Author: Conor O’Brien

How I Met Your Mother – What Made The Series Great

If I were to ask you to to think of a long-running, beloved sitcom about life’s highs and lows regarding a group of friends living in New York City, you might answer, simply… Friends.

However, I am asking you to cast your mind back, specifically between the years 2005 and 2014 when another, yet very different show fitting that description was on television. Of course, I am referring to How I Met Your Mother.

HIMYM, as it is frequently abbreviated, ran for nine seasons on CBS, only one shy of Friends’ ten seasons on NBC. The much quoted, perennial writers’ adage of ‘write what you know’ was employed very successfully within the characters — like Ted and Marshall, co-creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas are best friends who attended Wesleyan University together, with the latter meeting his wife there.

Much like Ted at the beginning, Bays was a single man and looking for the right person.

For anyone unfamiliar, much of the narrative used in How I Met Your Mother is familiar territory – we meet Ted (Josh Radnor), a single guy in his late twenties who has just seen his oldest and dearest friends, Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan), get engaged.

With the addition of a slick city womaniser in breakout character Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) and Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), a Canadian-born news reporter who is Ted’s on-off love interest, you have the basis of a pretty good, standard sitcom.

The main cast for all nine seasons: (l to r) Neil Patrick Harris as Barney, Cobie Smulders as Robin, Josh Radnor as Ted, Alyson Hannigan as Lily, Jason Segel as Marshall

As most know, How I Met Your Mother was anything but standard. Its hook or abnormality when compared to similar shows was a very specific plot device – a future Ted (voiced by Bob Saget), living in 2030, is narrating all these events – the entire show is made up of his memories.

Of course, as this is as a television series that is designed and desired to last many seasons, future Ted takes quite a while getting us to where he (and we) actually meet the elusive Mother (Cristin Milioti).

In my opinion, there are a few important components that helped make HIYMYM into the huge success it became.

Firstly, a talented cast of actors. Looking at Season 1; Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel had already enjoyed stints on acclaimed shows while Josh Radnor and Cobie Smulders were still making a name for themselves.

Even though we didn’t spend much time with – *SPOILER* Tracy/The Mother, Cristin Milioti made the most of the scenes and made us feel fond and empathetic for her character in a comparatively short stint.

Of course, these were not the only characters in the show. While the core five were the central focus, HIMYM‘s strength in adding memorable supporting characters only worked in its favour.

Some of the many guest stars across nine years included Bryan Cranston, John Lithgow, Wayne Brady, Sarah Chalke, Nicole Scherzinger, Bob Odenkirk, James Van der Beek, Kal Penn, Chris Elliott, Marshall Manesh and Taran Killam.

(L to R): co-creator Craig Thomas, director Pamela Fryman, co-creator Carter Bays

Throughout the near-decade run, How I Met Your Mother also had a strong, consistent creative force behind the scenes. Carter Bays and Craig Thomas created the show in 2005, serving as executive producers for the duration. The strength of their pilot script attracted big names such as Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris which is impressive considering the pair were first-time showrunners.

Pamela Fryman directed 196 of 208 episodes overall. The stability and consistency allowed the show to feel the same without the obvious differences in writing and directing styles.

Many of my fellow fans of the series strong disliked the ending – and were not afraid to vocalise this opinion. Personally, I did not have a problem with the ending. Not to say that I was entirely happy, as the content was upsetting, but I did not feel cheated or short-changed like some.

To me, it just made sense. The show made no promises that Ted and Tracy would get to live happily ever after — it’s called How I Met Your Mother, which was fulfilled by the end. At the end of the day, Robin may not have been the title character, but she was the female lead. I do not have cause for complaint.

Thank you Carter, Craig, Pamela and the talented cast of How I Met Your Mother. It was a wonderful journey that I may or may not have revisited multiple times since…

5th November 2019
GONE TV – Guide To Pleasing All Fans, Old and New

Note – These are just ideas that I am suggesting. While I have had the pleasure of interacting with both Michael Grant and Engage Productions on Twitter, I am (sadly) not directly involved with the making of the show.

