Once Upon a Time . . . I Had a Blog

CAUTION: This post contains spoilers about ABC's Once Upon a Time

Well, hello there. Yes. I know. I haven't blogged in months. But I had a birthday . . . I got a new job . . . life happens.

Anyway, I thought I'd start up my blog again with a post about yet another fandom of mine. As you may remember I am a huge fan of most things British, but I do have an occasional American obsession as well. Tonight was the season premiere of my ultimate guilty pleasure: ABC's Once Upon a Time. This was the start of the 3rd season which picked up with Emma, Snow White, Prince Charming, Regina (aka the Evil Queen), Captain Hook (aka Captain Attractive), and--my personal favorite--Rumpelstiltskin sailing off to Neverland to save Henry. I gotta be honest, I didn't have the highest of hopes for this season after last season.

The second season was either a hit or miss for me. There were great additions like Hook, and exciting plot twists with the return of Baelfire/Neal and Cora. And then there were the ridiculous misfires, such as Dr. Whale being revealed as Dr. Frankenstein and August transforming back into a 10-year-old boy after being illogically tasered by Tamara. I mean seriously, could a wooden man conduct an electric current? I don't think so. And don't even get me started on Lacey. *Cringe* Then there was evil Tamara and her annoying boyfriend, Greg, who randomly show up to fight their "cause" to rid the world of magic. And there I was sitting there like, "Who are these muggles?" Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Greg turns out to be Owen, the young boy Regina tried to trick into staying with her after capturing--and eventually killing--his father. But still.

I think the main issue I had with season 2 was that there was just too much going on. The main characters were usually separated, dealing with their own individual problems while new characters were added (like Aurora, Mulan, and Tiny) that ended up taking time away from the characters we were most interested in. What gave me hope in the season finale was that the main characters now had to work together in order to go after Henry.

All I can say about the 3rd season premiere is WOA. It was just non-stop awesomeness, wrapped in adrenaline, filled with "Did-that-just-happen?" moments. I also loved the sassy one-liners from Regina and Hook. This probably sounds terrible, but the most satisfying moment for me would have to be the fate of Greg and Tamara. Right before the show started, I vocally wished that the Lost Boys, or Rumpelstiltskin, or someone would take care of them. And, what do you know? Greg's shadow is torn from his body and cast into oblivion, while Tamara is shot, then healed, then has her heart ripped out and crushed by Rumpelstiltskin. Did I mention that Rumpelstiltskin is my favorite?

 

My reaction when Rumpelstiltskin killed Tamara.

Also, I think the evil take on Peter Pan will make for an interesting villain. Initially, I didn't like the idea of a bad Pan, but then again I never really liked the original Pan either. He was a bit of an arrogant, sexist, and obnoxious little punk when you think about it.

Of course, like always, this episode raised some new questions and left us wondering what's going to happen next. For instance, why does Pan need Henry's heart? Does the heart of the "truest believer" contain the most powerful magic? And what was the deal with that doll that the lost boy gave to Rumpelstiltskin? Was it Bae's or was it something entirely different? I'm thinking the latter since the lost boy mentioned it was something Rumpelstiltskin hadn't thought about in years. *Sigh* Just when we thought Rumpelstiltskin's plot line couldn't get anymore complicated. Also, based on the promo for next week's episode, I'm interested to see Belle's involvement in Neverland. I assumed she would only be in Storybrooke, but let's hope for some Rumbelle action.

Overall, I am EXTREMELY pleased with season 3 so far. It's only the first episode, but it is definitely off to a better start than it was last season. Let's hope Once Upon a Time will live up to its beginnings and have some happily ever afters already.

The Music of Harry Potter

"Ah music . . . A magic beyond all we do here!" --Albus Dumbledore 

As of today, I am approximately halfway through reading the Harry Potter series. Woo hoo! Really, I have jury duty to thank for that. I didn't bring anyone to justice during my time as a potential juror. Instead, I added yet another Harry-Potter-freak-out-session to my life. Not that I minded at all.

But the fangirling didn't stop there.

Whenever I reread the series, my intake of Harry Potter related material increases exponentially. In the past week I have watched a multitude of Harry Potter fan videos on youtube, searched minor characters' back stories, and pinned even more Potter pins on Pinterest. Last night, however, I found another aspect of Harry Potter to geek out over.

