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A friend recommended the Vampire Diaries, not overly fussed myself. Six eps into the 2nd season, is it worth continuing?

In the middle of season 2 of Once Upon A Time. Really enjoying it so far.

In the middle of Regina's redemption arc. Every time I see a character who has done heinous things like Regina try and make up I always think of Cartman's make it right song LOL.

It kind of sums up how these characters like Angel, Xena, and Regina really could never make up for all the heinous things they have done in the real world, but its a tv show and you like/fancy the actors, actresses so you let them off with it, but it basically is as ridiculous as Cartman.s make it right one.



This is basically Regina now LOL.

Well, Angel's a bit of an iffy one, since given the lore of vampires in the Buffyverse you could quite reasonably argue it wasn't really him that did those things anyway (ditto Spike after season 6).

iank wrote:Well, Angel's a bit of an iffy one, since given the lore of vampires in the Buffyverse you could quite reasonably argue it wasn't really him that did those things anyway (ditto Spike after season 6).

Oh of course he shouldn't be blamed for Angelus' crimes but he did some iffy things with a soul too. Like turning a sailor into a Vampire. Fair enough he had no choice, but he shouldn't have let him go. All the people Sam Lawson killed is on his head. He also left a hotel to be killed by a Demon, okay they had hung him, but they were all corrupted by a Demon (you think he'd understand taht you aren't yourself when a Demon takes you over.) Then there is his murder of Dragoyn, and his trying to smother Wesley with a pillow. I suppose you can understand that last one as Wesley fucked up a good deal.

Still we forgive these characters for all the things they do because we like them LOL.

Just finished the one where Hook shoots Belle.

I liked the beating Rumple gave Hook with his stick. Reminded me of the way William Hartnell used to always beat people up with his cane.

PS I knew I'd heard the term cane fu somewhere before, and it turns out its a real thing.



William Hartnell and Robert Carlyle were trend setters for cane fu.

Almost at the end of season 2 of Once Upon A Time. We are coming up to one of my favourite ever story arcs, the Neverland story arc. Robbie Kay as Peter Pan is one of the best tv villains of all time.

He's such a phenomenal young talent. I don't know why he isn't in more things? In a few years time he would have made a great Doctor or Master. He's a bit too young now of course, but in a few years time he could do the old man in a young man's body really well. Of course I wouldn't want him to be associated with the woke mess that Doctor Who has become. I'm talking about if the SJW and Fitzroy tavern cucks didn't wrap their grubby little mits over the show.

He's an actor I'd cast in anything alongside Ingrid Oliver (of course), Dana Delorenzo, Simon Templeman and Robert Carlyle himself.

Having said that though I think season 2 has overall been a bit weaker than season 1. I haven't liked Regina's story arc at all.

To start with is fucking moronic that she would forgive her mother Cora. Her whole thing against Snow White was because Snow, accidentally let her mother know where her boyfriend Daniel was, and her mother killed him.

So why has she forgiven Cora so easily whilst she wouldn't under any circumstances forgive Snow? Yeah Snow fucked up, but it was an accident and Snow was 10. Cora was the evil bitch that tore her one true loves heart out and crushed it into dust!

Its sadly just made Regina look like a petty bitch who was waiting for an excuse to hate Snow, rather than the sympathetic, 3 dimensional villain she was in the first season.

Rumple's story arc's been good though at least. Abandoning his son for magic really was his lowest point, and I love his feud with Captain Hook this year.

PS does anyone else think that Belle looks a bit like Michelle Gomez? She's literally like a Disney version of her LOL.

Onto season 3 of Once Upon A Time. This is by far and away my absolute favourite season.

I LOVE the Peter Pan story arc. Its every bit as good as I remember. I forgot about the twist of Peter Pan being the Pied Piper.

Such a great way of bringing both of these fairy tales together.

Of course I still have the great twist of Peter Pan being Rumple's father, de-aged to look forward too.



Robbie Kay is such a brilliant actor. You honestly believe that he is Robert Carlyle's dad as stupid as that may sound. I'd say that he, Robert Carlyle, Lana Parilla, and Colin O'Donaghue were the real finds for the show. The cast in general are good, but those 4 are the Paul Darrows, Michael Wishers, Tom Bakers, James Marster' Lucy Lawless' of the show, the actors that just completely throw themselves into the role and make it iconic.