It has been eleven years since American novelist Michael Grant (of Animorphs fame) launched GONE, as we were introduced to the FAYZ and met its eclectic inhabitants for the very first time.

Although there were flickers of a possibility regarding a screen adapatation as far back as 2013, the prospect seems much more real now, with the involvement of Engage Productions, a UK based company.

Of course, in the age of widely available technology, people tend to read a lot less than before. Thus, it is possible that some viewers of the potential GONE television series will have not read the novels and are getting their first exposure into the twisted world of the FAYZ.

This creates a question – how to balance the longtime, ardent fans who know every obscure detail with those who are simply tuning into a cool looking TV show?

I will attempt to answer this question.

1 – have exposition, but not too much

With the novels, readers had all the information in their hands through Grant’s non-dialogue writing. Everything that he needed you to know was there on the page.

In Screenwriting, the common policy is ‘show not tell’ – for example, the usual instance would involve actually seeing some unbelievable event occur rather than having Sam or Astrid, for example, in the position of explaining to the other characters and thus the audience.

Yes, fans of the books are aware of Sam and Quinn’s friendship or Little Pete’s autism, which are important parts of the series, but this should be established effectively for anyone in the dark.

2 – keep the characters true to themselves

The freedom that authors have with writing characters in books is that they can be descriptive in any way they choose. They know how the characters look in their minds and that is needed.

For a television series, there is no guarantee that the casting director will find people who look like Sam, Caine, Albert or Drake that also have the ability to act.

Even JK Rowling has admitted she thought the famous casting choices for her Trio — Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, were more attractive than the outcasts in her head.

If talented actors who can embody the literary character are found, then that is the most important thing, regardless if they exactly resemble Grant’s descriptions or not.

The only aspect that is absolutely crucial to retain is race — they were created that way for a reason and that should, with no doubt, remain the same.

3 – don’t be afraid of surprising the viewers

With an adaptation based upon six popular novels, there is element of predictability involved – most of the fan base would already know the story from beginning to end, without watching a single episode.

It goes without saying that certain scenes from the books will definitely be cut or altered, for practical or story reasons. This leaves space open to create new moments without straying too far from the central plot.

4 – Smart casting choices

Engage Productions has recently been interacting with fans on Twitter in order to have an idea of what they want to see from the series.

Casting is an incredibly important facet to the show and could make or break it. Using a recent example like Stranger Things which combined established names in Winona Ryder, Matthew Modine and David Harbour with newcomers Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard and Gaten Matarazzo.

As GONE primarily focuses on the kids and their survival in this strange new world, the adult characters are mostly supporting and inconsequential. An example of this is Mr. Trentlake, Sam’s teacher at the beginning of the first novel, whose lifespan in the books is not long at all. As a particularly astute fan on Twitter said, potentially casting a relatively well-known actor in that part could be a good idea, to surprise casual viewers when he suddenly disappears.

I would go one step further and find an even bigger name to play Connie Temple – Sam (and Caine’s) mother. While she doesn’t play an active role in the FAYZ, she becomes more prominent later on.

Whatever happens, I will continue to anticipate further updates with my fellow GONE fans around the world.

3rd November 2019
What Skeet Ulrich Has Done Since ‘Scream’

Skeet Ulrich rose to fame in Hollywood with the 1996 horror classic Scream, directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. His biggest project at the time was The Craft, which also starred future Scream lead Neve Campbell.

Throughout his career, we have seen Skeet Ulrich prove his range in multiple projects that differ in genre, content, target audience and even the type of character he is playing.

Ulrich played the memorable teen killer Billy Loomis in Scream, whose actions are ultimately pivotal to the film’s events. The cast also included Drew Barrymore, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard and Neve Campbell.

At the time of Scream‘s release, Ulrich was 26 and had been working professionally in Hollywood for seven years.

