Author Archives: Charissa Jelliff

About Charissa Jelliff

Charissa Jelliff is a self-proclaimed "fangirl" who loves nothing more than discussing her favorite books, movies and TV shows with fellow fans. She's currently finishing up a Master's in literature and dreams of becoming a writer some day.

Top 10 Angel episodes, 10 years later

Monday will mark 10 years since fans said goodbye to Joss Whedon’s Angel. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff was often darker and more adult than its predecessor, but every bit as good. If you’re anything like me, you’re probably having a hard time believing it could possibly have been an entire decade since the show was on the air. (Even harder to believe: that means it’s been 11 since Buffy closed the Hellmouth and left Sunnydale!) In honor of this anniversary, I’ve compiled a list of what I believe to be the top 10 episodes of Angel.

10. “Dead End” (Season 2, Episode 18): The Wolfram & Hart law firm, front for a demon cabal, is behind the replacement of Lindsey’s hand, and he is surprised to discover it has a mind of its own. Meanwhile, Angel Investigations looks into a vision Cordelia has had of a man stabbing himself in the eye — an eye that had been transplanted by the same clinic that replaced Lindsey’s hand. I may be totally biased when it comes to this episode as I am a big fan of Christian Kane. I always loved the character of Lindsey: I loved that while he worked for an evil law firm, he was conflicted deep down about his involvement in the work. More than once, we saw the moral conflict within Lindsey, and it helped to make him a really interesting character. Plus, he and Angel had great on-screen chemistry; I loved seeing the two interact. This episode also introduced me to the fact that Kane is a great singer; he even released an album several years ago.

9. “Smile Time” (S5, E14): Angel and his team investigate a children’s television program that appears to be sucking the life-force out of its viewers. In the course of his investigation, Angel is turned into a one-foot-tall puppet. “Smile Time” is to Angel what “Once More With Feeling” was to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The plot seems utterly ridiculous — and it kind of was, yet you just can’t help but enjoy it. Watching Puppet-Angel rolling on the ground, trying to fight Spike was a classic moment in Angel history and led to one of my favorite Spike lines ever: “You’re a wee puppet man!”

8. “Soulless” (S4, E11): In an attempt to learn more about The Beast that is coming, Team Angel decides to remove Angel’s soul in order to get information from his cursed alter ego, Angelus. Angelus tries to take advantage of the situation by turning everyone against each other. This episode was light on action, but David Boreanaz really shines as Angelus. He’s done some of his best work on both Buffy and Angel in that alternate role, and this is possibly one of his best performances.

7. “There’s No Place Like Plrtz Glrb” (S2, E22): The four-episode Pylea arc that closes season 2 concludes with Angel and the gang attempting to escape from the hell dimension Pylea. I really loved this entire storyline simply for the change of pace from the usual darkness of the show. These episodes also introduced us to Fred, whom I loved almost immediately. I’ll never forget the first time I watched this episode and saw Lorne’s severed head speaking — how quickly I went from sadness and horror to relief and amusement. The lightness of this episode, however, was juxtaposed in the end with the arrival of Willow to inform Angel of Buffy’s death back in Sunnydale.

6.”Are You Now or Have You Ever Been” (S2, E2): After its offices exploded in season 1, Angel Investigations is homeless until Angel rediscovers an abandoned hotel where he had spent time in the 1950s. This episode showed how easily the humans can become the monsters, as the guests of the hotel are influenced by a paranoia-demon hiding within the hotel. When they all turn against Angel, he gives up on humanity and leaves them in the hands of the demon. This episode was a fascinating look into Angel’s back story and part of his psychology.

5. “Not Fade Away” (S5, E22): The final episode of Angel was designed to be a season finale, not series, so it ended with a huge cliffhanger that left many fans frustrated. This episode makes my list because, while it may have been a bad series finale in some people’s eyes, it was still a good episode. (And it seemed appropriate to me to see Angel and the gang — those who were still alive, at least — go out fighting.) There were a lot of things I loved about this episode, but “Fred” and Wesley‘s goodbye was possibly the most beautiful and most heartbreaking. The one thing I still find fault with is Lorne being charged with killing Lindsey: not only did the idea that Lorne would kill anyone bother me (though that issue was certainly addressed by Lorne’s reaction to the assignment), but I agreed with Lindsey in that it should have been Angel who did the deed. Dying by Lorne’s hand just felt anti-climactic, which is why this episode doesn’t make it to No. 1 on my list, as it does on many others.

4. “I Will Remember You” (S1, E8): Buffy shows up in Los Angeles to yell at Angel for not letting her know he had been in Sunnydale at Thanksgiving. When a demon attacks, Angel is turned human and spends several happy hours with Buffy. However, he learns that if he remains human, those he cares about will die, so the day must be reset. I, like many Angel/Buffy shippers, really loved this episode. I enjoyed seeing what Angel and Buffy could be like as a normal, human couple. What really makes this episode great, though, is when Buffy finds out she will not be allowed to remember this day — only Angel will remember what happens.

3. “You’re Welcome” (S5, E12; the 100th episode): Cordelia awakes from her coma and shows up at Wolfram & Hart to help Angel. I had been disappointed with how things ended for Cordelia the previous season, so I was relieved that they brought her back one more time. This episode was a much more fitting farewell for her character. It also had a lot of references to the early days of Angel Investigations, including Doyle’s attempts to make a commercial for the business. This episode felt more like the old pre-Wolfram-&-Hart Angel, and I really appreciated that. The final twist was heartbreaking, but not entirely unexpected. This was a well-written episode and one of Charisma Carpenter’s shining moments.

2. “Hero” (S1, E9): Angel, Cordelia, and Doyle work to save a group of demon refugees from an evil clan of demons known as the Scourge. In order to stop the Scourge’s deadly weapon, Doyle sacrifices himself to save the others. I loved the half-demon Doyle from the beginning, and his death and sacrifice were heartbreaking. I had also loved Cordelia and Doyle’s growing flirtation, making his parting words to Cordelia (as his demon form emerges), all the more tragic: “Too bad we’ll never know if this is a face you could learn to love.” I think this was the best episode of the first season, and it remains one of my all-time favorite episodes (as well as one of the saddest). I admit, I still get teary-eyed when I see it.

1. “Hole in the World” (S5, E15): Angel’s most tragic episode is also its best. When Fred becomes infected with a disease from an ancient sarcophagus that’s slowly killing her, the team works desperately to attempt to save her life. This episode was amazing and oh-so-heart-wrenching. Watching everyone, even Spike, try so hard to save Fred as Wesley slowly begins to realize nothing can be done was tragic. Then you get that final gut punch in the end when a demon takes up residence in Fred’s body. This episode was so well-written and the entire cast put in excellent performances. Amy Acker’s work was flawless in this episode (and she continued to impress the rest of the season with her portrayal of Ilyria).

