Recently I stumbled upon Zumbo's Just Desserts on Netflix and absolutely mesmerized by the level amateurs can bake (which makes me what? An incompetent amateur?)
Pastry chef Adriano Zumbo is renowned for his magical creations which are not only absolutely tasty (I have heard), but look incredible. From floating hats to profiterole towers, there is something for any taste. In this show, twelve contestants go into the ring and bake something according to a specific theme (like fairy tales or chocolate). Then, the two weakest participants have to go into the Zumbo Test in which they have to re-create one of Zumbo's insane creations. The one performing worse in this task is eliminated. The contestants are insanely skilled! Even though they are all amateurs, they know their craft and I am sure could outdo one or the other chef in a competition; however, the jury in the show is improvable. Rachel Khoo, who was absolutely adorable in her own TV show, comes over as a mean and humourless bitch and the other "jury member" who is only there to count down the clock and look pretty is Gigi. She has the most annoying voice you have ever heard (and if this doesn't intrigue to watch the show, I don't know what will). Zumbo himself seems quite nice, but with a sadistic streak whenever revealing the dessert the two contestants have to bake. Also, there are various catchphrases in the show which are repeated again and again, which makes it pretty repetitive. Rachel Khoo wishes every contestant that their "all their sweet dreams may come true", which, at first, seems really nice, but becomes a tad bitter and almost mocking towards the end. However, if you are interested in amazing baking and weird creations, this is the show to watch and I can only highly recommend it, so let the binge-watching begin... Oh and in case you are wondering...all of the above given pictures are really desserts and a hundred percent edible!
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I am a huge fan of the sitcoms How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory.
However, I think most fans can agree that towards the finishing lines, they often lose their level of greatness and descend to being solely endured, rather than enjoyed. I can say that only for HIMYM, for sure, though. We all know how it ended, and most agreed that the ending sucked. However, I think the whole last season sucked to a standard which wasn't in any way acceptable any more. I mean, the episode with the last slap? Embarrassingly pathetic. TBBT is my favourite sitcom in the world - even far better than HIMYM in my opinion. I think what is so great about TBBT is that it behaves atypical to many other sitcoms as, with the years and seasons, it actually always becomes better and better instead of worse. Think about it, we started with four quirky nerds and a gullible, yet sweet girl and we loved it; however, throw in Bernadette and Amy (my personal favourite, to be honest) and it becomes just hilarious and awesome. Also, I felt that the characters of TBBT were developing in some sort of way, which is often unusual for sitcoms which are so humorous. Don't get me wrong, the characters in HIMYM seemingly develop, too, but do they really? Mostly (and also in the end, more or less) we have Lily and Marshal in love and Ted, Robin and Barney in a weird threesome situation (again), so actually, they haven't been really developing - they only got older. Throughout the series they are still co-dependent on each other to an almost unbearable extent and towards the end I, and probably many more, was just glad I didn't have to see them anymore as they were simply annoying me. The last season of TBBT so far (10, if you haven't stayed up-to-date), started out pretty poorly, too, in my opinion. My man and I were sorely disappointed of many episodes and although it's been catching up in the last three or so, it just doesn't seem to work so well anymore. I have a theory to this. The moment Lily and Marshal got Marvin, the quality of the sitcom started to drop. Now, Bernadette and Howard have a baby, and it happens again. Why is that? Well, people who have babies don't meet their friends everyday in a tiny apartment and have time for the things Lily/Marshal and Bernadette/Howard seem easily to find (things like buying comic books, hanging out with their friends every day and sipping drinks). HIMYM and TBBT base on groups of young people who come to a city where they have no family and find each other (more or less, of course some exceptions, but, hey, Howard is Jewish - his mother wouldn't let him go anywhere). It is fun to watch them have fun and do unspeakable things most of us can only dream of, which is why we love to watch it; however, throw in a baby in the equation and it suddenly just seems sad. Lily and Marshal still hang out in the bar ALL THE TIME although they have a baby to look after. Bernie and Howie still have dinner in a teeny weeny apartment (compared to their house) and he seems to be free to play with his friends at the same time Bernadette meets with Penny and Amy. I am, of course, not saying you cannot maintain friendship when you have a baby, but I doubt that young parents have the energy and time to spend so much of it with their friends, seemingly abandoning the baby in the process. I have to admit, I like the way TBBT deals with it better, as it works in a different way than HIMYM (so profound, isn't it, but these really are the things I think about in my leisure time...sad). In HIMYM everything works over much more time frames and gives a more general insight into life whereas in TBBT we mostly see how the characters meet in the cafeteria or in one home, without really knowing how much time was in between (whether they eat together nearly every day or just every week). Therefore, it makes a little more sense to think they have just put their daughter down after they spent the whole day with her; still, the baby just kills the sitcom...or probably family does, as I hardly believe anyone who had a healthy, young family would spend so much doing things they did in their twenties...only compare to SATC, four young, single New Yorker women who constantly meet for cocktails? Alright. Four grown women who have children, work and other commitments? Sad. Just saying. My prayers have been heard! Hallelujah!
