Taking down the "Gone Fishing" sign...

Wow, I've been gone a long time, huh? Sorry 'bout that...

I have been busy the last few months, but that's no excuse... it's not like the world of geeky awesomeness is going to wait for me to have time to blog, is it?

Never fear: I'm back to serve up my own take on the weird and wonderful things going on. And I'm sure all, what, maybe two of you who are actually reading this will be very relieved.

Let the geekiness commence!

"Epitaph Two: Return"

SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Today's Special: Tongue soup (no, not really... or is it?) and berries from the Safe Haven garden.

Ask just about any Whedonite, and they'll tell you that when a Whedon show gets the chance to have a REAL, honest-to-God finale, it is going to be an incredible piece of television (or film, in the case of Serenity). In that vein, "Epitaph Two: Return" did not disappoint. Here are my thoughts on the finale, in no particular order:

• Of the two deaths that I predicted, I was right about one of them. I TOTALLY called Topher's death, even the fact that he would die performing an act of heroic sacrifice. It is both sad and beautiful that the man whose tech brought about the thoughtpocalypse died returning everyone's minds to their rightful bodies.
• I was wrong about the other death, though. I predicted that either Victor/Tony or Sierra/Priya would die, falling in line with the usual Whedon practice of splitting up couples. As it turns out, neither one of them died, and I couldn't be happier to be proven wrong. Apparently even Joss wasn't willing to tear apart such a sweet couple, because Tony and Priya are together at the end of the series, making them members of perhaps the smallest club in the Whedonverse: the Happily Ever After Club. A side note: As much as I love Tony/Priya, if I had a time machine and super bargaining/intimidation skills, I would gladly trade their happily ever after for a Wash/Zoe happy ending. True story.
• Of course, the Whedon Curse had to claim a member of one couple on the show, and Paul was the unlucky one this time. In true Whedon fashion, the death was quick, sudden, and unexpected. BOOM - headshot - and Paul is dead. This being Dollhouse, however, dead doesn't necessarily mean all dead, and Echo and Paul are reunited in an unusual but strangely perfect way: Echo uses Topher's chair to upload Paul's consciousness into her mind, meaning they will (literally) be together forever. The person who left behind the wedge with Paul's consciousness on it? Well, that leads me to my next point:
• You know that slight resentment I've been feeling toward the Dollhouse writers since the revelation re: Big Bad Boyd? Well, they are forgiven. Why? Because they gave me a gift in the form of Sane!Alpha showing up as an ally (a beloved and trusted ally, no less) in the finale. Evil!Alpha was awesome (in a "Holy crap, he's frickin' scary" kind of way), and I love Alan Tudyk no matter who he's playing, but getting the chance to watch Alan Tudyk without having to hate his character? That totally made this fangirl's day. Come to think of it, I would just be deliriously happy if Joss Whedon's next project was some version of "The Alan Tudyk Show." Who's with me?
• As much as I love the fact that Whedon and Co. got a chance to actually end the series, wrap up the story lines and show at least a bit of where they were planning to go, this finale makes me lament all the wonderful stories that DIDN'T get told - at least not in full. If the series had lasted the 5 seasons that were originally planned, then we might have had a chance to see the development of a great many things that were shown in the finale. For example, Alpha's rehabilitation and redemption would have made for a fascinating story arc, along with the rise of the Tech Heads, the estrangement of Priya and Tony, the birth of T, the kidnapping and mental unravelling of Topher, etc., etc. Oh well. I guess that's what fan fiction is for...
  

Gleeking out

Today's Special: A round of slushies for all!

Lots of great Glee news lately. First, the show wins the Golden Globe for Best Television Show - Comedy or Musical. Then, we get the sweet, sweet news that NPH will likely appear in an episode (directed by Joss Whedon, no less). What could possibly top any of that?

Three words: Glee. Concert. Tour.

Only a few of the locations have been released so far, but more are sure to come. Here's hoping there's a show planned within driving distance of every Gleek out there!

When Fandoms Collide

Today's Specials: Slushies, frozen yogurt (spork included), and all the pig's blood you want (or not, if you aren't of the "creature of the night" persuasion)

People, I fear I may actually pass out from all this awesome.

Here's the scoop: Dr. Horrible star Neil Patrick Harris (NPH) may appear on the episode of Glee directed by - wait for it - Joss Whedon.

Back when I heard the news that Joss was directing a Glee episode, I had an idle notion - a fleeting, hopeful wish - that Joss might use his considerable pull among members of the Whedonverse (a.k.a. actors who have appeared in Whedon shows) to get one or more of them to appear in the episode. I even thought, fleetingly, that NPH might be the guy to do it. But I sure didn't think it would actually happen.

But now, barring some Grinch-like CBS executive stealing all the joy from the hearts of Whedonites and Gleeks everywhere, NPH WILL reunite with Joss this spring and treat Glee to his particular brand of awesome.