So there’s my list. It’s not easy to narrow down an entire series to just 10 episodes, especially when the series is as good as Angel or Buffy. Plus, I had to resist the urge to put mostly season 5 episodes on this list; I still believe season 5 was the best, and there are so many episodes from that year that I loved.

Did your favorites make this list? If not, feel free to share your own in the comments below!

Arrow dodged network ax, took time to get good

Spoiler warning: This column discusses recent plot details for Arrow. Proceed with caution.

With so many television shows on the air to choose from, a series has to be conscientious of its audience and draw viewers in quickly or risk cancelation. However, some shows take a little longer than others to prove they’re worth watching. Last week, I talked about how Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. didn’t really hit its stride until Captain America: The Winter Soldier completely changed the rules. Another superhero-based show, Arrow, has similarly improved with time.

When Arrow premiered, I never considered not watching it, although I had enjoyed Justin Hartley’s portrayal of Oliver Queen on Smallville and wasn’t looking forward to seeing someone new in the role so soon. When I heard The CW was going with a darker, grittier tone for the series — more like the Christopher Nolan Batman films — I began to get more interested in the show and feel a little more comfortable with a new actor in the role. I was not at all familiar with Stephen Amell when he was cast, so I was curious to see what this version of the Green Arrow story would be like.

Arrow began with Oliver’s rescue from the island where he had been stranded for five years. He was brought home to a mother, sister, and friends who all believed he had died when his father’s yacht sank. After his return to Starling City, Oliver took on the identity of “the Hood,” seeking out corrupted men whom his father had named in a secret journal. The show is also punctuated with flashbacks of Oliver’s time on the island — his transformation into the Oliver Queen of the present day.

While I enjoyed the show from the beginning, I didn’t love it. For one thing, I really hated the use of voiceovers in the early episodes. There’s an art to using a voiceover well, and Arrow just didn’t get that. (See Burn Notice for an example of good voiceover use.) Clearly, Oliver needed someone else on his side to speak to and share his plans with. Thankfully, the powers that be understood this as well, and it wasn’t long before Oliver was forced to take his bodyguard, John Diggle, into his confidence. Almost immediately, the voiceovers ceased, which improved the show greatly.

The flashbacks were another questionable style choice from my perspective. Like voiceovers, there’s an art to properly using flashbacks without making them seem overdone or pointless. While I didn’t love the flashbacks at first, they have grown on me as we’ve seen more of the island where Oliver was marooned. I liked the casting of Manu Bennett as Slade Wilson, one of Oliver’s few allies on the island, and I prefer Sara Lance on the island to her presence in Starling City. The parallels to the present day and the consequences of the choices made on the island are much clearer this season, making the flashbacks themselves much more relevant.

Another improvement came with the addition of Felicity Smoak to Team Arrow. Felicity recurred during the first half of the first season, then discovered Oliver’s true identity around the middle of the year. She quickly became a fan favorite as well as a favored love interest for Oliver. To be honest, there were many times during the first season in which Diggle and Felicity were the main incentive to keep watching the show. I loved those two characters, and while I began to like Oliver more and more, Diggle and Felicity were still my favorites. Even now, I think I like them just a little more than I do Oliver.

The last several episodes of season 1 really began to show how potentially great this series could be, all leading straight from one into the next as a multi-part finale. In the season-ender, the writers raised the stakes even higher by killing Oliver’s best friend, suddenly showing fans that characters on this show aren’t as safe as we think they are.

The momentum from the finale carried over into the second season and set up a complete change in Oliver. In order to honor his friend Tommy’s memory, Oliver changed his methods: he decided he will no longer hunt down the names in his father’s journal and he will not shoot to kill. As much as I hated seeing Colin Donnell leave the series, this was the turning point that pushed the series from, “eh, it’s not bad,” to, “wow, this is really good TV.”

This second season has been a huge improvement over the first. Oliver is now one year removed from the island and has settled into life back home; despite losing his best friend, he has found a renewed purpose in his mission. Ever since the midseason reveal that Slade, the man who taught Oliver to fight and survive on the island, was still alive and plotting against Oliver, the season has improved even more.

The last few episodes have left me on the edge of my seat, and I’m sure many fans are still reeling from Moira Queen’s death two weeks ago in an episode that marked the start of a four-part season finale arc. Honestly, if the writers of Arrow were behind other DC Comics properties, like the new Batman vs. Superman and Justice League films, I’d probably be a lot less worried about how they’re going to turn out.

Arrow still isn’t a perfect show, but it was definitely worth sitting through those voiceovers and other misfires in the stumbling episodes early in season 1. The characters have each evolved over the course of this season, Oliver’s sister Thea in particular. I used to find her merely annoying and spoiled, but she really has really matured a lot from the girl who partied too hard and crashed the brand new car she received for her birthday last year. I only hope this trend continues next season.

My biggest complaint with the show at the moment is that the writers don’t seem to understand that Laurel Lance just doesn’t fit in this show. While the other characters have grown and added depth in season 2, Laurel seems to have remained pretty much static over two seasons — occasionally she takes steps forward only to fall farther back. I’ve tried to like her, and I have nothing against Katie Cassidy, but every scene Laurel is in — except the scenes that feature only Laurel and her sister Sara — just feels awkward and forced. While the show itself continues to raise the stakes and improve on a weekly basis, Laurel is holding it back from becoming really great. I have a feeling Laurel won’t be going away anytime soon, especially if the show wants to follow comic mythology, but I hope writers recognize the failings in her character and start improving the way they write her.

As I mentioned above, the season finale has essentially been a four-part episode, with the third part airing last night. Judging from the suspense of these last three episodes, I can only imagine what the finale has in store. I predict Oliver is going to have to team up with his previous enemy, Malcolm Merlyn (because I won’t believe Thea shot him until I see a body to prove it) in order to get rid of Slade, and I can’t wait to see how that plays out. I’m excited to have John Barrowman back on the show, and I love seeing unlikely allies forced to work together; it always brings out interesting aspects of each character.

I’ve read that the show will shift somewhat in tone again going into season 3, and I can only hope it continues improving as it has this season.

Sure, there are some shows that just aren’t worth your time and you’re better off giving up on them. I probably should have quit on Heroes after season 2, but I just couldn’t let go. (Even worse, I’ll probably check out the new series when it premieres.) And then there are some shows that you will love right from the start, but the network just won’t get behind them. (I’m looking at you Fox: how dare you cancel Almost Human.)

Then there are the shows like Arrow and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that just need a little extra time to live up to their potential. And once they do, you won’t regret a minute you spend watching them.

Taking time to build a solid S.H.I.E.L.D.

Spoiler warning: This column discusses recent plot details for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Proceed with caution.

In this day and age, a slow build can mean death for a television show. Consumers and viewers expect immediate gratification. New technology gives audiences access to all kinds of products and information, right at their fingertips, and they’ve developed the same expectations for their television shows.

