Fall TV (Hell on Wheels, Hawaii Five-0, NCIS and Vegas)

So, this week is premiere week for many new shows as well as returning shows from the spring.  Among those returning are Hawaii Five-0 and NCIS, with a new show (Vegas) having its series premiere on Tuesday.  Hell on Wheels second season began in August and is rolling along (no pun intended) to its season 2 finale on AMC.  First, I'll start off with the new shows this week, and end with my thus-far review of Hell on Wheels' sophomore season on AMC.

Hawaii Five-0: La O Na Makuahine (3x01)
Season 2 ended with a cliffhanger: Kono was thrown into the ocean bound and gagged, Malia Kelly was severely wounded by a gun, Frank Delano was out of prison, and McGarrett's mom *gasp* was revealed to be Shelburne!  With the appearance of Joe (Terry O'Quinn) this season, I had a feeling that either he or someone else close to Steve would be revealed as Shelburne, the person who killed Wo Fat's father.  I was so sure of this fact that I even joked to myself that it would probably be either McGarrett's mom or dad.  I was shocked when the season finale rolled around and I had been on the right track.  Crazy!  Season 3 opened with as much suspense and adrenaline as season 2 left us with over the summer.  (Spoilers ahead, so stop reading now if you don't like 'em!)  Malia ends up dying in Chin's arms.  This came as almost no surprise, but I had been hoping that Chin would get her help in time and she would make it.  I will admit, I was crying when Malia died, and even more so as Chin was looking over her body at the morgue.  Even though it's partially Chin's fault that Malia did die, I still felt sorry for him. oh yes, and Kono lived (no surprise there) since she was rescued by Adam Noshimuri (sp?) who was called by Chin (what's up with that?!).  Anyway.  I'm starting to like Adam, and only hope he keeps clean this season.  I also hope to see more of Christine Lahti (Doris McGarrett) in future episodes this season as she was entertaining to watch.  Her cargument with Danny was absolutely hilarious; pretty evident where Steve gets the talent to argue in the car! But, as revealed in the last two minutes, Doris let Wo Fat go even though he had come to kill her in the safe house.  This is leading some to wonder if perhaps Wo Fat and Steve aren't half-brothers, and Doris knew this and Wo Fat discovered it upon holding a gun on her.  Who knows?  It will be interesting to see where they take season 3 from this point. 
4/5 personal rating
Viewers: 8.06 million according to Nielsen

NCIS: Extreme Prejudice (10x01)
NCIS also ended its 9th season with a bang: Harper Dearing, a man who lost his son to supposed Navy flaws on ships targeted NCIS, leaving the building in shambles.  Ducky, while in Florida for Palmer's wedding, suffers a heart attack on the beach, where the season 9 finale blacks out.  Season 10 opens up basically where it left off: Ducky is in the hospital recovering from his heart attack with Palmer by his side every minute, while the team is left to pick up the pieces in Washington.  They do pick up the pieces, however slowly, and end up chasing Dearing only to miss him twice.  This leads to a man-to-man showdown between Gibbs and Dearing, which, if you know anything about Gibbs, leaves Dearing dead.  In comparison to the H50 premiere the night before, I felt like the season opener to NCIS was flat, predictable, and 2D.  The Tony/Ziva elevator scene: pitifully misleading. The implication that the team was in more danger than they actually were: pathetic, considering even McGee didn't get seriously injured while being next to glass windows that exploded!!!!  I'm glad we know what happened to Dearing, but I felt like they built up to this whole "Dearing is the most wanted man in the U.S." and then they dropped it in the premiere.  Maybe they couldn't stretch it out past the first episode, but it was just a very flat episode and not one that stood out much.  
2.5/5 personal rating
Viewers: 20.2 million (2nd largest premiere opening in the show's history, biggest since 2009)