Ulrich as Billy Loomis in one of Scream’s most iconic scenes.

As expected with a major Hollywood hit, Ulrich went on to land more roles on the back of Scream’s success — he appeared in The Newton Boys (1998) with Matthew McConaughey and Ethan Hawke in which he played their on-screen brother, Track Down (2000) with Tom Berenger and The Magic of Ordinary Days (2005) with Keri Russell.

(L to R): Ulrich in The Craft, The Newton Boys, Track Down and The Magic of Ordinary Days

Arguably, it can be said that Ulrich’s greatest success over the past decade has been in television, beginning with his lead role as Jake Green in Jericho, a post-apocalyptic drama on CBS that ran for three seasons. Interestingly, this show also starred a pre-Walking Dead Lennie James.

Ulrich also played the role of Rex Winters, a Police Detective, in fifteen episodes across the Law and Order franchise on NBC – one as a guest star on Special Victims Unit with the other fourteen as a regular on Law and Order: LA.

(Top) – Jake Green
(Bottom) – Rex Winters

In 2017, Ulrich landed two key roles — real life abductor Brian David Mitchell in the acclaimed Lifetime television film I Am Elizabeth Smart which tells the story of the then 14-year-old’s kidnapping by a family acquaintance, opposite Alana Boden as Smart. The real Elizabeth Smart found the film so accurate that she cannot watch it for a second time.

He also began a guest role on CW’s Riverdale – a teen drama based on Archie Comics – as FP Jones, father to regular character Jughead (Cole Sprouse. The character’s popularity amongst fans led to Ulrich becoming a series regular from the second season onwards.

Ulrich as FP Jones with on-screen son Jughead (Cole Sprouse)

As well as Riverdale’s fourth season that began in October, Ulrich will also be appearing in the upcoming film Bios alongside Tom Hanks, Caleb Landry Jones (Get Out) and Laura Harrier (Spider-Man Homecoming), which is due for release in 2020.

2nd November 2019
How John Wesley Shipp Has Benefited CW’s THE FLASH

Veteran actor John Wesley Shipp has been a cast member on The Flash since the pilot episode in 2014. The gravitas and history that comes with Shipp having played Barry Allen over two decades prior to the premiere has proven to be a great asset.

An Emmy-award winning actor for his work in soap operas, there is no denying that he was a coup for the cast, regardless of whether he had played the titular character or not. Shipp’s enduring beloved father role as Mitch Leery on Dawson’s Creek likely helped fans get behind him as Henry.

Much like other actors on the show, Shipp has not been limited to playing only one character throughout his tenure, thanks in part to the “multiverse” established in the second season.

Unlike his colleagues, who have mostly played different versions of the same characters, Shipp has played three distinct roles entirely across his appearances in the six seasons to date.

From Barry’s wrongfully imprisoned father Henry to experienced speedster Jay Garrick and a very special role that held significant meaning for many fans…

I find Shipp’s work as Henry, particularly in the first season, as a source for some of the more memorable and beloved scenes. At this point, I had not seen 1990’s Flash and was unfamiliar with Shipp as an actor. However, I could tell from both the writing and performance that there was more meaning to the character than simply Barry’s father talking to him – an example of a great collaboration coming together.

Once I discovered Shipp’s connection to the character of The Flash, everything began to make sense. Quite cleverly, the writers used the context of a father and son for the mantle of the Scarlet Speedster to be passed on-screen.

Another favourite Henry appearance came in Season 5 – during the show’s hundredth episode. I will not spoil the particulars in case someone reading this has not seen that scene, but it is very emotional.

As the actor himself has said, “Henry always had a limited shelf life” meaning that the character’s very specific purpose had been fulfilled. From a storyline perspective, Barry had passed the point of needing Henry’s presence on a regular basis.

Naturally, since this is The Flash and not set in reality, that did not mean Shipp would be leaving the show. He instead transitioned into a new character, iconic DC Comics hero Jay Garrick, who in The Flash lore was the first man to hold the mantle.