As a result, most shows need to be smash hits right out of the gate. Others tantalize us as they seem to be building up to speed, only to never quite get there. I myself tend to have a hard time giving up on TV shows I believe could still improve. (Two years in and I’m still hoping Revolution will live up to its potential, though the likelihood of it seeing a third season is very slim.) Occasionally though, my patience pays off in a big way. There is a third type of show that takes time to build a back story or corrects early mistakes before it hits its stride. This is the case with two of my current favorite shows on television.

I know I’ve mentioned previously in this column my love for all things related to superheroes. That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t even think twice about watching Arrow when it premiered last year. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was also a no-brainer for me; I will watch anything and everything that takes part within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Each of these shows was a little slow getting off the ground but is now proving that my patience and loyalty were definitely worth the wait.

While I had little in the way of expectations for Arrow, which I will discuss next week, I was very excited for the premiere of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. However, the show started out much slower than I had expected. For as much as I love the MCU, I was a little taken aback when I didn’t immediately love S.H.I.E.L.D. Sure, I liked it well enough, but it wasn’t as amazing as I was expecting right off the bat.

Judging from a lot of fan reactions I read the first couple of weeks, I wasn’t the only one. I had to remind myself that, although this was a Marvel show, it was also a Joss Whedon show, which meant I just needed to have a little patience. One thing fans of Whedon have learned by now is that, quite often, you have to give the man room to stretch his legs and find his footing when it comes to a television series.

For example, I enjoyed the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but the show didn’t really start hitting its stride until season 2, when Angel‘s transformation into the evil Angelus really raised the stakes (no pun intended) for the series. Suddenly, actions had very real — and sometimes devastating — consequences. Similarly, I believe season 2 of Dollhouse was much more cohesive than the first, though a large part of the problem with season 1 was Fox’s meddling with Whedon’s vision of the series.

Given this track record, it’s no surprise that S.H.I.E.L.D. didn’t necessarily hit the ground running. There’s also the fact that the show had to build nearly every character and their relationships from the ground up. Yes, the series was taking place in the MCU, which Marvel fans are all familiar with — and it was bringing back fan favorite, Agent Phil Coulson — but the rest of the cast was entirely new. It took time to develop the characters and for them all to trust each other.

While each episode had its moments — Coulson is the king of the one-liners — it wasn’t until the sixth episode, “FZZT,” that the characters really felt like they were starting to gel with each other. This episode saw the team coming together to try to save Simmons from the Chitauri virus. This was also the first time any of the characters really demonstrated any growth or change, as Fitz, originally one of the most timid members of the team, was prepared to jump out of a plane to save his partner. Instead, Ward took the leap for him and cemented the team’s trust — which, as it turns out, wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

From then on, each character seemed to grow individually and as a part of the team. Fitz and Ward spent some time bonding on their own mission, and Simmons and Skye got closer as they worked together in the Hub. Even May slowly started warming up to the rest of the team. Each episode seemed to raise the stakes a little higher, as we learned more about Skye’s background, the T.A.H.I.T.I. project, and the Clairvoyant. Then the show really kicked into overdrive just before Captain America: The Winter Soldier hit theaters.

The last episode before Winter Soldier was appropriately titled “The End of the Beginning” — and little did we know how true that title would be: this episode marked the end of S.H.I.E.L.D. as we knew it. The episode led directly into Winter Soldier, as Agent Sitwell left Coulson’s team and ended up being held hostage before being rescued by Captain America early in the movie. We had been told there would be a tie-in between Winter Soldier and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but I think most fans were probably expecting a nearly inconsequential one, similar to when the agents had to help clean up London after the events of Thor: The Dark World. However, Marvel had something else entirely in mind. Winter Soldier saw the destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the “death” of Nick Fury — both events that naturally had a huge impact on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

This is where all those fans who gave up on S.H.I.E.L.D. after just a few episodes are now missing out on one of the best comic books shows you could possibly ask for. S.H.I.E.L.D. followed Winter Soldier with “Turn, Turn, Turn,” one of the best episodes of the season. The events took place nearly simultaneously with the end of Winter Soldier, as Hydra emerged and revealed its corruption of S.H.I.E.L.D. The entire episode was perfectly constructed — and then the unthinkable happened. One of the last people we expected to be a double agent — in fact the very character who was our entry point into the world of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. — showed his true colors as a Hydra agent.

Every episode since then has lived up to every expectation I would have for a show taking place in the MCU. It’s been a roller coaster ride in which we’ve learned the hard way you can’t trust anyone. And the hits just keep on coming. Coulson’s unshakable calm has slowly been chipping away ever since he learned the truth about T.A.H.I.T.I. (hint: it’s not a magical place), and that culminated in a near-breakdown while searching for one of Fury’s secret bunkers — one of Clark Gregg’s best performances to date. In this week’s episode, we finally learned the identity of the agent who was heading up the T.A.H.I.T.I. project, and once again, minds were blown.

I really feel sorry for all those so-called Marvel fans who gave up on S.H.I.E.L.D. because they are now missing some truly great television. The last five episodes in a row have been one-hour films; it’s been intense in the best possible way, and there are still two episodes left this season. This is the show I expected to see when I tuned into the first episode back in the fall, and I’m so relieved I never gave up on it, because these last few episodes were definitely worth the wait.

Next week, I’ll Fan Out over another show that has improved since its first episodes, Arrow. If you’ve already given up on S.H.I.E.L.D. or Arrow — or have never even seen an episode — then you might want to give them a chance over the summer. Whether it’s a second chance or your first time viewing, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Spinoffs: The often unneeded TV sequels

When a film does well at the box office, Hollywood has a habit of feeling the need to create sequels, regardless of whether the story calls for one or not. If the producers can’t think up a sequel, they turn to backstories and make prequels, which are often worse. Television attempts the same thing; when a series is doing well, a network will try to take advantage of its popularity through the TV equivalent of a sequel: the spinoff.

Television executives started pondering early on that when a series is doing well or has been on the air for a significant period of time, surely another edition with a similar premise will be just as well-received, right? Way back in 1960, a fictional sheriff from Mayberry, N.C., arrested Danny Williams on The Danny Thomas Show, and that fall, The Andy Griffith Show began its eight-year run as one of television’s most iconic series. That series gave rise to its own spinoffs: Gomer Pyle: USMC and Mayberry R.F.D.

Some of the highest rated and acclaimed series of all-time have been spinoffs, including The Jeffersons, Laverne & Shirley, The Facts of Life, A Different World, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Family Matters, The Simpsons, and Frasier. In fact, the most watched series on television right now is a spinoff, though many have long-since forgotten this fact. CBS powerhouse NCIS got its start within the late seasons of the series JAG, which, ironically, premiered on NBC. Then, in the tradition of Andy Griffith and All In The Family before it, viewers’ embracing of NCIS led to the spinoff spawning a spinoff, NCIS: Los Angeles, which I personally find more interesting than the original. Another well-known crime procedural, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, has had similar good fortune.

