Time to be Thankful and Stuff

It's that time of year again (at least for Americans... do American Indians celebrate Thanksgiving?). People are giving thanks shortly before acting like the rabid consumer society we are. I may not participate in Black Friday (maybe if you paid me to), but I still want to tell you all what I'm thankful for. I'll skip the givens - family, friends, etc. You know who you are and you know I love your faces. No, this year, I'm focusing on my geek love. This blog has increasingly turned into a geek one, and I may as well continue with the trend. Plus there were plenty of things to nerdgasm over this year.

So, without further ado, the four geek things I'm thankful for this year in no particular order.

1. Women in genre films

It's almost like filmmakers are finally starting to get it. Women can be smart, strong, independent, conflicted, sexy, make mistakes, and make your movie money all at the same time. Who knew that people would enjoy seeing women portrayed as people?

It all started this year with Katniss Everdeen. I hadn't read the Hunger Games books although I had been told countless times that I needed to. Spring Break was the week the first movie came out and I decided that's how I would spend my time off. Who knew I would get through the first book in a day? The movie is by no means among my favorites, but I did enjoy it and I loved how Katniss was portrayed in the film. Plus, huge box office numbers with a female lead in an action movie. This was a HUGE gamble (or so the movie executives thought) and it paid off, cause guess what? Not only do women make up about half of the movie-going crowd, but men enjoy watching female leads too. Crazy, right?

Then came Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow. Granted, she was introduced in Iron Man 2, but she was essentially a sex toy that could fight. Not very impressive. The moment I heard Joss Whedon was writing and directing Avengers, I knew this would change drastically. Remember her opening sequence beating three Russians while tied to a chair? Freak out! My favorite writer/director/creator/person did not disappoint. My favorite moment of hers was also one of her most vulnerable. She had just hid from a very angry Hulk and was understandably shaken and scared out of her wits. She's sweaty, shaking, and huddled in a corner. Barton, controlled by the Cube, is on the helicarrier and someone needs to stop whatever shenanigans he's up to. Natasha rises to the occasion and proceeds to beat the crap out of a possessed Hawkeye and knocks his head so hard against the metal railing that he regains control of himself. Then she knocks him out for good measure. She's strong when she needs to be, not when it's easy.

I want to give a shout out to Merida here since her movie came out after the Avengers. Brave doesn't exactly fit into the same category as the other three, but it was a unique movie that deserves a paragraph. Cause, come on. She's a Disney princess who fights and doesn't end up with a man. Plus it was all about her relationship with her mother, who isn't an evil step-mother. It's about communication and understanding where the other person is coming from. I'm sure it resonates with me because I'm a feminist and I had a complicated relationship with my mother as a teenager. Still, I think it's an underrated movie and she's by far my favorite Disney princess now.

Finally, Selina Kyle. Freaking Catwoman, y'all! Who didn't love her growing up? I admit, I was a little nervous about Catwoman in the Dark Knight Rises. Not because of Anne Hathaway (I don't get why people hate on her so much), but because of Christopher Nolan. Don't get me wrong, the man is a genius and I love his movies. However, like most filmmakers, he doesn't have the best track record of writing women very well. Just about all of his movies involve a beautiful woman dying for the sole purpose of creating a plot for the male protagonist. Again, I'm not asking that filmmakers never use this method, but I'd say it's getting a little cliche for him. Enter Selina Kyle. Even her ridiculously impractical heels have a functional use.

2. Joss Whedon

Buffy, Angel, Firefly/Serenity, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrble's Sing Along Blog, Cabin in the Woods, Avengers, and now everything Marvel will do in the next few years. The man can do no wrong. And he's not a one-female-character kind of guy. Rumors of Wasp being introduced in Iron Man 3 are abundant, and he always said he would have put more female characters in Avengers if he could have. I love Wasp, and I'm expecting to see her full-fledged fighting in Avengers 2. Really, if I could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, it would be Joss.

"'Why do you write these strong female characters?'
'Because you're still asking me that question.'" -Joss Whedon

How do you not love someone like that?

3. The Hobbit

Technically I haven't seen it yet, but there's no doubt in my mind that I am going to love it with everything inside of me. Plus stuff I didn't know I had. First of all, just look at Bilbo. I may not have agreed with all of Peter Jackson's casting decisions in LOTR (18 year old Frodo, anyone?), but Martin Freeman IS Bilbo Baggins. No one else would have been able to fill his fuzzy, wooly toes as well as Freeman. I may be a little biased since I have a major crush on the man, but I know I'm not the only one who thinks the same.

Second, who would have guessed that dwarves could be sexy? When I heard Richard Armitage was going to be Thorin Oakenshield, I was super excited. The guy is a phenomenal actor and one I have a mild crush on. But I didn't expect them in a million years to make him attractive! And look at Kili! He's got those sexy eyes down!