I. CANNOT. WAIT.

Geek Find of the Day

So there I was, strolling through Borders, drooling over the books as usual, when I wandered over to a display of science fiction books. And there, waiting for me, was a small box labeled "Pon Farr." Intrigued, I read further and discovered that it was a Star Trek-based PERFUME.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen: Star Trek fragrances have arrived.

This find sent me into such geek-gasms, I could barely stand. And Pon Farr is just the start. Genki Wear, a company that has already made a name for itself with its line of decidedly geeky jewelry and accessories, has two other Trek fragrances. The first, which I also saw at Borders, is a cologne called "Tiberius" with the tagline "Boldly Go." But the best and funniest is a cologne called "Red Shirt," which bears the tagline, "Because Tomorrow May Never Come."

Really, I'm just glad I live in a world where things like this exist.

"The Hollow Men"

THE USUAL SPOILER ALERT HERE: IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE EPISODE, STOP READING NOW.

This time, I'm just going to jot down the various things that occurred to me during this episode, in no particular order:

• Can you say "poetic justice"? I mean, I can't think of a more fitting end for the man responsible for the thought-pocalypse (I don't care what you think, Topher, it's really Boyd's fault in the end) than to turn him into a Doll and then blow him up while simultaneously destroying his headquarters? And yet, at the same time, I couldn't help feeling sorry for him. I mean, he was good ol' Boyd for so long, it's hard not to still feel a twinge of friendly feeling for him. And on that note...

• Thank you Topher for articulating exactly what I felt after learning of Boyd's true identity! "I mean, what an actor! I don't know whether to hate him or ask for his autograph!"

• And one more thing on Boyd: anyone else get really creeped out with his "I love you guys"? This is one creepy, twisted, sociopathic S.O.B. if he thinks that they're a "family" after all the manipulation he's subjected them to.
  

• Mellie! Oh God, Mellie! I loved her and Ballard together from the beginning, so I should have known, given Joss's history with couples (he hates them, apparently, and therefore continues to tear them apart) that one of them would die. But oh, poor Mellie! At least she died nobly, saving Paul's life and all. But still...

• One of my favorite lines of the episode came from Paul after Echo pulled a gun on Boyd and Boyd put a gun to Paul's head. Paul: "What did I miss?"

• A big thank you to the writers for giving us one last glimpse of Victor-as-Topher. Pure awesome, again.

• And am I the only one who found herself screaming at the screen several times. First: "No, Topher, don't trust him!" And later: "No, Paul, don't give Mellie the gun!" I call it a good piece of television if I'm so invested in the story that I'm yelling at people who clearly can't hear me.
  

My head's still spinning...

HERE BE SPOILERS. IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY SEEN THE DOLLHOUSE EPISODE "GETTING CLOSER," READ NO FURTHER. NO, REALLY. YOU DON'T WANT TO KEEP READING. JUST TRUST ME ON THIS.

I don't know how to feel about the Dollhouse writers right now: angry, betrayed, or just really, really impressed.

I mean really, I EXPECT Dollhouse to be full to the brim of plot twists. Of all the shows I've watched (except maybe for Lost), Dollhouse is the very best at being able to send my mind spinning and my jaw dropping week after week. It started with the "Alan Tudyk is ALPHA?!?" revelation, then the "Whoa, Dr. Saunders is a DOLL?!?" and it just kept going from there. And even though I know the twists are probably coming, I'm still thrown for a loop.

But this one? Oh, it takes the cake. Big time.

Boyd. I thought I knew him. I liked him - hell, I TRUSTED him! Even though we knew very little about him, he had that protector/father-figure vibe that just made you believe in him. To reference another Whedon show, he was the Giles to Echo's Buffy.

And now? It's like finding out that Giles was the Big Bad all along.

I feel like the character died, and in a way, he did: Boyd, as we knew him, is gone, and the evil, mysterious Rossum head is in his place. And like any good fan faced with a character death, I'm scrambling to find ways in which he's not really dead - or rather, not really evil and slimy.

Just go with me for a second: If there's something we learned about the Dollhouse verse, it's that memories can be changed and manipulated. Perhaps the REAL head of Rossum changed Caroline's memories?

I know, I'm grasping at straws. I'll probably just have to accept the fact that one of my favorite characters never REALLY existed, and was just the Big Bad in disguise all along. And if that's the case, there are a LOT of questions. Here are just a couple:

• What is "Boyd's" agenda in facilitating Echo's development into a real personality? More to the point, what is his endgame? Why is Caroline/Echo so important, and what does he think she'll be able to help him achieve?
  
• Why has helped fight Rossum in the past? Just two episodes ago, he helped get Victor out of the Rossum hive mind soldier facility. And in this episode, he mowed down a bunch of Rossum agents in Adelle's office. Was it all just part of the deception?

Seriously, this show just keeps getting better and better. And I do believe that the sprint to the finish (only 2 episodes left!) is going to be EPIC television, friends. EPIC.