In this episode, JW goes to Mongolia to catch one of the rarer fishes of the Northern Hemisphere: the taimen. A cousin to salmon and trout, this is an alpha predator of the Mongolian rivers, where calm flows get interrupted by the rapids at any minute. And?
And it was a very good episode. Firstly, because it was centered on the action - on the fishing. The infamous "Asian Slayer" episode, for example, was focused mainly on the local tradition of the native ethnos, with the actual fishing shown in very small amounts, rather inappropriate for a fishing-based show. But to each his or her own, one supposes. In contrast, the "Mongolian Mauler" episode (yeah, it was probably named so for the M-M alliteration) had relatively little ethnic flavor, mostly the usual witch doctor (here shaman) blessing JW for luck, and that was all. (Seriously, JW gets blessed with fishing luck so often that one honestly wonders just what is his faith?)
The animals played a big role too. The various fish that JW caught were very impressive (if a bit on a smaller side of JW's catches), and the Siberian pit viper was even more so: North American audiences may know about the various American rattlesnakes (about the Canadian - less so), but the fact that some live in the Old World is usually a surprise to them. (The pit viper in the ep wasn't a rattlesnake, but the Mongolian counterpart of the water moccasin instead.)
Finally, there was the reference to Mongolian ninja - apparently, unlike their Japanese namesakes, those are illegal gold prospectors (rather like those from America's Old West) rather than assassins for hire, even if they kill people too. If Mr. Kishimoto was making Naruto a Mongolian, rather than a Japanese-based cartoon, then Naruto would be more like a western, it seems. Ah well, Naruto-canon is still cool (and if Madara had a mustache, he'd still find an insane way of conquering the world).
So... an impressive fish character of the ep., other featured wildlife is also interesting, and the ethnic factor was just right. If it wasn't for the pointless (in my opinion) references to Genghis Khan that cropped up in the episode, "Mongolian Mauler" would've been great. As it is, it was still one of the best episodes of this show's S4 so far.
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Monday, 25 June 2012
Romance - A:TLA vs. LoK
One of the differences between A: TLA and LoK is, of course,
the romance factor, active vs. passive. Here are my thoughts as to how that
came to be.
One of the strengths of the A: TLA series was the relative
passiveness of the romance. Sure, team Bryke (let us call them that, shall we?)
claimed to be Kataang shippers, but there was certainly plenty of Zutara
materials to work with too (especially if you were willing to begin with). The
Crystal Catacombs incident, for example, or the final showdown of ‘team Zutara’
with Azula. Team Bryke had really sent some conflicting messages on this one,
didn’t they?
Someone else apparently thought so too, when then came “The
Promise” comic series, where Maiko and Kataang could not have become more
obvious, especially by the old A: TLA standards. Not sure why team Bryke could
not have used this approach in the original series, but they did not, and
frankly, I am glad. “The Promise” was simply insane, especially Zuko asking
Ozai for advice. Seriously. WTF? Ozai. He was the man who had scarred and
exiled you in the first place, Zuko, remember? Do you really expect him to
provide anything helpful or sane to you, Zuko? “Son, you have an Avatar
problem? Take great-grandfather Sozin’s favorite kanabo (a samurai version of a
club) and hit the Avatar until he reincarnates into someone more useful.” That
is the advice you wanted to hear, Zuko? Again, WTF?
But such issues aside it is the blatant and obvious coupling
of “The Promise” that we are interested in. LoK appears to have followed “The
Promise’s” cue and is very obvious in its’ ‘ships, especially team Makorra.
Someone has even suggested that it is team Bryke’s official parody of Zutara,
but I seriously doubt that. For all of their posturing team Bryke probably wasn’t
in any rush to alienate its’ fans with A: TLA, and besides, if they want to be
pissed at someone, try Mr. Shamalyan’s movie – now that was shoddy work; so
shoddy, that there aren’t even any rumors of a sequel!
Back to LoK. I doubt that team Bryke actually want to piss
off their fans...not to mention that some of them may be obtuse enough not to
recognize the parody unless it is told to their faces directly, so – no go. What
is left?
That overly obvious approach that already appeared in “The
Promise”. I do not know why team Bryke shifted from covert to overt approach to
the romance, but shift they did... to the detriment of LoK. It is just is not
as good as A: TLA was, period. But... it is just the first season...maybe the next
ones will be better...
