Confessions of a Grown-Up Fangirl

With several of my favorite shows on hiatus (Supernatural, Vampire Diaries), I decided to catch up with a few television programs that I had yet to see (but have been meaning to), and also to finally sit down and watch a much-loved trilogy without being interrupted. Here’s a few thoughts on The Tudors, Caprica, and Lord of the Rings.

The Tudors - I am the first person to admit that my recollection of history that I learned in high school is shoddy at best, and the only thing I truly remembered about Henry VIII’s reign is the infamous death of Anne Boleyn. However, I actually love to watch movies and shows that are historical in nature, and to this day don’t remember why I never bothered to watch The Tudors before now. Anyway, I happened to catch a few promos that SHOWTIME aired in December about re-airing the series from it’s beginning, in anticipation for Season 4, which premieres in April. I decided at that point that I would finally sit down and watch this series to see what the fuss is about. Needless to say, I am hooked. While a few liberties have been taken with certain characters, the storyline as a whole seems to be very accurate, and the show has some tremendous talent gracing the screen. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is brilliant as a dominant (but at the same time, vulnerable) King Henry VIII, and has had some very strong leading ladies (Maria Doyle Kennedy and Natalie Dormer as Queen Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, respectively) so far. The rest of the cast is also superb, and this show has quickly drawn me in as a hardcore fan. I’ve just completed Season 2 (thanks to my friend Arelys, who has S1 and S2 on DVD) ahead of the SHOWTIME schedule, and am expecting Season 3′s DVDs in the mail via Netflix. This series has definitely earned its place on the Grown-Up Fangirl’s list of favorites.

Caprica – I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to begin watching Capica or not, as I abandoned BSG somewhere around the second season and never fully got back to it. I didn’t abandon BSG due to lack of interest, but moreso because my schedule interrupted my consistent viewing, and I am one of those types who does not like to view things out of order, or begin in the middle of a show/movie/storyline. So it just fell to the wayside and next thing I know, the series was ending. But upon hearing that Caprica was based some 58 years prior to the events in BSG, I figured I could begin watching it without feeling lost or missing something important from BSG. For me, the characters themselves make the show more interesting that the whole “beginning of Cylon” theme. Daniel Greystone seems to be the genius who balances work and family pretty well, if you can forget the fact that he didn’t know his daughter was part of a terroristic religious cult. Amanda Greystone seems to be highly intelligent until she makes one huge (and boy, do I mean huge!) mistake in the midst of dealing with shock and grief. Sister Clarice squicks me out…seriously. Her character is so unlike any character I’ve seen in a while, and it’s hard to figure out whether to like her or despise her. I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

The Lord of the Rings – Let’s get the preliminaries out of the way, since I’m used to dealing with the incredulousness by now: yes, this is the year 2010, and I’m just now watching all three of the LOTR movies, seven years after the third was released. The how is easy: as I stated above, I hate watching things if I’m catching them in the middle, or if I’m constantly interrupted. With a husband, three kids, work and school, interruptions are a given. However, my friend Kat took pity on me and lent me her Special Edition Extended version DVDs, so after four days and about 12 hours, I am finally done. And it was very worth the numb butt that I ended up with. I really don’t know why I waited so long to see this, but I promise to make it a point not to miss out on something that big again. Which means that I need to hurry and make it to the theater before Avatar is gone…