After wishing for another TV show as witty, entertaining, funny and yet serious as the wonderful Gilmore Girls, I have finally managed to dive into an equally wonderful and quirky series now. Unsurprisingly, it is by no one else than fantastic Amy Sherman Palladino herself, the original creator of Gilmore Girls. And of course, I am taking about the great Amazon TV show, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. Having binge-watched Murder and Nashville lately, I was slowly drifting into a really dark, paranoid and anxious place in my soul and craved a show which would make me laugh and entertain without the permanent use of car accidents, shootings, drama and personal tragedies which are beyond any human to grasp. Having had an initial obsession with Nashville, I found it dragged me down and when I encountered Mrs Maisel, I was hooked from minute one. This time, Palladino leads us into the 50s in New York where the young couple Mr and Mrs Maisel live with their very Jewish parents and fantastic humour. He, a wannabe comedian, dreams of a stand-up career while she, the marvelous Mrs Maisel, is the actual comic. After a failed performance, her husband not only abandons the idea of becoming a comic, but the one of his marriage, too, and Mrs Maisel becomes a divorcee-to-be, which not only sends herself but her parents and friends into a huge frenzy. We witness great dialogue between housewives, members of the Jewish community and a rough New York with all its quirky individuals. As to be expected with Palladino, dialogue is much and quick with lots of pop culture references and simply wonderful to watch. Mrs Maisel is such a likable character, as are her overdrive Jewish parents and the regular comedic allusions to Holocaust (and only a true comedian could joke about that). Palladino has Jewish heritage herself and it feels like a fantastic fusion of Gilmore Girls and Fiddler on the Roof. Obviously, it serves many cliches, but hey, aren't cliches not just truths which have been stated too often? Sadly, the first season only consists of eight episodes, but I cherished every bit of it and cannot wait for season two to commence! Mrs Maisel, we want more and we want it now! 1) Graduation Goggles
In E6S20, the lot talks about Graduation Goggles which, according to Robin, is the phenomenon when you quit doing something or break up with someone you dated, but as soon as you determined the finalisation, you get nostalgic and wish it back, like in high school, when everyone gets nostalgic after graduation. During the past six months I worked at a publishing house as English editor and it was, plainly, pretty boring. I didn’t like the hours (far too many) and the work was generally not challenging enough… Anyway, when I quit for good reasons, I suddenly felt sorry for leaving (it wasn’t long though, rather a Barney Goggle Moment). I also always get Graduation Goggles when I go to the hairdresser’s. Initially, I hate my hair and yearn for the moment a too stylish black-clad woman finally massages my temples before getting my hair cut, but then, as soon as I am comfortably seated in one of the chairs, the InTouch on my lap and the black plastic cloak around my shoulders, I look into the mirror and think ‘Hey, it’s not too bad, is it?’ and wish I could have the indecency to walk out and keep my hair put - which I never do. 2) The Lobster Situation This refers to when Robin is obsessed to get Barney back after she’s seen him with another woman. Previously, she was told she couldn’t have lobster and then had a sudden urge to only eat lobster, making her face swell up. I guess this is something everybody can associate with. The minute you are told you can’t do something, you just NEED to do it. I sometimes have that when I am somewhere really high up and I have this sudden urge to drop my phone or camera (which is why I can never get out my phone somewhere high). Or when someone tells you not to scratch a spot, it starts itching so badly, you’d rather pull your face off than not scratch it. 3) Nothing good happens after 2 a.m. This relates to Ted’s mother’s rule that you should make sure to be home after 2 a.m. because everything from there on is only crap. A long time ago, I wrote a post on the inner child where adults, when having the inner child switched on, react childishly and don’t want the evening to end, which, ultimately, ends in the evening being ruined. Example: Last NYE I made a bad mistake and agreed to celebrate NYE with my man and his friends, who have their inner child turned on permanently when going out (and most likely the rest of the time, too). Anyway, it was NYE and we were quite a bunch of people and still managed to secure a table to have everyone seated comfortably, which is close to winning a million euros, if you ask me. Midnight had passed and so had 2 a.m. and people were starting to go home. The people who didn’t have their inner child on did the sensible thing, saying “it’s late, let’s go home”. Anyway, not my man’s friends...no, even though everyone was seated and happy, we NEEDED to move to the next club because...reasons. From then on, it was only a drag. I, not wanting to be the sensible for once, accepted the stupidity and was dragged along, knowing the evening had passed its peak and it was time to go home; however, the inner children didn’t know, nagging “no, mummy, just five more minutes” while the mummies could already see the children would be arguing and crying in five minutes’ time. Anyway, instead of going home and remember the evening with fond memories, we spent an hour not deciding which the next club would be, and when we had finally decided, it was so crammed we couldn’t get in, so I told them I would go home whereupon everyone agreed it was finally time to go home (apart from the ultimate inner child, but this would be getting too long if I started talking on inner child narcissist traits in people). So, heed Ted’s mum’s advice and just go home when the clock strikes 2 a.m.. 4) Long Distance Relationships Rarely Work In season one when Ted meets patissier Victoria, he is quickly falling in love with the sympathetic, warm-hearted cake maker (and part of me still mourns she didn’t end up being the mother, if I am honest with you). However, their luck quickly gets challenged when Victoria receives a bakery fellowship in Germany, prompting the difficult question whether to stay with Ted or further her career. Both agree quickly that long distance wouldn’t work for them and that her accepting the fellowship would mean their relationship was over (honestly, a year is not that long of a time…). Now, it is not that long distance cannot work, after all I have already had long distance for a year with my man and it worked out alright; however, I have to