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
River Monsters - Invisible Executioner
As far as I am concerned, the success of each individual episode of RM depends on several factors, but the most important, or basic, or central one is the fish. In this episode, the "Invisible Episode", the fish that JW is after is yet another catfish - the vundu catfish, one of the biggest catfishes in southern Africa. JW loves catching catfishes, and overall RM is a good show, but this episode was not. What went wrong?
The catfish. I am not against JW catching catfishes - after all, with him it's not just the fish, but it's also the fishing technique and the promise, and here the promise failed. Unlike the "Asian Slayer" episode, where he failed to catch the mahseer (even though he had caught it once, when he was fishing for the goonch in "Killer Catfish"), here JW did catch the Vundu, but it was far smaller than what the audience may've expected it to look like.
Is that important? Tricky to say. Unlike the "Asian Slayer" episode JW did not go overboard with the local culture, and of course the native wildlife - Nile crocodile, hippopotamus, tigerfish, etc. - were present as well: both factors that make "Invisible Executioner" different from the other episode. But because the final catfish - the Vundu catfish - was far less impressive than how JW made it sound, this episode isn't as good as it might've been. The Vundu simply doesn't look like any executioner - just like a regular catfish that may be able to swallow a child - but it also may not; in fact it looks like it does not. Any arguments? I would be happy to argue!
The catfish. I am not against JW catching catfishes - after all, with him it's not just the fish, but it's also the fishing technique and the promise, and here the promise failed. Unlike the "Asian Slayer" episode, where he failed to catch the mahseer (even though he had caught it once, when he was fishing for the goonch in "Killer Catfish"), here JW did catch the Vundu, but it was far smaller than what the audience may've expected it to look like.
Is that important? Tricky to say. Unlike the "Asian Slayer" episode JW did not go overboard with the local culture, and of course the native wildlife - Nile crocodile, hippopotamus, tigerfish, etc. - were present as well: both factors that make "Invisible Executioner" different from the other episode. But because the final catfish - the Vundu catfish - was far less impressive than how JW made it sound, this episode isn't as good as it might've been. The Vundu simply doesn't look like any executioner - just like a regular catfish that may be able to swallow a child - but it also may not; in fact it looks like it does not. Any arguments? I would be happy to argue!
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
River Monsters - Asian Slayer
This episode of RM was, well, controversial - at the very least. On one hand, it had plenty of excitement - foreign customs, river monsters, and even a surprise twist in the end, when the fish actually got away, but it felt rather unsatisfying, though not because it was too "empty", but because it was too "rich".
More precisely, there are episodes, set in Europe, or even Russia, where the wildlife and the ethnic flavor play minimal role in the episode. Here, however, the bulk of the episode was taken over by the ethnic - Hindu - flavor and the fishing itself played a decisively second-hand role. I don't like that, sorry, and so I disapprove.
On the other hand, once he came to Thailand and its specialized lake, where he caught the arapaima, the red-tailed catfish, the Mekong giant catfish and so on, the fishing itself became over-the-top - just like the ethnic issues were in the first half of the episode. And JW's theatrics did not help it any either: i.e. - the mahseer is an obsession of his? Dude, if that is the case, go and see a therapist, take a break, don't shoot this episode! You're not a commercial angler that gets paid by the hour, are you? Because if you are, all of those spiritual issues you're talking about are lies...
In any case, "Asian Slayer" is one of my least favorite episodes of RM up to date - over the top and almost hypocritical. If anyone has a different opinion, please, let him or her share it with me.
More precisely, there are episodes, set in Europe, or even Russia, where the wildlife and the ethnic flavor play minimal role in the episode. Here, however, the bulk of the episode was taken over by the ethnic - Hindu - flavor and the fishing itself played a decisively second-hand role. I don't like that, sorry, and so I disapprove.
On the other hand, once he came to Thailand and its specialized lake, where he caught the arapaima, the red-tailed catfish, the Mekong giant catfish and so on, the fishing itself became over-the-top - just like the ethnic issues were in the first half of the episode. And JW's theatrics did not help it any either: i.e. - the mahseer is an obsession of his? Dude, if that is the case, go and see a therapist, take a break, don't shoot this episode! You're not a commercial angler that gets paid by the hour, are you? Because if you are, all of those spiritual issues you're talking about are lies...
In any case, "Asian Slayer" is one of my least favorite episodes of RM up to date - over the top and almost hypocritical. If anyone has a different opinion, please, let him or her share it with me.
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
River Monsters - Pack of Teeth
Honestly, I confess: this is my favorite episode of RM S4 up to date, for several reasons.