Much like with Henry, I also really like Jay, though for different reasons. Despite being introduced four seasons ago, he is very much a mystery to the fans although this recently changed in the sixth season.

As the same actor plays both Jay and Henry Allen, Shipp is able to recreate a new on-screen dynamic with Grant Gustin – the paternal aspect is still there to some extent, just not in a literal sense anymore.

Personally, I think the turn of events that led to Shipp playing Jay were executed perfectly. We had already gotten to know and love him as Henry. Instead of introducing Jay right at the start, it felt like we had earned the right to finally have the original Flash side by side with Grant Gustin’s Barry.

Last winter’s Elseworlds crossover featured Shipp in a reprisal of his Barry Allen, who had last been seen in 1991, now confirmed to be a resident of Earth 90.

Although – spoiler – his appearance was brief, there was enough time for a meaningful scene with Earth 1 Barry (Grant Gustin), once again astonished by someone with the appearance of his late father.

Considering we never actually found out what happened to this Barry, he will probably appear again at some point — presumably in the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Earths.

On behalf of every Flash fan, thank you to John Wesley Shipp for his forthcoming three decade anniversary with the character, as well as an incredible set of performances across six seasons of the current show.

1st November 2019
How I Potentially Cracked The Remaining ‘Masked Singer’ Celebrities (Spoilers)

Since the second season of The Masked Singer began airing in late September, we have learned the identities of five celebrity participants: Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir (Egg), streamer Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins (Ice Cream), undefeated boxing champion Laila Ali (Panda), qualified doctor and radio host Drew Pinsky (Eagle) and Letterman band leader Paul Shaffer (Skeleton).

One of the combined accolades of this season’s contestants is that they, as a collective, have a total 29 children. Of the known five, three have kids: Drew Pinsky has 3, Paul Shaffer has 2 and Laila Ali has 5 (2 biological, 3 step). This means 10 of the 29 have been accounted for.

By using popular guesses for the still-unidentified singers and working with the 19 kids we need, I believe that I have hopefully proven who some of them are.

Now, to clarify, I think that The Masked Singer is being slightly sneaky with ’29 kids’ in that step or adopted children would also qualify.

Let’s begin…

Adrienne bailon – flamingo

Bailon has four stepchildren with her husband, Israel Houghton, whom she married in 2016.

chris daughtry – rottweiler

Daughtry has four children (two bio, two step) with his wife, Deanna, whom he married in 2000.

patti labelle – flower

LaBelle has one child with her former husband Armstead Edwards who she is now divorced from.

wayne brady – fox

Brady has one child with his former wife Mandie Taketa.

sherri shepherd – penguin

Shepherd is the mother of two children born from surrogate mothers.

seal – leopard

Seal has four children, including one step-child, with his former wife Heidi Klum.

candace cameron bure – tree

Bure has three children with her husband, ice hockey player Valeri Bure.

Between Bailon, LaBelle, Brady, Daughtry, Shepherd, Seal and Bure, there are a total of nineteen children.

The other remaining contestants whom I believe to be Kelly Osbourne (Ladybug), Michelle Williams (Butterfly), Victor Oladipo (Thingamajig) and Raven Symone (Black Widow) have no children, adopted or otherwise.

Additionally, the divorces also line up with my guesses. There are 8 total, two of which have already been accounted for – Johnny Weir and Laila Ali.

Patti LaBelle and Seal have been divorced once while Sherri Shepherd and Wayne Brady are each two-time divorcees.

21st October 2019
The Circle 2019 – Thoughts and Analysis of Series 2

The second series of Channel 4’s groundbreaking hit reality show, The Circle, came to a dramatic conclusion on October 18, which as of writing, was yesterday. After three weeks of pure entertainment, it all came to a head as all the secrets were out in the open…

All the way back on September 24, the series kicked off with eight new players and a new presenter, television veteran Emma Willis, the first of many changes from last year’s run.