Colin's performance as Hook actually reminds me of James Marsters as Spike in some ways actually. He'd have been not a bad Master either. He has the Ainley, Delgado look and could have been suitably evil and lovable in the role. Certainly better than Gomez or Simm.

Just finished the episode where we found out that Peter Pan is Rumplestiltskin's father.

IMO Once Upon A Time provided us with one of the best interpretations of Peter Pan.

Rumple's father Malcolm is someone who never grew up, but its not in the innocent, sweet way we see with other versions of Peter Pan. He is a lazy, selfish, deadbeat, who resents his son for apparently being a burden to him. When he goes back to Neverland he happily ditches him for eternal youth.



I also loved the way that Peter Pan is such a loser at heart. He seems like such an all powerful, frightening villain at first but you see in life he was just a deadbeat loser who couldn't provide for his son, would rather get pissed down the pub than hold down a job. He's someone who didn't grow up in all the worst ways.

It was a great idea to make Peter Pan a villain. J M Barrie actually originally intended Peter Pan to be a villain, but added Hook at the last minute because it was felt kids would identify with Pan.

Still its great to see Barrie's original vision for Peter Pan finally be realised. Once again its a testament to how great both Robbie Kay and Robert Carlyle are that you buy Robbie of all people as Robert Carlyle's dad.



Of course since it was a Scottish writer who came up with Peter Pan, maybe I should accuse the Once Upon A Time writers of cultural appropriation LOL.

Never quite got into Once Upon A Time, found its storylines went round in circles. But it was another great role for Carlyle, his character was wonderfully complex and he remains one of Britain's finest actors - and he's actually good at accents too!

Just finished the last episode of the Peter Pan story arc.

I'd say that story arc alone elevates Once Upon A Time to at least being a minor classic, and easily one of the best genre series of the 10s.

Robbie Kay was amazing as always as Pan, and I LOVED the final confrontation between Pan and Rumple. Rumple who was always a coward finally overcame his fear and destroyed the true villain of the piece.





Robbie Kay definitely needs to be in more things.

Well onto the Wicked Witch story arc. IMO it wasn't as good. I quite liked the actress who played the Witch from what I can remember. She was a Lucy Lawless style ham, but I didn't like the way they made the Witch sexy. She should be an ugly, monstrous hag. The Wicked Witch in Once Upon A Time however from what I can remember is like one of the green women you'd expect Kirk to shag.

I also didn't like the way her whole thing from what I can remember was to shag Rumplestiltskin. Lame masterplan for what is one of the greatest fantasy villains of all time.

Still maybe it'll be better than I thought.

Mott1 wrote:Never quite got into Once Upon A Time, found its storylines went round in circles. But it was another great role for Carlyle, his character was wonderfully complex and he remains one of Britain's finest actors - and he's actually good at accents too!

You should give it a second chance. Its been a classic series so far and I'm almost done season 3.

The Peter Pan stuff is definitely the best part of it, but I've liked their takes on other characters like Snow White, The Evil Queen (obviously) and the Mad Hatter.

Yes Robert Carlyle is definitely one of the best actors of his generation. He always brings so much gravitas and presence to any role he's in.

Hale & Pale. Had some fun watching them over the weekend.



I've also been watching The Brittas Empire. It's been quality so far.

Maxil wrote:Hale & Pale. Had some fun watching them over the weekend.



I've also been watching The Brittas Empire. It's been quality so far.

Hey man great to see you back. Yeah I liked the Brittas Empire a lot growing up. always used to fancy the crazy receptionist a lot. The Ostrich one was my fave.

The peak of The Brittas Empire in my opinion was the one when the Roman legion reenactment attacked the leisure centre. It was never quite the same when the original actress playing Laura left, but it's still one of the most underrated and unique British sitcoms.

burrunjor wrote:

Maxil wrote:Hale & Pale. Had some fun watching them over the weekend.



I've also been watching The Brittas Empire. It's been quality so far.

Hey man great to see you back. Yeah I liked the Brittas Empire a lot growing up.  always used to fancy the crazy receptionist a lot. The Ostrich one was my fave.

Thanks, buddy. The characters I like the best so far are Carol and Laura. Quite a few beauties in the show. I'm only halfway through series 1 but I've seen enough to consider buying the set on DVD.