First of all, this is an episode set in Africa. I like Africa; make no mistake, I like nature in general, but Africa so far is the best for some reason I cannot put my finger on. Maybe it's because JW in his show depicts it so colorfully: the animals, the native people and their culture, and, of course, the fish. The witch doctor's performance in this episode was amazing and certainly interesting - I have enjoyed watching it a lot.
I also felt great regret to the victims of the Nile crocodile's attack: the second-biggest crocodile in the modern world, the armored king of Africa's swamps and rivers isn't very impressed by the latest alpha species on land and feeds on humans as if they were any other sort of prey - a far call from the highly urbanized city life of Canada and States...
Of course, the Nile crocodile was just one of the species featured in this RW episode - from the small tilapia to the elegant egret to the massive hippopotamus were shown very vividly and vivaciously - very much alive. This is a clear contrast to Russian landscape that appears to be devoid of any life other than people - and people are dying out as well...
The fish themselves number two, not counting the incidental tilapia: the catfish and the African tigerfish. The catfish... is the catfish: there are more RM episodes that do feature a catfish of some species than vice versa. You just go to accept it.
The tigerfish, however, were something else: powerful and wicked-looking they're worthy cousins to the goliath tigerfish that appeared in the previous seasons. Unlike the goliath, this species hunts in packs, apparently, and it is just as deadly as the South American piranhas, only more so, since even this species of tigerfish is larger than the piranhas are.
In any case, I certainly enjoyed viewing this episode, and I hope that the following episodes of RM will be just as good as this one.
First of all, this is an episode set in Africa. I like Africa; make no mistake, I like nature in general, but Africa so far is the best for some reason I cannot put my finger on. Maybe it's because JW in his show depicts it so colorfully: the animals, the native people and their culture, and, of course, the fish. The witch doctor's performance in this episode was amazing and certainly interesting - I have enjoyed watching it a lot.
I also felt great regret to the victims of the Nile crocodile's attack: the second-biggest crocodile in the modern world, the armored king of Africa's swamps and rivers isn't very impressed by the latest alpha species on land and feeds on humans as if they were any other sort of prey - a far call from the highly urbanized city life of Canada and States...
Of course, the Nile crocodile was just one of the species featured in this RW episode - from the small tilapia to the elegant egret to the massive hippopotamus were shown very vividly and vivaciously - very much alive. This is a clear contrast to Russian landscape that appears to be devoid of any life other than people - and people are dying out as well...
The fish themselves number two, not counting the incidental tilapia: the catfish and the African tigerfish. The catfish... is the catfish: there are more RM episodes that do feature a catfish of some species than vice versa. You just go to accept it.
The tigerfish, however, were something else: powerful and wicked-looking they're worthy cousins to the goliath tigerfish that appeared in the previous seasons. Unlike the goliath, this species hunts in packs, apparently, and it is just as deadly as the South American piranhas, only more so, since even this species of tigerfish is larger than the piranhas are.
In any case, I certainly enjoyed viewing this episode, and I hope that the following episodes of RM will be just as good as this one.
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
River Monsters - Russian Killer
This episode of RM focused on the mighty of Amur river of "Mother Russia", and I have to confess that it was an interesting one.
Firstly, because of the fish. As JW tends to do, he cannot resist the lure of a good fish - make that catfish - tale: the first third or so of the episode centers about the Amur catfish and the Soldatov catfish - kin to the mighty wels catfish of the show's first season. The various flashbacks to the show's previous seasons and episodes didn't take much out of the episode, though they did take up time - maybe something that the show's producers intended to do.
Secondly, the Kaluga. I was impressed at the fish's alleged size and reputation and power: the sturgeons are an ancient breed of fish and to have some of the grow to impressive, almost mammoth-like proportions as they age isn't too improbable, in my opinion. But...
But despite the episode's title (see above), it was focused not on the fish - the Kaluga, the catfish, even the chum salmon that was so prominent in the episode - but on their environment, which is getting, frankly, polluted by the actions of humanity (the Russians in this case). They are destroying their world by destroying the natural resources (something that the Putin-Medvediev administration is notorious about), as well as overfishing, both the salmon fish (the red caviar) and the sturgeons (black). Having, in my youth, tasted both, I know why they cost such a high price even if poached - but poaching is wrong, and it leads to extinction of species - in Russia, USA, etc.