(from top; l to r): Sy, ‘Jay’/Katie, Woody, Tim, presenter Emma Willis, Georgina, ‘Sammie’/James, Emelle, Brooke

Of this initial batch, four were completely honest about their pictures and personality: Brooke (24), Tim (58), Sy (35) and Georgina (21). Fellow players Emelle (31) and Woody (18) used their own image but hid major secrets from the group — the former was a lesbian playing straight while the latter was in fact the son of famous parents – Norman ‘Fatboy Slim’ Cook and Zoe Ball.

Among the group, however, were a sneaky pair of Catfishes – James (26), the son of a single mother taking on this persona for himself while Katie (43) played as her mid-twenties son, Jay, believing him to be a more popular person than herself.

It would be very easy to compare the new contestants to last year’s, trying to find the ‘new Alex’ or ‘new Freddie’. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised that each player was their own unique person who brought something different to the game.

Primary Catfish James (who had more power by being an Influencer) was an interesting counterpoint to Alex/Kate in their different approaches to pulling the deceit off. While Alex knew the person in the pictures for his fake personality, James had never met the girl representing ‘Sammie’ and was relying, at least at the beginning, on information given by female family members. He was definitely the most divisive and controversial aspect of the show – whether it was his choice of character, or his formation of the #ruthless COT that removed a beloved player in Ella.

Of all the players to take part in this series, Woody is definitely the most optimistic with a positive outlook on life. A genuinely nice bloke who forged close bonds with many of his fellow players, much to others’ chagrin later in the game. He remained true to himself throughout and this worked in his favour.

I did not know what to make of Tim when the contestants were revealed. There had been a faux older gentleman — Christopher (aka his granddaughter Sinead) who had not lasted very long during the previous series. However, Tim’s articulate, well-mannered and eccentric personality served him well and he very quickly became a figure of great importance, wisdom, power and influence (pun intended) within The Circle.

Georgina‘s story was obviously very emotional from the outset, as she was very open about suffering from Crohn’s disease. By virtue of staying in the game for a considerable amount of time, Georgina is featured very heavily throughout the show. She made powerful allies in Brooke, Tim and even Richard Madeley, who granted her immunity.

Near the end of the series, Georgina became one-third of the infamous COT (Circle of Trust) which successfully saw her through to the finale. This did initially divide my opinion of her though seeing how genuinely upset Georgina was when having to block Ella, her friend, won me back and I was happy to see her as one of the final two in contention for the money.

Whether she meant to or not, Katie brought much of the humour in the early episodes of The Circle. Her sheer ineptitude in Catfishing as her son (sorry and no offence if you’re reading this) was hilarious to watch though for the most part she was very consistent in making people believe she was Jay.

I liked Brooke, her relationship with Tim and Georgina and what she brought to The Circle. While I understand how she and Georgina felt towards Tim after Brooke’s blocking, I can also rationalise and justify why Brooke was their choice. At least from my perspective, it’s a dog eat dog world in The Circle and by removing Brooke, one of the more prominent players (Georgina) had lost a great ally.

Sadly, as this is a game show after all, Emelle and Sy were the first two people to be Blocked. However, unlike last series, we still got to see them on Friday’s live episodes, on which they effectively became reoccurring panellists. Both had interesting techniques in their gameplan and seemed like genuine people so it was a shame they left so early on. Luckily, we strangely learned more about the pair post-Blocking rather than when they were still competing.

Although The Circle is a game and very much not representing real life, one similarity between the two is the fast pace and ruthlessness. Of course the initial eight plus a ninth (surprise contestant Richard Madeley, playing as ‘Judy’, in a hilarious week-long appearance) were not the only fixtures on the show. As we progressed, more and more new people joined the game.

