Author: Mura

Ygritte
TV

Game of Thrones: The Old Gods and the New

Well, that’s probably the most deviations from the books’ plot in a single episode of Game of Thrones.

Now, I’m not saying that’s bad. In general I’ve been fairly satisfied with the changes to the story (with one admittedly very subjective exception). It is an adaptation, and those books are long, the plot is very complicated, and in general I think the changes have been understandable and have made for a better TV series than if it had remained unchanged.

But seeing as there were quite a few changes, I thought it’d be interesting to dissect them. (Needless to say, spoilers! Although I do try to be vague about book stuff).

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Books

The Mistborn Trilogy, books I & 2

I first read of Brandon Sanderson in the context of The Wheel of Time books, and how he was the one that would complete series since Robert Jordan’s death. I used to be really into WoT, and although it’s been awhile since I stopped following them (around book 8 or 9, I believe… I always meant to go back and finish someday) I was interested in what would happen, and more specifically in what kind of a job the new writer would do. By all accounts, Sanderson is said to be doing a good job, and although I’m not quite up to the task of playing catch up with WoT, I decided to start reading his Mistborn Trilogy.

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TV

Now leaving the darkest timeline

How long has it been since Regional Holiday Music? Almost exactly three months, right? Way too long in any case, but Community is finally back. I’ve missed these characters and  this show so much.

Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts was one of the more “normal” Community episodes, and while I do think that you need episodes like this to balance out blanket forts and zombie apocalypses, I also find it really amusing that this episode also contained an entire subplot about how if weirdness is in your nature you should embrace it and not try to be normal (hard not to take Troy and Abed’s subplot as meta commentary, isn’t it?).

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TV

There’s something to be said for Spooks’ practical and direct approach

I love stories about spies. Any kind of spies, really. The first two seasons of Alias are among my two favorite seasons of TV, ever. It’s a hell of a lot of fun, no matter how much suspension of disbelief is involved. But I also love Spooks, or a story like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (both the book and the movie), where espionage isn’t a game to be played with wigs, high heels, explosives and high tech gadgets. Stories that ring more true to what a life working in intelligence must actually entail (not to self: get around to watching Rubicon).

All of this has been on my mind because recently I’ve been rewatching season 2 of Alias, and I also went back to watching Spooks, and watching both shows so close together really highlights the contrasts.

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Shinji in Kamen RIder Ryuki ep 1
Tokusatsu

Shinji and Kamen Rider Ryuki episode 1 revisited

I thought that my first post of the year would be Sherlock, since it’s back on and I’m just loving it (I’m completely obsessed with Lestrade), but I watched Ryuki’s first episode for the first time in a long time, after recommending it to a friend, and I ended up having things I wanted to say about it.

Word of warning for anyone that hasn’t seen Kamen Rider Ryuki through to the end: several of my observations relate directly to the very end of the series, so this will be spoilery. Very spoilery.

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