Vegas: Vegas (1x01)
No, that's not a stutter.  The "Vegas" pilot episode is named "Vegas" (clever, huh?), and premiered after NCIS and NCIS:LA.  "Vegas" is, well...about Vegas in the 1960s, and is loosely based/inspired by the real life story of  Sheriff Ralph Lamb, "a fourth-generation rancher tasked with bringing order to Las Vegas in the 1960s, a gambling and entertainment mecca emerging from the tumbleweeds.Ralph Lamb wants to be left in peace to run his ranch, but Las Vegas is now swelling with outsiders and corruption which are intruding on his simple life. Recalling Lamb's command as a military police officer during World War II, the Mayor appeals to his sense of duty to look into a murder of a casino worker - and so begins Lamb's clash with Vincent Savino, a ruthless Chicago gangster who plans to make Vegas his own. Assisting Lamb in keeping law and order are his two deputies: his diplomatic, even-keeled brother, Jack, and his charming but impulsive son, Dixon. Ambitious Assistant District Attorney Katherine O'Connell, who grew up on the ranch next to the Lambs, also lends a hand in preserving justice."(CBS.com)  
So, how was it?  I'll put it this way: I hate judging things by their pilot episodes.  Heck, had I quit watching NCIS after seeing the pilot episode last year, I would have missed out on a great show.  Vegas was slow, I'll admit, and I found the plot to be a little underwhelming.  However, I'm pretty sure I said that about Hell on Wheels' pilot, and when I kept watching, the show got better and less snooze-inducing (more on that later).  And I will also admit, the main reason I even wanted to watch the show was because of Gil Birmingham's guest role in the pilot (which was also underwhelming, though I credit this to the writers and not the actor).  I even was able to get 4 replies from Gil during the premiere, which was the highlight of my Tuesday night and made me kind of forget about the rest of the episode!  Haha.  "Vegas" apparently wasn't too bad; it had an opening of 14.7 million viewers, sweeping in all demographic (age) categories.  Will the series improve?  Or will it continue to play on worn out cliches and stereotypes of cowboys vs. bad guys?  Time can only tell.  I'll keep watching for the forseeable future at least.
2.5/5 personal rating
Viewers: 14.7 million

Hell on Wheels: Season 2 (episodes 1-7)
I never imagined myself writing what I'm about to write in regards to Hell on Wheels.  Season 1 left me wanting another season, made me want to know what would happen to these characters that grabbed my interest. Season 2 made me want to know if the writers would continue to go against Hollywood type and expand the roles of Native actors like Eddie Spears (Joseph Black Moon) and Wes Studi (Chief Many Horses).  I will be honest, the only reason I even started watching HoW was because of Eddie Spears and Wes Studi, and it's the only reason I've been watching season 2 thus far (Studi has not made an appearance yet in season 2, and it doesn't look like he will).  So the show is rated mature.  It's not for the weak stomachs, and sometimes I even cringe at the violent nature of the show.  I guess what got me intrigued by season 1 was all the diversity and complexity of each character, and the promise by the writers to flesh all that out in season 2.  But from episode 1, I've been disappointed in this season so far.  We're only 2 episodes away from the end of the season (episodes 9/10 have been combined into one 2 hour finale), and I have yet to be wowed or impressed by a single episode.  This isn't good, folks.  Apparently, Nielsen is saying so as well, since last Sunday night's episode only had 0.6 million viewers in the 18-49 demographic range; to give you a comparison, Keeping up the Kardashians had 1.8 in the same range on the same night.  'Nough said?  Or, you could compare season 2's ratings with those of season 1: episode 2 of season 1 had 1.5 million viewers, double that of season 2's 7th episode.  I find the ratings to be a little odd, since most first seasons of shows have lower ratings than those of following seasons!  And, we're not talking about the 2nd episode of season 2 here; episode 8 is just around the corner, and ratings are low.  I mean L-O-W.  Granted, season 2 premiered much earlier in the fall compared to season 1, which premiered in November 2011 (maybe the low ratings are Breaking Bad's fault?).  But it kind of makes me wonder: if episode 7 has numbers like these...what in the world will season 3 have going for it?  I guess I should explain why I've been so disappointed in the second season.  Erratic writing.  Plot holes.  Character incongruity.  Character turn-arounds that are so sudden they don't make sense at all.  Characters going crazy/insane to the point of death.  The show having a more odd tone to it than season 1.  The show being considerably more bloody ("Slaughterhouse" anyone?) and more foul.  I'll say this: the main focus of my fan anger is because of the horrible way the Joseph/Ruth relationship has "evolved" over season 2.  When I say evolved I really mean "imploded."  The writing behind Ruth's character is so all over the place I don't know what she's up to anymore.  I've also felt lost timeline wise from episode 1 because time elapsed in-between the two seasons.