4. Jeremy Carver

I still maintain that Supernatural should have ended after season five. It was the perfect story arc and ended beautifully. Six was okay... it had one phenomenally funny episode, another pretty funny episode that kind of branched off from the typical mythology that didn't sit all that well with me, and maybe one other stand alone episode that stands out in my mind as pretty good, but overall it was meh. They struggled with the story arc and it doesn't end up making a whole lot of sense. When I start buying the seasons I'll buy one episode from season six, but that'll probably be it. Seven was abismal. The only redeeming quality it had was Felicia Day in one episode. Besides that, I think I chuckled once and was impressed with what was going on twice. It starts out with potential, but that quickly dissolves and the big bads for season seven are not even a little bit intimidating. Very forgettable and a complete throw away season.

Enter Jeremy Carver. He worked on previous seasons but left for a while after season five, since that's all Eric Kripke planned for. Carver is the new show runner and has a three season story arc planned, as opposed to wandering around in the dark for the last two years. It shows. Season eight still doesn't compare to four or five, but I'm interested. It's good. Better than six. Not great, there was a found footage episode that was completely worthless, but other than that I've been enjoying it in general. Plus, not only does Felicia Day come back later in the series, but the next episode is a funny one. We haven't had a funny episode since season six!

Once Upon Another Great Show

Once Upon a Time. If memory serves (and there's a good chance it won't), this and Grimm started right around the same time. At the time I knew I wouldn't keep up with both and I felt conflicted about which one to watch. A couple of the writers from Buffy were writing for Grimm, but Once Upon a Time had a stronger pull which I'll get to in a minute. Anyway, started watching Once Upon a Time and I've done a pretty good job of keeping up. Especially now that I'm not in school and have way too much time on my hands.

On a scale of 1 to 10 of shows that I've seen at least one full episode of, with 1 being Big Bang Theory and 10 being Buffy, I'd say Once Upon a Time is about a 7 overall. I wouldn't say it's one of my favorite shows (although I'm liking it more and more), but like I said, I follow it pretty well for several reasons.

First, Ginnifer Goodwin. As Snow White. A crazy-awesome-and-kills-trolls Snow White. Come on!

Second, Jennifer Morrison as Emma, Snow White's daughter. Time stopped for Snow but not Emma, so it makes sense. These two are the Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki of ABC. It's almost laughable how beautiful these two people are. 

Third, Red Riding Hood/Ruby. My favorite non-main character. Her story is freaking awesome. For real. 

Fourth, Robert Carlyle as Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold. Characters who are on their own side are always among the most interesting. 

Fifth, and the main reason for writing this post, all of the main characters are women. Snow White/Mary-Margaret, Emma, and Regina/Evil Queen. There are some almost main characters who are male, Charming/David, Henry, and Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin, but the story mainly belong to the women. And even though they're all fairy tale characters, they're real women. They have complicated personalities and motivations and no one is all good or all bad. Plus, in general (maybe with the exception of Cinderella and Aurora so far), they're all super awesome.

A couple episodes ago, Emma and Snow/Mary-Margaret were walking to a beanstalk with three others to steal a magic compass from a giant to try to get back to our world (simple reason - Emma wants to get back to her son who she adopted out 10 years ago [Henry, who was adopted by Regina/Evil Queen] and her newfound father [Prince Charming/David] while Snow White wants to get back to her recently remembered husband [Charming/David] and newfound grandson [Henry]. Just watch it). The three others traveling with them were Aurora, Mulan (!!!), and Captain Hook. Besides the later seasons of Buffy, how often do you see a group make-up like that? Usually you get the smurfette principle and see one woman with four men.

Like every feminist, I like to see gender equality in general. (Oh, and just so you know, if you think both men and women deserve to be treated as human beings, you're a feminist). Women may get more screen time in this particular show, but it's so incredibly rare that this happens in television and film. It just keeps enthralling me when I watch a scene like the one above. It's just so cool!

If what I've written thus far hasn't convinced you to watch it yet, this last thing will.

Red Riding Hood is a werewolf.

Let's Talk Politics

It's voting day. Not only is it voting day, but it's the last day I have to read everyone's incessant political posts on Twitter and Facebook (theoretically). To mark this momentous occasion, I'm going give you a couple of my thoughts about presidential politics. And please keep the "presidential" thing in mind. That's what I'm talking about here, so don't assume I think the same thing when it comes to state and local elections. Cause I don't.

First, sure. Go vote.

Second, it really doesn't matter who wins the presidency, so don't complain tomorrow.

You may call that cynicism, but I like to think of myself as a realist. Even so, living my life in Utah as a democrat has taught me a few things about being cynical and having "one person, one vote" (that's a complete joke in a state like Utah, by the way. And most states are states like Utah).

Here's my rationale.