Of course, while our TV sets have been full of successful spinoffs lately, there have been others that make you wonder why the producers made the effort. Even NCIS has had its spinoff missteps. CBS attempted a spinoff-of-a-spinoff when it aired a planted pilot of what would have become NCIS: Red, starring John Corbett, as an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles last year, but ultimately decided not to move forward with the series.

Undaunted by the lack of a pick-up for NCIS: Red, NCIS aired a two-part backdoor pilot to yet another anticipated spinoff, NCIS: New Orleans, just a few weeks ago. While I enjoy seeing Scott Bakula back onscreen, and I like the New Orleans atmosphere, I can’t help but wonder: is yet another spinoff really necessary (really, is any spinoff necessary)? And why so soon after the previous spinoff attempt failed to make it off the ground?

The CW has recently been getting into the spinoff game in a big way. One of its strongest freshman dramas this season was a spinoff, and next season could possibly see two more added to the schedule. The network did moderately well with the debut of The Originals this year. The series is spun-off from the network’s runaway hit drama The Vampire Diaries and follows the Original Vampires, who have been antagonists on the parent series for the last couple seasons.

I believe part of why The Originals works is that the main characters were already well-established on The Vampire Diaries. Klaus, Rebekah, and Elijah are characters that fans of The Vampire Diaries have grown to love, even if they have created nothing but trouble for the protagonists of the show. Even though these were the kind of bad guys we loved to hate, their stories on The Vampire Diaries could only last so long before the characters would become stale, and I have a feeling they were getting close to that point.

By creating the spinoff centered around the Mikaelson vampires, the writers were able to start telling new stories and even take steps toward possible redemption. I’ve been watching The Originals all season and, I have to admit, I’m finding it much more compelling than The Vampire Diaries at the moment. Either Klaus and Elijah were the best part of the original series or I’ve finally had enough of Elena being Elena (possibly both).

Following the good showing put up by The Originals, the CW is now planning two more spinoffs for next season from two other dramas: Arrow and Supernatural. I am actually excited about one of those series, but I have some reservations about the other — and, surprisingly, the one I’m worried about is the spinoff from a series that’s been at the top of my list of favorite shows for years.

Earlier this season, Arrow introduced us to Barry Allen, the young man destined to become the Flash. At the end of the two-part episode, Barry was injured when a particle accelerator exploded. Next season, the series The Flash will show us how he becomes the comic book superhero. Writers had originally intended for Barry to make another appearance on Arrow before the end of the season; however, the network decided it would rather have the Flash’s origin explained in his own series, not on Arrow.

I admit when the producers first announced Grant Gustin had been cast in the role of Barry Allen, I had my doubts — maybe in part because I was still a little bitter about that slushie he threw in Blaine’s face on Glee. I just wasn’t sure Gustin had the charisma to play lead in his own series. However, I really liked the character when he appeared on Arrow. I’m still not sure if he will be able to carry a series, but with a good supporting cast, this show could be great. I’m really looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

On Tuesday, the CW’s longest running drama, Supernatural, will air a backdoor pilot for proposed spinoff Supernatural: Bloodlines, renamed from Supernatural: Tribes. (I have to say, I wish they would just drop the colon title entirely. I prefer series with original titles for spinoffs, such as The Originals or Angel. Fans are smart enough to figure out which series the new show is connected to.) Supernatural: Bloodlines will be set completely in Chicago and focus on mafia-style monster families within the city, and a new, young hunter who goes up against them.

This is the series I have some reservations about. I love Supernatural — so much so that I traveled all the way to Vancouver for a fan convention back in 2009. However, I’m just not sure how this series will work out. One of the things that makes Supernatural unique is the road trip nature of the show; the ’67 Impala they drive around in is as much a character in the show as Sam and Dean. What will a version of the series set in a single city be like? How will they maintain the tone of the original? It’ll also be interesting to see how they distinguish this series from other shows with a similar premise, such as The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, or True Blood.

I don’t want to put the show down before it has even aired — I’ll give it a chance based on my appreciation of the original — I just can’t help but be skeptical. I also feel introducing new characters into a series for the sole purpose of creating a spinoff makes the entire situation feel contrived. It didn’t work so well for NCIS: Red, or for the Bones spinoff, The Finder, a few years ago (though I actually enjoyed The Finder).

As I stated earlier, part of The Originals‘ appeal was the fact that these were already established characters that fans loved, much like when Angel was created as a spinoff from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fans already knew and loved Angel and Cordelia, so they were willing to follow them to another series. Angel was another case where the spinoff almost felt necessary to keep the characters and stories seeming fresh and not going in circles.

The Angel spinoff occurred at an organic point in the storyline, where characters were graduating and moving on, so it made sense that some would be making a fresh start far from Sunnydale. Not all spinoffs have a natural starting place; the CSI spinoffs did fairly well coming from planted pilots, but I believe using familiar characters at a natural point in the story gives a spinoff a better chance of standing on its own. The Flash isn’t using this technique, but the character of Barry Allen is already familiar to many of the fans who are currently watching Arrow.

And then there’s the spinoff that has almost no real connection to the original series. Next year, we’ll likely see the premiere of How I Met Your Dad, from the creators of How I Met Your Mother but, aside from having a similar structure, the series has no other relationship with its predecessor. This type of spinoff is really just hoping fans of the parent series will give it a chance, as they have no more reason to watch this than any other new sitcom premiering next year. In fact, this particular series may actually suffer from the backlash created by the How I Met Your Mother finale a few weeks ago.

So are spinoffs really necessary? No, most of the time, I don’t believe they are. They’re just a way for a network to attempt to capitalize on the popularity of a series — just like Hollywood tries to attempt to capitalize on a film’s popularity in any way possible. They’re also a way to connect a concept for a new series to an already established one in order to draw in fans of the original in an attempt to take advantage of an existing audience.

However, once in a while, a spinoff could be the answer to continuing a character’s journey in new and interesting ways. It worked for Angel, and so far it has worked for The Originals. Next season, we’ll see which of the new series are able to find the formula for spinoff success.

DVR, streams let TV-philes fan out on own schedule

Fanning out on the small screen has never been easier. I am taking a course on using film and media in the classroom. This week, I had to prepare a lesson on television to present to the rest of the class. Since I’m a big fan of television, I was excited to take on this assignment. (In fact, I volunteered for this particular topic.) One of the things I focused on in my presentation was how we watch and how much the experience of watching television has changed.

We can now watch TV anytime and anywhere; we are no longer obligated to watch a show at the time it originally airs or on our television. Even if you’re watching live when the show airs, you can pause the show or rewind at any point during the program with a DVR. If you can’t watch the show live, you can record it, watch it the next day OnDemand, download it from iTunes, or stream online through the station’s website or Hulu. You can catch up on entire seasons of shows via Netflix or Amazon. It’s heaven for fan*s like us.

The advent of streaming on Netflix and Amazon has really changed the way a lot of people view television. There are a lot of shows that I would love to watch, but I just don’t have enough time for while they’re on the air. It’s nice to know I can just wait for the season to come on Netflix to catch up.

