R.I.P. Nelsan Ellis

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actors, celebrity deaths, HBO, Nelsan Ellis, True Blood, vampires, video, YouTube

I know I am a few days late with this, but I have to say farewell to actor Nelsan Ellis, who was best known for his role as Lafayette on HBO’s “True Blood”. He died on Friday due to heart complications at the age of 39.

Wow, just wow. So young! And so talented! He was great at portraying Lafayette, who was sometimes the comedy relief on “True Blood”. His delivery of his character’s one-liners was often the highlight of each episode. Lafayette was a memorable character, and Nelsan Ellis portrayed him very well.

From what I understand, Lafayette was killed off early in the books the show was based on. But on the show itself, Lafayette stayed until the very end. I’m glad that happened because he was the funny, no-nonsense type of character that the show needed. And Ellis played him wonderfully.

Rest in peace, Nelsan Ellis. May you entertain all the angels up there as you did in life.

Here’s a YouTube video to showcase some of Nelsan Ellis’ Lafayette’s best lines:

The Finale of HBO’s “Girls”

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complex characters, complex women, Girls, GirlsHBO, HBO, Lena Dunham, TV Shows, women in fiction

Tomorrow marks Easter Sunday, a major holiday for a lot of people. It also marks the series finale of the oft-discussed HBO series, “Girls”. After 5 years and 6 seasons, the brainchild of millennial superstar Lena Dunham is ending. If you watch the show, like I do, you are probably feeling down that “Girls” is ending.

I have watched the show since the beginning. I have to be honest and say that I have had a love/hate relationship with it. There were times when I thought “Girls” was a parody of millennial women. But then I realized I knew people who reminded me of Hannah, Marnie, Jessa and Shoshana, and that made me realize that the show was more realistic than I wanted to believe. That was when I despised the show because the characters were largely unlikable for numerous reasons. Hannah was self-absorbed. Marnie was a narcissist. Jessa was a trainwreck. And Shoshana was just plain annoying. I always hoped that either girl would wise up and grow up, but that never seemed to happen. Yet I could hardly tear my eyes away from each episode.

Image via Wikimedia Commons

But this season seemed to showcase what the point of each character was, especially the ninth episode which aired this past Sunday. It was the part where Hannah and Jessa were making peace seemed to sum up this entire series. Hannah told her former-best friend that she was simply doing her best. Jessa responded by saying that her best was awful.

Those two lines seemed to click something in me, and perhaps other viewers. What Lena Dunham did with her female characters was make them as complex as possible. Many people have complained about the characters as unlikable whom could not be related to, yet there were many who saw themselves or people they knew in these four young women. So Lena Dunham was doing something right. And what she did right was create complex, human beings for her show. Neither of the four characters were perfect. In fact, they were far from perfect – totally far!

But then again, aren’t we all?

Aren’t we all just trying our best in a complex world that hands us situations where we have to choose to right moves, that often aren’t for the best or may be the worst? We make mistakes, even though society largely scolds us all for making them. We handle life by the best way we handle them, as far as our self-awareness, intelligence and strategy skills allow us to. And we do what we can. Hence why we are all complex, even us women.

That’s my takeaway from “Girls”: it was a show about complex women who were neither good nor bad. They had their pluses and minuses. They had their smarts and their dense moments. They were simply human. Human beings trying to make it in New York and having their romantic relationships along the way.

I say Lena Dunham did a great job portraying complex young women for her series. I hope to do the same thing for my stories where I aim to write about complex characters who are also neither good or bad. No one really is, except psychopaths who are 100% evil. But anyway, complexity is fun and is easier to relate to. I give Lena Dunham credit for taking that risk, especially with young female characters. Too often, female characters lack complexity. I feel as if Lena broke that mold.

So, this Sunday, I will watch the grand finale of “Girls” and get all sentimental that it will be over. But I will also feel glad that I watched the show, and took part in a major cultural event.

 

I Think True Blood Has Met The True Death

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HBO, jump the shark, Sookie Stackhouse, True Blood, TV Shows

I watched HBO’s True Blood this past Sunday. I was giving the show another chance after its lousy fifth season last year, and I thought the writers were doing well at cleaning up the mess from that season.

But now I think True Blood has officially jumped the shark. It is beyond redemption now.