First, Congress. They're the ones who pass laws, who control who gets taxed what, how big or small government should be, and they've increasingly shown us their inability to compromise over the last 12 years at least. Probably longer, but I don't have a memory of paying much attention to Congressional politics before then. Here's a tip for anyone who isn't a fan of compromising with the other side: STOP ACTING LIKE A BABY. There's no way people of your frame of thought are going to get enough seats in the House and Senate as well as the presidency, so as long as you are uncompromising in your values (that match way less than half of the country's, by the way), nothing is going to get done and you'll go down in history as an idiot who refused to do anything for the country.

Second, everyone's talking about the economy and here's a juicy little detail for you: the president has a negligible effect on the economy. No one's going to raise the taxes on the middle class (unless they really are that stupid to shot themselves in the foot and, let's be honest, with "compromise" being the four letter word it is these days, that might just happen), and I don't see tax cuts being a big job creator anyway. Job growth in the Bush years really wasn't all that great. And if you look at all the programs FDR put in place during the Depression, sure they made a lot of families some money and made individual lives better (which was needed), but the economy didn't bounce back until manufacturing went way up with WWII. It was the private industry that started the Depression, the current recession, all recessions, and that has brought the economy back every time. There's really not much government can do, so does it really matter who's taking the helm? The course is going to be pretty much the same either way.

Third, a lot of people are talking about the national debt. I don't think anyone says that we shouldn't worry about it, but a lot of economists say that we don't need to worry about it quite yet. It's not at critical levels, and there's not much you can do about the debt without the economy at full potential anyway.  And for anything to get done here, both sides have to give something up here. Spending has to go down, and revenue has to go up. End of story. For spending to go down, we have to tackle both Medicare and Social Security, which is political suicide for any candidate because the electorate are morons, so wait a few decades and we'll go the way of Greece. If by some miracle a president actually wanted to do something about those programs, do you really think Congress would pull together to get anything done? Again, it doesn't matter who the president is. It's Congress. Bottom line, let's end the Social Security tax cap, raise the age limit by a few years, have the government be more hands on to negotiate medical prices to help lower Medicare spending, lower military spending (cause that's not even in the budget) and raise taxes on the middle class. Everyone hates something, but it needs to be done. See how impossible that is for on person?

Fourth, social issues. This might be the only place I see a president making any kind of difference, yet they still rely on Congress to make those changes. Whether you're pro-choice or pro-life, pro-marriage equality or pro-traditional marriage, pro-amnesty or pro-deportation or somewhere in between any or all of those, it's Congress that makes the difference. Judges too, I suppose, but the Supreme Court has become so polarized as well (remember how that wasn't supposed to be an issue when they wrote the Constitution?) and no judge is going to retire until a president of their political persuasion is in power, so the makeup of the Supreme Court seems unlikely to change any time soon.

So really, everything goes back to Congress. It doesn't matter how hard a president tries, nothing will get done without compromise. Compromise won't happen until the primary and convention processes become more inclusive, and that won't happen as long as the partisans are in power of state politics. 

Congress isn't likely to change much this year. It's looking like dems will keep the Senate (maybe lose one seat) while reps keep the House (maybe lose three seats). All those a**hats who refuse to compromise will stay put.

Thus, doesn't matter who's in the White House. Nothing's gonna change.

So stop being so dang optimistic about the future! (That part is a joke, by the way)

Supernatural Challenge

Have you seen those 30 Days of [fill in TV show] going around online? I found a few for shows that I love, and I decided to take the challenge. Only I'm not even a little bit patient so I'm doing all 30 in one go. I feel like I may have done this for Buffy, but I could be wrong. If I haven't, I'll do that later. Right now however, it's Supernatural. I'm not really watching this too much anymore now that I'm all caught up, but I still love it and it's still my most recent obsession and this obsessiveness won't leave until I find a new one. I suppose my obsession just shifts...

Anyway, here's 30 Days of Supernatural in One Sitting:

SPOILER WARNING: I've labeled the spoilers just in case you're reading this and haven't watched it. In which case, you are dedicated to wasting time. That being said, specific spoilers are labeled, but general spoilers that don't really give much away, but still kind of do a little, are not.

1. Favorite Character

Castiel. Hands down. It irks me he isn't in more episodes. He makes a phenomenal entrance in the first episode of season 4 and is pretty consistently in about every other episode for seasons 4, 5, and 6. He's in I think 5 episodes of season 7, and so far has only made a couple brief appearances in flashbacks in season 8 (he better come back quick, or I may lose interest). At the same time, I realize with his all-powerful power (he's an angel - not far fetched for this show) it could get boring with him riding around with Sam and Dean and vanquishing evil everywhere he goes, but he just makes every episode better. He's painfully awkward at times and freaking awesome and kick ass the next minute. All in all, he's hilarious and awesome. Also my Halloween costume this year.