This new reality even allows us to catch up on entire series after the fact. Now that all of Breaking Bad is available through Netflix, I plan to watch all five seasons this summer. At some point, I will also watch all of Mad Men (ending next year) and Chuck. Binge watching — spending hours watching entire seasons of a series online — has become extremely common now that shows are so accessible.

Availability isn’t the only change to how we view television now. The entire experience of watching TV has changed. Not only do we no longer feel the necessity to watch live, but we also divide our attention between the TV and various other forms of media while we’re watching. Texting, tweeting, updating Facebook — any number of activities now distracts us from the show we’re watching.

One of the most common ways many fans now experience their favorite shows is through social media. In fact, tweeting while watching television has become so prevalent that the Nielson Company announced in October it would begin measuring Twitter TV Ratings in addition to the normal ratings system.

Fans aren’t the only ones taking their viewing to a second screen. Series stars have started to live-tweet episodes and interact with fans while the show is on the air. This is a great way to encourage fans to watch live, so they can participate in the live-tweeting. Some celebrities even take the time to live-tweet shows they are not involved in — William Shatner and Orlando Jones have become particularly popular among the Supernatural fandom for their live-tweets, and Shatner has recently started live-tweeting Star-Crossed, which holds a special place in our hearts.

Lest they be left out of the chance to capitalize on additional exposure, the networks and series producers are getting in on the action. Many shows have official Twitter accounts that will tweet along with the show, and some even have Tumblr accounts where they will “live-blog” new episodes. This includes reblogging fan reactions and fan art, as well as photos and gifs the staff has prepared. It’s typically a good idea to avoid these official accounts if you’re not able to watch the show live, as spoilers in the form of gifs are usually posted in abundance.

Another way television shows encourage fan interaction on Twitter is through suggested #hashtags. This tactic can have positive and negative influences. In the bottom corner of a show, viewers can see a suggested hashtag for fans to tweet. This will help the show to become a trending topic on Twitter. The downside is that, occasionally, these suggested hashtags appear just before the action they refer to, thus warning viewers something is coming. This can lead to fans getting frustrated with the network for using the hashtags. However, I’m willing to bet the networks feel the good outweighs the bad.

The way we view television has also led to changes in who produces the shows we watch — and how. Netflix’s rise in popularity for viewing series led the service to begin funding their own shows, including the critically acclaimed Orange is the New Black and House of Cards. They also revived the sitcom Arrested Development for a fourth season. Netflix has proved itself a contender with the other networks when its shows were recently nominated for several Golden Globes and Emmy awards; House of Cards won three of the nine Emmys for which it was nominated.

Amazon has also begun distributing its own original content and, taking it a step further, has reinvented the pilot process for television content. Amazon has recognized the role consumers play in the success of a series, and therefore has created a viewer-centric pilot process. Instead of the typical method, in which a pilot is created and network executives make the decision whether or not the pilot will go to series, Amazon commissioned pilots for several potential series, then offered them all to be streamed for free on their site. Viewers were then asked to respond to several survey questions about their thoughts on the pilot they watched, in order to determine the interest in the show. Amazon is using the information from these surveys to make the final decision as to which pilots will receive a series order. One of the shows Amazon recently announced would be picked up for a series is The After, an intriguing pilot from The X-Files creator Chris Carter.

The availability and diversity now offered as a result of these advances makes it easier for people to watch much more television, even if they’re not watching when it originally airs. If there are four shows you want to see airing at the same time, you don’t have to worry about choosing among them. You can watch one, record another, then view the rest OnDemand (the Tuesday-at-8 p.m. time slot is a great example of putting this into practice, with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Originals, Glee, and NCIS all airing at the same time).

We have come a long way since television was originally invented. We can now watch whenever and wherever we want. It’ll be interesting to see how the way we interact with television continues to evolve in the future.

Worst. Person. Ever. makes good on promise

Close your eyes and think of the worst person you know. I’m not talking serial-killer-sociopathic bad, just someone you actually know and would consider the worst person ever. I’m sure everyone has at least one person. Can you picture them? Whomever you thought of just now probably doesn’t even begin to come close to Raymond Gunt, the lead character of Douglas Coupland‘s latest novel, aptly titled Worst. Person. Ever.

Gunt is a cameraman hired by his ex-wife to work on a Survivor-like television show being filmed on the small island nation of Kiribati. Thus begins his odyssey from London to Kiribati, with many obstacles along the way, including layovers in the United States and a detour to nuke the Pacific Trash Vortex. Gunt’s traveling companion, Neal, is a homeless man he hired to be his personal assistant, or “slave,” while he is on the island.

Gunt is exactly as the title suggests and has absolutely no redeeming qualities. He’s selfish, rude, racist, sexist, jokes about bestiality and atrocity, and swears more than the characters in a Martin Scorcese film. He has little to no conscience and, despite living in a small, cramped apartment and working as a low-level cameraman, acts like he’s a gift to the universe. Even more, he has no idea how bad he really is — everybody else is the problem.

With Gunt narrating the book, the reader is given a first-hand account of his actions and his motivations, which just serves to make him appear even worse. But Gunt isn’t the only problem. Every character in this novel is rather despicable in their own way. Of course, this is assuming Gunt is a reliable narrator. Of the main characters in the novel, Neal is probably the only one who is remotely likable; his laid-back, hippie-esque attitude also creates the most amusement throughout their adventures.

Coupland’s novels are frequently innovative in style and visual presentation. In Worst. Person. Ever., Coupland uses informational boxes at the end of each chapter, and they degenerate from factual in the early chapters to subjective opinions near the end. These sidebars do contain interesting facts; I admit I did not know about the Pacific Trash Vortex until reading this novel, and even after seeing the sidebar, I had to research the topic on my own before I believed it.

It’s difficult to say what Coupland’s goal is in writing this novel. It appears to be a commentary on the excess of human consumption, with possible criticism of Americans thrown in. Coupland himself is Canadian, and the satire is so heavy at times that the reader is left to question whether it crosses the line into actual bad feelings.

Is this truly social commentary, or is it just a novel about a truly terrible person? Given Coupland’s previous works, it’s hard to say, but I lean toward this being an extremely biting commentary, the actual intent of which may be completely lost in the absurdity of the plot and the lack of any redeeming characters to root for.

Coupland has written some great novels, but with Worst. Person. Ever., I feel he misses the mark. It’s hard to look past the harshness and obscenity of his narrator. There were some amusing moments — and I may have even laughed out loud more than once — but I’m not sure the humor made up for the vileness of the characters. The book is a quick read, so even if by the end you haven’t enjoyed it, you haven’t wasted too much time of your time.

I haven’t read Coupland’s more famous Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, but I found The Gum Thief: A Novel much more enjoyable. If you’re a fan of Coupland and other writers of darker literature, such as Chuck Palahniuk and Bret Easton Ellis, you may enjoy this novel, especially if you don’t mind the lack of any likable characters. However, if you’ve never read Coupland or those of his ilk, I wouldn’t recommend starting with this novel.

