Diary of a Fangirl: Elementary

Elementary is one of my favorite new shows this season.  I saw the pilot at this years San Diego Comic Con.  There is something, however, that has been bothering me about it, and I finally put my finger on it:

You can't solve the crime with Sherlock and Watson.

With Law & Order: SVU, you can sometimes solve the case with the detectives, and the times you can't, you get to see more of the crime or the criminal.  With Elementary, I think the show may very well have to focus on his relationships to sustain the show, because otherwise, it'll just be about how much of a genius he is.

Still, I enjoy it.  I just worry about its longevity.

Also, kind of waiting for Sherlock/Watson to become a thing.  I'm thinking around season 3.

ETA: Robert Downey Jr.'s and Jude Law's Sherlcock/Watson are my favorite ship for the pair, though.

Diary of a Fangirl: Boy Meets World

I heard news of this simmering about a month ago, but now it's official:

The spin-off to Boy Meets World, starring Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel/Corey and Topanga Matthews and their two teen children--Girl Meets World is on.  The pilot will begin filming in February and the show will air on Disney.

All this makes me feel some serious 90s nostalgia.  Remember T.G.I.F. on ABC?  I kinda miss it.  Anyway, rumor has it Ryder Strong will in fact make cameo appearances (used to have a hardcore crush on that guy), Will Freidel more than likely won't, and I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Also, Danielle Fishel has a copy of Fangirl!  Hopefully she'll share her thoughts on it.

Diary of a Fangirl: Fandom Secrets Breaking Bad

On my Fangirl FB page, I post daily fandom secrets by other people.  I started thinking, and wondered if I actually had one for some of the shows I started to watch recently.

Turns out I do.

I realized I ship Walt/Jesse.  I feel like this is a total rational assessment, at least from Walt's end.  He's just been so thirsty to keep Jesse close to him, and goes into jealous rages when Jesse spends his time with others.  It's weird, cause I know there's also a father/son reading to their relationship, but I feel like there's an underlying context of a slash relationship there as well.

Oh Walt...You ruined date night.

I haven't had the chance to watch season five yet, but I really can't wait to see just how deep the rabbit hole goes...

    

Diary of a Fangirl: Larry Hagman

Growing up, one of my favorite television programs to watch was Nick at Nite, and in the line up was I Dream of Jeannie.  I had such a crush on Major Nelson.  Before that, I watched eps of Dallas with my mom.  I may not have gotten everything in the context of the show (obviously), being a little kid, but I'd watch reruns again when I was older, and J.R. Ewing was one bad ass mo-fo, with the face of Major Nelson.  W.I.N.

"Villainy could be fun, and that's how I played it."

Anyway, I was sad to hear about Larry's passing.  I read up on him, now that he's gone, and it turns out he was a nice human being as well.

Some interesting notes on Larry Hagman:

When filming Dallas, he drank about four bottles of champagne a day.  Jack Nicholson would later introduce him to Mary Jane, for he was worried about Larry's drinking problem.  In the early 90s, he quit drinking and smoking, and became a vegetarian.

He was kind about giving autographs, but would often ask the fan to sing him something or tell a joke, to give something back to Larry.

He was a longtime member of the Peace and Freedom party.

He had a ring made from the gallstones removed during his liver transplant.

He refused to speak one day a week, to be a testament to his self discipline.

He produced and directed shows for servicemen while he was stationed in the U.S. Air Force.

Licked Lauren Bacall's arm upon meeting her, when he heard she didn't like to be touched.

He once said that he wanted his ashes scattered in a field of wheat and marijuana, and that in a couple of years, he wanted a cake made from the plants--enough for 200-300 people, so that people can get a little bit of Larry in them.

Diary of a Fangirl: Twilight

So, I watched "Twilight" for the first time Friday night.

I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would, but I still didn't enjoy it.  I watched it critically, and I [think] I deciphered what makes it so popular, and what makes it so bothersome.

Let's start with the bothersome.

I dig vampires and vampire lore.  Edward straddles the line of good and evil, raised with a vampire family who are self proclaimed vegetarians, and attempt to fit in with the cattle.  Except they all do a pretty crappy job.  They stick together, and weird out all the other kids in school (and no idea why they would choose to go to high school.  At least college for crying out loud if they want to blend in).  I point this out to say that the entire Cullen family is awkward as fuck, and it's no surprise that Edward has little to no social skills.  So, he meets a girl who drives him crazy (i.e. thirst for blood), and he becomes obsessive over her.  He wants to drain her, and also protect her at the same time.  Yes, folks, I've heard this story before (Buffy and Angel anyone? And in certain respects, Spike), but I'll give the vampire who sparkles a pass.  What he needs is a human to integrate him into the human world, and sadly for him that human is Bella.


I grew up in the era where kickass women started to take root--Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, Buffy Summers (who I do have some major issues with), Sydney Bristow, Charly Baltimore and Jackie Brown.  Beatrix Kiddo.  Bella Swan is like, the anti-thesis of those characters.

Total perfume ad.  Eau de Sparkle.

