Day 6 - Favourite Sci-Fi TV show
Ah now this is more like it. I love my sci-fi, as I'm sure you all know.
My favourite show is the one that started it all for me. So that would be Star Trek, specifically TNG, Voyager and Enterprise.
Some of my earliest memories of watching TV are flashbacks to seeing TNG and Voyager on BBC2 after the Simpsons. I must have been about 3 or 4 but I remember just sitting watching the characters and the bright colours. I'm pretty sure I also used to have a recurring nightmare starring Tuvix...
As I was growing up I must have seen nearly all of the Next Generation and Voyager because after I got Sky TV and started watching from the beginning again I remember having seen the majority of episodes.
I don't remember when Star Trek stopped being on BBC2. The next memory I have of seeing any was when T4 started showing Enterprise. I remember seeing the title sequence and loving the progress of space travel/exploration into Jonathon Archer's Enterprise NX-01. My imagination was sparked and from then on I have always loved Sci-fi. I also think that I was enough of a child still that I hadn't formed a love for a programme for more than a few years and therefore was more accepting of Enterprise, which a lot of older fans hated.
Through High School Star Trek was a form of escapism from tedious classes and it allowed me to have something which was special to me. Only two of my friends liked Star Trek and one was because I made her watch it.
Whilst I won't ever become an astronaut, Star Trek has given me an everlasting love of space and the wonders of not only our own world but the possibilities that are out there.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Year Abroad: 4 - Booked my flight/my ever-growing to-do list
This just got real. New passport arrived and the tickets are now booked for my first stint abroad. Leaving my home on the 25th of September for the first 13 and a bit weeks of my time in Baeza. With my flight booked it has started to sink in that this thing which has been looming over me since I first decided to do my degree will become a reality. I get to live and breathe Spain and a culture which I love. That is one big part of the process now completed. Still have a lot to do though and rapidly running out of time to do it in. 66 days.
To-do list:
Book hotel for first night in Madrid, preferably close to Atocha train station.
Buy travel insurance
Find somewhere to sleep when I arrive in Baeza
Find a flat to live in in Baeza (this is a biggie)
Figure out what I still need to buy before I leave
Figure out which clothes I need to take and which stuff my mum has to bring out with her on her visit
Photocopy everything!
Try to plan some cultural things for my teaching job
Organise my gadget insurance
Buy a new laptop and digital camera
Find Spanish music to fill my iPod and provide a soundtrack for my ramblings
Any suggestions?
30 Day TV Challenge - Day 5
Day 5 - Favourite Crime show
I don't really watch many shows that fall into this category. Sure I've seen a lot of CSI and its off-spring as they are always on TV, but the only ones I 'watch' are Castle and Criminal Minds.
I really enjoy Criminal Minds. I enjoy the way that it centres on how to catch a criminal through the profiles and how certain types of crimes are only, usually performed by certain types of people. I also really like the bond that the team share. The relationship between Morgan and 'baby girl' Garcia is very sweet.
Castle is also very enjoyable. It starts Nathan Fillion whom I know through Firefly and Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog, as Richard Castle - a successful crime novelist who, due to connections with the mayor shadows Detective Beckett as research for his new novel series Nikki Heat. This is very much a comedy/crime/drama with the crimes becoming almost just the background for the character development and a 'will they, won't they' relationship with Beckett and Castle.
This post is now coming to an end because I really don't have much to say about this genre.
I don't really watch many shows that fall into this category. Sure I've seen a lot of CSI and its off-spring as they are always on TV, but the only ones I 'watch' are Castle and Criminal Minds.
I really enjoy Criminal Minds. I enjoy the way that it centres on how to catch a criminal through the profiles and how certain types of crimes are only, usually performed by certain types of people. I also really like the bond that the team share. The relationship between Morgan and 'baby girl' Garcia is very sweet.
Castle is also very enjoyable. It starts Nathan Fillion whom I know through Firefly and Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog, as Richard Castle - a successful crime novelist who, due to connections with the mayor shadows Detective Beckett as research for his new novel series Nikki Heat. This is very much a comedy/crime/drama with the crimes becoming almost just the background for the character development and a 'will they, won't they' relationship with Beckett and Castle.