And let me tell you folks: It's never good to begin a season feeling so disoriented you can't get your bearings on anything.  It's sloppy and messy, and will be the death knell of this show if they don't correct it.  The fantastic writing of season 1 has been discarded in favor for something masquerading as quality writing.  I'll keep watching season 2 to see how it ends (and I'm curious to see Durant's wife on the show as well), but if there's a 3rd season, well.  I seriously doubt I'll be dedicating Sunday nights to the show.

Personal rating: 1.5/5

Start of the Finish

You might be reading the title and going, "huh? What does that mean?"  Well, I'll tell you: today was my last official academic class day with my classmates in the VMTP program, and as I realized that, I was a little saddened by it.  Am I sad about all the hours I won't have to sit in class anymore listening to lectures?  Heavens no!  Monday I begin my externship (internship that is shortened), and it's a day I've been both looking forward to and dreading at the same time.  Looking forward to because I'll finally get to start applying everything I've been learning, and I know it will all come together for me once I start putting it in action.  Dreading it, because it means remembering things I haven't read or seen in nearly a year.  I also have a lot of responsibility personally because I have to have certain assignments completed each week, and it's a lot to keep up with.

I sometimes get irritated with my classmates.  There were times I probably said things in ways I shouldn't have, or I could have been nicer in some instances.  But, I don't think I'd trade them out for anything.  I've made some friends that I've been thankful to have, especially when I was struggling in a class or with a topic.

So, I guess this concludes the end of my first official week as a senior.  What a whirlwind journey it's been thus far!

Yellow Rock-A Review

I just finished watching the film "Yellow Rock" for the first time (it released today on DVD and iTunes). After having been extremely disappointed by "The Legend of Hell's Gate: An American Conspiracy", I was excited about this film, yet also very cautious about it. I've seen a lot of independent films, and know that some are good, some are okay, some are bad, and some are awful (Legend of Hell's Gate I think falls into the last category). However, I was pleasantly surprised by "Yellow Rock", which in my opinion was a very well done and well acted independent Western/film. It is deserving of every award it has earned since first being screened in the fall of 2011.

So, I should probably go into more detail about what I liked/loved and where I give the film its props. First, solid acting. Independent films have one of two reputations: they either have really good acting, or really bad acting. "Yellow Rock" fits into the 'really good' category, in my opinion. The most solid performances I thought came from the three leads: James Russo, Michael Biehn, and Lenore Andriel. 3 actors I've never heard of, or seen anything of until this film. Superb performances from each of them. Lenore has talked several times in interviews how she had this passion for Native American culture and how much she wanted to bring that to life. It's very evident to me in the film how very much Lenore (who was one of the writers and producers) loves Native American culture. It's a love that I myself have had ever since first watching "Into the West" (2005). Anyway, that passion was quite evident in her character, Dr. Sarah Taylor. Michael Biehn was also a standout in his role as Tom Hanner. I wasn't sure what to expect of his character from the interviews and synospis, but it turns out his character is actually a really good guy. James Russo: another solid performance and since I don't want to give anything away, I'll leave it at that comment.  Michael Spears (Broken Wing) pulled off yet another solid and good performance.  Broken Wing reminded of another good character that Michael is known for playing: Dog Star from the miniseries "Into the West".  Dog Star, like Broken Wing, was the pacifist.  He did not trust the white man, but did not want war between the two cultures/nations.  I think Michael pulls these kinds of characters off well and pretty naturally.  Can I also say it was nice to have Michael sing yet again, not once, but twice?  His voice gives me chills, partly because I think he sings from his heart and soul.  Very honorable mentions:  Eddie Spears (Angry Wolf), Zahn McClarnon and the others were all great in supporting roles. I have to say, after watching Eddie in "Hell on Wheels" so long, it's weird seeing him with long hair!