Let’s meet them…

(l to r, from top): Ella, Paddy, Beth, Busayo, Jack, Andrea and Jan

Ella (24) was voted in over another possible player. Her bubbly personality led to her quickly developing strong friendships in the group, especially with Woody, Tim and Georgina. Ella was both one of my favourites and a fan favourite throughout the series.

Due to her late arrival, it was hard to predict what she would ultimately bring to the group, but her deep and somewhat familial relationship with Tim and Woody was very sentimental for the viewers.

Jack (29) and Beth (29) were individually introduced although they were brought in as the two new players. After three episodes, they were both eliminated in a double Blocking though were given the opportunity to join forces and continue in the game as ‘Joyce’, a 62-year-old woman.

While we only really scratched the surface with the pair as themselves (Beth did use someone else’s pictures), they were very entertaining as Joyce. Due to being much younger than their character’s age, there was certain information and references that they did not understand which Joyce, if she were real, definitely would have.

Dublin-born Paddy (31) was brought in next, playing as himself through not initially disclosing that he has Cerebal Palsy. Upon finally revealing to this fact to the rest of the players, this became one of the most emotional moments of the series.

Busayo (24) came in as a Catfish, playing Josh, a middle-class white man, believing that would help her get further in the game. Meanwhile, Italian model Andrea (28) and Kent local Jan (58) were brought in as anonymous competitors (‘Eggs’) from which the existing players had to choose who to join their ranks — Jan was the victor in this instance.

Source: @c4thecircle – Instagram

Eventually, many fell by the wayside until only five finalists remained — Georgina, Woody, Tim, Paddy and James, also known as Sammie.

Two prizes were up for grabs – while the total fund was £100,000, it turned out that £70,000 of this would be awarded to the winner of the players’ final ratings while the remaining £30,000 would go to the player voted for by the public – Viewers’ Champion.

Former monk Tim scooped the £30,000 viewer voted-prize while the overall winner was Paddy, making him the first of many achievements in The Circle – first winner to play as themselves, first non-English winner, first Irish player, first latecomer to win and so on.

Congratulations to both Paddy and Tim. Here’s hoping The Circle returns for another series in September 2020!

19th October 2019
Bridge to Terabithia – Reflecting On My First Adult Viewing Of A Special Film

Released in 2007, only twelve years ago, Bridge to Terabithia is, in my opinion, a seminal children’s film that kids should definitely watch at some point in their lives. While the title and some of the story focuses on an imaginary fantasy land, there are very real themes of friendship, family, compassion and grief at play in the movie. Young people also learn quite directly that the real world is not always a happy place – it can be cruel and unfair, hence why the imaginary land of Terabithia is thought into existence.

Although Bridge to Terabithia is under the Walt Disney Pictures banner, it is in fact much more poignant than a first-time viewer might give it credit for. This adaptation may be just over a decade old however the source material – Katherine Paterson’s novel of the same name – was released three decades earlier in 1977.

As the title alludes to, I recently watched Bridge to Terabithia for the first time as someone over the age of eighteen. It had been a very long time since my last viewing and the whole experience took me back into what it was like to be younger and carefree, in the age range of the lead characters.

As with any beloved story, endearing and memorable characters are a key reason for Bridge to Terabithia’s long-standing success and place in the hearts of millions. Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb played their respective roles – Jess and Leslie, amazingly well especially considering how young they were during filming.

Not only does their on-screen friendship feel real and authentic, both Hutcherson and Robb truly embodied their characters in such a way that despite many years having passed since I first saw the film, I never forgot Jess, Leslie and what they went through together. I was genuinely moved by the story depicted on screen and the film means a lot to me, for that reason.

Looking into the film as an adult also offers a much different perspective to when I was younger and less knowledgeable about the world. For example, issues such as the financial issues in Jess’ family, the shock that Leslie does not believe in God and the fact that the bullies (especially Lauren Clinton’s Janice Avery) are much more complex human beings than they initially appear.