agree that long distance isn’t what you should be opting for - especially if it is not foreseeable how long the relationship will have to endure the additional burden. My man and I knew it would only be a year and even knowing that, we needed a little “re-entering phase” when I came back. For Ted and Victoria things do not end well in the show and Ted cheats on her with Robin (why, Ted, why? Robin’s really not all that special…). Lily and Marshall also drone on about Lily’s exchange in Paris in which they both suffered from the long distance. In the end, I would say being together also means being together. Personally, when I choose to be with someone, I want to be with this person, in mind and body. 5) Things you didn’t like in the beginning, you may end up really liking after years Upon reviewing a shirt he initially didn’t like, Ted realises it has grown on him and he revisits his ex-girlfriends to see if one of them would be a fit now, even if she wasn’t back then. I don’t know about ex-girl or boyfriends, but I can certify that you can actually grow to like things you didn’t previously. For me, it has mostly been food which has transformed from eugh to yummy, such as carrots. I hated carrots as a child and told my mother only rabbits would eat them; however, now they have become one of my favourite vegetables. My man has always hated hot chocolate, but now I catch him nipping of my cup when I drink one and he has admitted he has grown to like the taste. Another area in which I regularly flip my mind is fashion. I can perceive something as terribly horrible and wear it a couple of months later myself. Initially I thought the idea of ripped jeans was laughable because who would buy torn jeans? However, even though they’re still not my favourite, I have some pairs of them in my wardrobe now too. Same goes for sneakers. I still oppose the ridiculous sneaker culture creeping up upon us and people who, out of principle, only wear sneakers should be flogged in my opinion; yet, from downright declaring I would never ever wear one pair myself, my man actually bought my a pair of Nike’s last year and I have been seen wearing them on occasion. 6) Clubs are terrible There is no message I can endorse more than this one. I. Hate. Clubs. In HIMYM, Ted and Barney go to some fancy club while Lily and Marshall dedicate their time with more grown-up occupations, quickly yearning they were at the club too. Inside the club, Ted can barely talk to a woman because of the loud music, two beers cost him thirty-something quid and it takes hours until he can get them. Ultimately, he concurs that clubs suck and I can fully understand that. Personally, I have never been a party bunny myself and preferred reading in bed (I know it sounds so cliché, but it is actually the truth). However, once or twice I year I convinced myself that partying was fun, so I went out to some fancy club in which the music was drumming from the walls and I was elbowed all evening long, leading me to the conclusion that clubs actually suck, unless you enjoy being deaf for the three ensuing days, like to be butt-grabbed every five minutes and drunk men harassing you. And if you do, you should seek advice... 7) The Platinum Rule Barney has a rule for everything, we know that, but this rule actually isn’t such a bad idea. Basically it states to not eat where you defecate, i.e. not date someone from work, befriend a neighbour or engage in relational contact with anybody whom you cannot simply avoid. Obviously, it is difficult to stay out of any sort of relationship at the places you primarily exist; however, I would not seek a relationship at the workplace, for instance, because in the case it doesn’t work out (which usually is the case), everything gets really weird and the place you spent most of your time at suddenly becomes a haunted space for unwanted memories. Additionally, neighbours can be tricky too. Obviously we all desire pleasant relationships with our neighbours, i.e. them letting us be without interfering too much. But friends? Hm, could work out the other way too. As we can see in HIMYM, Lily and Marshall get all cosy with their new neighbours who then constantly knock on their door, wanting to play charades. Obviously, this can become rather tiresome if one party is more involved into the relationship than another and, personally, I have never sought to be friends with my neighbours. An affirmative nod in their direction has so far sufficed. Obviously HIMYM is set in a world of extremes and long distance can work, as can a relationship with a co-worker or neighbour, but the above given theories explained in HIMYM make sense in many life situations and are well-valued to be kept in mind. At the moment, I am super-busy binge-watching How to Get Away with Murder and I suppose most of us can agree that whilst Annalise Keating is an admirable woman with a most useful set of skills, it is also undeniable that she can be a proper bitch to other people's lives and feelings. There have been times where I simply wanted to kill her and cheered Wes on when he shot her, so let's count down the 5 worst Annalise Keating moments (not including season 4). 5. Her twisted relationship with Evie Rothlow. Evie Rothlow is a fellow attorney Annalise met while studying law in Harvard. She is a lesbian and had a relationship with Annalise before the latter pushed Evie away due to her settlement and commitment issues. Now, when Evie is introduced, we know it didn't end well for the two of them because Evie is straightforwardly pissed at Annalise for breaking her heart back when they were young. Much older and supposedly wiser, this doesn't keep Annalise from getting off with Evie once more while she is actually still in an on-off relationship with Nate, which is simply mean and selfish, Annalise. 4. When she let Wes believe Rebecca was still alive. Wes is probably the only halfway decent character in HTGAWM, which says a lot as he's killed Sam and shot Annalise. He falls in love with Rebecca who is then, cold-heartedly, killed by Bonnie. Annalise mops up Bonnie's mess and makes Frank let Rebecca's body disappear, telling Wes and the others Rebecca has run off, leading Wes to wonder where she is and looking for her. Cruelly, Annalise watches heartbroken Wes wonder where Rebecca has run to, not coming clean and keeping up her lies. Additionally, she once more mops up a crime committed by one of her assistants, which, as a lawyer who should serve justice and, well, law, this is a really bad move on her side. 3. When she had no problem making Frank her hit man who murdered innocent people and dropped evidence, but when she realised he'd betrayed her after she belittled him, and wanted to tell her but was stopped from doing so by Sam, she abandoned him.