Last week, I was getting the feeling the show was once again losing direction. Firstly, the storyline with Terry’s death was being dragged on longer than it needed be. The idea of Sookie considering becoming a faerie vampire wife to Warlow was absurd. Bill being Lilith’s prophet was boring. Jessica hooking up with James isn’t an interesting turn (though that actor is quite hot! I could see him play Daniel Bertrand if my book were to ever be made into a movie). Finally, having Sam get into a relationship with Nicole within days after his girlfriend Luna dies is, to be frank, poor storytelling. And what’s the point of Adilyn Braelyn Charlaine Danika, besides being a helpless target of vampires?

I knew things were getting bad, but I tuned in this week just to see what was going to happen.

Ugh.

Meh.

Seriously, what is everyone involved with True Blood thinking?

First off, Sarah Newlin is an unlikable villain. Sounds contradictory, but Russel Edgington was a villain who was fun to watch. Sarah is just a solid bitch. I can’t hate to love or love to hate her. She’s annoying and boring. That scene where she killed Ms. Suzuki was overdone and silly. I turned away in disgust because it was so ridiculous. It would’ve been seen as comical to me if I didn’t think True Blood was trying to take itself seriously.

And that’s the problem with True Blood now. For the first four seasons, it was fun, funny and sexy. It was a show for good laughs that was not meant to be taken seriously, even if it was a metaphor for LGBT rights. But now, it is trying to be somber by dropping the “edy” of the term, “dramedy” and appears to be focusing on being a drama with a few quips here and there (Lafayette and Pam never fail to have great one-liners).

This season is supposed to be about the vampires fighting for survival after humans got fed up with them. But this fight is running around in circles, taking twists that do not make sense (Nicole being pregnant? Sookie suddenly wants to be with Sam?), and being dragged out much longer than necessary. The once likable characters have become annoying, and the plot seems to be one big mess.

And the show has been renewed for another season next year. Really? The show has fallen apart, the writers seem lost on what to do, and acting talent is being wasted (harsh, but I’m being blunt here). I get it that as long as True Blood brings in the ratings (alias: money) for HBO, it will stay on air. Which is both sad and absurd because there’s nothing left to salvage the show.

As for me, I’ll watch the final two shows of this season, and probably hurt my eyes by rolling them too much. But I won’t be as focused. I’ll be doing other things while the show is on. Sadly, this is what True Blood is turning into for me: background noise on a Sunday night.

Will I tune in next year? Hopefully I wouldn’t feel the need to have background noise on my Sundays then.

Maybe True Blood Season 6 Will Be Good

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HBO, True Blood, TV, TV Shows, tv trailers

The second trailer for the HBO series, True Blood came out this week – and I must confess, it makes me want to tune in June 16th, 9pm on the dot.

But let’s remember that last year was not very good – in fact it was lousy. Remember my rant last year? There may be more of that lousiness for Season 6. But what intrigues me is that this could be the final season – based on what the trailer implies – and I always thought the finale will be the final showdown between humans and vampires, plus everyone else. Too bad the events shown in Season 5 that lead up to this showdown were bizarre. Having a vampire religion and a holy book was odd to me, though I guess it was to show how religious fundamentalists cause a lot of problems in this world. But it could’ve been done differently, I believe.

I hope the humor returns this season. One reason why I love this show is because of the great one-liners and the way True Blood practically makes fun of itself (my all time favorite was when Eric called Sookie “Snooki” – that was bound to happen, and it was great when it did!). But Season 5 was very dry and dull, so the humor needs to return or else this season will be just as poor.

It would be great to see Jessica evolve more as a vampire. Even though she’s a secondary character, her maturity from baby vampire to a kick-ass one has been great to watch. I’m sure she’ll be doing a lot to save the vampires, or try to, depending on what happens this time.

Pam and Tara’s relationship is another thing to watch. So is Jason, one of my favorite characters. He’s an airhead like his sister, but it makes him adorable somehow. I also hope Sookie has more of a storyline this time because last season she seemed to be just there, and it was more about Bill’s decent into insanity. Oh, and based on that trailer, I really would like to see if he really does come out of his madness and realizes what he’s done. He probably does because he and Jessica are holding each other for dear life in the trailer.

I do think this may be the final season, even though it hasn’t been announced at all. It should be if it is. If it isn’t, I would really like to see how Season 7 goes after all this chaos. There’s too much going on for this not to be the last season, but since there’s no official word – just speculation – maybe there’s more ahead. Which wouldn’t be a good idea to me.

In the meantime, Season 6 better be good!

