and were dropped and picked up on a whim.  One was even stolen straight out of Wild Things, with much less success.  At the end of the day (or season), it was all a jumbled mess, and the good folks at the CW decided to pull the plug.  Likely helping the decision was Gellar’s announcement that she is expecting her second child, since the pregnancy plot was one of the many stories used up in season one.

Hopefully Gellar takes another stab at television in the future and that the creative process works out much better for her, and for the viewer.

Goodbye, iPhone 3G – Music Edition

As I wait for tomorrow’s delivery of my new iPhone 4S, it is time to say goodbye to the 3G that has been my trusty companion for nearly the past 3 1/2 years.  We’ve traveled the world together (well, at least Canada and the UK) and have listened to a lot of music.  Here is every song (all 1597 of them) I’ve listened to on the phone, with some (ok, very little) bonus commentary!

He’s a Pirate Klaus Badelt Pirates of the Caribbean (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) 100
Gordon Beckham Intro 91
Let’s Go-Go-Go White Sox Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers 87
Thunderstruck AC/DC The Razors Edge 84
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Steam Billboard’s Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits: 1969 83
sox05_montage 75
We Are The Champions Queen Queen: Greatest Hits I & II 73
Boom P.O.D. Satellite 70
Don’t Stop Believin’ Journey Journey’s Greatest Hits 69
2008 White Sox Central Division Champs Montage Chris Tannehill WSCR 670 The Score 65

No surprise that the top 10 are all part of (or were part of) my White Sox victory playlist.  This gets played on the way home from every White Sox winner, plus the occassional ride to a game.  Continue reading →

2011 New Fall Season – Tuesdays

CBS

Unforgettable – This may end up being utterly forgettable, but I’m going to give it a shot.  The main hook, that Poppy Montgomery’s character has total recall of her memories, was played off in the pilot where she was witness to a crime.  As she re-joins the police force, it may be interesting to see how they use this ability without her being personally involved in every case.

NBC

Parenthood – Nothing really new to say here.  It is what it is.  Never great, but usually good enough.

Continue reading →

Monday Night Commute

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, and a late afternoon chat about listening to music on the drive home has put me in the mood to do another.

Why Do You Love Me Garbage Absolute Garbage 6/13/2011 5:30 PM
Free Fallin’ Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Greatest Hits 6/13/2011 5:34 PM
Coda The Cast Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer Once More, With Feeling 6/13/2011 5:35 PM
The Humpty Dance Digital Underground Millennium Hip-Hop Party 6/13/2011 5:39 PM
Walk This Way Run-D.M.C. Millennium Hip-Hop Party 6/13/2011 5:43 PM
Cradle of Love Billy Idol Billy Idol: Greatest Hits 6/13/2011 5:48 PM
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da The Beatles The Beatles (White Album) [Disc 1] [2009 Stereo Remaster] 6/13/2011 5:51 PM
Happy Together The Turtles AM Gold: 1967 6/13/2011 5:54 PM
Our Lips Are Sealed The Go-Go’s Romy And Michele’s High School Reunion 6/13/2011 5:56 PM
Start Me Up The Rolling Stones Forty Licks (Disc 2) 6/13/2011 6:00 PM
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band [2009 Stereo Remaster] 6/13/2011 6:02 PM
Smells Like Teen Spirit Nirvana Nevermind 6/13/2011 6:07 PM
Bang Gorky Park Gorky Park 6/13/2011 6:12 PM
Can’t Stop Fallin’ Into Love Cheap Trick The Greatest Hits 6/13/2011 6:16 PM
I’ll Be Your Shelter Taylor Dayne Greatest Hits 6/13/2011 6:20 PM
Pretty Penny Stone Temple Pilots Purple 6/13/2011 6:24 PM
C’mon And Get My Love Cathy Dennis featuring D-Mob Move to This 6/13/2011 6:28 PM
Do The Stanley Mexican Cheerleader Kings And Kings’ Hoots 6/13/2011 6:33 PM
In The Still Of The Night (I’ll Remember) Boyz II Men Boyz II Men: Legacy – The Greatest Hits Collection 6/13/2011 6:35 PM
Fuck And Run Liz Phair Exile in Guyville 6/13/2011 6:39 PM
Ready To Go (U.S. Mix) Republica Republica 6/13/2011 6:44 PM
Eight Days A Week The Beatles Beatles For Sale [2009 Stereo Remaster] 6/13/2011 6:46 PM
Something The Beatles Abbey Road [2009 Stereo Remaster] 6/13/2011 6:49 PM

Book 5 (of 52) – Spark And Burn

Spark And Burn - Diana G. Gallagher

The story of Spike, ranging from his time as William the Bloody, through his travels through Europe with Drusilla, Angelus, and Darla, his brief time as a Nazi experiment during WWII, and his experiences with the slayer in Sunnydale.  Most of the book is mere background on scenes from the television series, filling in the spaces while the camera was trained on other characters.  Nothing original, but it was good to revisit the Scooby Gang after all this time.

C Band Shuffle

Standing The Cast Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer Once More, With Feeling 12/14/2010 5:54 PM
Best Of You Foo Fighters Skin And Bones 12/14/2010 5:59 PM
Ms. Jackson OutKast Stankonia 12/14/2010 6:03 PM
Dancing Days Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy 12/14/2010 6:07 PM
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Steam Billboard’s Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits: 1969 12/14/2010 6:11 PM
California Dreamin’ The Mamas & The Papas California Dreamin’ 12/14/2010 6:14 PM
Continue reading →