Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

I have an anniversary coming up, and it's an important one. Six years, people. Six. Years. *sigh*

Yes, that's right, it is just about six years since I discovered, and immediately fell in love with Veronica Mars. The traditional anniversary gift in the UK for six years is sugar. I may spend the evening watching season one again and crying into a box of chocolates about how unfair it all is. I don't think I ever got over the cancellation.

Veronica Mars has affected my life more than any other television show. It might not be the best one ever made, but there was just something about it that caught my imagination, and nothing has ever managed to replace it. My televisual existence is plagued by ex-Veronica guest stars. Every time I watch something, I see someone that used to be on the show. I know that everyone who was anyone seemed to be on it at some point, but still... My mantra these days is "He was in Veronica Mars." I can't seem to watch any sort of drama without someone popping up. I think it's why I'm still watching The New Girl.

So, Veronica, I want you to know that I still think of you. Six years may have passed, but I still remember you as if it were yesterday. *Wipes tear from my eye*

Bite Me...

So, it turns out....and I'm almost embarrassed to have to write this...that The Vampire Diaries is fucking awesome.

I know, I know. It's a teen show. Aimed at people who are, well...teens. But still. It's awesome. I'm behind the curve on this one. I avoided it at first. Because of the name, because of what it was, because of the books. I'll admit it. I read them. Well, I say I read them. I tried. The Vampire Diaries in literary form makes Twilight look like some sort of Kafka/Kundera/Murakami collaboration. They are really, really awful. So this year, or last year--I don't remember--I thought I would give it a go. I posted about it on here, I believe. I watched all of them in about 3 seconds flat. I gorged myself, I'll admit it.

And I was hooked, instantly. The characters are good, the story lines are exciting. It's not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, even for a cheesy teen offering. The introduction of magic wasn't the best idea, as it so often turns out to be a deus ex machina, and the people that keep coming back when you think that they are dead...well, I could do without them. But Paul Wesley is acting the hell out of Stefan Without a Cause, and it's ridiculously shocking every. single. week, and Damon...well, Damon. What can I say?

He's declined a little this season. With the whole being in love thing. But even so. He's so entertaining to watch. In a LOT of different ways...

A Reformation

Sometimes, you are surprised.

Not always pleasantly, I'll admit as much. But I stuck with it, The Walking Dead. And while I won't say that it's the best thing I've ever seen, it's shaping up well. I thought I would have abandoned it by now, dumped it on the side of the road like a dead badger, or the sad, forgotten promise of Glee. Season 1 didn't set me on fire. And I was open to it. I wanted it and was totally ripe for the picking. I hadn't been overexposed to the zombie genre, so by the time season 1 started, I was nowhere near annoyed with zombie tropes. My zombie experience was limited to watching Shaun of the Dead. Really. I don't like any sort of scary films. I don't watch them, I don't think of them. 10 minutes alone with Scream, or any other sort of lightweight thriller and I'm sleeping with a rolling-pin-as-makeshift-weapon under the bed for the next year. They terrify me.

I liked it at first. I liked most of the male characters. Except Shane. I liked the setting, I liked the concept. But the season wasn't very strong, and it didn't seem to go anywhere. The women are still a huge problem. Really, really huge. They are ALL annoying. Without exception. Whiny and moany, and useless. Sitting ducks. And I really don't like watching television shows with terrible female characters, it feels like such lazy writing.

I wasn't sure if I would come back for season 2. But I did. I was unimpressed with the pilots on offer, and I'd decided to drop Glee. I was also still on a downer from a summer without Mad Men, so I decided to give it a second chance.

And I'm glad that I did. It's not different, I'll say. It's the same as the first season. The women are terrible. Shane is terrible. They've made plot adjustments from the comics that seem...unwise. They've been sitting on a farm for what might possibly be the last five years doing nothing. But, I think I'm just getting used to it. Getting used to the pace, and what it has to offer. Daryl is just the best thing ever. I don't know if it's the fan love or if it was the intention all along, but they've transformed him from an annoying, rash redneck into an awesome, sympathetic, crossbow toting redneck.

So for now, I'll keep watching. And hope that it keeps on getting better. Fingers crossed!