Frank, as Annalise, is a very multi-nuanced character in the show. Even though he is easy-going, handsome (oh, so handsome) and funny, he is, basically, only a cruel murderer. He killed Lila cold-heartedly simply because he "owed" Sam, got rid of Rebecca's body and planted evidence whenever Annalise asked him to (which was another way she was a super-bitch). Frank was Sam's and Annalise's hit man, yet when she realised that, upon a downgrading and degrading speech she gave him, he betrayed her which led to a severe car accident in which Annalise's baby died, she vowed to kill him. Obviously, this was terrible and it is understandable that Annalise is upset; however, you don't get to create a monster and then be surprised if he acts accordingly. 2. When she fired Bonnie after the latter had told her about Sam's infidelity. Generally, Annalise's behaviour towards Bonnie is a very twisted one. She claims she loves Bonnie like her own child, but if this is true, I'd rather not be Annalise's child. Regularly, Annalise's humiliates Bonnie in her speeches, blames her for every little mistake and, ultimately, fires Bonnie for being honest with her. And let's not forget where she threatened to have Bonnie killed if she was to commit another mistake... 1. When she framed Nate for Sam's murder. Clearly the number one. Annalise was trapped in an unhappy marriage and had an affair with police cop, Nate. However, after Sam's murder when the focus narrowed in on her as a potential suspect, she threw Nate under the bus, claiming he killed her husband out of jealousy, even if fully aware that Wes killed him out of self-defence. She even had Frank plant evidence in Nate's car to get off the hook and incriminate Nate even more. She nearly ruined a person's life to save her own ass and that is absolutely unforgivable, especially when you consider she blamed it on a person she supposedly loved. Shame on you, Annalise! What did you think of Annalise Keating and her misgivings? Share here or on Facebook :-) The past weeks I have been rather scarce with information on this blog, which was partly because I moved to Vienna, partly because I was binge-watching my new favourite show: How to Get Away with Murder.
Yes, I know, I know, I am dreadfully behind with everything, but I am not really a screen junkie, so I always need my time to decide it's time to watch. HTGAWM I watched mainly because Alfred Enoch, who played Dean Thomas in the HP movies, stars as the lead role and I thought that if he already was irresistibly hot in HP (one of the few), he must be downright delicious now - and I was totally right. A real dish. However, apart from my sexual-based reasons, I grew to really get enthralled by the show and now I am downright addicted. Viola Davis is amazing and portrays a character you're not ashamed to hate and love at the same time and also the rest of the cast is endearingly amazing, the characters complex enough to like or dislike and the now obligatory sex scenes for any decent TV show (Game of Thrones, what have you done!) are rather entertaining and hot, too. Obviously, you do not understand half of the law-related jargon they gibber on constantly, but it doesn't really matter (it didn't matter for hospital shows, so why would it here?) and we get a great bunch of lead characters which are shady as well as endearing, which provides a fantastic range of human emotions and problems, as well as complex characters which are neither black nor white exclusively (apart from their skin colour, for some, of course, but this isn't what I meant). We broach topics like racism, rape, intriguing, corruption and, of course, murder and how people deal with it. We learn about the rigged justice system, which will make you paranoid for the rest of your life and about how far people will go to protect another. So what is this all about for the three other people on Earth who, so far, haven't watched it like me? Well, I will give you a little synopsis so SPOILER and you decide if it's for you or not. It centers around the young law student Wes Gibbins who becomes one of the lucky (or unlucky) five which get chosen by acclaimed attorney and professor Annalise Keating to work for her during their studies and obtain first-hand experience and witness Annalise's expertise. However, Annalise isn't necessarily an angel herself, captured in a loveless marriage with a cheater and coming from a difficult background herself, she is rather cold, overly efficient and bloody ruthless, willing to go at great lengths to win a case, including planting evidence or getting rid of it, lying and using her cop boyfriend for her every needs, sexual and otherwise. The five get dragged into Annalise's mess, which, ultimately, ends with them murdering Annalise's husband and disposing of the body to cover up the crime and, therefore, get away with murder (ah, hence the title, now I get it). The rest is basically about mopping up the damage before getting involved in the next big crime. It is a fast-paced, witty yet dramatic show which lacks nothing of entertainment, real emotion and a fantastic cast, so what's holding you back? PS. For fans of Gilmore Girls, Liza Weil who portrayed Paris Geller is part of the cast, acting as Annelise's rather incompetent assistant. She will start out as hard-ass as Paris, but soon decline to a winy, little girl, but she's a great actress. How I Met Your Mother (or HIMYM) was one of the most successful sitcoms we loved to binge-watch, even if the ending left most of us unsatisfied. However, even the best shows commit mistakes and have unsatisfactory episodes which are lame, boring or simply outrageously ridiculous. For HIMYM, you can say as a general rule that its quality decreased ever since season 8, which is the first season Marshall and Lily have their son Marvin (also re-read my article on How the Baby Killed the Sitcom here) and peaks in the absolutely derisory last season 9, which is an offence to both intelligence and entertainment needs of any viewer and culminates in the utterly unsatisfying and idiotic ending we all had to endure. But let's not concentrate on the ending, but rather on all the little lows down to it, and you will notice that while the first and second seasons are pretty flawless, the worst episodes cluster towards the end. Here they are ranked according to chronology, not from worst to best worst episodes and, evidently, some of them are still pretty entertaining; however, they feature some flaws which simply cannot be ignored by viewers because of their outspoken idiocy. So, strap in for The Most Wrong Episodes of HIMYM. Third Wheel, S3E3 In this episode, Ted tries to bang two girls to win the golden belt, which the first one to have a threesome will win, while Robin is on a date with a hot English guy (played by irresistible Neil Jackson). First of all, Ted is a rather confusing character if you ask me, which makes him in some ways less endearing than initially thought. Often he sells us his wish to marry a nice girl, but then he also wants to have a threesome and win a golden belt for it, which is not only inconsistent with his stated wishes, but also highly misogynistic and in accordance with Barney's sexist views on women. Robin, in the meantime, has a date with a lovely English guy and hasn't shaved her legs to not