I always liked May Belle as a character and being an older sibling myself, I can relate to Jess’ annoyance at times of her trying to tag along. While many aspects of the story are timeless, it is in fact May Belle that reminds me exactly how much time has passed since Bridge to Terabithia was made — I have seen Bailee Madison in many other projects and she has obviously grown up. In fact, after my recent viewing, I went on to Instagram and one of the first pictures I saw was Madison celebrating her twentieth birthday. Time flies!

I also appreciate Robert Patrick’s performance and what he brought to the film much more now than I did when Bridge to Terabithia was first released. As a parent in a Disney film, it is easy to simply regard him as the obligatory adult presence in the child character’s life. However, as I have said, now having more understanding of different perspectives helps me see Jack Aarons as a hard-working man trying to provide for his family.

Of course, Leslie’s ultimate and tragic fate near the end of the story is a source of great sadness for many people. Some have questioned why her death was necessary and have even made comments about the author, Katherine Paterson, for killing their favourite character.

Due to Leslie being based on a real-life friend – Lisa Hill – of Paterson’s son, her death was never in question. This is what makes AnnaSophia Robb’s performance even more impressive — she had to make Leslie memorable, lovable and leave enough of an impression on the audience so what happened would be deeply felt. Leslie was a young, intelligent, vibrant girl with her whole life ahead of her. Again, being only twelve at the time and having all of that to factor in and think about is truly remarkable.

Josh Hutcherson also showed the beginnings of acting chops that would grow even further over the next decade. His performance as Jess in the latter stages of the film is some of his best work, in my opinion though I consistently enjoyed the character throughout Bridge to Terabithia.

Anyway, those are my thoughts and musings which I hope you enjoyed reading. I had forgotten how much Bridge to Terabithia impacted me and how it had helped me learn about the harshness in reality, until this recent viewing.

I feel like most people in my generation saw this film at some point and now, the kids of 2019, watching it can learn the same lessons we did back in the day. Some stories just cannot be forgotten.

19th October 2019
Current ‘The Masked Singer’ Guesses – As of Episode 3

Twelve contestants remain in the competition. Below is whom I believe to be under the surviving masks. The last one is a recent switch from another popular guess, as that became more and more implausible.

ADRIENNE BAILON – FLAMINGO

Sherri shepherd – penguin

wayne brady

fox

paul shaffer

skeleton

patti labelle

flower

ana gasteyer

tree

chris daughtry – rottweiler

raven-symone

black widow

kelly osbourne

ladybug

victor oladipo

thingamajig

michelle williams

butterfly

seal

leopard

11th October 2019
How Riverdale Paid A Poignant Tribute to the late Luke Perry

It has been seven months since beloved actor Luke Perry’s sudden death at 52, due to a stroke. On Wednesday, his show Riverdale, on which Perry played Fred Andrews, aired a special tribute episode – ‘In Memoriam’ which paid homage to both the actor and the character, who also tragically died at the beginning of the hour.

Before Perry even stepped foot in Riverdale, however, he was adored by another generation of fans in the classic series Beverly Hills 90210 as the heartthrob bad boy Dylan McKay for ten years, on and off.

With this in mind, the Riverdale episode had a very special guest star in the form of Shannen Doherty, Perry’s co-star on Beverly Hills 90210, who starred as his love interest Brenda Walsh. I will not spoil what exact role Doherty played in the tribute, in case you are not caught up, but her scenes are very moving.

Perry and Doherty in Beverly Hills 90210

Riverdale also reflected how deeply the character of Fred’s loss would be felt in his beloved town. Those in mourning range from Hiram and Hermione Lodge, to Pop Tate. As well as KJ Apa and Molly Ringwald, Perry’s on-screen family, Cole Sprouse, Camila Mendes, Lili Reinhart and Skeet Ulrich also delivered particularly heartbreaking performances in reaction to Fred’s death.

And that’s just it – “performances”. The fact that most, if not all of the sadness, anger and confusion displayed here is in fact real makes the whole thing far sadder than a character dying, but the actor still being alive in real life. The emotion was palpable. I could feel it and was deeply affected and moved.

