Firefly

Let’s talk Firefly. Yes, another Joss Whedon masterpiece. It debuted on September 20, 2002 and was canceled after only airing 11 of its 14 original episodes. That was a mistake because this show is genius. The characters are amazing, the premise of space cowboys is awesome, and Captain Malcolm Reynolds is played fantastically by Nathan Fillion.

Starting from the beginning, I could tell I was going to love this show. It is important to note that I never saw it when it was actually on television. I borrowed the DVD’s from a friend. He told me to watch it and man, what a suggestion. After I watched it I bought my own copy. I was so disappointed that I would never get to see new episodes. Every episode is brilliant. I don’t think I can say a bad thing about any of them.

If you are a fan of the series then you know that the first episode that aired was the Train Job, but that is not the first episode. The first episode is Serenity Part 1 & 2. This wasn’t aired first because the network didn’t believe audiences would invest in it. In order the episodes are:

Serenity Parts 1 & 2
The Train Job
Bushwacked
Shindig
Safe
Our Mrs. Reynolds
Jaynestown
Out of Gas
Ariel
War Stories
Trash (never aired)
The Message (never aired)
Heart of Gold (never aired)
Objects in Space

There are, of course, episodes that I like more than others even though I love them all. My favorite is Out of Gas. The reason I love this episode so much is because it is all about backstory. It explains how Mal met each of his crew members. I love the way the actors portrayed these characters with such humor and sadness. Serenity breaks down and is floating through space. They need a part or they are going to die because the oxygen is running out. Captain Reynolds orders his crew (family) to get into the shuttles and leave him. Another ship find him and gives him the part, only after trying to steal Serenity out from under him. Of course, Mal is never going to let his home get taken away and he fights and wins (after being shot in the belly). He gets the part and while he is trying to get to the engine room and not bleed to death while running out of air, he has flashbacks of how he met each of his family members. The acting is outstanding, the story is funny (especially how him and Zoe meet Jayne) and the script is perfect. If you do not watch any other episode of this show, watch this one!

I will watch this show over and over again. Sometimes I will just put it in and listen to it while I’m doing other things and I will find myself repeating the lines and then I am just watching it and doing nothing else. If you are a fan of this show then you understand what I am saying. Anyone that is a die-hard fan can talk about it whenever and wherever. Every character is unforgettable. Watch it for the relationship between Zoe and Wash and stay for the relationship between Malcolm Reynolds and his FAMILY!

November 13, 2019 1

The Magic of Buffy!

So, Joss Whedon, genius! Am I right? First of all he created two of my favorite television shows. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly. He has also written Marvel movies, Dollhouse, Angel, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and Serenity. Today we will be talking about the best T.V show ever made, which, of course is just my opinion, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is by far my favorite show. Yeah, I’m showing my age. The movie of course is a gem. The movie came out in 1992 and it starred Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens, and Luke Perry. I will watch almost any movie about vampires, as long as they don’t glitter. The best part about the movie is that it is pure Whedon. Funny and scary. The characters were over the top and outrageous, which was part of the charm.

In 1997 Buffy the Vampire Slayer debuted on the WB. I was 19 or 20 years old and had been a fan of all things horror since I was 6 or 7, thanks to my mom having me watch Carrie (Stephen King). Buffy was all I hoped it would be. Funny, scary, touching, with just enough monsters. Good monsters, bad monsters and even badder monsters. I was hooked from the first episode. Xander and Willow are my favorite T.V duo. They are charming characters with just the right amount of flaws. There are too many facets to their characters to go into every part of their characters, but Nicholas Brendan and Alyson Hannigan played them beautifully. So, who is my favorite character, you ask? No, it isn’t Buffy. A lot of people will say Buffy is their favorite. She is a bad ass after all. Tough as nails with the right amount of turmoil and sadness. But, no, she is not my favorite! I know, how dare I!

Spike!!!! That is my favorite character. James Marsters is a genius in this show. He is the perfect amount of bad ass and scared little baby. There is so much sadness in Spike’s face every time you see him on screen and no one could have done that better than James Marsters. I think the best Spike moment would have to be when Joyce invites him in and they have tea. It is touching and funny and really shows the audience who Spike is. Yes, he is a 144 year old killing machine, but he has feelings too damn it!

ONCE MORE WITH FEELING. By far the best episode, ever, period! I even have the soundtrack on CD. I can sing every song and if I really thought about it I could probably do the dance numbers too. To hear these actors sing and dance is awesome!

So, what is your favorite episode and character? If you love Buffy as much as I do there is a moment in the show that will always stick with you. Like when Joyce dies. How heart wrenching is that? Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts on this amazing show!

GRRR!!!! AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!

November 11, 2019 4

Movies I love

I watch a lot of movies, and I mean a lot of movies. I will watch anything from classics, horror, comedy, cheesy, documentaries, short films, cartoons, anything. It doesn’t have to be blockbuster. Some of my favorites many people haven’t even heard of, like Bad Ben. Watch it on Amazon. There are 6 of them and I have watched them all. They are low budget ghost/monster movies and they are amazingly awesome.

Of course I watch Blockbuster films too. I love Thor: Ragnarok. It is my favorite Marvel movie. It is funny as hell and well, Chris Hemsworth. It has the best action, hilarious moments, like when Thor calls Hulk the stupid Avenger. That whole scene is movie magic to me. You also can’t beat a movie that has Jeff Goldblum in it.

I actually don’t have a huge movie collection. I usually only buy DVD’s of my favorites. I like to have a whole series so I will wait until they are all out before purchasing because it is usually cheaper and you can get special editions. The Hobbit, for instance, I waited until they were all out to get special content. I already had the Lord of the Rings special editions and of course had to add to that with The Hobbit. I also have The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Planet of the Apes, Deadpool, and The Purge. Of course I buy my favorite TV show box sets too. My favorite television show of all time is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yes, showing my age with that one, but I love it. Duh, Spike! My next post will probably talk all about how amazing Buffy was! I can’t wait for Game of Thrones, December 03.

My favorite movie of all time is The Outsiders. I read the book before I saw the movie and of course it is brilliant, so I had high expectations for the movie. I was not disappointed at all. The whole thing is a masterpiece. I may seem dated in this day and age because unless you are my age and grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, you may not even know what I am talking about. I believe everyone should see it. The best film Patrick Swayze ever made, in my opinion. I made sure to show it to my oldest daughter because I always try to share my favorite movies with her. Whenever anyone asks me about my favorite movie, and weirdly I get that question a lot, I have no hesitation when answering. The Outsiders, ALWAYS!

There are way too many movies I love to share them all in one post. I will probably talk about a different one every time I post, but I would say my top 5 are

The Outsiders (great book)
Lord of the Flies (great book)
Train to Busan
The Doors
My Fair Lady

I love all things movie. If you suggest a movie to me I will watch it. I don’t always watch new movies when they come out, but eventually I will see them. When you are in the Active Duty Army, have 4 kids, are getting a Master’s Degree, and have a husband, you can’t always watch movies right away. I do always love when someone recommends something obscure that not everyone may have seen, so suggest something, i’ll watch it and let you know what I thought. I am not a professional movie reviewer and I will never claim to be, but I love movies and I love talking about movies, TV shows and books. Let me know what your favorites are and lets talk about them.

November 10, 2019 7

My First Blog Post

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

November 10, 2019 0

My name is Siann. I am a mom, a soldier, a wife, and a lover of all things movie, TV and books. I am here to talk about those things and anything else that may pop into my head. I may review TV episodes, movies or books that I have read. I may just talk about why I loved a particular movie or book.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

November 10, 2019 0