2. Least Favorite Character

Bela. Good grief, she was annoying. Luckily she was only in a handful of episodes. She also had a TERRIBLE fake British accent. Go look her up on YouTube if you want, cause I'm not posting a video of her.

3. Favorite Season

It's a close race between seasons 4 and 5, but I think I have to go with 5. It's got two of my very favorite episodes (The End and Changing Channels) and it brings the epic 5 season story arc to a beautiful close. The climax of the final episode had me sobbing, laughing, and so surprised that my jaw dropped all within about 5 seconds. This story arc is one of the best I've ever seen on television, and really nothing in this show is ever going to top it. Also, it introduces us to Mark Sheppard's character. I love both the actor and his character (Crowley). To give you a hint of how awesome season 5 is, here's the opening credits to episode 8 - Changing Channels.

4. Least Favorite Season

Season seven. No contest. It's terrible. TERRIBLE. If I had been watching season 7 while it was on, I would have lost interest really quickly and stopped watching all together. As it was, I was able to watch it all at once (we'll leave the details out on that). There were episodes when I would watch it at 1.5 speed so I could still understand the dialogue, but it went faster. Other episodes I watched at 10 times the speed so I got the general gist of what what happening because they were just so painful to watch. There's one moment that I really like and I still like watching that moment, but other than that it just sucks. Oh, and Felicia Day. She was in an episode and was perfect, as always.

[SPOILERS]
The mediocre season 6 ended on a pretty awesome cliffhanger. Castiel had absorbed millions of monster souls from Purgatory and was all powerful and demanded that his friends kneel before their new God. Season 7 at that point seemed like it would be an awesome redemption story for Cas. In the first or second episode of season seven he realizes what he's done and puts the souls back into Purgatory. Only the baddest of the bad creatures in Purgatory, the Leviathan, held on and took control of his body. At that point it seemed like it was going to be an awesome save Cas from the Leviathan story. A few seconds later the Leviathan realize that Castiel's human vessel (Castiel is essentially possessing a human body) can't contain them, and disperse into the town's water source conveniently located within walking distance of the abandoned warehouse they're in, and each individual Leviathan possesses unsuspecting townspeople. Cas disappears until episode 17 (his moment of remembering while killing demons is the great moment I loved) and the Leviathan prove to be really dull big bads. Really, so dull. One of the sub-plots revolves around Sam going crazy due to the fake Lucifer inside his head keeping him awake constantly, but it's not executed well enough to keep my interest. Really, terrible season. The only reason I'm watching season 8 is because of the cliff hanger.

5. Favorite Episode

This one is genuinely difficult. I think it's Changing Channels. Nothing creepy, just 40 minutes of pure hilarity making fun of Full House, Grey's Anatomy, Japanese game shows (this one is called Nut Cracker, and it has nothing to do with legumes), herpes medication commercials, CSI Miami (Dean shares my hatred of police procedurals), and Knight Rider. Through all this the story moves along and we get a fun revelation at the end. Have fun watching the CSI scene. Stop watching after "Gutter ball" if you don't like mild spoilers.

6. Least Favorite Episode

Honestly, it's probably something from season 7. Throw a dart and we'll go with that one. 

7. Favorite Dean Crying Scene

I love that this is a category. In the first 1, maybe 2 seasons, Dean has a macho-man-don't-share-feelings thing going on and it's annoying as hell. That was one of the reasons it took me a couple seasons to get into it and to warm up to Dean (I love him now, by the way). He's all sorts of share your feelings now, and I love it. 

I won't write about my favorite Dean crying scene, cause it gives away some pretty big stuff. I'll just post the video. I still get a little emotional. I wouldn't ever call Jensen Ackles a great actor, but his performance is pretty convincing. You have to watch this one on YouTube. Stupid embedding disabled by request... SPOILER VIDEO

8. Favorite Sam Crying Scene

Maybe I'm not as invested in Sam's emotional well-being as I am in Dean's, cause I can't remember Sam crying a lot. That being said, I guess my favorite is when that thing that happens at the end of season 3 happens. If I remember correctly, it only shows Sam crying for a few seconds, so I won't bother trying to find a video. It's super sad though. I cried too.

9. Favorite Dean Death Scene

Sorry if that's a spoiler, but in a show like this, everyone is going to die at least once so it's not a huge spoiler. With the Mystery Spot episode, Dean dies a ridiculous amount of times for a human, but one stands out above all the rest.

"These tacos taste funny to you?"

10. Favorite Sam/Other Death Scene [MAJOR SPOILERS]

Sam doesn't die as nearly as many times as Sam, so I understand why they went with Sam or Other here. So many awesome people die in this show it's hard to pick. Some of the deaths (Bobby, Jo, Ellen, Balthazar...) just left me pissed and I still haven't seen the logic behind killing them off, so I'll go with Cas' death at the end of season 5. The moment leading up to it was hilarious ("Hey! Assbutt!") and the moment Lucifer kills him is so unexpected... I felt all the emotions. But God brought him back so I wasn't upset about his death for long.