Second, pretty solid writing and plot. There were two sequences that I think were my favorites. The first one being the sequence in the burial ground of the Blackpaw tribe. Completely creepy [though very well done in terms of quality and cinematography], and I was on edge wondering what was going to jump out of the fog. Ha! After seeing a movie like "Imprint" (2007, also starring Michael Spears as this film did), I've learned to be ready for anything in a movie! The way the scene was done made me feel like the characters must have been feeling. The second sequence I thought was really well done was the bit at the end, from when the final character who stole gold gets shot to when the credits rolled. The whole concept of 1) how money/gold are things that will crumble to dust when we think they matter the most (and the film I think asks the question: is the pursuit of fortune worth your life?), and 2) how many [American] Indian tribes became obsolete or nearly obsolete as a result of gold and of 'Manifest Destiny' (you know, the whole idea of it being God's will that America stretch coast to coast?). The end monologue was pretty haunting, as it reminded me of the many injustices done and still done to Native peoples here in America, and perhaps even in places such as Canada.

Overall, out of 5 stars, I have to give "Yellow Rock" a 4 for great acting, solid writing, and honestly: just being an enjoyable film. It is rated R, though I thought the violence was more at a level of PG-13 (not nearly as violent as, say, "Hell on Wheels", which is incredibly violent and gory at times). So, if you're looking for a shorter-than-two-hours film, a Western, or trying to decide between watching "Legend of Hell's Gate: An American Conspiracy" or "Yellow Rock", do yourself a favor. Choose "Yellow Rock".  And: the good looking guys don't hurt either! ;) 

Boredom Yields No Clever Title

You know, one of the problems with summer school is that you're generally focused on only one class at a time.  And you would think that you would be occupied enough so as not to ever be bored out of your mind. I certainly thought so when I started the July session, since I was taking 3 classes at the same time and at least one of those classes looked to be time consuming.  Here it is July 25th, and already I've completed my assignments for the summer, and have next to nothing to occupy the majority of my days with!  Some people would be insanely happy about not having homework during their day, and I suppose I'm one of the few college students who goes absolutely crazy with nothing to do that requires time and thought.  So far this week, I've managed to kill at least 2 hours a day with exercising, walking a mile at the gym and doing 10-15 minutes of other exercises to work the parts of the body that don't do much when walking.

Yeah.  That's what I thought you would say. "Who exercises in the summer when they don't have to?"  I do! I've made a promise to myself this summer to try and exercise more and eat healthier.  I started out walking with one of my classmates, but I quickly discovered that wasn't going to work as she wasn't exactly motivated to be faithful to a schedule of walking every week.  Another thing I've been working on is a latch hook pillow.  I hope to have it completely finished by Christmas to give it to a special little girl in my life that I love a great deal (my niece)!  My parents bought me the latch hook kit last summer to work on while I was bored, but I will admit, it's laid neglected in my closet up until this week.  On a completely different note: since Netflix introduced all 6 Star Trek series on instant streaming last fall, I've been slowly working my way through each one.  It started with Enterprise, and I'm roughly halfway through The Next Generation right now.  I used to hate TNG, but as I've watched more and more, it's started to grow on me and is not as annoying as it was.  When I finish TNG, I hope to watch all of the Original Series, as I've already seen all of Voyager one or two times.  Okay, so that's not impressive compared to most things in the world, but when you're bored and have nothing better to do, you start all kinds of crazy things.  I should go to the library and get a library card, but the motivation to do this has not existed.  Besides, when I start rotations in August, I probably won't have much time OR energy to read much of anything!