sleep with him on the first date. However, during the date, she reconsiders this and calls Lily to get her shaving cream and shavers. First of all, why does Lily never appear with the shavers upon promising it and, secondly, why does Robin pay a waitress to get her shavers and cream instead of simply staying with her principles and having sex with him another time? Additionally, in the end, she knocks herself out in the bathroom, attempting to shave her legs and her date leaves with aforementioned waitress, never calling or inquiring what happened afterwards. A not really thought-through plot... The Bracket, S3E14 In this particularly disgusting episode, Barney ranks his one-night-stands according to whom may hate him most and if this wasn't sexist and awful enough, he gets full support by his friends, making this a game to enjoy. Additionally, there is a serious flaw in the plot because the girl who slept with Barney while he was pretending to be Ted Mosby, addresses Lily, saying dating Barney was the worst thing that ever happened to her, even though she never stopped believing he was Ted Mosby, which makes her being on the board and addressing Lily about Barney simply illogical. The Stinsons, S4E15 In The Stinsons, the gang observes some odd behaviour in Barney and finally discovers that he has a fake family for his own mother's sake because when she was feeling very ill, Barney promised to get married and have a baby. He hired two actors to play his son and wife and pretended they are The Stinsons and upon his mother surprisingly recovering, he had to keep up the act. OK, this is not only absolutely ridiculous in itself, but it is also entirely inconsistent that the gang has never observed Barney's behaviour before. His fake son is about 10 years old, so he has been up-keeping this ruse for over 10 years and the gang never noticed anything? Additionally, we know Barney has a knack for idiotic behaviour and HIMYM does not always limit itself to plausible reality, but this idea of The Stinsons is simply too far-fetched and, generally, the episode seems to be one of the "fillers" when the writers simply couldn't think of anything better. Perfect Week, S5E14 Barney tries to score the Perfect Week by sleeping with seven women in seven days. Again, in order to enjoy HIMYM, women have to give in to the sexist notions of Barney Stinson a little, but this episode, in my opinion, takes it too far. It is neither entertaining nor plot-relevant and utterly disgusting behaviour which is, in some ways or other, endorsed by his allegedly emancipated friends. Another "filler" which adds nothing to the real plot and presents sleeping with women and then dropping them like hot potatoes like a fun sport men can enjoy if there is nothing on TV. Shame on you! Zoo or False, S5E19 Marshall gets robbed and Lily wants to buy a gun, so he alters the story to a monkey having robbed him, which Robin wants to bring on her show, leading Ted to be offended because he deems himself as an architect to be far more news-worthy than Marshall. A whole episode dedicated to a ridiculous incident which adds neither to any character building nor the plot. Oh, Honey, S6E15 In this episode co-starred by Katy Perry, Marshall learns about Honey, a gullible woman who is Zoey's cousin and to be hooked up with Ted. Marshall still being in Minnesota after his dad died, listens to the various stories his friends tell him and once more it is clearly a plot filler which relates to entirely uninteresting stories the friends tell each other. And skip. The Slutty Pumpkin Returns, S7E8 We all know Ted's Slutty Pumpkin obsession and how he met this wonderful girl 10 Halloweens ago, still kind of waiting for her, after she gave him her number on a KitKat wrapping and lost it. Now, he can finally meet her (portrayed by Katie Holmes, big stars obviously don't work for HIMYM), only to realise she isn't a perfect fit at all. Alright, there are various things wrong with this episode. Albeit being generally entertaining, Ted is seriously annoying by his seeking for perfection in women and ruling them out for minor reasons. However, the stupidest part is the Slutty Pumpkin saying that she had been looking for Ted for 10 years. Really? Ted, we all know, has returned to the Halloween party every year to meet her, but it has never occurred to her to return to the party she met him at and find him? Well, if so, Ted, you dodged a particularly thick bullet. The Pre-Nup, S8E2 All episodes beyond season 7 can be generally categorised as less qualitative than the others, but this episode within the Autumn of Breakups is a particularly terrible one. Barney sets up an entirely misogynistic and offensive pre-nup for Quinn which includes things like her having to pay 2000 dollars every time she gains a pound. Once more, Barney's utterly sexist behaviour can be tolerated in most episodes, but some really go beyond any level of acceptance. Even worse, his allegedly emancipated friends endorse him in his fight and the girls gang up to write a like-wise discriminating pre-nup. In the end, Barney and Quinn break up, but after this episode I don't think any woman should still want to get involved with Barney Stinson. Who Wants to be Godparent, S8E4 The Baby Killed the Sitcom is what I have already stated in a previous post and HIMYM is a perfect example for that. In the first episodes of the aftermath of Marvin's birth, everything circles around the baby without Marshall and Lily actually acting up as proper parents. In this particularly laughable episode, they devise a game to find out who could be godparent for their child in case of their demise (Ted, duh, you needed a game for that? Robin hates children and Barney is a psychopath, but Ted's only your best friend, so, sure, tough choice...). Having to answer idiotic questions, the friends vie for the part of godparent (nobody knows who's actually looking after the child while they are all playing the game...). In the end, Lily and Marshall do the stupidest thing possible and name all three of them as godparents (good luck at court when all of them want the child after your death). Another time filler entirely unnecessary to watch. And skip! No Questions Asked, S9E7 Season 9 should be on this list as a whole because the episodes all happen on one weekend and are terribly laughable; however, there is a creme de la creme of idiocy and this episode belongs to it. Short wrap-up: Marshall is still trying to reach Long Hampton by car, Lily is at the hotel, desperately awaiting Marshall and Robin and Barney are about to get married. Marshall has just accepted a judge position despite their plans to move to Italy and Lily doesn't know it yet; however, Daphne, Marshall's passive-aggressive co-driver, sends Lily a text and Marshall orders his friends to delete it, enforcing the No Questions Asked rule, which simply means he has something on all of them, so to keep his mouth shut they shouldn't ask questions either. Another needless filler, but this could be stated for the entire season, if you ask me. Bedtime Stories, S9E11 Every TV show seems to have one - the flashback episode. HIMYM, however, seems to have some of them and Bedtime Stories belongs to them. Marshall simply tells Marvin stories about his friends in rhyme form, which is a terribly forced