I can't figure out how to embed the video here for some reason. I guess I was more clever last night in posting that other video that doesn't like to be embedded.

11. Favorite Quote

Wow, really? how to pick just one quote in all the genius that is Supernatural? I'll give you a few. Or a lot...

Sam: "You peed yourself."
Dean: "Of course I peed myself. A man gets hit by a car, you think he has full control over his bladder? Come on!

Dean: "Everybody, stop killing virgins!"

Dean: "Sam, I'm not going to make a left hand turn into oncoming traffic, I'm not suicidal!"

Dean: "That was scary!"

Todd: "Kneel before Todd!"

Chuck: "I am the prophet, Chuck!"

Dean: "Whoa, whoa! Last time you zapped me someplace I didn't poop for a week. We're driving."

Dean: "Last night on Earth. What are your plans?"
Cas: "I just thought I'd sit here quietly."

Sam: "Boop!"

Cas: "Boop!"

Cas: "I got your message. It was long, your message. I find your voice... grating.

Cas: "Hey! Ass-butt!"

Dean: "He's watching her sleep. How is that not rapey?"

Girl: "Your brother was abducted?"
Sam: "Yeah, it's fine. I mean, I've had time to adjust."
Girl: "Did it happen when you were kids?"
Sam: "No, like, half an hour ago."

Cas: "It's very complex. If the pizza man truly loves this babysitter, why does he keep slapping her rear? Perhaps she's done something wrong."

Dean: "I feel like this whole place is bad touching me."

Dean: "It was like a Khan worm on steroids!"

Sam: "Why do you keep talking about herpes?"
Dean: "What? I don't. Shut up... Shut up!"

Dean: "Let's Star Trek VI this bitch."
Bobby: "I only watched Deep Space Nine."
Dean: It's like I don't even know you guys anymore. Star Trek IV, save the whales!"

Dean: "We... are... teddy bear doctors!"

Dean: "I'll stay here, hook up with the posse. Cause you know me, posse magnet. I mean, I love posse... Make that into a t-shirt."

Dean: "Cas, get out of my ass."
Cas: "I was never in your..."

Dean: "I think she turned me into a Jefferson Starship."

Cas: "I remember the Tower of Babel. All 37 feet of it which, I suppose, was impressive at the time."

Sam: "I miss conversations that didn't start with, 'this killer truck.'"

Ed: "WWBD. What would Buffy do?"

Cas: "I found a liquor store."
Sam: "And?"
Cas: "And I drank it."

Sam: "I want you to know, I'm here for your. You brave little soldier. I acknowledge your pain. Come here! You're too precious for this world!"

Sam: "Amy Pond, huh? Cute name."

Dean: "It's called Anime. And it's an artform."

Dean: "Do you have any tattoos? Give him a little sneak peak there. All tattoos are sexy."
Charlie (Felicia Day's character): "Mine is Princess Leah in the slave bikini straddling a 20 sided dye. ...I was drunk. It was Comic Con.

Cas: "Did you know that a cat's penis is sharply barbed along its shaft? I know for a fact the females were not consulted about that."

Sam: "We could call Castiel again."
Dean: "Dude, on my car. He showed up naked, covered in bees."
Sam: "Yeah, I'm not really sorry I missed that."

Sam: "They think the ball washer did it."
Dean: "The what?"
Sam: "The ball washer."
Dean: "That what?"
Sam: "The ball..."

Sam: "Dean, this is a very serious investigation. We don't have time for any of your blah blah blah blah."

Cas: "The Whore can only be killed by a true servant of heaven."
Dean: "Servant like..."
Cas: "Not you, or me. Sam, of course, is an abomination..."

How can you read through those and NOT want to watch this show?!

12. Favorite Funny Scene

Another hard one, initially. But after thinking about it, I realized there was no contest. The scene in Yellow Fever. You know, THAT one. If you haven't seen this episode yet, skip the video. It's not a spoiler, but it's best to stumble upon this scene organically. Cause it's amazing.

Man, it still makes me crack up. 

13. Scene that Makes You Sad/Cry

Pff. A lot. Still. I'm gonna say it's still the scene from number 7. The one where Dean cries. Pretty much any time Dean cries, I cry. 

14. Scene that Makes You Happy

Um, how about all of them? Except the ones that make me sad. Or annoyed (those are mostly in season 7). 

15. Scene that Makes You Angry

When a certain someone dies in season 7. They've killed off so many people at that point that it just made me mad. I like Sam and Dean, but the show isn't as interesting without the recurring characters. 