True Blood Season 6 Premieres in Two Months

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HBO, television, True Blood, TV Shows, vampires

The trailer for the HBO series True Blood’s sixth season has been getting some attention, as well as rumors of spoilers and casting. The trailers and reports have some fans of the show excited for the new season, to start June 16th.

Me? I’m still on the fence of whether to watch this season or not.

You may remember my irritation about how Season 5 ended last year. Like many, I was so disappointed with the direction True Blood went that I was pretty sure I could not watch the show anymore. The last season was dull and confusing, and the whole idea of Bill becoming “Bilith” was ridiculous to me.

While I feel True Blood jumped the shark, I confess that I may watch this upcoming season, despite my vow back in August not to.

Not that I will be as enthusiastic with previous seasons. I doubt I will be excited to hear the theme song “Bad Things” by Jace Everett or to find out what becomes of the previous season’s cliffhanger. I know for sure I won’t be sitting forward with eagerness when I turn on HBO June 16th.

And if the season is much like last year’s, chances are I’ll just catch episodes from OnDemand, whenever I get around to them. If by chance this upcoming season redeems last year’s – there’s a new set of writers now – I’ll be amazed and very intrigued about how the work out everything.

And honestly, there are some characters that I would like to see again. Jessica is one that I’ve gotten to like more and more. Her transformation from newborn vampire to a mature one is really cool to watch, plus she kicks ass. Jason Stackhouse may be clueless in many ways, but it’s kind of cute. Pam is always funny, and it will be interesting to see how her relationship with Tara develops – and Tara’s new life as a vampire is something to watch. And Eric Northman is always a reason to watch this show – from his hotness to his sneakiness.

But that’s it. Some characters I don’t think belong on the show anymore because there is no storyline left for them, and others are either boring or annoying. Even Sookie Stackhouse, the main character, is no longer a draw for me. How many times does her life have to be in danger? Seriously, you’d think she would have PTSD by now.

So, I’ll give True Blood Season 6 a chance this June. I’m not excited, but I’m just curious what happens. But I don’t expect to be impressed.

10 Days Until Game of Thrones Season 3 Premiere!

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Daenerys Targareyn, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones Season 3, GoT, HBO, HBO Shows, humor, Joffrey Lannister, Queen Cersei, Sansa Stark, Theon Greyjoy, TV Shows, Tyrion Lannister, videos

Confession: I am one of the many who has spent most of the past year gushing and biting my nails over the HBO series Game of Thrones.

OK, that’s not really a confession because there are plenty who’ve been having the same sentiments. But I am so excited for the premiere of Season 3 Sunday March 31st that I literally have been obsessing over GoT during this month. I actually squeal when I see the trailers, I’ve been recapping the last two seasons on Time Warner Cable’s OnDemand, and I’ve been straining myself from doing too much research or else I’ll know too much about what happens to many of the characters. 

I know that sounds crazy, but damn that show gets me going. I love the intrigue, the suspense, the twists and surprises. GoT is all around complex – the characters, the storyline, the history, the motivations of everyone involved.

It is also so real. Even though GoT is a fantasy tale set in a medieval world, the conflicts and challenges each character faces is similar to our own. Even though honor and justice are considered good, those traits simply cannot be used in a cut-throat (literally) world where everyone is looking out for themselves and the big picture is all that matters. So what if someone is a lying, stealing cheat? A business needs to be run, the neighborhood needs peace, or you have to survive high school. It sucks, we all hate that fact. But that’s the truth of both our world and the world of Westeros.

I also like how most of the characters in Game of Thrones cannot be seen in black and white, and could only be seen in their gray – except of course, King Joffrey, who is solidly evil. Some of them lean towards the dark side, like Littlefinger and Theon Greyjoy, but you also have to consider their motives in order to understand and maybe sympathize a bit with them. After all, how many more characters do you need to make you seethe with rage?

Check out WinterisComing.net – great site!

Others have traits that are annoying and unlikable, like Sansa Stark. Sure, she’s snobby and naive, but when you step back and look at her situation, you can consider her a survivor. She witnesses the unexpected beheading of her father, then is forced to look at his head on a spike by the young man she was once infatuated with. She then spends weeks as a hostage surrounded by untrustworthy people, being beaten and tormented by King Joffrey in front of the whole court, having Queen Cersei needle her with her condescending pet name (I hate it when Cersei called her “little dove”), and believing her family is in danger or dead. She was alone in her situation and some people can fall apart in that situation. I’m not saying Sansa is a totally strong character, but I wouldn’t wish rape or death on her like some people do.