This post is now coming to an end because I really don't have much to say about this genre.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
30 Day TV Challenge - Day 4
Day 4 - Favourite Drama
I'll dispense with the usual pre-amble that I seem to be developing in these posts. The whole I like a lot of stuff, hard to choose, blah blah blah.
My favourite drama series is Dr Who.
I first saw Dr Who the night that the first Christopher Eccleston episode aired on BBC 1. I didn't really know anything about it, and wasn't too fussed about watching. Enter my mum, who grew up watching the 'classic' series and is normally a very reserved lady, acting very excited and not allowing the other people who were at dinner with us to speak when the show came on. Odd behaviour indeed.
But then I saw why. This show tapped into that part of my imagination that yearned to jump into the TARDIS with a crazy madman. I wanted, and still want to adventure to everywhere that is possible and even to those places that exist only in my imagination. The part of me that is still a child and believe that anything is possible.
My Doctor Who viewing only encompasses the 'modern' version i.e. the post-2005 seasons. I want to start watching the 'classic' series but I have no idea where to begin.
My favourite Doctor was David Tennant. Whilst I liked Eccleston and his darker portrayal of this tortured man, the lighter version was even more compelling. His final episode had me in tears. I have only recently began to like Matt Smith's incarnation, mostly thanks to the Neil Gaiman penned episode. One of the great things about this show is that it can go from silly and absurd to deep emotions in the space of one episode. The other great thing about this show is that it keeps evolving and as actors and writers change the show finds a new way to explore the world's most favourite Gallifrean.
I'll dispense with the usual pre-amble that I seem to be developing in these posts. The whole I like a lot of stuff, hard to choose, blah blah blah.
My favourite drama series is Dr Who.
I first saw Dr Who the night that the first Christopher Eccleston episode aired on BBC 1. I didn't really know anything about it, and wasn't too fussed about watching. Enter my mum, who grew up watching the 'classic' series and is normally a very reserved lady, acting very excited and not allowing the other people who were at dinner with us to speak when the show came on. Odd behaviour indeed.
But then I saw why. This show tapped into that part of my imagination that yearned to jump into the TARDIS with a crazy madman. I wanted, and still want to adventure to everywhere that is possible and even to those places that exist only in my imagination. The part of me that is still a child and believe that anything is possible.
My Doctor Who viewing only encompasses the 'modern' version i.e. the post-2005 seasons. I want to start watching the 'classic' series but I have no idea where to begin.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Year Abroad 3: I need to decide when to leave/birthday blues
The BA sale is on until the 12th of July so that gives me precisely 48 hours to book my tickets so that I am guaranteed a good deal. Problem is that the Andalucian government in all their wisdom haven't announced a date for the induction course yet, and probably won't for some time. I'm going to have to risk booking a flight and maybe missing the course or finding myself with more free time to explore before starting my job. The second option is probably beneficial as I have a lot to do when I first get to Spain. I need to get forms filled in by the local police department so that I can get my NIE - numero de individulaes extranjeros - which is required to A) open a Spanish bank account so that B) they can give me my wages. I also have to find a flat, organise a sim card for my phone and find my way about.
That all sounds good so far doesn't it?
But...and here's the kicker...I will miss my birthday. Now I know its just a date and it is arbitrary and doesn't mean anything, but to me it symbolises a lot of what I have to sacrifice this year. I have to give up my family and friends and go months without seeing the special people in my life. I also know that I will be home for a short period at Christmas and really this first part is only 3 months. But I have decided on a new course of action and that is to move my birthday forward by one month, for this year only. This should give me time to celebrate and not be too sad about going.
At this moment in time I am planning to depart Glasgow on the 24th/25th September and fly to Madrid where I will spend the night before travelling onwards to Baeza. This will give me a week before I start my job to get myself sorted and to meet the people at my school etc. I am sure I shall be far too busy on my actual birthday to be sad.
That is just some of the stuff keeping me up at night :)
That all sounds good so far doesn't it?
But...and here's the kicker...I will miss my birthday. Now I know its just a date and it is arbitrary and doesn't mean anything, but to me it symbolises a lot of what I have to sacrifice this year. I have to give up my family and friends and go months without seeing the special people in my life. I also know that I will be home for a short period at Christmas and really this first part is only 3 months. But I have decided on a new course of action and that is to move my birthday forward by one month, for this year only. This should give me time to celebrate and not be too sad about going.