The destructive impact of the local fishing industry on its' surroundings is evident throughout the episode - the near absence of wildlife (other than the fish) in this particular episode contrasts sharply with most of other RM episodes, when there is some unplanned encounter with a local Land animal - for example, the grizzly bear in Alaska, when JW was fishing for the white sturgeon instead. The exceptions to this rule occur when JW was fishing for the wels catfish in Europe, for example, or for the alligator gar in the USA - both examples of the heavily urban, overfished countries. Russia, apparently, is another one of this countries...only, unlike Europe or USA, people too are dying-out, as shown by the now-struggingl and dying-out fishing communities shown in this ep - something to think about!
And so, unlike the previous, "American Killers" episode, the "Russian Killer" (no pun intended) revealed something new and interesting about our world in general and the world of fish and fishing in particular. I hope that the rest of S4 will be just as good.
Firstly, because of the fish. As JW tends to do, he cannot resist the lure of a good fish - make that catfish - tale: the first third or so of the episode centers about the Amur catfish and the Soldatov catfish - kin to the mighty wels catfish of the show's first season. The various flashbacks to the show's previous seasons and episodes didn't take much out of the episode, though they did take up time - maybe something that the show's producers intended to do.
Secondly, the Kaluga. I was impressed at the fish's alleged size and reputation and power: the sturgeons are an ancient breed of fish and to have some of the grow to impressive, almost mammoth-like proportions as they age isn't too improbable, in my opinion. But...
But despite the episode's title (see above), it was focused not on the fish - the Kaluga, the catfish, even the chum salmon that was so prominent in the episode - but on their environment, which is getting, frankly, polluted by the actions of humanity (the Russians in this case). They are destroying their world by destroying the natural resources (something that the Putin-Medvediev administration is notorious about), as well as overfishing, both the salmon fish (the red caviar) and the sturgeons (black). Having, in my youth, tasted both, I know why they cost such a high price even if poached - but poaching is wrong, and it leads to extinction of species - in Russia, USA, etc.
The destructive impact of the local fishing industry on its' surroundings is evident throughout the episode - the near absence of wildlife (other than the fish) in this particular episode contrasts sharply with most of other RM episodes, when there is some unplanned encounter with a local Land animal - for example, the grizzly bear in Alaska, when JW was fishing for the white sturgeon instead. The exceptions to this rule occur when JW was fishing for the wels catfish in Europe, for example, or for the alligator gar in the USA - both examples of the heavily urban, overfished countries. Russia, apparently, is another one of this countries...only, unlike Europe or USA, people too are dying-out, as shown by the now-struggingl and dying-out fishing communities shown in this ep - something to think about!
And so, unlike the previous, "American Killers" episode, the "Russian Killer" (no pun intended) revealed something new and interesting about our world in general and the world of fish and fishing in particular. I hope that the rest of S4 will be just as good.
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
River monsters - American killers
First, a bit of a prequel. This blog was initially designed by me to post my reviews and opinions of the lectures on my RLG 213 course. By now, of course, this course is over, and I mostly forgot about my blog - but now I remembered about it, and decided to use it, because, hey, it's my blog - why it should be wasted? For now, I'm going to post my opinions of the 4th season of "River Monsters" series (one of my favorite), but later... who knows?
Anyways, my point for now that if anyone was reading this blog, considered it to be a "ghost" or whatever, and is now surprised to see it return from the dead with a whole new subject - sorry. Please feel to follow or to disregard it however you see fit. Now on with the review!
...Yesterday I was capable of watching the premier episode of the 4th season of "River Monsters" - "American killers" on Discovery Channel. In this episode, Jeremy Wade abandoned his usual haunts of Africa and South America for the closer to home North American waterways in search of NA's own river monsters - the bull shark and the giant (i.e. oversized) catfish.
So, what's my take on the premiere? As usual, Jeremy Wade delivers what he has promised in style, but the fish of this episode were...something else, and not in a good way.
First, the bull shark. This is one of my favorite fish; the way it faces-off with the hippopotamus in AFO is classic, and it is a shark, so it naturally gets some thrill points, but at this point in series? It has become a permanent fixture of RM. Season 1 - bull shark. Season 2 - bull shark. Season 3 - bull shark (freshwater sawfish episode). Now, season 4 - bull shark. Yes, the bull shark is a shark that can live in freshwater rivers and lakes as well as in salty seas and oceans, and it is a potential maneater, but... that's that, basically. For a show that shows all sorts of river monsters, from the arapaima to tigerfish to Japanese salamander, this may no longer be enough. Being a shark may no longer cut it as the biggest bad of the show. Example - the goliath grouper. That fish was amazing - as big as a person and probably much heavier... really just a maneuverable mouth. With such a piscine heavyweight in the water no wonder that JW had problems catching bull sharks that night: if a juvenile bull shark and a golith grouper came to a face off, the question of who would eat/attack who could go either way - not the odds predators enjoy!