Worst. Person. Ever. isn’t the worst book I’ve read, but it’s far from the best.

Beloved TV series can have no ‘right’ ending

SPOILER ALERT: This post discusses series finales of many television series. If you are still catching up on any of the following series, proceed with caution: How I Met Your Mother, Dawson’s Creek, Charmed, Boy Meets World, The Sopranos, Dexter, Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dollhouse, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Being Human, Psych, and Breaking Bad.

In the past two weeks, I have watched four series finales, each one very different, with its own faults and triumphs. I’ve also been watching fan reactions to each of those finales, curious to see who liked it, who didn’t, and what their arguments for each position were. My conclusion is this: no matter how good or bad a series finale is, you can never make every fan happy.

It doesn’t matter if a series has been on the air for only a year or two, or for nine long seasons: fans become attached to the characters and the plots. Over time — possibly without even realizing it — every fan will start to imagine how they would like to see the series end, even for shows that still have no end in sight. A lot is riding on that final episode. When the finale doesn’t live up to those expectations, fans are left feeling frustrated and betrayed, as was evidenced by the controversy over the How I Met Your Mother finale last week.

I was in the camp that, for the most part, enjoyed the HIMYM finale. I always had a feeling Robin and Ted would end up together, so the last few minutes were no big surprise. My major complaint with the episode was entirely about the pacing. Everything seemed to happen much too quickly; there was so little time to adjust to events in one time period before we moved on to a year or so later, leaving viewers with temporal whiplash.

Unfortunately, the writers of HIMYM aren’t the first to make this mistake when plotting out a series finale. Many shows seem to think viewers need to see the characters’ futures in order to be content with the ending, because I guess we’re not capable of imagining a happy future for the characters ourselves. Dawson’s Creek jumped ahead five years for its finale, Charmed fast-forwarded through time as well to show everyone how the sisters lived happily ever after. Many shows use this technique, but few do it well.

Those that don’t jump into the future for a finale often decide to go in the opposite direction, incorporating clips from previous episodes. This often feels like laziness to me. I would much rather see a well-written episode that makes clever use of callbacks and references to earlier episodes than just be shown older clips. This approach also has the tendency to feel overly sentimental, like the producers are clinging to the past.

The Boy Meets World finale is one example that comes to mind. While I remember loving it at the time, looking back now it seems a little heavy-handed with sentimentality as everyone is saying goodbye and clips play to show various scenes from the life of the series. I’m sure I’d still enjoy it if I watched the finale again, but it wasn’t perfect. (But I am pretty sure the compilation of Eric’s “Feeney!” calls probably still holds up.)

Some series finales are hated for perceived deficiencies in their plots. I’ve never seen an episode of The Sopranos; however, I remember all the criticism of that finale after it aired. I also have yet to watch the final two seasons of Dexter, but I’ve heard from more than one source that it may be one of the worst series finales ever.

One of the more controversial finales in recent history was the last episode of Lost, which left many fans feeling outraged by a lack of resolution. On the other hand, some fans were content with how the characters’ arcs were completed. From what I can tell, the Lost finale divided fans into two groups: the fans who watched the show for the mystery of the island, and the fans who watched because they were invested in the characters themselves.

Guess which group actually enjoyed the finale? I started out fascinated by the mystery of the island, the numbers, and the polar bears but eventually became more interested in the lives and interactions of the characters. Therefore, I appreciated the ending of the series because each character’s journey felt complete by the end.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one series finale that I felt did a good job of wrapping the season arc as well as the entire series, while still opening doors to the future without telling fans exactly how the characters’ lives ended up. In my opinion, the entire seventh season improved on the lackluster sixth and drove the action toward the endgame right from the start. All throughout the final season, there were parallels to earlier seasons without smacking viewers over the head with the references via clip shows. By the end, it felt like the series had come full circle.

Buffy‘s spin-off, Angel, did not have as much resolution. After hearing the series had been canceled, creator Joss Whedon chose to stick with the initial season finale plan, in which Angel and the gang go out with a bang. While this was a good episode — and would have made an incredible season finale — it made for a frustrating series finale; we are merely left with the image of the surviving members of Angel’s team preparing to face off against the armies of Wolfram & Hart, which included a dragon. Only the character of Wesley got a proper sendoff.

While on the topic of Whedon shows, I feel it necessary to point out that Dollhouse is one of the few series to successfully pull off the jump-forward finale. The last episode of each of its two seasons was essentially two parts of a whole. The scheduled first season finale, “Epitaph,” never aired on Fox, though it was included in the season one DVD set. “Epitaph Two: Return” aired a year later as the series finale, and these two episodes are arguably the best of the entire series.

Fortunately, of the four series finales I’ve watched in the last two weeks, HIMYM was the only one I could find serious fault with. Once Upon A Time in Wonderland only lasted 13 episodes and was not nearly as well done as its progenitor, Once Upon A Time, but it wrapped up its story lines nicely.

Being Human felt slightly off in the pacing, but the ending was bittersweet and almost perfect for each of the characters. In fact, that ending was almost exactly how I had hoped the original United Kingdom version would end when I first heard Aidan Turner was leaving the series, so it was nice to see at least one set of Being Human characters get a (mostly) happy ending.

In an earlier column, I wrote about my favorite show Psych coming to an end. That finale aired two weeks ago yesterday, and I must say it was probably one of the best series finales I’ve seen in a while. I have yet to see any of Breaking Bad, so I can’t weigh in there, though I know a lot of fans were very happy with how that ended as well.

In an interview, Psych creator Steve Franks told E! Online, “I didn’t realize just how challenging writing a finale was going to be … I started watching other shows’ finales to see how they did it, and I realized I didn’t really like any of them. They felt different from the show I remember … and I wanted it to feel like a regular episode. I wanted it to feel like these characters were going to live on, they were going to be having adventures and doing things, and we were just not seeing them for the time being.”

I think this is why Psych may have succeeded where previous finales have failed. The writers didn’t set up some huge, climactic ending. To be sure, there were a lot of changes in the finale — for example, Shawn moving to San Francisco to join Juliet — but it didn’t feel like an ending. If anything, it felt like a new beginning. Like Franks said, it was like they were just moving on to a different chapter of the story that we can’t see anymore.

Plus, there were some really great callbacks, and cameos from three actors whom the show has referenced repeatedly in the eight years it was on the air. I honestly think the only thing that could have possibly made that finale better is if we had actually gotten a cameo from Tony Shalhoub’s Adrian Monk, instead of just a quick reference.