16. An Episode that Scared You

Family Remains. I don't scare easily, but watching that at night by myself... good grief. I couldn't find the clip I wanted (although I'm not trying very hard), but that scene when the girl is walking towards everyone in the salt circle? I had to fast forward that the first time I watched it. 

17. Favorite Friendship

Duh, Dean and Castiel. I'm not into the whole Destiel thing, by the way. For those of you not "in" on the gross fanfic, some people like the... homoeroticism of Cas and Dean. Or Dean and Sam. Then they write fanfic and/or create fanart. It's weird. 

Anyway, I love their very platonic relationship. Dean often seems like he doesn't really respect Cas, but they're besties. Like brothers. It's fun. After sifting through all the Destiel videos, I found this gem of a moment: 

 

18. Favorite Romance

Not many lasting ones, what with the boys always travelling and all. But I like Dean and Lisa. A big part of me wishes that the show had just ended there instead of season 6 happening. Although then we wouldn't have The French Mistake, and I would call that one of the best episodes. 

19. Favorite Song

No question. 

Eye of the Tiger. 

Remember, this was all improved. 

20. Favorite Recap

Hmm. I guess I'm not that much of a Supernatural fan. I generally skip the recaps cause, you know, I know what happened. 

21. Favorite Character Entrance

Castiel's, for sure. 

Awesome, anyone?

Although there is another worth mentioning...

Yep. Still gives me chills. This version of the song was written especially for this scene. Perfectly done. 

22. Favorite Minor Character

Charlie. I love Felicia Day, and Charlie's character was freaking awesome. I really wish she had stuck around longer. In fact, there are a lot of peripheral characters had stuck around longer...

Ah, I just love her so, so much!

23. Character that is Most Like You

I can honestly say I've never once thought about this. And you know... I don't know if there's anyone I can fully relate to... Never died, never been to hell, not an angel, not a fallen angel, not evil, not a vengeful spirit, not a zombie, not a prophet, not a drunk... I'm gonna say I'm not really like anyone. 

24. Episode you Wish Never Happened

Season 7. 

25. Something You Wished Happened, but Didn't

Not season 7. 

26. Favorite FanVid

Um... none. Every time I accidentally start a fan video, I quickly stop it. Don't know why, but they're just not my thing. There are limits to my obsessive personality. 

27. Favorite Season Intro Episode

I'm kind of getting tired of this, so it's a good thing I'm almost done. 

This is me picking my favorite first episode from the 8 seasons, yes? If that's it, I'll say Lazarus Rising - season 4. So much awesome. Plus we meet Castiel. Either that or In My Time of Dying - season 2. "I full on Swazeyed that mother" is what started my crush on Dean. 

 28. Favorite Season Finals

Another duh. Swan Song from season 5. Feel ALL the feelings!

29. Favorite Fanfic

Sorry, hardcore SPNers. Again, I try to steer clear of fanfic. Especially considering the "slash" and "Destiel" stories... Really not my cup of tea. 

30. Anything SPN Related

I hear Cas is coming back in episode 7. As of now, that's just two or three episodes away. This makes me... very happy. Guess I'll keep watching! 

Buffy Reimagined

If you know me even a litte, you know that I love Buffy. If you know me well, you know just how much I love Buffy. If you don't know me well, I love Buffy a lot. It's my favorite non-sitcom television show. I separate those because there's no way I could choose between Buffy and Arrested Development.

Anyway, I read an article a while ago where the author recast Buffy. There was a supposed Buffy movie sans creator Joss Whedon at the time and I didn't hear and/or read about any Buffy fans who were excited about it. Mainly because it's a terrible idea. Anyway, I was reading this article with the idea that it was something that shouldn't and wouldn't happen, which made it easier to swallow.

I didn't much care for many of his choices (here's the link if you want to take a look: http://www.pajiba.com/seriously_random_lists/a-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-reboot-that-wouldnt-make-me-gag.php), but it did get me thinking. Who would I cast in a Buffy reboot?

Before I give you my selections, I have a couple caveats. First, don't take age too seriously with this. And when I say, "don't take age too seriously" I really mean, "if you think about age here, it will make you gag so keep it out of your mind." My Buffy is currently 15 and my Angel is 34. Just pretend She's at least legal, and he's a good 10 years younger. Second, this is a TV show, not a movie. I picked WAY too many characters for a 2 hour film. And third, while I (and my sister) had a lot of fun doing this, it was super hard and there are some that I am not as happy about than others. So if you want to make suggestions (although I can't imagine anyone powering through this post till the very end), feel free.

So, without further ado: A Buffy Reboot I Might be Interested in (Assuming Joss Whedon was Involved).

Buffy Summers: Chloe Moretz

When I thought of Buffy, I immediately went to Chloe Moretz. This girl is playing (an awesome looking) Carrie at 15, she was Hit Girl at 12 (the picture above is from Kick Ass 2), and all the smaller roles I've seen her in have been just freaking awesome. This girl has the chops to pull off all that Buffy Summers is. I really would get excited about Chloe being the Vampire Slayer.