A picture tribute shared by Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Before, during and after the episode, multiple actors and personnel associated with Perry paid their final respects to the late stars. This includes, but is not limited to; Lili Reinhart (Betty Cooper), Camila Mendes (Veronica Lodge), Madelaine Petsch (Cheryl Blossom), Cole Sprouse (Jughead Jones), Madchen Amick (Alice Cooper), Casey Cott (Kevin Keller), Mark Consuelos (Hiram Lodge) and Skeet Ulrich, (FP Jones), Perry’s on-screen childhood best friend.

Overall, the whole episode had me feeling very emotional — not usual with television shows, but as I have said, having knowledge of the real life tragedy amplified all the bubbling emotions. Fred Andrews was a wonderful character and by all accounts, Perry was a great man and very similar to his role.

May he Rest in Peace.

10th October 2019
Stoker, Shan and Meyer – Different Interpretations of Literary Vampires

Vampires are one of the most written about fictional creatures and while there have been many different interpretations, the basis remains the same. Humanoid looking people who need to drink blood in order to survive.

Perhaps the most famous literary vampire is Count Dracula, who originated in the 1897 novel Dracula by Irish author Bram Stoker. This novel is what established the well-known conventions that exist in vampire stories such as fangs and the ability to turn humans into vampires through biting.

The character story of Dracula has been adapted more than ninety times in film between 1921 and 2019. Notable actors to play the character in various forms include Christopher Lee, Jason Isaacs, Gerard Butler and John Carradine.

Another Irish writer who has popularised vampires is Darren O’Shaugnessy, better known as Darren Shan, who wrote a twelve-book series with a character named Darren Shan joining the vampiric ranks.

Unlike traditional vampires, Shan’s clan are presented as people who have a strange affliction — the need to drink blood. They are honourable fighters and beings who only ‘drink’ (take blood) in small amounts and do not kill humans in the process. They live by certain principles which are strictly enforced.

Full vampires can heal wounds with their saliva, run extremely fast (‘flit’) and trace one another through mental signals.

Much of the violent traits associated with vampires are shown within the rival clan, Vampaneze, who are purple-skinned due to level of blood consumption and always kill their targets when drinking, as the soul is preserved.

Some examples of insane Vampaneze include Murlough and his spiritual successor, Reggie Veggie (RV).

Perhaps the vampire with the most focus in Shan’s book is Larten Crepsley, over two centuries old, who lived an eclectic life before and after joining the creatures of the night. Larten is both Darren Shan’s mentor and the star of his own Saga, appearing in thirteen total books, the most of any character in this universe.

Unlike Dracula, the Saga of Darren Shan has had only one big screen adaptation – 2009’s Cirque du Freak: The Vampire Assistant, which was a flop, to put it lightly. Larten Crepsley was played by veteran actor John C. Reilly while then-newcomer Chris Massoglia played Darren Shan.

Another very famous set of vampire stories are the Twilight series which were published as novels between 2005 and 2008 while also becoming a successful film franchise starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner from 2008 to 2012.

In particular, Pattinson’s character Edward Cullen is the love interest of the female lead Bella Swan (Stewart) and as such is made desirable with traits such as eternal youthful handsomeness and skin that sparkles when in sunlight. With this in mind, they are definitely the most romanticised vampires I have seen in fiction and the probable reason for this being the case across the board.

Similar to Shan’s vampires, Edward’s family are restrained when it comes to feeding on humans. Their traits include superhuman abilities involving strength, stamina and agility.

Of course, these are just three examples of vampires in literature, film and television which are entirely different from each other. There are also many more variations of the genre that I did not include.

Each has different reasons why longtime fans believe that their favourite is the best depiction of the character type. The fact that vampires still have so much mileage and adaptability after all these years is truly remarkable and surely we will meet many more in the years to come.

8th October 2019