It is almost the middle of winter, so it is time for me to
update my blog – I have not done this for a long while now.
What was going on in my life? Due to some political
turbulence, a new construction site has been started and abandoned halfway between
my apartment building and a local park, so there was a sudden influx of birds
in my neighborhood – nuthatches, woodpeckers, even a juvenile hawk (I think).
This was very exciting for me, though not for the local grey squirrels, which
have to deal now both with these newcomers and with some new squirrels, mainly
red, so the fights between these rodents are more common now.
P: NW, meanwhile, is still on hiatus (it will be returning next
week, though, if nothing goes wrong), though watching the marathon back in
December on Space was fun, as contrasted to Spike.
Now, Spike is the channel that once hosted shows such as “1000
ways to die”, “CSI”, “Tattoo Artist”, and of course “Deadliest Warrior”. Sadly,
most of them (such DW, 1000 and “CSI”) have ended one way or another, a fact
that does not stop Spike from showing them over and over again. I am not sure
if this TV channel has some issues with Rogers’ cable company, but there is
little new material, other than the “Joe Schmo show” and the upcoming Bellator
MMA special. Clearly, Spike has problems securing new material lately, which
makes me wonder for how much longer it will last.
As for DW and its own issues, well... I like harping on
them, and that is not quite fair. For example, take the S3 episode “Indian Ghurkhas
vs. French Foreign Legion”. In the original run, it had been released as a
double feature with the last episode, “Vampires vs. Zombies”, and was overshadowed
by it as well. Now that I could see this on its own, I was more impressed. The
weapon testing was fair, the team members’ performance was above average, and
the weapons provided were clearly in a good (to put it lightly) condition.
That said, the previous seasons and their episodes, (like “Jesse
James vs. Al Capone” ep), did not have such expensive props as the S3 did, and
they were still OK. This makes me wonder that DW may have gone bankrupt because
of the financial overdraft, as well as the issues with Richard Daly (who was
not a Green Beret after all), and the pro-American bias, as evident in American-related
S3 episodes, especially the “US Army Rangers vs. NKSOF” episode, Winning the
match by 0.5% is a sort of a hair-splitting approach that is not well liked by
most audiences.
Still, “Indian Ghurkhas vs. French Foreign Legion” did not
have such issues, and as such, I can appreciate it as a good episode in a show
that had gone slightly downhill before it died – but it does not explain why
all that the Spike is showing are marathons of shows from the past...
The second marathon I watched was on Discovery – that of the
“River Monsters” series. Unlike DW, this show has gone for 4 seasons in a row,
and a number of specials, so I honestly think that it will go on in the future
for at least one or two more seasons.
As far as nature shows goes, RM focuses on Jeremy Wade, the
master angler, who goes around the world (mostly to the tropics of Asia, Africa
and South America) seeking various monstrous fish of those waters. In the
episode “The Mutilator” he went to Papua New Guinea to expose the detrimental
effect of the red-bellied pacu (the omnivorous relative of the piranhas) on the
local environment. In the episode “Pack of Teeth”, he went to South Africa to
prove that the African tigerfish (another relative of the piranhas) were
dangerous pack hunters even to humans, let alone to the other fish. And in the
episode “Chainsaw Predator” he went to Australia to try to capture the local freshwater
sawfish and to see if it was truly dangerous to humans.
In other words, RM is more than just about fishing; it also
often addresses various scientific and environmental issues that are connected
with fishing, of course, but also to the greater picture of the human encroachment
on the environment, you know? Plus, JW tends not to kill its prey, unlike the
characters in such shows as “Swamp People”. I do not have anything against “Swamp
People”, I just like RM better.
That said, RM did have
its share of problem episodes. “Asian Slayer” was downright frustrating, as JW
went out and caught nothing, overwhelming his audience with various background
animals and native customs instead. “Cold Blooded Horror” had JW mistakenly equalize
the giant Japanese salamander with the local water spirit, the kappa, even
though kappa’s depictions usually show it as a terrapin-monkey hybrid instead.
(It doesn’t even have a remotely salamander-like feature, like an oar-like
tail, so WTF?)
Finally, the month of January 2013 showed the premiere of S3
of “Lost Girl”. Basically, it is about a succubus who has discovered her true
people (other Fae) in the beginning of S1 and has been struggling to fit-in
there ever since. Like so many Showcase shows, “Lost Girl” has a strong mystery
genre element as well as a strong element of a gothic romance, as Bo (the succubus)
is trying to figure out her relationships with Dr. Lauren (a human) and
detective Dyson (a werewolf). When “Lost Girl” does not go over the top with
the romance, it is quite fun to watch; when it does, then it’s a soap opera where
some of its members tend to sprout new body parts or whatever when they get
emotional. For now “Lost Girl” manages to keep the soap under control, so I am
enjoying it quite a bit.
(Speaking of soap operas, the squirrels outside are
beginning to settle down somewhat – maybe they can learn to get along, unlike,
say, Bo and Tamsin, LG’s latest new cast member. But I would not bet on it.)
Conclusion: Spike is having problems, DW had issues but now
it became an enjoyable blast from the past, RM still is a fun show, and “Lost
Girl” too is fun to watch. Oh, and P: NW is coming back on January 22, 2013,
apparently, so life is getting better in the TV land.
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