Willow Rosenberg: Anna Kendrick

Look at any picture of Allyson Hannigan and you'll have an idea how how hard picking her replacement was for me. Willow is one of my all time favorite characters and it's a terrifying prospect of anyone playing her but Allyson. But I think Anna Kendrick could do it. She's adorable like Allyson, she's a nerd so she could pull off the nerd side of Willow, and I just like her. Allyson did an amazing job as Willow, Evil Willow, Vampire Willow, Willow-Playing-Vampire-Willow Willow, Depressed Willow, Addict Willow, Geeky Willow, Spazzy Willow, and all other Willows in between so it really was hard to pick someone else to take on all that. I get an Allyson vibe from Anna, so I'll give it a shot. My sister favored Alison Brie for Willow, but for some reason I just like Anna better.

Xander Harris: Anton Yelchin






Again, maybe not a perfect fit, but serviceable. Xander is the reliable, always there for you, all but useful in a fight, best friend. He's a bit skinny in the beginning, turns into a bit of a stud with a swimmer body for a while, fills out in the later seasons, and plays all three body types as a total nerd. I think Anton could pull that off too. It's just a bonus that he's well versed in fighting and being terrified of vampires. Plus, he could totally rock the eye patch.

Rupert (Ripper) Giles: Stanley Tucci

There's not as specific reason I picked Stanley Tucci other than the fact that I love him and he can do anything. Giles is the librarian/Watcher/father figure with a troubled past and just a little bit sexy rock star and Stanley Tucci embodies all of those so this part would be cake for him. I also wouldn't mind Alan Cumming. 

Angel: Jensen Ackles

The man is BEAUTIFUL, super tough, has perma-gel hair (even during the zombie apocalypse), and has the brooding thing down. What else do you need to be Angel? Also, did I mention he was almost too beautiful to be real? 

Spike: Tom Hiddleston

Jensen Ackles may be laughably beautiful, but he's definitely not my type. Spike however, definitely is. So to replace this character that oozes sex appeal, I had to pick an actor that oozed sex appeal. No one does so more for me right now than Tom Hiddleston. He's got the perfectly thin physique, the fantastic cheekbones, and would pull off the bleached blonde hair really well. Not to mention one of the best and classiest actors alive. That probably just means that he has a British accent and does Shakespeare, but still. He's awesome. And super sexy. 

Drusilla: Amanda Seyfried

It's probably just the eyes, but my mind immediately jumped to Amanda Seyfried to play Drusilla. Drusilla bugs the hell out of me, but there's no Spik without Dru and I think an Amanda Seyfried Dru would bother me a lot less than Juliet Landau. I always did like the idea of Drusilla, but not the execution. Crazy vampire? Who doesn't love that idea? 

Cordelia Chase: Kristin Bell

This was another really hard one. Cordelia's story arch is one of my favorites. In her three seasons on Buffy and three (or four?) seasons on Angel, she goes from the ultimate stereotypical mean, airheaded cheerleader to the character with a huge heart, incredibly smart (she was always smart, you just didn't see it as much in the beginning), brave, selfless, and has a more interesting relationship with Angel than Buffy does. You always like her, but she grows probably the most out of anyone in the Buffyverse (maybe it's a toss up with Spike). I chose Kristin Bell because I think she can make that same progression as realistic as Charisma Carpenter did. Plus, she's gorgeous like Cordelia should be. 

Joyce Summers: Samantha Ferris 

I went a little off-script for Buffy's mom, Joyce. Joyce was a typical mom. Kind of clueless to what her daughter was doing in the first couple of seasons, but willing to smack a guy in the head with an axe when her daughter was threatened. I always wanted to see Joyce as a stronger, firmer character, and I think Samantha Ferris would be great at that. It really would change the whole dynamic of the show, but it would be interesting to see. 

Wesley Wyndam-Price: Felicia Day

Gender swap here. And this is technically cheating since Felicia Day was in the seventh season of Buffy as a Potential, but I just love her so much and I want her to be in everything. I haven't seen her as a darker character yet, but I really want to so I thought she'd make a good Wesley. Speaking of which, He's in the running for biggest story arch as well - not quite full circle, but his growth is all over the place over the course of one season of Buffy and all 5 seasons of Angel. Anyway, I want to see Felicia Day move through that progression. I just want to see her everywhere. 

Dawn Summers: Kiernan Shipka

Dawn is Buffy's fake but kind of real little sister/key to opening up all the different dimensions and she's a horrible character when she shows up in season 5. Seriously, so annoying. She gets better through six and doesn't bother me at all in seven, so it's not forever. I think Kiernan Shipka wouldn't really bother me at all, even as a crazy annoying teenager. I've been impressed with her performance on Mad Men and look at how cute she is!

