Talkie Tuesday: Outlander Final Season

 

"Sing me a song of a lass that is gone ..." 

 

Hello everyone!

 

Well, we did it.

 

Twelve years ago, Starz decided to premiere a time-travelling show that was a big risk at the time, because it would have to compete with titans like Game of Thrones, and yet somehow, somewhere, someone decided that this was a great idea.

 

And it paid off.

 

Because since then, for eight seasons, fans around the globe have watched the unfolding drama around Jamie and Claire Fraser with baited breath, willing them to succeed in their endeavours, and supporting all the other characters around them in some way or fashion.

 

That all came to an end this past weekend, with the airing of the very final episode.

 

If you've been a long-time fan, or if you only came into the show (binging it, really) recently, then I bid you welcome all the same. Because we'll be taking a look at the final season tonight, saying goodbye to our beloved characters.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, one last time: Outlander.

 

Talkie Tuesday: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

 

"In the name of the Warrior, I charge you to be brave;

In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just;

In the name of the Mother, I charge you to defend the innocent."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome.

 

Welcome, welcome, back to the continent of Westeros, and the stories and (mis)adventures that happen to take place within it.

 

Now, I've by this point made my peace with the fact Martin will absolutely never finish his A Song of Ice and Fire series. That's cool, that's great, let's move along now.

 

And yes, season 8 was basically trash and we're not here to talk about it again.

 

House of the Dragon returns for its third season this summer, but IN THE MEANTIME, we get to talk about our very favourite hedge knight!

 

Buckle up, grab those spears, make sure your shields are strong and reinforced enough, and then find the nearest snorting charger, because we're about to enter a tournament, and boy, will you need all the luck you can get to survive it.

 

The first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, everybody!

 

Talkie Tuesday: Rebel Moon A Child of Fire

 

"Who among you is willing to die for what we believe in, 

rather than hide behind it?"

 

Hello everyone!

 

Tonight, we're sailing into uncharted waters, or, possibly skies?

 

Skies. Definitely skies.

 

I'll admit that it took me forever to actually sit down and watch this movie, despite the fact that it's been on my list from pretty much the moment it launched. What can I say, I'm a sucker for space opera of any kind, notice that I've been watching Star Wars and Star Trek in every and all iterations since they launched, pretty much?

 

So you could say this is my kind of jam, honestly.

 

And in all fairness, it was actually pretty decent to watch, all things considered.

 

Not that I often listen to what critics are saying, because usually they're miles from what I'll end up watching, but still.

 

Buckle your seatbelts, because tonight we're flying into Rebel Moon's part one: A Child of Fire!

 

Talkie Tuesday: Outlaw King

 

"No more chivalry. Now we fight like wolves."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Tonight's choice has been floating around for a while.

 

And honestly, I had EVERY intention of watching it just as soon as I could, and then ... then, IDK what happened.

 

But on a random whim this past weekend, I finally flicked through the Netflix movie library to unearth this one, though I have to admit that I didn't even remember the correct title, accidentally landing on The King first before I bounced to this.

 

In my defense, there's a lot of kings running around the silver screen! LOL.

 

Without further ado, let's travel back in time to Scotland - ah, bonnie Scotland.

 

We'll be having a look at a failed rebellion, a successful one, wondering where Mel Gibson went off to, and plenty other subjects while also trying to discover why we need a full frontal nude shot that makes about zero sense, all wrapped in one movie package.

 

Which movie, you ask? And I answer: Outlaw King.

 

Tome Thursday: Crusader Gold

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome back.

 

Tonight's blog post is a bit of a return to my roots, in a sense, because this particular book series was what got me "re-hooked" or, hooked again, on REALLY reading, seriously and furiously.

 

I can still remember randomly picking up the first one at a store, thinking it was going to be some la-la land thing, and ending up devouring it because of how vividly and realistically it was written.

 

Then I hunted down the rest of the then-translated books (I think the first five or six were translated into my language) in my local library and gobbled those, too.

 

After finding out that the author had written more, I got them for my e-reader in English, and am now pretty much almost caught up with the series, but I figured, before I dive into the last few, I'd start it all from the beginning. And every first step is always followed by a second one, so here we are with that tonight!