Sorry for my absence.

Well into the Wicked Witch's arc.

I have to say I am loving Rebecca Mader's performance. She's really great at being mental!

SPOILERS, Neals death was really sad. I was never a big fan of the character, but Robert Carlyle gave one of his best performances in his death scene.

I must confess that I still don't like the Wicked Witch's motivation however. She wants to try and go back in time to change things so she and Rumple who she is in love with will be together, and so she was never abandoned by her mother.

I don't like in love villains, and to me it just isn't right for the Wicked Witch who should be more of an ugly monster, but that's just my opinion.

I will say though Rumple is a babe magnet!

Just finished the Zelena story arc. I can't say that it was as good as the Pan story arc.

I didn't like the way they wrote the Witch. The Witch is kind of an alternative to the sexy, romantic Witches that we are used to seeing in things like Charmed, and sadly they just made her into that.

Still Rebecca Mader was brilliant. If they do ever remake Xena, she'd be another great choice for the title character. She's hammy and charismatic enough.

I also HATED the way they beat Zelena. FFS does Emma EVER save the day? She's about as much use as the Tenth Doctor in a season finale. She lost her magic for a stupid reason (why did her dad tell her to bring Hook when he is the one person who can take her magic?) Also giving Regina light magic was a fucking ass pull and makes Emma completely useless.

What is the point of Emma now? IMO this is just the writers favouring Regina over Emma. I like Regina too, but its Emma's show and she's fucking useless. Pan got beat by Rumple, which okay I'll accept as a one off, because Pan was his dad, but come one here! She never beats anyone its annoying.

Still I did love the ending where Rumple gets his revenge only because we got to see Robert Carlyle do his bad guy schtick again. (Though from what I remember we haven't seen the last of her.)

He hasn't been given a chance to do his classic villain schtick this year at all. He was a complete hero in the first half of series 3, and then a victim in the second half of series 3, so it was good to see him back in classic Robert Carlyle mode again.



I wonder where Rumple's from? He likes a fish supper, a bevy, he has broken teeth, he fucking gets cunts that piss him off, he knifes people, he's a violent psycho and he lies to his girlfriend about spending the night in prison.

There's a chance he is from Glasgow but I think he's probably from Cambridge.

Finished season 4 of Once Upon A Time. Well I have to say its maintained its quality so far.

I was a little bored of the ice queen story arc at first. It was truly inspired in some places. The Ice Queens death was very touching and sad, and her origin where she accidentally murdered her sister was heart breaking to watch too.

Still I felt it dragged a little bit, and I didn't like Rumple going bad at first. Also Regina was annoying me the way she was so hard on Emma for saving Marian. Robin Hood (her current lovers ex wife). Considering the shit she's done the idea that she would not forgive someone just for saving Marian was annoying.

Still it really picked up in the second half. I LOVED the three evil queens. Ursulla was an interesting character, and I liked the episode about her origin. Ernie Hudson is a brilliant actor who is kind of a bit underused like Tim Curry, so it was nice seeing him again, and I liked the way it all worked out for her in the end.

Cruella De Vill however was the best. She was my favourite villain of the show after Peter Pan.

Its funny I remember thinking it was ridiculous when it was announced Cruella was going to be in it as a main villain. How could they make her as threatening as the evil queen, or Maleficent.

However they gave her a really frightening origin story and the actress playing her was amazing.

I loved the way she wasn't even remotely sympathetic. She was just a total monster. Very rare for a villain in this series.



Her and her story are like something out of a horror movie instead of a Disney movie!

It just goes to show you what good writers can do. The writers of Once Upon A Time actually made Cruella a cartoon character, into a genuinely menacing villain, whilst the likes of Steven Moffat turned the Master from a genuinely threatening villain into a joke.

I also liked Regina and Emma's friendship towards the later part of the year too. Kind of a bit of an Avon/Blake thing going on with the dark one, and the noble one, but the dark one is smarter and often in the right, and gets things done with her dirty deeds.

Looking forward to series 5 to see if its as poor as I remember. I still maintain that the 5th season is sadly often where they go wrong for American cult series.