However, even though I consider the Psych finale nearly perfect, I’m sure there are plenty of fans out there who were somehow disappointed because something they wanted to see was missing, or a certain character didn’t get enough screen time. There’s simply no way to make every fan happy.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how we have to take films adapted from books on their own merits and not compare them to their source material. I could say something similar here. In judging series finales, it’s important that we don’t put too much of our expectations into our judgment. A lot of writers do listen to fans online and will sometimes adapt story arcs based on reactions, but when it comes down to it, we are not the ones writing the series. We did not create the characters, we do not sit in the writers’ room breaking stories, and we have no say in what the characters do or how long their marriages last. All we get to do is sit back and enjoy the journey with them.

Of course, there will be times when we’re not happy with the direction the show takes, or when we feel like the writers have betrayed the fans. But as with many things, these disappointments will only help us to appreciate it more when a show gets it right.

Despite spring, Winter comes to Marvel Universe

Spring has finally arrived here in the Northeast U.S., bringing sunshine and warmer temperatures — and, hopefully, no sign of snow for at least seven months. It’s been a longer, colder winter than usual, and we’re all thankful it’s just about over. However, despite our eager anticipation of spring, there are three words currently on many fan*s’ minds: Winter Is Coming.

In fact, winter returns this weekend in more ways than one. First up on Friday, we have the next installment of Phase II of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU), as Captain America: Winter Soldier opens in theaters. Then on Sunday, season four of Game of Thrones premieres on HBO. I’m having a hard time choosing which one I’m more excited about, though my love for all things Marvel might win out in this case.

I am a huge superhero fan. I don’t read a lot of comics, but I will watch nearly anything related to either the DC or Marvel universe. I watched every season of Smallville, even when I wasn’t thrilled with the plot lines (though that last season made up for the less than stellar ones), and I am a big fan of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Arrow, and am excited about the new Flash series. But most of all, I love the MCU itself.

Even before anyone really knew Marvel’s plan for the MCU, I was an Iron Man fan, and I thought it was brilliant that Robert Downey Jr.‘s Tony Stark made an appearance in The Incredible Hulk, tying the films together. By the time Iron Man 2 came out, I was starting to hear about the MCU, so I really enjoyed the little details in that film: the prototype of Captain America’s shield in Tony’s lab, and Phil Coulson being called to New Mexico, tying the film to Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger when those films came out a year later.

Bringing together this many individual films and characters was entirely unprecedented prior to the MCU, and I love the way they make everything work together. I’m even more excited about it now that there is a television show that also plays into everything happening in the MCU. Spending an hour in the world of Marvel on a weekly basis is a welcome break from schoolwork and routine. I was also very excited they resurrected Coulson for the series.

I do have to admit, before the first Captain America movie came out, I was a little apprehensive. Prior to playing Steve Rogers, Chris Evans‘ filmography wasn’t all that impressive, and he had always been a supporting cast member. While I liked Evans, I had my doubts as to whether or not he would be able to carry a film like Captain America — not to mention how iconic the character is, which adds a whole new level of pressure to the role.

I had similar misgivings about Thor. I didn’t even know who Chris Hemsworth was when he was cast in the role, until I looked him up and realized he had played Captain Kirk’s father in the 2009 Star Trek film. (Confession: I remember thinking at the time that the guy needed to find larger roles where he didn’t die in the first 10 minutes.) I was also concerned about how they would portray Asgard and the Rainbow Bridge without it being too cheesy.

Fortunately, I quickly learned I needn’t have worried about either film. I loved both movies immediately. Asgard looked good, and Evans did not disappoint as Captain America. In fact, both films are among my favorites within the MCU. For this reason, I’m able to extend them some faith when it comes to Guardians of the Galaxy, which sounds bizarre in concept but, after the first trailer, I can’t wait to see it. I think I had “Hooked on a Feeling” stuck in my head for an entire week after that trailer was released.

I never had any doubts about The Avengers. To begin with, I was already a big fan of the entire cast and all the characters. I was even excited about Hawkeye and Hulk. Even though we’d only seen Jeremy Renner‘s Hawkeye for about 10 minutes in Thor, and hadn’t seen Mark Ruffalo at all in a Marvel film, I like both actors and I knew they were great choices. Therefore, I had already been extremely excited about the film when they announced Joss Whedon would be writing and directing. The minute I heard that news, I no longer had any doubts about how good the film would be — I knew Whedon wouldn’t let fans down.

Phase II of the MCU has gotten off to a great start with Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World. While Iron Man 3 wasn’t exactly my favorite of the Iron Man films, it was a great follow-up to The Avengers, and I really appreciated the way they showed a hero dealing with the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Thor: The Dark World was, in my opinion, better than the first — and I loved the first one. I’m also thrilled with the setup for the third film; I can’t wait to see where they take that twist they gave us in the end. (I assume it won’t be addressed until the third film, since we’ve been told more than once Loki will not be appearing in Avengers: Age of Ultron.)

Tomorrow, it’s Captain America’s turn on the big screen. If the previews are any indication, this will also improve upon its predecessor. As I stated before, I haven’t read any of the comics so I am not remotely familiar with the Winter Soldier story line — which I’ve decided is definitely to my benefit when watching movies based on other source material. I’ll never forgive X-Men: The Last Stand for what it did to the Dark Phoenix saga (among many other failings), and I never even actually read those comics, I’m just familiar with the story line.

If you’ve been watching Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (which you should be, because it finally started getting really good around episode 6 and has been improving ever since), you know they’ve been setting up the division within S.H.I.E.L.D. for Captain America. Rumor has it the next episode will have a direct tie-in to the film. I’m hoping it’s a little stronger tie-in than just having the agents cleaning up the mess in London after Thor: The Dark World.

This weekend is definitely a good weekend to be a fan*. Tomorrow, I’ll be sitting in the theater watching Captain America: Winter Soldier, and Sunday night I’ll be settling in on my couch for the premiere of Game of Thrones. Sure, spring may have just arrived, but winter is coming.

Avoid pitfalls of judging movies by their covers

This week, “Fanning Out” examines the challenges of book adaptations. This is the second entry in an on-going discussion of this topic. When you’ve finished reading this column, check out Kevin Hillman’s analysis, “Catching Fire exemplifies faithful adaptation.” Share your own thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.

I’m a book nerd. Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll confirm this fact. I typically read at least 50 books a year. As an English major, I can sometimes be a little snobbish when it comes to books. (I’m sorry, but I refuse to read anything with James Patterson’s name on the cover.) I’m also a big fan of movies and, quite often, those two interests overlap.

Film adaptations are the bane of many book lovers’ existences. There’s always something about the adaptation that hits a nerve: leaving out key scenes, adding in made-up material, changing important elements of the story — die-hard fans of a book can always find something to complain about when it’s made into a film.

One of the movies I’ve heard the most complaints about recently is the latest Hobbit film, The Desolation of Smaug. While the basic framework of the film is taken from the book, the vast majority of the film was written by Peter Jackson. Really hardcore J.R.R. Tolkien fans are extremely offended by the liberties Jackson took with the text. I’m a little more forgiving, mostly because, source material aside, it was a fun movie. It helps that I knew going in that most of the film wasn’t in the book, so I didn’t try to compare the two. Also, a lot of what Jackson added was based on information from the appendices in The Lord of the Rings, and I thought he at least remained true to the spirit of Middle Earth.