lead-up to a finale which, in itself, is so terribly unsatisfactory that episodes like these become even more unbearable to watch. And skip! Slapsgiving 3, S9E14 Most likely the worst episode ever in the entire season! The slapsgiving episodes generally belong to the weaker episodes of HIMYM, but this one is simply utter bullshit. The viewer has to endure an entire episode of Marshall telling the story of how and where he acquired the knowledge to issue the perfect slap, which also leads him to far-eastern places, which is entirely unbelievable and nonsensical. I guess his absence for a week-long course in issuing slaps in a foreign country wouldn't have gone unnoticed by his friends, especially considering the co-dependent relationship they all share. Have some episodes tiptoed towards the borders of ridicule and unrealistic plot twists, this one has crossed them by leaps and bounds. Last Forever, Part 2, S9E24 Most fans can agree that the ending to HIMYM was highly unsatisfactory and that having being led to like the endearing mother of Ted's children, we were stunned when she was taken away far too quickly, only to give Ted the final permission to bang Robin. However, it is not necessarily the mother's demise which makes the finale unbearable, but Robin's and Barney's divorce. We suffered through the last, and worst, season, witnessing their allegedly eternal love to each other, Barney stating he didn't have to "wait-for-it" anymore because he had Robin now, them finally getting married and Ted FINALLY, FINALLY letting go of his obsession to Robin. And for what? For Barney and Robin to divorce as fast as possible and Ted falling back into his mind-numbing obsession once more. How could any producer do this to a fan? We all sat through the terrible last season simply because we loved the characters and wanted to see how it worked out. We wanted Lily and Marshall to be happy, Ted to find his wife and move into his house, and Barney and Robin to be the perfect match to two imperfect individuals. We were let down, to say the least. After hours of being tortured by episodes so idiotic and risible, we deserved an ending worthy of it and got none whatsoever. Sure, they tried to make up for it, but failed epically, so much to say about that. However, it seems to be a problem for most shows to wrap it up neatly and I will dedicate a post to that as well (only think of Gilmore Girls. Twice). As much as HIMYM entertained and made us laugh, these episodes were true lows in the development of the plot and seasons, leading up to the dreadful finale which satisfied no one. I hope you could bear with me and stay tuned for more TV shows-related content in the new year. With only two more days until Christmas Eve, it's time to think about Christmas movies and how you can count down the long hours until Christmas Eve (in Austria we open our presents on the night of the 24th).
There are hundreds and thousands of Christmas movies, but, sadly, good ones are a rather rare gem. Of course I have been watching Christmas movies ever since December started and list the best ones as well as other ones here for you to explore and, hopefully, watch. First, I list the ones I deem to be best. They follow no hierarchical order and the short synopsis should give you an idea if it's a movie for you. Secondly, I will give you a list of some other Christmas movies I watched this season, which aren't probably high movie level, but entertaining to watch nevertheless. Finally, I have a short list of movies which aren't really Christmas movies, but still fit very well into the seasonal spirit. I hope you enjoy the list and, of course, the movies. Happy watching! The Best Christmas Movies Love Actually Love Actually is my favourite Christmas movie of all times. It not only ranges the creme de la creme of English actors, but it also tells the most wonderful Christmas stories. Entangling ten separate story lines, the movie talks about love, loneliness, grief and happiness as well as sadness, including all sorts of people from the Prime Minister to how a little boy falls in love with a girl shortly after his mother dies. It's Christmas in London and everyone has different ways to celebrate the festive season. For famous singer Billy Mack it mainly means re-branding one of his hits and changing "Love" into "Christmas", for Sarah it means confessing her love to her long-time-crush Karl and for the Prime Minister it could mean a new love he finds in his assistant Natalie. Full of authentic and lovable characters, this movie sweeps you into the Christmas mood and won't ever let you go. With Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Bill Neighy and Alan Rickman The Holiday The Holiday is about two women who need a getaway over Christmas, so they swap houses. Surrey-based Iris moves to Amanda's huge Hollywood house while Amanda retreats to Iris's cosy cottage where she meets Iris's brother, Graham, with whom she quickly falls in love. Iris, in the meantime, enjoys her time in L.A., meeting old Arthur and helping him to walk again with any help, as well as Miles, a music composer, who turns out to be more than a friend. A wonderful Christmas love story with a star cast including Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black. How the Grinch Stole Christmas This classic Christmas story is a must-watch for Christmas. The story follows the Grinch - a hideous and mean creature who hates Christmas and sets out to destroy the feast at Whoville where the Whos reside. During the story, he realises that Christmas is not that bad and might even end up getting his own biggest wish fulfilled. A Jim Carrey show through and through which induces laughter and emotion like-wise. It’s a Wonderful Life It's a Wonderful Life is probably the classic Christmas movie apart from A Christmas Carol. It is about George Bailey who considers committing suicide on Christmas Eve. To prevent him from doing the deed, Angel Clarence is sent to show him what life would have been if George had never been born. A miraculous and wonderful Christmas story and definitely belongs to the old classics. Miracle of 34rd Street (1994) I have only seen the 1994 version with Mara Wilson and Richard Attenborough in the lead role and absolutely love it (even though Mara Wilson is a totally creepy child). The story is about Kris Kringle who works as the Santa Claus for Cole's Department Story and bears an eerie resemblance to the real Santa Claus. Cole's event director Dorey is a single mother to daughter Susan who is painstakingly grown-up and doesn't believe in Santa Claus. Kris's mission is not only to convince Susan that he is the real Santa Claus, but the whole nation which even ends in court. Some scenes are unbearably painful as Kris has to defeat himself at court, but it is a wonderful Christmas story and one of my favourites. The Santa Clause This is the ultimate Christmas movie for me. It is entertaining, funny but also has a deeper and more complex edge to it. Tim Allen stars as Scott Calvin, a cynical businessman who, upon Christmas Eve with his son Charlie, becomes the new Santa Claus due to the Santa Clause. At first he struggles with it but soon grows with the role. Annabelle’s Wish This animatic movie based on a short story by Dan Henderson is the cute story of the little calf