Buffy season 5, that awful and misjudged Spike/Buffy romance. It wasn't the worst, but it was kind of the beginning of the end as that Spike/Buffy romance ended up dominating everything in s6 and 7. Xena? Season 5 was fucking abysmal.

Then again Angel season 5 was the best so maybe I'm talking out of my arse.

There IS no Buffy/Spike romance in season 5. Spike becomes obsessed with her, but it's entirely one-sided in that season.
Season 5 is one of the absolute best seasons IMO.

iank wrote:There IS no Buffy/Spike romance in season 5. Spike becomes obsessed with her, but it's entirely one-sided in that season.
Season 5 is one of the absolute best seasons IMO.

It began in S5 though. Spike started wanting to shag her and we all knew it would eventually go that way, which it did. Plus at the end of Intervention she gives him a little kiss after he withstands the torture.

S5 has some truly inspired moments and ideas like Glory for instance, one of the best villains they ever had in the show, but it also is where they start to lose the plot a bit.

Riley's story arc is boring and goes nowhere. I'd much rather have had Glory kill him off. Replace Spike with him in Intervention and have Glory torture him to death would have been a brilliant way for him to go out. Keep Spike as the self server who works with them because he is scared Glory is going to destroy the multiverse (which is obviously bad news for him) and series 5 could have been the best along with s2.

Ultimately however the Riley sub plot dragged it down, Spike became not just a sap, but a totally different character. We'd already had enough romantic Vampires who go good because of the power of LOOOOOOOOVEEEEE not just in Buffy, but in general. A self serving Vampire who saves the world because he likes it would have been more original and interesting (and Supernatural later did it really well with Crowley.)

Sadly they went down a lazy, unoriginal route and it took up too much of the show too.

Also Dawn was a pointless character as well. To be fair she was better in S5, but even then they didn't know what to do with her at all in the later years. In S6 she just whines "get out, Get Out, GET OUT!" and in S7 she might as well not be there.

Whilst S5 was unquestionably better than S6 and 7, the seeds of what made those seasons lesser were kind of sown in S5, with the Spuffy sub plot, Dawn, the move into more soap opera territory etc.

Of course don't get me wrong I'm not saying that S6 and 7 are terrible. I'd rate neither in worst seasons overall of my favourite shows. They just aren't as good as the first 5.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1988)

Haven't seen it since my primary school days. It's been really enjoyable so far!

Started season 5. So far so good, though from what I remember it was the Hades story arc that was shit.

I LOVE the actress playing Merida. Amy Manson. I reckon her and Karen Gillan fucking HATE each other. They both must go after the same roles all the time, the firey, sexy flame haired Scottish babe.



I wonder who would win in a fight between Amy and Karen LOL.

Zelena is just as crazy as ever meanwhile. I may not have liked the Witch being a babe, but Rebecca Mader is just so much fun. She does remind me of Lucy Lawless when she's mad the way she's so extreme and over the top.

As much fun as season 4 Spike was, they couldn't keep him like that. You can see even by the close of that season that they're having trouble working him into episodes because, while they've nullified him as a threat, he still hates everybody and has no reason to become involved with them. Him showing up to make a snarky comment in one scene and then occasionally betraying them or trying to get the chip out of his head would have got old real, real soon. I really have no issue with what they did with him. The only time I have a problem with the Buffy/Spike stuff in in season 6, and even that's explicitly shown to be her going off the rails/self-destructing. In season 7 she just feels responsible for him as he got his soul back in a misguided effort to win her, and wants to make sure this new Spike ends up going the right way. She never really recipricates his feelings, and I'm fine with that.

I never had a problem with Dawn. I agree Riley is dull in season 5, but he doesn't last long anyway. The problem with him is that once the Initiative storyline was done, he just wasn't terribly interesting.

Is it me, Ian, or is Dawn actually pretty likeable in s7 of Buffy? Riley seemed to work in favour of Buffy and Spike's development as much as anything, but Marc Blucas acted well when required. S7 was all about redemption after everyone screwed up so badly in s6 so whilst Spike seems to have a bit too much material - and seemingly different personality from episode to episode - it works in the end, and Marsters nails pretty much every scene he's in. He did the same in Torchwood, a shame he didn't stay for Children Of Earth.

Yeah, Dawn was actually very nice in season 7. The only time I found her mildly annoying was season 6, but then everyone was being a prat in season 6!