Sometimes, I’m more inclined to agree with a films’ critics. I was pretty forgiving through most of the Harry Potter films, but The Goblet of Fire stretched me to my limit. Was it really necessary to add in several minutes of a dragon fight that didn’t take place in the books but cut nearly everything that showed the bond forming between Harry and Sirius? It’s been years, but I’m still having trouble letting that one go.

Hobbits and dragon chases aside, I’ve come to the conclusion that the only possible way to enjoy a book-to-film adaptation is just to accept it will not be an exact duplicate of the book — nor should it be.

The truth of the matter is: some things that work excellently on the page just do not translate well on film. The entirety of Blindness by José Saramago comes to mind. The book was riveting and brilliant, the 2008 film, which was a fairly faithful adaptation, was too slow, and I actually got bored while watching.

I’m the kind of person who, if I hear a movie I want to see is based on a book, I want to read the book first. But I’ve reached the point where I try as much as possible to separate the book and the film in my mind and not sit there comparing them the entire time. The trick is: don’t read the book immediately before seeing the movie. Read the book early — preferably several months before the movie comes out, if possible. That way, you won’t have every little detail fresh in your mind, so you might not be as critical when something has changed.

The same goes for re-reading the book. I used to re-read each Harry Potter book before its respective movie came out. After the fifth book, I realized this was actually hindering my enjoyment of the films, not helping. Thereafter, I stopped re-reading the books right before seeing the movies, and I found I was able to enjoy them much more.

Another thing I’ve learned is that if the movie is based on a book you really love, don’t make up your mind about the movie version after a single viewing. I’ve found that I have a tendency to compare the film to the book on the first viewing, then on a second viewing, I’m more relaxed and able to just watch the film and not think about the book as much. I enjoyed The Hunger Games much more the second time around than I did the first time (though I’m still not a fan of all the shaky cam used in the first movie).

But the real question is: does the movie really have to be an exact adaptation of the book? Is it fair for fans to judge so harshly? Isn’t it better for a film to remain true to the spirit and characters of a book than follow it to the letter, possibly to the detriment of the story and characters? Books and film are two completely different mediums, and they work two very different ways.

Books have the ability to be much more detailed than movies and they can take place over an extended period of time. For the sake of the viewer, screenwriters have to condense events and change timelines in order to keep a coherent story line. There’s no way to avoid that.

Character development is also subject to inevitable reworking. While reading, it’s much easier to keep track of multiple characters, and if you get confused, you can always flip back to refresh your memory. Film doesn’t have that luxury. This leads to cutting some story arcs entirely, or combining characters in a movie. I recently watched Divergent, and while I enjoyed the movie, I really felt like there was a lot missing in the arcs of the secondary characters, primarily Tris‘ friends in the Dauntless faction. I know this was necessary for time, but I love character-driven stories, so that omission was a little disappointing.

However, while Divergent had to cut out some of the secondary arcs with minor characters, I felt it streamlined and focused the story as compared to the novel and did a great job of remaining true to the plot and characters of the book. It’s definitely one of the better young adult adaptations I’ve seen, along with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

I’m not saying all book-to-film adaptations are good; some are so terrible even I can’t excuse the decisions they’ve made. However, television shows like The Walking Dead, True Blood, and, to a lesser extent, Game of Thrones have shown us they can exist independently from their source material. (Game of Thrones remains truer to the novels than the other shows, but it’s still made some changes.) The Walking Dead is one of the most popular shows on network television, and I hear very few complaints about how far it’s strayed from the graphic novels. If we can accept these deviations on television, then surely we can cut the movies — which have even less time to tell the story — some slack.

After repeatedly being disappointed by the movie versions of books I’ve loved, I’ve finally decided it’s much better to go into the theater and completely forget everything I already know about the story and just enjoy the film. I’d much rather watch a film that’s well-made, even if it deviates from the book, than never be happy with any movie made from a book. Keep an open-mind, and maybe you’ll learn there’s room in your heart to love the book and the movie.

HIMYM favorite episodes: ‘Best Burger in New York’

After nine seasons, the final episode of How I Met Your Mother airs in the United States on Monday, March 31. Curiata.com is reliving the series this week by looking back at our favorites of the 208 episodes.

One of the great things about How I Met Your Mother is how it can have a very Seinfeld-esque episode that’s seemingly about nothing at all but still manages to weave in little plot threads that tie it to the overall series. The fourth season’s “The Best Burger in New York” is one of those episodes.

“The Best Burger in New York” opens with Barney announcing that his company has just bought out Goliath National Bank and offering Marshall a job in its legal department. Through a brief series of flashbacks, we see that Marshall has not been very successful with his current job hunt, though his dream of becoming an environmental lawyer prevents him from accepting Barney’s offer.

Later, at MacLaren’s, Marshall tells the story of how he discovered the Best Burger in New York after moving to the city eight years ago. This sets up a mission for the friends to once again find this burger joint, which Marshall hasn’t been able to locate since.

The episode becomes a version of a Hero’s Quest, as Marshall is determined to succeed in finding this burger. Marshall’s journey around Manhattan to find the burger is inextricably linked to his unsuccessful job hunt. As Lily recounts the expansion of Marshall’s “underpants radius,” it becomes clear Marshall has been losing self-esteem the longer he goes without a job, and this burger is Marshall’s Holy Grail. Lily understands he needs to find the burger because he needs a win.

However, just as they finally locate the correct corner where the burger joint had been, the gang discovers it is now a Goliath National Bank ATM. The symbolism here is too much for Marshall: his youthful optimism, represented by the perfect burger he had as a 22-year-old aspiring environmental lawyer, has been buried by the corporate world. He reveals to Lily that he has taken a job with GNB.

Marshall is afraid that working in a corporate atmosphere will strangle his passion for environmental law and change who he is. However, the burger joint Marshall seeks hasn’t been shut down by the new ATM after all; it still exists and the burger is just as good as it ever was.

Of course, that twist, too, is symbolic. GNB is only a stepping stone for Marshall: he does ultimately land his dream job with an environmental firm. But this was a big moment of change for Marshall and, as usual, all his friends were there to support him. Even Barney is being supportive in his own way by trying to talk up all the better points of GNB to change Lily’s mind about the bank before she finds out Marshall has accepted the job.

One of the more random yet amusing aspects of this episode is the appearance of Regis Philbin, who has also been on the hunt for this specific burger joint ever since he ate there years ago. All throughout the episode, you see evidence of his search, as his signed photograph hangs in every restaurant Marshall has visited. This adds an additional layer of lighthearted humor to an episode with a much deeper theme.

Best line: “I think I just had my first burgasm.”

Best Cutaway: “Million Dollar Heads or Tails”

Mother Lore: None!

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