Well.  This entry killed about another 15 minutes of my day.  Time to find more ways to make the day pass more quickly....

Taking That Step

July 16th, and halfway through the second summer session.  I remember this time last year: I was grateful to have made it almost the whole summer for the first time away from home.  Then, I was ready to start my junior year of college and the VMT program.  Now, I'm looking at my senior year and my clinical rotations that begin in August.  Over the course of the last year, I have been struggling to find a church home.  I tried First Baptist, then three others until last month, I went back to FBC.  Instead of going back to the college ministry, which I found lacking (to be nice, I won't go into that at the moment), I found a young women's class that I've been enjoying.  I almost feel as if I'm out of touch with every other person my age because I don't care about the same things they do.  I will admit it: if you asked me to hang out with you, and I had an assignment due at the end of that week, I would tell you no even if I knew it wouldn't take me but ten minutes to finish.  Someone once told me that my grades were better than theirs, and my simple answer was: "I don't have a social life and I take what I do seriously".  It may sound sad, but not having a desire to be a party animal, hang out excessively with classmates/friends, etc. has played a part in the grades I make.

But anyway. I digress.  Last Sunday I joined FBC under their college watchcare program; basically, I'm a member, but didn't have to transfer my letter from my home church.  As of right now, I'm not sure what I'll be doing after I graduate next year, and so I don't want to make my church membership too permanent until I know for sure where I'll be going.  My sister and brother-in-law were there to support me, though I was so nervous my knees knocked together!  But, I survived, and I feel good about deciding to join.  The pastor talked for several weeks in a row about the importance of belonging to a church and finding God's place for you in a church.  I felt as if God was speaking directly to me through the preacher, and spent the last week just praying about it to be sure it's where He wanted me.  I did feel, however, as if God told me in the middle of the week: "Stop analyzing and obey what I told you!"  So, I did.  I stopped praying about it because I was overanalyzing.  My devotionals during that time seemed to be targeted toward obeying God and not taking forever to consider the decision.  This is a short blog post, but I've run out of things to ramble on about!

Father's Day

Okay, so this is a day late.  And to be honest, I stole the idea from a friend's blog.  But I thought he had a good idea.

This was the 2nd Father's Day I had to spend away from my dad.  I suppose the saying is true when they say you don't know what you have until it's gone.  Every holiday that I have to spend away from home makes me wish I hadn't taken the ones I did spend at home for granted.  A phone call really just doesn't substitute for actually being there and celebrating.  I sent him and my grandfather each a card, and for the first time since it happened, I was sad that I couldn't send a card to my mom's dad, who passed away December 2010.  I was very close to him, and even though a) I know he's in a better place and wouldn't want him out of that, b) it's been 18 months since he passed away, I still get upset when I think about him or when I think about how much I miss him.  He was such a great man, a great example of what a loving husband and father should be.  He loved the Lord and was fully prepared to meet His Savior.  He cared about others before thinking of himself; for example, before he passed away, he told my grandmother "be sure you help Stephanie get through college."  I constantly live with a regret of not telling him where I was going to school or what I had finally settled on for my major.  But I think that he would be proud of me now for sticking it out and doing something that I never thought was possible for me to do: move away so far from home and complete a degree/program that is difficult.  If I graduate for nobody else, I graduate for him because it was partly his financial savvy that has helped me achieve what I have so far.  Remembering what he gave to me is one of the great motivators for me to stay here and finish this program.