Anyway, I’m really excited for this coming season. I am also agonizing over it. I’ve heard some beloved characters die and I don’t want to believe it is true. I know many die in the books and HBO has to bring that onto the small screen, but damn! Yeah, it’s a violent game they’re playing, but NO!!!

I’m also looking forward to seeing the White Walkers and winter spreading over Westeros. Daenerys’ dragons should be amazing to watch. And also, gotta watch Tyrion – the best character on the show. Is there anyone who does not like the Imp? Didn’t think so.

Before I sign off, I’m giving you this humorous video to entertain you until March 31st. You might want to sing the words once Game of Thrones Season 3 begins!

HBO’s “Girls” Slams Staten Island – My Reaction

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Girls, GirlsHBO, HBO, Lena Dunham, New York City, NYC, Shaolin

For those of you who watch HBO’s “Girls” – or at least follow the criticisms of it – you might have heard about last night’s episode. Titled “Boys”, it followed two of the male characters, Ray who is Hannah’s boss and Shoshana’s boyfriend, and Adam who is Hannah’s ex-boyfriend. Because Adam had a dog he stole or borrowed or whatever, the two decided to return the pooch to it’s owner – who lives on Staten Island.

Click here to see a local reaction to that “Girls” episode via SILive.com

Ah, Staten Island – my hometown. Some people here love it, others hate it, while the remainder are neutral. We are the Forgotten Borough in so many ways, and only received national attention when Hurricane Sandy ravaged us last October. So when the Island gets lengthy mention on the news or even a movie or TV show, I take notice – which I did last night during “Girls”.

At first I was tickled pink to see Adam and Ray enter Whitehall Terminal to take the ferry. But as I watched their adventure on the Island, I raised raised one eyebrow sometimes, but other times it was both. Here is my reaction:

Watching Adam and Ray bring a big dog on a leash onto the ferry made me raise one eyebrow. I’ve been taking the ferry to and from the city for years, and never once have I seen a dog on a leash allowed on the boat. The most I’ve seen a dog on the ferry was when it was in a crate. So don’t think that because fictional characters on an HBO show were allowed to bring a big dog on a leash on the ferry, you can too.

Adam and Ray’s verbal assault toward Staten Island was…amusing at times. It really didn’t surprise me. Many people who don’t know Staten Islanders or haven’t really been here (using the ferry or driving through via the Expressway does not count) say practically the same things about the borough. We are looked down upon. We are seen as the “armpit” of New York City. Just go to the comments section of the Huffington Post whenever it reports on the Island – the attitudes people have are no different from last night’s episode of  “Girls”.

This line from the show, spoken when Adam and Ray are walking down a street after getting off the ferry, speaks some truth: “All these people, they want to live in Manhattan but they end up on this … weird little island watching the city in the distance with this quiet rage burning in their hearts.”

Is that overall true or false? No. There are some Islanders who do wish they lived in Manhattan, or even Brooklyn’s hip neighborhoods of Williamsburg, Park Slope or Greenpoint. For some, and I confess I am one of them, Staten Island is not a good place if you are 30 years old and single. I believe this place is good for those who are married and have kids. It is a more family-friendly borough compared to the other four, but not so much if you are not at that stage of your life. Others may not agree with me, but that is my experience.

But our island is not weird. There is no quiet rage burning in our hearts. Many of us accept our corner of the world as it is, and some wouldn’t want to live in the other boroughs. Seriously, what is weird about Staten Island? Has anyone actually been here? (Again, using the ferry and the Expressway does not count)

Finally, the girl who was the dog owner’s daughter was embarrassing to watch, for two reasons. One, it was pretty lousy for the writers of “Girls” to think we are all shallow, foul-mouthed bigots who do nothing but party at Webster Hall. But honestly…there are some – SOME! – who are like that here. It is sad they give off this image of Staten Island.

But again, that stereotype is not so true. In fact, a lot of what was said about Staten Island was not true. We have a huge mix of people of various attitudes, interests and intelligence here. To say we are all low class fools who envy Manhattan and are trapped on this “little weird island” is unfair. Basically, it is the attitude of New Yorkers who know no one or nothing about the borough, as well as though who don’t live in the area, but heard through the grapevine about our stereotypes.

It really sucks that this is how Staten Island is perceived by others. I hope the way we were portrayed by the media after Sandy will enforce a more positive attitude about us. By the way, that “Girls” episode was written and filmed before Sandy hit – hence the summery look of it.