More importantly, (at least for me), the goliath grouper stole the show from the bull shark: it appeared much more rarely than the bull shark on the show, and as such, it was a genuine surprise, while the bull shark... wasn't. In RM, where practically every episode features a new monster, for the bull shark to become a regular...may not be such a good idea. But that's just me, and even I was impressed to see JW catch yet another bull shark in with new fishing style.
Now, as for the catfish. JW loves catching catfish, starting from S1, with its giant Amazonian catfish and the equally massive Himalayan (Asian) goonch, so there's no surprise that he went after North America's flathead and blue catfishes. And yet... this part of the ep seemed to be something of a plug for another fishing show - Hillbilly Handfishing, and I'm just not sure how I feel about that: I'm generally not fond of plugs, but I may be wrong...
Oh, and one more thing. The original, Animal Planet release, apparently had an alligator gar segment as well. DC has cut it out - because it didn't fit into the alloted time frame, or because it's exclusive AP fragment, or something. Pity. Alligator gar (and its relatives) are amazing, though endangered, fish that could use as much good PR as they can get. But, on DC, they got passed over for the sake of more popular catfish - oh well, that's the way the cookie crumbles.
And so, 4th season of RM on DC begins on a mixed note, with good intermixed with... less good. Let's wait and see what the next episodes will bring.
Anyways, my point for now that if anyone was reading this blog, considered it to be a "ghost" or whatever, and is now surprised to see it return from the dead with a whole new subject - sorry. Please feel to follow or to disregard it however you see fit. Now on with the review!
...Yesterday I was capable of watching the premier episode of the 4th season of "River Monsters" - "American killers" on Discovery Channel. In this episode, Jeremy Wade abandoned his usual haunts of Africa and South America for the closer to home North American waterways in search of NA's own river monsters - the bull shark and the giant (i.e. oversized) catfish.
So, what's my take on the premiere? As usual, Jeremy Wade delivers what he has promised in style, but the fish of this episode were...something else, and not in a good way.
First, the bull shark. This is one of my favorite fish; the way it faces-off with the hippopotamus in AFO is classic, and it is a shark, so it naturally gets some thrill points, but at this point in series? It has become a permanent fixture of RM. Season 1 - bull shark. Season 2 - bull shark. Season 3 - bull shark (freshwater sawfish episode). Now, season 4 - bull shark. Yes, the bull shark is a shark that can live in freshwater rivers and lakes as well as in salty seas and oceans, and it is a potential maneater, but... that's that, basically. For a show that shows all sorts of river monsters, from the arapaima to tigerfish to Japanese salamander, this may no longer be enough. Being a shark may no longer cut it as the biggest bad of the show. Example - the goliath grouper. That fish was amazing - as big as a person and probably much heavier... really just a maneuverable mouth. With such a piscine heavyweight in the water no wonder that JW had problems catching bull sharks that night: if a juvenile bull shark and a golith grouper came to a face off, the question of who would eat/attack who could go either way - not the odds predators enjoy!
More importantly, (at least for me), the goliath grouper stole the show from the bull shark: it appeared much more rarely than the bull shark on the show, and as such, it was a genuine surprise, while the bull shark... wasn't. In RM, where practically every episode features a new monster, for the bull shark to become a regular...may not be such a good idea. But that's just me, and even I was impressed to see JW catch yet another bull shark in with new fishing style.
Now, as for the catfish. JW loves catching catfish, starting from S1, with its giant Amazonian catfish and the equally massive Himalayan (Asian) goonch, so there's no surprise that he went after North America's flathead and blue catfishes. And yet... this part of the ep seemed to be something of a plug for another fishing show - Hillbilly Handfishing, and I'm just not sure how I feel about that: I'm generally not fond of plugs, but I may be wrong...
Oh, and one more thing. The original, Animal Planet release, apparently had an alligator gar segment as well. DC has cut it out - because it didn't fit into the alloted time frame, or because it's exclusive AP fragment, or something. Pity. Alligator gar (and its relatives) are amazing, though endangered, fish that could use as much good PR as they can get. But, on DC, they got passed over for the sake of more popular catfish - oh well, that's the way the cookie crumbles.
And so, 4th season of RM on DC begins on a mixed note, with good intermixed with... less good. Let's wait and see what the next episodes will bring.
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