TV this week: Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives: "Neighborhood Joints" (some of these folks have really long weeks), Robin Hood: "A Good Day to Die" (wow, intense talking scenes, and the most that Little John has ever said), Robin Hood: "We Are Robin Hood!" (I really really didn't expect the ending, and I'm glad I managed to avoid spoilers about it), Ghost Hunters: "Ghostly Bounty Hunter" (nothing in this one but good tales that turned out to be false, and a bat), Destination Truth: "Flying Dinosaur; Sloth Monster" (way more bats than Ghost Hunters had), I also saw ads for Sarah Jane Adventures during both Ghost Hunters and Destination Truth, Supernanny: "Addis Family" (dinnertime problems brought back really bad memories for me), Ace of Cakes: "Duff's Birthday" (meatball cake for the goofball), Torchwood: "Exit Wounds" (whoa. intense. too bad I had one of the major plot points spoiled), and Doctor Who: "Partners in Crime" (I prefer my weight loss program).
Comics this week: Countdown 4 shows me that I clearly missed out on a lot of Mary Marvel storyline, since I haven't got a clue what the deal is with Darkseid. Detective #843 is as good as all the rest of Dini's issues, but there's a bit of continuity I'm not familiar with in this issue that made it a strange read. I also read Action #863, which was a suitable finish to the Legion tale. I found the two-page house ad for Final Crisis at the end of the book to be strange and slightly disappointing.
Justice League Unlimited #44 was a little depressing in the way it humanized another villain, something this series has done before. It's a shame this series is ending. It's probably the best Justice League series ever. I'm not sure what to make of Jonah Hex #30. It was a story told from the wrong angle. I think I liked it. And lastly for this week, PS238 #30 was excellent as usual! The Las Vegas saga gets nicely wrapped up and Tyler starts a new adventure. I love this book.
I also got Holmes from AiT/Planet Lar as a review copy. I think the description on the website says all that really needs to be said, "Omaha Perez' vicious skewering of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic..." I will confess that I've never been a big fan of Sherlock Holmes. In fact, I consider him an unsufferable twit. I adored a Doctor Who novel (All-Consuming Fire) that took Holmes into a fantastical setting in which Watson could cope but Holmes could not. This graphic novel goes quite a bit further, making both Watson and Holmes out to be insane drug-addicts. It's very strange, very raunchy, and a bit over the top in places. I can't really recommend it to most folks, but if you dislike Holmes already or like re-imaginings of classic characters, this is one you should check out.
While on the trip to Portland last week, we listened to Doctor Who: Spare Parts from Big Finish productions. This was an intense audio story about the origin of the Cybermen. The story is about the need to survive and the lengths to which people will go simply to continue existing. The story is chilling from start to finish in more than one way. I've listened to a few of the Big Finish audios, and I think this is one of the best.
This week's library movie was Surf's Up. As I somehow collect penguins (or do they collect me?) I tend to like the idea of another penguin movie. The style is very clever, as a documentary about Cody, a penguin surfer wannabe. The story is a bit like Karate Kid with surfing. I would not have enjoyed this movie if it were just a standard surfer movie: the penguins pretty much made it watchable. I really liked the Pen Gu-ins that Chicken Joe befriends. It's a fun little romp.
My library book this week was Dragon Harper by Todd and Anne McCaffrey. I have been a fan of Pern since I was a pre-teen. I've read all the Pern books I could lay hands on, and loved them dearly. Well, most of them. The collaborations between Todd and his mother on Pern have been... not quite a strong. The writing is less finished, like it needs about three more drafts. The action sometimes just jumps, leaving out key moments or transitions. I actually found typos in this one, which doesn't generally happen to me. While I'm certainly interested in this history of Pern, I don't find it nearly as satisfying as the original Pern novels. I'll keep reading these, but Pern is no longer on my "must buy in hardcover!" list.
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