I mentioned once that I would like to help make my hometown look better through my books. While I have no intention of sugar-coating or using novels as an excuse to portray the Island, I will use my work as an opportunity to let readers know about the Staten Island I know. No, not all my future work will take place here nor will it overindulge in talking about here (my book, The Dark Proposal, partially takes place on Staten Island, but it is not a tour guide). But I will do what I can to give my hometown justice.

Because after all, this is not really that bad of a place 🙂

 

True Blood Season Finale 5

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HBO, reviews, season finales, Sookie Stackhouse, True Blood, TV, TV Shows

Sunday saw the season finale of True Blood’s fifth season. It had been a long, lackluster season for me, and I was hoping for a good finale to make up for all the dullness. I figured most of what happened this season will carry over to next year, and I’m pretty damn right.

However, I had no way of predicting how much this show will veer off course.

Holy shit, did this finale leave me confused and disappointed. The previous finales always gave me excitement over what could happen next year and leave me dreading over waiting months for the new season.

But this time, I am not looking forward to next year.

Where do I start?

OK, I thought Russel Edgington died too soon and not fantastically enough. I love to hate this guy! And he goes so soon? OK, it was good for Eric to finally kill his nemesis, but I was expecting a bigger battle. But no…

What was with Maurella giving birth to quadruplets? How silly! Oh, and don’t even mention her orgasmic labor. I take it that scene was supposed to be funny, but it was far too overdone to me.

Then came the last few minutes. I loved how Sam killed that annoying vampire by making her explode, and how Luna told the world what the Authority was doing. But now it looks like she may be dying. Or is that a cliffhanger that won’t have much of a story next time?

Then came the moment when Salome and Bill were to finally face off. I guess all viewers of True Blood saw this happening, but not sure how it will go about. Interesting how Bill laced Lilith’s blood with silver but kept some for himself. Certainly shows you how evil and power-hungry he has become, and how blind Sookie was to his true self.

So, Sookie was unable to get through to Bill and he drank Lilith’s blood. He then dies. I thought, Shit! Bill is dead! They finally killed a major character! What will happen next year?

The answer came a few moments later when Bill emerged from his own blood as a vampire god – kind of how Lilith was throughout this season.

That was when I thought, What the f*ck?

And I knew I could not be excited for next year’s True Blood. I just couldn’t feel the anticipation of what season 6 will bring. I found Bill being reincarnated as the male version of Lilith was beyond stupid and I wonder if the writers for this show have gotten lost and don’t know what to do with the show now.

I always felt this season’s theme – the religion of the vampires – was bizarre and didn’t make much sense. It seemed like the writers wanted to prove once and for all that vampires were indeed evil and that was why. But to me, it didn’t help much.

So now what? Is Bill going terrorize Bon Temps as a vampire god? Is he going to battle Eric forever? Is Sookie going to be in more danger than ever? And will all this conflict result in one massive finale for season 6, and even more so, the entire series?

While watching this season, I got the impression that since most of the story lines this time around won’t be resolved by the finale and will carry over into next season. For that one, there will be a major war between the vampires, humans, faeries, werewolves and shifters, and that would be the end of True Blood. It could happen.

But with Bill as an evil vampire god? It’s like the writers didn’t want to get rid of him for some reason. He should’ve stayed dead, and Eric and Sookie would hook up again. Mind you, I’m not exactly on Team Eric here, I just felt that would make more sense.

But Bill had to rise up from his blood.

And where the hell is Warlow? This whole season hyped him up and nothing happened. I expected him to appear for this episode and possibly get into a duel with Russell. But no, I guess we’ll have to wait till next time.

I don’t know if I want to wait till next time. I was really disappointed with this finale. I may be in the minority, and maybe I need time to think this over, but I feel no anticipation and only bewilderment over how this season ended.

I’ll tune in next June to see what happens. Hopefully things will work out.

It’s cool Tara is a vampire and has found love with Pam. Poor Jessica is alone again. Jason is on a mission to destroy vampires, and Alcide is a pack master at last. Lafayette is back to his wise-cracking self. That’s all good.

But…meh. Part of me wonders if the actors read the script to this episode and reconsidered their contract with this show.

EDIT TO ADD: OK, so I saw the extra scene where Jason is looking for Warlow and Nora seems scared of Warlow. That makes me interested in next year, but I am still not buying Bill as a vampire god. Nope. Sorry!