It began as innocent as ever, believe me. My sister was playing snippets from famous scores that I was supposed to guess the movies to. This eventually led us to revisit the complete works of John Williams, which, inevitably, led us astray--astray to awesomeness. It's hard to pick my favorite John Williams score--but, then again, being a biased Harry Potter fan, it's not so hard. John Williams always seems to compose a score that fits the film perfectly, and Harry Potter is no exception. Did you know that Williams wrote "Hedwig's Theme" for the trailer, not necessarily planning on using it in the films? Talk about skill. If you want to learn  more, here's a link to a great article on the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone soundtrack: http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/harry_potter.html

My sister and I ended up geeking out over the various Harry Potter soundtracks--the 3rd being our favorite. I feel like I must mention that my sister and I are so invested in Harry Potter that we can recite the lines from the movies AND sing the music playing in the background as well. So that's what I did last night: listened to Harry Potter soundtracks and recited the lines that correspond to the music in the film. It was a great time.

While John Williams' score best captured the magical world of Harry Potter, Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper, and Alexander Desplat also composed Harry-Potter-worthy scores. In fact, I would say Desplat's The Deathly Hallows Part II is one of my favorite Harry Potter soundtracks. Ahem--"Statues" . . . just putting that out there. The last movie was also great because it incorporated John Williams' original themes, such as "Harry's Wondrous World," and also themes from Nicholas Hooper ("Dumbledore's Farewell"). No matter which score you prefer, I think we can all agree that the music is just another aspect of the films that brings the magic of Harry Potter to life.

Speaking of Harry Potter--when am I not, right--I realize I'm a bit behind on my 30 day challenge. I'll just include 3 days in one post and keep the explanations brief--well, brief-ish.

Least Favorite Character:

Dolores Umbridge

Why? Because she's evil. And wears pink.

Least Favorite Book:

This was hard since I like all the books, but the 5th book has always been the hardest for me to get through. Harry spends the whole book in an angst-ridden, Voldemort-possessed rage and everything seems to be working against him. Plus, Umbridge is in it. And we already know how I feel about her.

Favorite Film: 

I just like the first movie. Everything just works. Also, the first movie is probably closest to the book, which is a major factor for me.

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I Wear Doctor Who Shirts Now . . . Doctor Who Shirts are Cool

As I mentioned in my post from yesterday, I have jury duty this week. So far it's been a lot of waiting. And waiting. Then eating. Eating while waiting. And more waiting. It also consists of a lot of awkward silences  between fifty-something strangers. Now, I don't pride myself on much, but avoiding eye contact and conversing with others is a gift of mine. But sometimes I just can't evade human interaction. Sometimes it's painful. Most times it's uncomfortable. And sometimes . . .  it's awesome.

This is how excited I was to find a fellow Whovian.

While I waited for my ride to pick me up at the courthouse, a lady and fellow jury-duty-victim sat down next to me. Naturally, I was reading Harry Potter, shutting myself completely off from the rest of the world--as I do--when I noticed the woman to my left kept glancing at me. Of course, I just pretended that I didn't notice. Eventually, she plucked up enough courage to ask me, "Is that a TARDIS on your shirt?" Timidly, I said "yes," but internally I resounded with a triumphant "YES!" and fist pump.

Yesterday, my very first Doctor Who t-shirt arrived in the mail and, let me tell you, I was excited. Not only does it have the TARDIS on it, but it also has the complete "wibbly, wobbly, timey, wimey stuff" line. My sister pointed out that the shirt was a bit text-heavy. She may be right, but I figured a true Whovian wouldn't have to read the whole thing to get it. And those who don't get it can just walk away. Ha. Kidding. But I didn't realize how quickly my shirt would single out another Whovian.

I ended up geeking out with this woman until my ride pulled up. Even though I was looking forward to going home, I was a little sad to leave. As much as I think I like keeping to myself at all times--well, some times--randomly rhapsodizing about Doctor Who with someone I met on jury duty is cool.

 Like fezzes. And bow ties.

And I conclude with my Day 2 entry of the Harry Potter challenge:

Favorite book . . . 

After 870 pages worth of all caps, teenage wizard angst, the 6th Harry Potter brings back the delight and humor of the previous books, along with the suspense of Voldemort's rise to power and mystery of Snape's true loyalties. Plus, Harry and Ginny happens. Need I say more? This was a hard decision for me to single out my favorite of the series, but I think I can safely say that the Half-Blood Prince would approve of my choice.

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