As for my dad: well, there's nobody else like him.  He's a preacher, and I'll admit, I've been bitter about being a preacher's kid for a long time.  My own set of scars and hurt resulting from being in the ministry pale in comparison to his; there were things I know he kept from us because he didn't want church politics completely overwhelming our home life.  He has suffered scorn, ridicule, cutting remarks, people determined to get rid of him because he disagreed with what they were doing, etc etc.  Yet he's still in the ministry.  I know that at times, he wants to quit.  People who have never been in the ministry will never understand the weight and the stress that preachers and their families experience not just on Sundays, but every day of the week.  Personally, I don't wish it upon anybody.  One thing I admire about my father as a preacher is his willingness to serve others.  How often will he put aside his own wants and desires to minister to those who need it the most!  I know he gets tired of doing so, but he continually puts other people's needs before his own.  If someone is having surgery, even minor, he'll make an effort to be there in the hospital when they go in.  Or he'll visit afterwards.  Even if people tell him, "oh don't bother", he'll still go because he feels that's what he should do.  Even if it means driving 2.5 hours and only having prayer with them before they have surgery, that's his calling.  He is certainly a shepherd to his flock when so many preachers seem to not care about their members' needs on a personal level.  In this regard, he's one of the most selfless people I think I know.  He's also been one of my biggest supporters ever since I announced that I wanted to be a vet. tech.  I think he's also been the biggest supporter/fan of MSU ever since I found out I'd be coming here!  He wears  his 'MSU Dad" shirt proudly every week, and his hat.  And he sports his coffee mugs all the time.  He's very supportive and that's something I take strength from when I feel like I want to give up.  Yet he's always a firm voice of correction when I'm either slacking or when I'm not living up to something I said I'd do...that happens a lot, but at least he's able to correct me for being wrong!  I also know that he brags on me, my sister, and my niece a lot to his church; and I actually don't mind.  He's a great person, and I've been very blessed to have him as my dad.  Did I mention that he and my mom will celebrate 30 years of marriage this Christmas?  Talk about a record in today's world of love 'em and leave 'em.

This was going to be longer, but as I had over an hour break in between these big paragraphs and the last 3 sentences...I kind of forgot where else I was taking this entry! lol!

Summer School

So, I'm roughly halfway through summer classes at the moment.  Right now, we're doing our surgery class which can be really tedious, but also interesting at times since we get to participate in real surgeries.  Last week we had our first surgery lab, and I finally got to put an IV catheter into a REAL dog!  up to that point, we'd only been using models and fake veins, so to actually stick it into a patient was rewarding.  Amazingly, I hit the vein and got blood on my very first try, which even the vet students in my group were amazed at (I felt like I earned some of their respect at that moment!) because they hadn't ever gotten the catheter in at the first try.  Unfortunately, the dog I was working with had very thick skin, and I kinked the catheter right after I almost got it in all the way ready for taping. :(  Thankfully the dog was medicated and somewhat sedated, so she didn't feel it.  But I was happy that I hit the vein on the first try, which is very difficult to do even for some experienced technicians.  I'm hoping that tomorrow I will actually get it in successfully, tape it onto the leg, and maybe even intubate (insert the breathing tube for anesthesia) the dog.  It's one thing to do it on a model: it's another to do it on a living, breathing animal where the anatomy doesn't always quite match the model.

On another note, I've already registered for fall classes.  This will be my lightest regular semester at only 12 hours.  But these aren't normal classes: these 'classes' are clinical rotations!  Except for one class (the class that will help me take the national board exam for technicians), every class is mostly practical clinical stuff.  I'm nervous but excited because these classes will probably provide the most learning experience yet.  Fall is also when I'll be doing my externship, which I'm excited about because that means I get to go home for 4 weeks!  :)

So I've registered for my final fall semester of college and at MSU, and I'm almost one semester closer to graduation.  Wow.  I can't really even remember where I was last year, and even when I think back to orientation, it's hard to imagine that day!  It was such a blur, so overwhelming, yet incredibly exciting.  What will the next few months hold?  I don't know, but I almost can't wait!