At this moment in time I am planning to depart Glasgow on the 24th/25th September and fly to Madrid where I will spend the night before travelling onwards to Baeza. This will give me a week before I start my job to get myself sorted and to meet the people at my school etc. I am sure I shall be far too busy on my actual birthday to be sad.
That is just some of the stuff keeping me up at night :)
30 Day TV Challenge - Day 3
Day 3 - Favourite Comedy/Sitcom
Today I am going to talk about my two favourite comedy/sitcom shows. One is from the US and the other is a well loved classic show from good ol' Blighty.
It has to be acknowledged that there are vast differences between British humour and the brand found in the US. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it, its more just a feeling that there is almost always something lacking in the US stuff. But I might just be a tad prejudiced as I grew up on some of the best stuff from the classic BBC comedies.
So firstly, my favourite US sitcom is, unsurprisingly, the US Office. I enjoy both the UK and the US versions of this show, but after I got severely hacked off with Ricky Gervais, the US version became my favourite of the two .
I'm sure everyone knows the format of this show. Cameras from a documentary follow the group of workers in the office and chronicle their lives. The early seasons dealt with the love story between Jim, played by John Krasinski, and Pam, played by Jenna Fischer. This developed into their marriage. The boss of the office is Michael Scott, played by Steve Carrell, is one of my favourite characters and his recent departure from the show was emtional to say the least.
I have high hopes that the next season will be good, but I can't help but wonder how they will cope without Michael Scott.
Secondly, my favourite British sitcom. I was raised on a comedic diet of satire and the 'classics' watching Have I Got News For You from around the age of 5 and not getting a lot of the jokes about politicians but understanding that this was funny. I was also exposed to shows from years gone by such as Dad's Army, Yes Minister and my all time favourite Porridge.
Porridge follows an inmate called Norman Stanley Fletcher, played by one of my heroes Ronnie Barker, as he does his time in prison. There were three seasons all together and along with two Christmas specials totalled 21 episodes, there was also a film.
The title sequences are special as instead of a theme song each one features only a voice over from the judge sentencing him to five years in prison.
There is also a sadness related to this amazing TV show as the other lead character played by Richard Beckinsale died shortly after the film was wrapped, aged only 31. Ronnie Barker commented on his premature death, saying: "He was so loved. He hadn't done much but he was so loved that there was a universal sort of grief that went on".
Nevertheless if you have never watched an episode of Porridge I urge you to seek it out. It is genuinely one of the funniest things I have ever had the pleasure to view.
Today I am going to talk about my two favourite comedy/sitcom shows. One is from the US and the other is a well loved classic show from good ol' Blighty.
It has to be acknowledged that there are vast differences between British humour and the brand found in the US. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it, its more just a feeling that there is almost always something lacking in the US stuff. But I might just be a tad prejudiced as I grew up on some of the best stuff from the classic BBC comedies.
So firstly, my favourite US sitcom is, unsurprisingly, the US Office. I enjoy both the UK and the US versions of this show, but after I got severely hacked off with Ricky Gervais, the US version became my favourite of the two .
I'm sure everyone knows the format of this show. Cameras from a documentary follow the group of workers in the office and chronicle their lives. The early seasons dealt with the love story between Jim, played by John Krasinski, and Pam, played by Jenna Fischer. This developed into their marriage. The boss of the office is Michael Scott, played by Steve Carrell, is one of my favourite characters and his recent departure from the show was emtional to say the least.
I have high hopes that the next season will be good, but I can't help but wonder how they will cope without Michael Scott.
Secondly, my favourite British sitcom. I was raised on a comedic diet of satire and the 'classics' watching Have I Got News For You from around the age of 5 and not getting a lot of the jokes about politicians but understanding that this was funny. I was also exposed to shows from years gone by such as Dad's Army, Yes Minister and my all time favourite Porridge.
Porridge follows an inmate called Norman Stanley Fletcher, played by one of my heroes Ronnie Barker, as he does his time in prison. There were three seasons all together and along with two Christmas specials totalled 21 episodes, there was also a film.