Annabelle aspiring to become one of Santa's reindeer one day. She finds her best friend in Billy, the mute grandson of the farmer where she lives. Once a year, at Christmas, the farm animals can speak for one day and Billy hears Annabelle talk, but promises never to tell anyone. I won't tell you what Annabelle wishes for in the end, but this movie warms your heart and soul likewise. A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens's classic is, of course, a must for the festive season. I, personally, prefer the 1997 animated version of Jim Carrey's but I assume I don't have to give a synopsis of this one, as it more popular than any other story, I reckon. Arthur Christmas Arthur Christmas is a great animated family movie about Arthur, the son of Santa Claus, who goes on the mission to deliver one present which hasn't made it to the respective child this year and who goes to great lengths to make sure the little girl gets it. One of my new favourites. Christmas with the Kranks Based on the short novel Skipping Christmas by John Grisham (yes, you read correctly), this story is about Luther and Nora Krank who, after their daughter decides to go to the Peace Corps and will not spend Christmas at home, decide they will skip Christmas and rather invest the money in a cruise. However, when Blair, the daughter, calls to surprise them at Christmas, the chaos is perfect as the Kranks have to set up a Christmas within hours to pretend to their daughter everything is as always. With Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis The Family Stone This movie is one of my all-time favourites. The story is about uptight Meredith who visits her boyfriend's family for the first time at Christmas. The Stones, however, are a chaotic, open-minded, borderline vulgar bunch of friendly people who quickly decide their Everett cannot be serious about this person which culminates in Meredith calling her sister in to help her out. A classic family drama resulting in absolute chaos on Christmas Day, this movie is both emotional and hilarious. With Sarah Jessica Parker, Rachel McAdams, Diane Keaton, Claire Danes. The Nutcracker (Ballet) I love ballet and around Christmas The Nutcracker is a must for me. The story, I guess, is well-known and seeing it come to life with fantastic dancers is the top of my iceberg. Royal Ballet London do a fantastic version which is my favourite. Alright, these are my favourites for the festive season. I hope you like them and come back tomorrow to get the list of other Christmas movies and movies which aren't Christmas movies but great for the season nevertheless. It might be odd to draw this experience from a Netflix TV drama series, but it has impacted me in many ways and I find it crossing my mind regularly. I am referring to the Netflix drama teenage series 13 Reasons Why, based on the eponymous book by Jay Asher, in which a seventeen year old girl commits suicide and leaves thirteen tapes, explaining the thirteen reasons why she did it. She leaves these tapes to every person who contributed to her committing suicide, involving friends and non-friends likewise.
I started out watching the show as a mere after-work evening pleasure, but it turned out to be one of the most thought-provoking series I have ever watched and it left me to ponder about our ways of communication and how much harm our deeds and words can do. I was riveted by how the depiction of the slow demise of Hannah Baker, the girl in question, is displayed and how bullying and mental as well as physical abuse can shape a human being. Of course I was aware of bullying at schools, reports in the newspaper about teenagers killing themselves, as well as other subjects addressed in the series, like rape and public humiliation. I knew that these things were happening occasionally, but I did not think about them deeply until I watched this very show. What might be of interest, too, is that I attended a Montessori school when I was a child, founded and led by my own parents. Why is this important, you ask? Well, I do not seek to idealise the Montessorian style of schooling, but bullying was completely off-limits at this school, which meant I was not entirely aware of the concept until I transferred to regular high school, aged fifteen. I was lucky enough to never get fervently bullied myself, but my sister, chubby and slightly naïve, was the constant target of people so insecure the only way to feel superior was to belittle others. I only understand now how hard it must have been for her and why, up to this very day, she feels immediately criticised when you address something about her. But let’s return to Hannah Baker and her thirteen reasons why she killed herself. It all starts rather innocently for the beholder’s eye, but even back when I was watching it, I considered the first blow to be utterly disdainful. So the story is that Hannah Baker goes on a date with the football star of her school, who takes a picture of her sliding down a slide, revealing her underwear in the process. The next day, Hannah finds herself being laughed at by the whole school, for the boy shared the picture with everybody. From this, Hannah’s life spirals down, including incidents like betrayal of a friend, a traumatic car accident which Hannah blames herself for, watching her formerly best friend get raped by a football player, before, ultimately, getting raped by him herself, knocking in the last nail to the proverbial coffin. As mentioned already, we are aware these things can happen and not everybody who has been subject to bullying or humiliation ends up committing suicide. However, what struck me watching this show was not merely the cruelty displayed by some students, mostly shrugged off as “jokes”, but the notion that this seems to be widely accepted in our society. We know it exists, we probably shake our heads upon hearing about it, but there is little anybody does to prevent it from happening. On the contrary, it is in fact endorsed by adults in acting the same way. Just think of our discourse of politics all around the world, especially closely related to cyber-bullying – a topic which has extended bullying to a completely new level of possibilities to spread malice. Especially during the last political campaigns, as well as in Europe and the United States, it has become evident how low and aggressive the level of communication has become within politics, and it is questionable if children and teenagers can desist from demeaning ways of communication if the leaders of the most powerful nations cannot. Only a few days ago, I read that a politician, upon losing the election, replied to another politician on Twitter that he would remain a “fat, ugly loser.” It rendered me speechless that grown-up people would talk to each other like that on public social media feeds, and it became clear that the hatred and malicious language used in facilities where teenagers mingle, will not differ from the language adults are allowed to use in the public sphere without facing consequences. Bullying at schools and among young people has been a matter of discussion for a long time, but probably it is high time to include the way adults speak to another, especially when they are supposed to be the leaders and role models of a nation. It would then, hopefully, also lead