I get having a gorgeous, mysterious love interests who saves you, wants to keep you safe, is misunderstood and looks to you to show him what's right.  The bad boy who now wants to do, um...do-goodery, but continuously struggles.  A dichotomy in character; a tame Jekyll and Hyde.  It's quite popular in romance novels.  And that's why "Twilight" has made so much money.  It plays on that desire in women.  And then, this film (or book) gets to have its cake and still eat it too, simply because the guy is a vampire.  Forever young, but still older and more worldly than his paramour without being old/creepy/gross.  [That being said, I do get the appeal of a damn fine F.I.L.F.  Just saying.  But if one is to appeal to the tweens, teens and beyond, Filf's are no good.]

Anyway, back to Bella...and frankly, Kristen Stewart's acting (and the abundance of "stare into each other's eyes" scenes and her inability to close her mouth ever or pour ketchup), is what dulls the film for me personally.  I read on imdb.com that Michelle Trachtenberg auditioned for the role.  How much better the film would have been had it been her.  She would have given expression and better delivery of the lines.  In my humble opinion, of course.

Anyway, off to see the next one...

Diary of a Fangirl: Things a Fangirl are thankful for...

Hello all,

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving as I did.

For today's entry, I'd like to share some things that this fangirl can be thankful for, in a bullet-pointed list of no particular order:

Tom Hiddleston
"The Dark Knight Rises"
Fandoms
Fan fiction
Alexander Skarsgard, who's awesome to fans





The BtVS/Angel fandoms
James Marsters' cheekbones/James in general
San Diego Comic Con

Joseph Gordon Levitt and his awesome acting
Michael Fassbender and his awesome acting
"The Avengers"
Joss Whedon
Christopher Nolan

self publishing
forums
the interwebs in general
[some] trilogies
Quentin Tarantino
gifs
Betty White
icons

internet memes
I Love Lucy
Lucille Bluth

Trent Reznor
The Rock
Fangirl

Diary of a Fangirl: Meeting Norman Reedus

Today's guest post is from Kyle:

Meeting Norman Reedus

The first time I met Norman was at Wizard Chicago. He was only there Saturday and Sunday due to filming The Walking Dead, so you can imagine his lines for photo ops and autographs were massive.

I got in line Saturday for autographs and ended up leaving the line to go to photo ops. I don't get nervous meeting people at Cons very often (I think you can count the number of people I've actually been nervous about om one hand), but I was nervous about Norman. 

The first one I had was a "Boondock Saints" photo with Norman and Sean Patrick Flanery. The first thing I noticed when I got into the area they were taking the pictures (it was closer than the autograph area) is that they are even better looking in person. 

I said, "Hi guys," when I walked up for my photo (I was happy I was speaking and got in between them).  Sean said, "Hi," and Norman said, "Hi Hon."  He uses "Hon" a lot, but it's very sweet when he does.  I thanked Norman for getting there and doing all this even though he was filming late in Georgia on Friday.  He said he loves to do this, told me I was sweet and then gave me a hug.  

They were moving the pictures along quickly and I for some reason felt the need to tell Norman I would see him in a little bit (I'm a dork), and made my way out to get back in line for The Walking Dead photos with Norman and Jon Bernthal.  

When it was my turn for that photo, I walked up and said, "Hi" to Jon, and looked at Norman to say something.  He said, "Hi again."  I was flustered, but managed a "Hi" and a smile.  After the picture, I had to turn to my right [which is the side he was on] to leave and when I did Norman hugged me again.  

I walked out and again got in line for solo pics with him.  When I went in this time, I walked over and he again hugged me to which I thought, "I could really get used to this."  I apologized to him for being sweaty (it was like a furnace in the picture area).  He told me it was okay, and that he was really sweaty too because it was so hot in there.   I left the photo area and went to get back in line for autographs, but they were closing his line down.  It was still massive.  I was a little pissed that I would have to wait, but I figured I would see him Sunday. 

Sunday morning, we got to the convention and went right to his autograph line.  It was already long.  I tried to find out if they knew he was signing before photos, but the girl running the line wasn't sure.  After about 45 minutes, I figured he would never make it there before photos, so I had someone hold my spot in line while I went for more photos.  I had another "Boondock Saints" photo and two with just Norman.  I did the BDS photo, and noticed that they both smelled amazing.  When I went for my solo pics, he gave me another hug and we took the first picture.  I told him that I hoped he got some sleep, and he said he did and felt much more awake.  He told me I was sweet for asking.  Then he asked, "What do you want to do for this one?"  I asked if we can flip off the camera (he does this all the time).   He smiled, laughed and said, "Fuck Yeah!"  

I went back to the line for autographs and waited.  It was a long line, but I got to take pictures during the wait, so that was nice.  After about two hours, I finally got up to him.  I had bought him a Zippo that said "Zombie Apocalypse Survival Gear" and had the other side engraved to say "Survival Tip: stick with Daryl Dixon."  I felt a little silly because I would usually never give someone a gift that has to do with a character, but he seems to really like that stuff, so I was giving it a try.  I got up to him and gave him my Walking Dead poster that I am working on getting as much of the cast to sign as I can.  I had him sign it to Kyle, and he asked who Kyle was.  I told him it was me, and that everyone always thinks it's for a guy.  He said it was cool that that was my name, and then put a heart with his autograph.  