Andrew Wells: ...I just can't

I had Ben Schwartz all ready to go to replace Tom Lenk as Andrew, but I just can't do it. Andrew is another favorite character of all time and Tom Lenk is just so completely perfect, I just can't do it. His character, body language, and lines are all so perfectly executed. Man, I'm rewatching Buffy as I type this and I just want to skip to season six just for him. Really, Tom Lenk is just irreplaceable. The same goes for Jonathan too, by the way. Not that I love him as much as Andrew, but I couldn't think of anyone else to play him. 

Tara Maclay: Georgie Henley

Tara is Willow's girlfriend. I didn't like her for a long time because Willow's relationship with Tara kind of makes her relationship with Oz less special, but she's grown on me over time (although she still bothers me in season 4). Tara is super shy and kind of homely but blossoms into the woman pictured above with a huge heart and she really is an underrated character in season six. Now, I've only seen Georgie Henley in the Narnia movies, but I think she'd be cute as Tara. 

Oz: Mae Whitman

Oz is Willow's boyfriend for seasons 2-4 and their relationship is my favorite in the Buffyverse. In fact, I'm watching their scene in the van right now where Willow first kind of falls in love with Oz. Man... theirs really is my favorite relationship in the entire show and so naturally, it's the most tragic. Although, the relationship between Wesley and Fred is also amazing, and it might be more tragic than this. Joss just loves doing that and I hate it. So much. The reason I did a gender swap here was because Willow realizes she's gay in season 4. Of course, it's right when Oz comes back from his trip where he tries to get his werewolf-ness under control. He breaks her heart when he leaves, she breaks his when he comes back and it's terrible twice. And really, their relationship is so, so special. Too special for her to be gay the whole time. I would have loved if Willow had realized she was bisexual so she could love Oz and Tara equally. But no, she's just gay. So I decided to make her always know she's gay. Joss knew she was going to be gay by season three, but maybe not two. So just realize that a little earlier and don't ruin their love! Also, I wanted to use Mae Whitman as something, and I think she'd be a great Oz.

Principal Snyder: Bradley Whitford

Nothing needs to be said here if you know Principal Snyder and Bradley Whitford. Half the characters Whitford plays are Principal Snyder-esque. This is the one place I agree with the guy that wrote the article that prompted this very long-winded post of mine. 

The Mayor: Giancarlo Esposito

The Mayor. Everyone's favorite villain. Wholesome, family man and an evil little bugger. This one was a tossup between Giancarlo Esposito and Bryan Cranston. I don't know why my mind went to Breaking Bad for the role of the Mayor. Probably because they're both fantastic actors and would do a fantastic job. Or because the article chose Cranston for this role. Esposito won for me due to Affirmative Action, I guess. Sunnydale, California needs a lot more diversity. Way more than I'm giving it. 

Riley: Jared Padalecki

Riley. Season four boyfriend. Wholesome army guy. I do realize this is the third Supernatural actor I've used, but it's been on my mind/TV screen lately, and I apologize, but I have two more. Although one of them I know from many other things. Anyway, Jared would work very well as Riley. They're both tall, have a great body (really, Jared has a GREAT body...), Sam is (generally) wholesome in Supernatural, and Jared could totally rock the camo. 

Faith: Hailee Steinfeld

I'm taking a gamble with this one. I loved Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit and I think there's a lot of acting ability in her. I just don't get the bad girl vibe from her that you need with Faith. I thought of Mila Kunis cause she could for sure do that side of Faith, but I'll take the chance and hypothetically hire Hailee. 

Anya: Brie Larson

Again, way too hard to pick Anya's replacement. Anya's super cute and Brie Larson's super cute. That's mainly the connection I made. I've enjoyed what I've seen of Brie and I think she might do well at being "newly human and strangely literal." 

Ethan Rayne: Sebastian Roche

I know, more Supernatural, but Sebastian Roche is amazing and I wanted to use him and Ethan is just perfect. Granted, he's only in a couple episodes, but I always liked Ethan and in this version of Buffy, he'd be in the show more. 

Caleb: Mark Sheppard

Last character, promise. Also another Supernatural actor, but Mark Sheppard has been in everything, so I'm gonna say it doesn't really count. He's in Firefly, Doctor Who, Dollhouse, X Files, 24, Battlestar Galactica, White Collar, Warehouse 13, and lots of other stuff I haven't seen. He's another actor that I want to see in everything. Luckily, he almost is. And don't you think he'd make a fantastic misogynist priest with superpowers in league with the First Evil who has the best exit of any big bad in the entire Whedonverse while yet maintaining a bit of sexy which makes his misogyny that much worse? Man... I can't wait to get to season seven. 

Sorry I'm so long-winded.