 

Jack Howard dives again, and honestly? David Gibbins knows what he's doing with these.

 

Crusader Gold is up next.

 

Synopsis Saturday: House of the Dragon

 

"There is no war so hateful to the gods as a war between kin;

and no war so bloody as a war between dragons."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Miss me?

 

I know this one took me forever. I know. I was a little bit shell-shocked after the season finale this past week and needed a little bit of time to gather my thoughts, because this season was a lot of ups and downs.

 

Mainly ups, but definitely some of downs, and nope we're not in Nottingham!

 

We're in Westeros. A long time before Game of Thrones, although it's all the same in this Song of Ice and Fire saga which HBO is intent on building, considering we're getting A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms too now.

 

It's a bit like something that the Hobbits realize in The Lord of the Rings: they're part of a bigger story, and after they're gone, others will continue it, just as others started it before them

 

But enough with me maudlin. It's time to get serious, because the storm's broken in House of the Dragon.

 

Talkie Tuesday: Tales of the Empire

 

"Long live the Empire." 

Hello everyone!

Let darkness reign, let hearts quiver, and let us take a look at some of what went down during the reign of probably one of the most-known Empires the fictional world has ever seen.

I'm talking, of course, about the GALACTIC Empire, ruled by none other than Darth Sidious.

Back in 2022, Disney graced us with the animated Tales of the Jedi, and everyone around the world rejoiced.

Then they dropped the absolutely spectacular news that in 2024, we'd be seeing the OTHER side of the coin.

Aka, the Dark Side.

As if anyone would need any MORE invitation to watch this May 4th; hide your Force sensitivity, and let's have a look at Tales of the Empire.

Talkie Tuesday: House of the Dragon

 

"The only thing that could tear down the House of the Dragon ... was itself."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Saw this coming, didn't you?

 

I bet you have!

 

Or at least, you should have in any event haha. Because the best epic fantasy series to air on television this fall (for now) has just wrapped its first season and I AM HYPED.

 

Okay, there were mistakes. Tactical and story-wise, but that doesn't mean that the execution wasn't magical, however.

Considering we're coming off the horrendous last season of Game of Thrones, people naturally went into this new Westeros-based show with a lot of trepidation, myself included. Heck, I actively tried NOT to get excited, but ended up being so just the same.

I can't help it. I've ALWAYS wondered what it was like during the Targaryen hay-day, when they had all those dragons and were literally on top of the world.

If you're just as curious, dust that saddle off and let's soar above the clouds into House of the Dragon!

Rings of Power: Udûn

 

"New life, in defiance of death."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Two more episodes to go in this show and we are done with the first season.

Will we return for a second? Remains to be seen.

Obviously we already know Amazon is committed to this project with five whole seasons, though granted I'm not entirely sure how they'll continue to excuse it if it performs poorly.

Or, maybe it won't perform poorly, not that I'm convinced it's doing well either.

It feels more like, the amount of views it's getting is that macabre sort of showing that people are only watching because they want to see the next version of a train wreck!

But maybe I'm being too harsh. However, I will say that after six episodes of barely anything happening, it's difficult to really argue against the fact that the season has just not been as gripping thus far as it could have been, and arguments of 'it'll be spread out over 5 seasons you have to be patient' are moot point as we have to wait for a long time between seasons. That doesn't translate well into the waiting period, trust me.

However, we still do have a review to get through, so here it is. The Rings of Power: Udûn.

Tome Thursday: Fire & Blood

 

Hello everyone!

 

So with House of the Dragon being a smash hit on HBO - but did anyone REALLY expect anything else? Really? - I thought it was time to have a little look at the book that the show is based off of.

 

And no, unlike with Game of Thrones, there's no WIP attached to it ... at least not for the era the show's covering.

 

Which is the best thing possible given we know what happened when the original show ran out of published material and needed to figure things out on its own. I'm not saying it was all horrible, but the steady decline was quite obvious, just the same.

 

House of the Dragon has no such imminent problem on the horizon because the entirety of the Dance of Dragons is written out and detailed down to the last squire fighting on one side or the other.