to feasible measures to help people being subjected to depreciatory language and humiliating actions and teach people to take active responsibility for words and actions that might lead to someone feeling so desperate that suicide seemingly becomes the only option. In the show, it is regularly pointed out that committing suicide was Hannah’s choice and that nobody but her is to be blamed for it. One girl states that only the weak ones commit suicide and that everyone has to endure the daily torture of high school life. It were these notions that upset me most because it indicates that being bullied is not only normal, it is accepted and that everyone not being able to deal with it, was just too weak in the end. However, I am not preaching what to do without including me in the equation, which was a rather difficult process but helped me reflect on my own actions I might have executed without realising what pain I might have caused to another human being. It made me sick to the stomach to realise what I might have done to marginalise other people while being at school because it probably secured score points with the “popular people”. I am disgusted to think what I might have done to other people, not knowing how potentially harming it could have been – and I am not the parade example for bullying, believe me. It strikes me how oblivious we have grown – or always been – to the impact our words and deeds have on other people, but with grown-ups and people of authority behaving the same way or justifying their incapability of stopping bullying by claiming this is just normal teenage behaviour, how should young people learn that it is completely off-limits to humiliate, marginalise or actively belittle someone? Still, many teenagers – and people, for that matter – have to suffer from these conditions in everyday life, including of course racism and sexism in the debate. During the show, for instance, Hannah Baker is put on a list ranking the girls from hot to not, her being on the hot list for “the greatest arse”. Now, some might think this is flattering, but Hannah and any woman of common sense would agree, it is not. Your whole personality being reduced to parts of your body is not flattering, it is objectifying and, as Hannah states it, makes her open game for any boy at school. We see scenes where boys circle Hannah, taking pictures of her bum, some of them even grasping it, and I was horrified. Not necessarily by the mere action of it, but by the oblivion of these boys to understand what they were doing and how disdainful their actions were. We know, not everybody who has ever bullied someone – probably being not even aware of it – is a bad person per se, but it is so widely normalised that we cannot even often understand what pain we are causing someone else. The worst fact to accept watching this show was that, as a viewer, you always know how it will end. Hannah Baker states at the very beginning that she is dead and the whole story of her is told in two time frames, one of the present and the people on the tapes dealing with her death, and one while she is still alive, struggling to find happiness. You watch how these people hurt her and how, slowly, by every act of malice, she stumbles towards her fateful decision. You cry because you want to jump into the TV to change the story, to make an ending where she will survive, find a nice man and have children. I actually caught myself fantasising about a Hannah Baker at college, where she would most likely study journalism or English literature. I caught myself thinking how she would laugh with friends and be ensconced in the college library. If it had all turned out to be different, Hannah Baker might have got married to a nice guy, worked and also suffered from everyday problems, but she could have been happy. It is painstaking to witness how this girl is treated by others, knowing what the outcome will be, thereby raising the awareness to the bitterness and malice of the words and deeds she has to endure, and you pray there will be a loophole in the plot, something changing the course. But there is not. You can fantasise about how great her life could have been, but the outcome will still be the same. And, of course, I understand she is only a fictional character, but she represents a myriad of people who have suffered from the same and who have made the same fateful decision to end their lives before they even properly started. Now, does this mean we always have to blame ourselves when someone commits suicide, or that at least part of the blame lies with the executor of the deed? Honestly, is it important? For me, this should not be about who to blame, but more about reflecting on our behaviour and growing out of our own oblivion to realise what we might do to someone by uttering a misplaced phrase or executing a humiliating “joke”. I hope people will start to think in a more engaged way about how we need to communicate with each other and open a discourse in which dialogue can happen in a more direct and less destructive way. Words have power, we all know that, so we have to wield this weapon with great care. When I was finished watching the first season, I prayed more people would watch it to raise awareness of how a little word you say, or an action or a “joke” you do without considering what you might unleash, can actually cause somebody’s life. I recently started watching a new series called Flesh and Bone. It is ballet series and after only watching the first three episodes I decided against watching it because
a) I don't think it reflects the modern ballet world in a very good light - the times of cruel ballet masters as such, I hope, has gone b) the main character is a total pain in the ass with her neurosis and readiness to get raped by old, rich men c) the intrigues building are hardly bearable d) the company owner is a total dick and everyone still abides his will Which doesn't mean the show isn't good or anything, I have just realised I don't want to watch shows anymore which only make me cringe (which is also why I stopped watching Game of Thrones). I really wish they would make a feel-good series like Gilmore Girls for once, but these days it seems there are only sitcoms so incredibly stupid you cannot even laugh when the show tells you to, or hour-long series so dramatic and over the top, you constantly have to avert the eyes, not being able to see another individual die in a far too cruel way - OR, they are so overly dramatic (like Grey's Anatomy, I HATE Grey's Anatomy) that after the latest hurricane/plane crash/child cancer/earthquake situation, you can only roll your eyes at the obvious silliness of the situation. Gilmore Girls, to be honest, is a rather unique case of a show. It is funny, witty and yet circling around the normal lives of normal people - all with their individual quirks. Where are the shows celebrating normal life instead of fantasy, dramatic or downright psychopathic ones? Would someone shoot something like Gilmore Girls or the Australian show Dance Academy already, because I am really lacking a good TV show at the moment and would love to not watch a naked girl getting raped in a five-minute-tact for once. |
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January 2022
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