I told him I had something for him and gave him the lighter.  I was explaining that it had no butane because I couldn't bring it on the plane.  He looked at it and said, "It's awesome."  He told me he has butane.  I told him it was engraved and he flipped it over and got a huge smile.  He came around to give me a hug and then kissed my cheek.  It was very unexpected, and he apologized.  I told him it was okay--he could do that anytime he wanted.  He laughed and then went on to explain that he was told not to do that because he can get in trouble.  He said he heard that Bruce Willis sometime walks through places with his hands up so no one accuses him of anything.  I promised he had nothing to worry about, and he laughed and hugged me again. 

I had him sign a picture I bought at his table and got another hug when I was leaving.  The rest of the day I smelled like him--my shirt, my arms, my face--it was wonderful.  I do need to say he gives great hugs, so tight.  And his arms--let's just say those are good arms to have. Norman was a real sweetheart, and if you are thinking about going to see him, I highly recommend you do.  He also seems to really appreciate his fans.  He has a blog with pictures of all the gifts he gets.  The lighter is almost at the bottom of the list. 

Want to share your best fangirl/fanboy moment?  Submit to Jillian.Robi@gmail.com today!  
Want to read a great fangirl story?  Check out Fangirl--available on paperback and Kindle!

    

Diary of a Fangirl: Hostess Twinkies and Zingers

So, it's pretty official--the Hostess company is going out of business.

I went to several stores and gas stations today (five, to be exact.  Five was my limit), and at the last one, I found no Twinkies, but a package of Hostess Zingers--like a Twinkie, but with a yellow, vanilla frosting on top.  After a workout, I took the zingers home, ate them, and kind of fell in love.

I enjoyed Twinkies as a child.  But I suppose I figured since they'd always be there, I never thought about them.  Just like Snickers or Krispy Kremes.  But now that they're on the brink of extinction, it kind of made me crazy an uber fangirl of the product.  I did find a couple of recipes online, however, so if the day comes when I get really bored and nostalgic, I'll just make some.

Here's to you, Twinkies.

Diary of a Fangirl: The Walking Dead

Just started season two of The Walking Dead, and I have to say that while I do like it, it also makes me laugh inappropriately, and some of the characters really do irk me.

My favorites thus far are Daryl (shocking, I know) and Shane (though I vaguely know of his fate.  Wah).  Anyway, the last ep I watched pleasantly surprised me, by having a somewhat of a crossover with Breaking Bad--the crystal meth of TV shows.  Darryl takes a zip-lock bag of drugs from his brother's bike, and at the bottom of it was Walt's pure blue crystals.  Nice.

Anyway, I started thinking about who I would want to be in my group if a zombie apocalypse went down.  Here are my choices:

Daryl Dixon--You guys have seen The Walking Dead right?  He's nifty in a pinch.  He can hunt too.

Sayid--What can I say--he's a trained professional.  He'd be one of the best damn zombie slayers ever.  Also, he isn't so bad to look at.

Walter White--he could totally make a zombie robot killer out of like, car parts and toys or something.  The short story is this: he's a scientific genius, and if there's a lack of power in the world, he can figure out the best ways around stuff like that.

Diary of a Fangirl: We Will Always Love Whitney Houston

I actually heard about this tribute on CBS on a fluke--I saw a commercial for it on Elementary, the only show I watch on the station.  Good thing I did, otherwise I would have missed this.

Just dotted down some thoughts as I watched.

Halle Berry is up first.  She's fairly emotional right now.  Didn't realize she and Whitney were close.

So, so glad Jennifer Hudson did the opening.  If anyone can sing a Whitney song and do it justice, it's her.

Britney Spears--I know she won a Grammy or two, but it just somehow seems wrong for her to be there...Sorry, but she just isn't a "voice."

They're showing a plethora of old Whitney clips and goodness, her voice was truly beautiful.  Truly.  She really was a national treasure. 

Wow--a clip of Celine Dion singing "The Greatest Love of All" in the 80s.  She has a powerful voice, but it isn't the same.  But she comes out and admits she could never sing it like Whitney.  Classy.  And then she goes on to sing it, as only Celine can.

I mostly just want Jennifer Hudson to come back out and sing.  Or Luther, RIP.

Now they're showing the full clip of Whitney singing "I Will Always Love You" at the 1994 Grammy's.  Beautiful.

Who are these random people they keep showing in the audience?

And now, Usher sings "I Believe in You and Me."  It's...meh.  It's aight.

Oh, Cece Winans and Yolanda Adams.  I hope they sing a song...Yolanda in particular--her voice is amazing.

Ooh, and they are!  A beautiful rendition of "Count On Me."  Two sistahs who don't need a mic up on their mouths to be heard.  

All in all, a short presentation, but sweet.