 

This removes a lot of uncertainty and potential problems, as well as, supported with the knowledge that Martin is actually an executive producer on the show and consultant, we all know it's going to be OKAY. Or at least, that's the general consensus.

 

So without further ado, let's dive right into it, shall we?

 

Because before the Starks and Lannisters went at it, dragons ruled Westeros, with Fire & Blood.

 

Talkie Tuesday: The Wheel of Time

 

"There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time."

 

Hello everyone!

 

You know, I'm proud of myself.

I'm actually NOT as late to this shindig as I normally would be!

I mean, I'm still kinda late, but it's not six months or so late, only a month instead. This is an achievement as far as I'm concerned.

Considering the fact that we tend to not get these shows all that early to begin with (certainly not as early as our US or Canadian counterparts) I'm pretty pleased with how it all turned out. And I mean, it's catchy to look at, and has a second season already (currently) filming.

What more could you even want?

So without further ado I'm going to stop spinning yarn, and start weaving the One Power instead.

The Wheel of Time, show edition, is up for debate.

 

Talkie Tuesday: Quest for Camelot

 

"A knight's strength comes from the heart."

 

Hello everyone!

 

I finally return with an actual, movie-related blog post, which has been a bit lacking since I fell into the black hole of gaming on Youtube.

 

But never fear, I still have a list of stuff waiting to be watched, including but not limited to Black Widow, so here we go! Tonight's one is a blast from the past more than anything else. I mean, the movie IS 23 years old, which is as long as someone's lifetime.

 

Then again all the good movies seem to have the longevity to them at the end of the day so I'm not even remotely surprised that this is what happens.

 

Anyway, I'm rambling now.

 

Why don't I stop with my babble and jump straight into the important bits?

 

Aka, you know the story of the Sword in the Stone - but do you know, or do you remember, the story of the Quest for Camelot?

 

Talkie Tuesday: Black Money Love

 

"In this life, there is nothing more important than love."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Once again, I'm sort of doing something a little bit different for this week's blog post, considering the fact that I haven't reviewed a television show since the Selena series on Netflix.

 

BUT,

 

I ran into this one on television here in my country when another Turkish soap had to go on hiatus (because it's still filming and we were catching up to it with how many parts we'd aired already) and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, despite the fact that I eventually moved to Netflix to finish it off.

 

See, when you have to sit through two hours plus change considering there's a whole bunch of commercials included, you'll try and find a different route.

 

Netflix gave me that, being so kind as to have it in its lineup, which definitely made my summer!

 

And so without further ado, let's check in with murder, mayhem, and money laundering, shall we?

 

Black Money Love, or Kara Para Ask, is up next.

 

Men in Kilts: Clans & Tartans

 

"Here's to long memories and friendship."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Despite the fact that the finale of Men of Kilts aired over this weekend, I'm an episode behind with it all because I took a bit of a break in between, which means that this week and the next will still be Scottish-coloured on the blog.

 

But when has that ever been a bad thing, am I right?

 

Our two favourite Scotsmen get themselves into even more trouble and hilarious situations just by existing, and it's one of those things that you really need to watch for yourself to believe. 

 

I mean, sure it's for the show and most of it is scripted, but these two manage to make it look as natural as it comes, which certainly amps up the appeal if you ask me.

 

I do, however, digress.

 

Right before the finale, we dived in to have a better look at just what even started this desire to learn more about Scotland and its history - the clans.

 

Clans & Tartans is up for debate next.

 

Talkie Tuesday: Robin Hood 2010

"Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions."

Hello everyone!

I seem to be doing these backwards.

If you recall, some time ago, I made a post concerning the 2018 version of the Robin Hood movie, which could have very easily not been done and if you don't watch it you're not missing out on anything in terms of actual Robin Hood.

Then this weekend, one of our channels decided to do a re-run of the 2010 version, and I said to myself, you know what? For the heck of it, why not.

There's a bunch of other versions out there after all, and I should note that Prince of Thieves pretty much gets re-runs almost as frequently as a sitcom, so mostly once a week, and that movie should be the next in line if I don't find any other in-between the Robin Hoods.