The title sequences are special as instead of a theme song each one features only a voice over from the judge sentencing him to five years in prison.
There is also a sadness related to this amazing TV show as the other lead character played by Richard Beckinsale died shortly after the film was wrapped, aged only 31. Ronnie Barker commented on his premature death, saying: "He was so loved. He hadn't done much but he was so loved that there was a universal sort of grief that went on".
Nevertheless if you have never watched an episode of Porridge I urge you to seek it out. It is genuinely one of the funniest things I have ever had the pleasure to view.
Saturday, July 09, 2011
30 Day TV Challenge - Day 2
Day 2 - Least favourite TV show
My least favourite TV show. Hmm...this seems as though it should have an obvious answer, but as I said in the first of these posts I tend to like everything I watch no matter how dire it is.
I have decided. My lest favourite show is *drumroll*...Everwood.
After E4 introduced me to the Gilmore Girls and I liked I decided to move onto their other 'daytime' programming. And Everwood seemed an obvious next step. The show centres around the lives of the Brown and Abott families living in a fictional small town called Everwood in Colorado. Ephram Brown is a piano prodigy and used to living in New York. His father Dr Brown was a noted nuero-surgeon and after his wife's tragic death (which takes place before the first episode, so this information is not a spoiler) moves his family here, with much reluctance and gnashing of teeth.
Don't get me wrong I do like this show. But it makes me really depressed as a lot of the episodes deal with death, medical problems or unrequited love. I have found myself crying through the end credits more than once.
My least favourite TV show. Hmm...this seems as though it should have an obvious answer, but as I said in the first of these posts I tend to like everything I watch no matter how dire it is.
I have decided. My lest favourite show is *drumroll*...Everwood.
After E4 introduced me to the Gilmore Girls and I liked I decided to move onto their other 'daytime' programming. And Everwood seemed an obvious next step. The show centres around the lives of the Brown and Abott families living in a fictional small town called Everwood in Colorado. Ephram Brown is a piano prodigy and used to living in New York. His father Dr Brown was a noted nuero-surgeon and after his wife's tragic death (which takes place before the first episode, so this information is not a spoiler) moves his family here, with much reluctance and gnashing of teeth.
Don't get me wrong I do like this show. But it makes me really depressed as a lot of the episodes deal with death, medical problems or unrequited love. I have found myself crying through the end credits more than once.
Thursday, July 07, 2011
30 Day TV Challenge - Day 1
Day 1 - Favourite TV Show
This is tricky. I am one of those people who gets caught up in a TV show and will endeavour to watch every episode of it, even if I don't like it that much. I then will develop some affection for the show and will think I like it, even when I probably don't.
An example of this would have been Lab Rats...the BBC2 comedy series with the lovely Chris Addison which wasn't actually very good, but I have seen them all and I kinda like it, even though I see its flaws.
But favourite TV show...
I guess the obvious answer would be Supernatural. I didn't watch this show from the get-go. Some of my friends who were into Sci-Fi were always talking about how good it was. And eventually, once my family got Sky TV I was able to watch it from the beginning on Living.
So why do I love Supernatural so much? The central story between the two brothers is compelling and the emotions running along-side the killing and hunting of monsters piqued my interest. This show delves into various mythologies and legends and after season 3 the show added a more complex layer by exploring the Judeo-Christian Apocalypse and introduced my favourite character - Castiel.
The show has progressed through its six seasons and I, for one, have high hopes for Season 7.
MAx
This is tricky. I am one of those people who gets caught up in a TV show and will endeavour to watch every episode of it, even if I don't like it that much. I then will develop some affection for the show and will think I like it, even when I probably don't.
An example of this would have been Lab Rats...the BBC2 comedy series with the lovely Chris Addison which wasn't actually very good, but I have seen them all and I kinda like it, even though I see its flaws.
But favourite TV show...
I guess the obvious answer would be Supernatural. I didn't watch this show from the get-go. Some of my friends who were into Sci-Fi were always talking about how good it was. And eventually, once my family got Sky TV I was able to watch it from the beginning on Living.
The show has progressed through its six seasons and I, for one, have high hopes for Season 7.
MAx
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