The there's still at the very least the cartoon AND the parody that was made, so, you know, this is the franchise that never dies. I think only Spider-man got more re-makes!

So Robin Hood, circa 2010, here we go!

Talkie Tuesday: Frozen

"Let it go."

Hello everyone!

I'm throwing it back with today's blog post.

Way back.

Well, okay, not WAY, WAY back, but I'm certainly going a couple of years into the past with my movie choice for tonight. I have an explanation, however!

I dearly want to review Frozen II on this blog, but it turns out - because I started blogging AFTER this franchise started - that I don't really have Frozen itself on here yet.

Well, this won't do, said my brain.

So here I am tonight, taking us back to when Disney went and practically remade itself in the 2010s by launching arguably one of its best movies of all time, both in terms of monetary revenues and general storyline, which diverged from the usual thing Disney's known for.

Since then, there have been a bunch of others following a similar vein, but it more or less all began with Frozen, and its subsequent success.

Grab your long johns and a thermos, people. The cold is about to bother us, Frozen-style.

Talkie Tuesday: Jumanji The Next Level

"I swear man, if we survive, I am gonna kill you!"

Hello everyone!

Sadly, there was no Outlander this previous weekend as the show has apparently decided to leave us hanging (literally) to see the aftermath of the shocking revelation that was the end of The Ballad of Roger Mac.

Now, I'm a book reader, so I know what happens, and I've managed to gnaw my way through the re-read of The Fiery Cross as well, meaning I know which big points the series will attempt to hit going forward.

But STILL.

So while there is nothing to report on the Outlander front, I've been watching the occasional movie when time allowed.

Not much, you see, but just enough to keep interested in all the stuff happening on the big screen.

And while I may be behind on several more popular releases, I figured it couldn't hurt to cover one that had action, adventure, and a Jack Black-sized dollop of humour.

Jumanji: The Next Level awaits!

Outlander: The Fiery Cross

"The Frasers of the Ridge are here!"

Hello everyone!

Welcome back to another serial on my blog. I wasn't sure if I'd be doing this or not, at least initially, but then I decided why not? This is one of my favourite shows ever, and while I've done random posts connected to it in the past, I'd never really written it episode by episode.

The only show I've ever done it for was Game of Thrones, and I have to admit that it's kind of interesting.

I watch a BUNCH of shows every show season, and somehow the only one who got this coveted spot was HBO's. The others, I've either not done at all or I've covered in one massive post.

The adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's work, however, is much too big and too complex to squeeze into just the one blog post.

Between all the intrigue, history, romance, and hilarity that abounds, Outlander delivers on just about every front you can imagine. So let's see what season 5 has in store for us, shall we?

Talkie Tuesday: The Witcher

"People linked by destiny will always find each other."

Hello everyone!

You saw this one coming, didn't you.

Didn't you?

Well, hopefully you did, at least, because I've been on a roll with my television season recaps, and this one will definitely be no exception.

I have to admit that I didn't know there were books or video games before news dropped that Netflix was making a show - I know, I live under that kind of rock. But after hearing about the show I went on and explored a little bit, and I've managed to munch through the two short stories collections so that I can now actually begin the main storyline.

I'm also watching the gameplay from the third video game on Youtube, because I'm that lazy and there are other people who've played it.

What am I talking about, you ask?

The Witcher, obviously.

Talkie Tuesday: Blood & Treasure (and Cleopatra)

"I thought they droned the guy! - Yeah well, apparently it didn't take."

Hello everyone!

As you may have noticed, we seem to be short on two blog posts on this page since last Tuesday, and I promise you it has nothing to do with the Game of Thrones season finale.

I mean, it might. I'm not sure!

The thing is, my computer of ten years decided on Wednesday morning to say farewell, and I needed to sort out my situation before I could get back to posting, which means that I unfortunately had to skip on a few blog posts.

Never fear, however. I'm back!

And since I've been so used to watching HBO over the last month and a half, I'm now trying to figure out what to keep on watching haha.

Thankfully, CBS is hitting it out of the park with its lineup this year, so I decided I'm going to talk about the premiere of their summer show, Blood & Treasure.