TV Shows

Send in the Clowns-The Joker Comes to Gotham

Posted on by theabccafe

Because this just got announced a few days ago, it’s important to address this now, for all fellow Gothamites out there.

We will be getting a glimpse of the Joker before the season is out. Oh boy…

Already, the response to this announcement has been tremendous, most of it understandably negative. The most common thing being said is, “There can’t be Joker without Batman!” And obviously, Bruce is still nowhere near becoming Batman. If this show was following traditional comic lore by the book, this would indeed be a not-so-pleasant surprise for fans all over.

However, the show isn’t being completely faithful to the comics. And that’s one thing some die-hard Batman fans watching Gotham seem to forget.

That being said, though, I do feel there are some things that, nonetheless, need to be addressed.
Disclaimer: I am not a fully fledged Batman fan (to be honest, I’m kind of only in it for the villains), so I do not have a full knowledge of the whole Batman/Joker relationship as it is in the comics. So for most die-hard Batman fans reading this, this is going to sound alarmingly lax. Feel free to fill me in on any comic background I might not know about.

Speaking for myself, I’m down with seeing the Joker. But I have two worries.

1. He’s appearing so soon in the show
With such an iconic character as the Joker, this is a delicate matter. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing a few extra teasers for about another season before they officially brought him on to the show. You know, something along the lines of the whole Red John development for The Mentalist. Unfortunately, we live in America, a land where people don’t want to wait for any awesome or juicy characters/developments in shows (sigh). So Heller and the writers have to appease the TV-watching populous and speed things up a little.
For now, I’m going to be cautiously optimistic and hope that they handle this introduction right.
And for now, I think they will. They describe the teaser being just barely scratching the back of the Joker’s character, so hopefully they will still hold back a little bit on him.

2. Will he be a fully fledged Joker?
This is a little more worrisome than the first concern. While I’m okay with the Joker coming on to Gotham, I will not be okay if he’s a fully fledged Joker.
Because let’s be honest-the Joker isn’t quite the Joker without Batman.
While it’s not entirely wrong for him to be on the show this soon, it won’t be right if he’s already the Clown Prince of Crime before Bruce puts on the suit. Gotham is, after all, an origins story of Batman and the Rogues Gallery. If the audience doesn’t have enough patience for the Joker’s arrival, may they at least have the patience for a gradual development of his character. Because Gotham has done such a marvelous job of developing villains thus far-surely they can give the Joker the same treatment and let him change and evolve into the criminal he will become. I know I’d find more enjoyment in watching the Joker’s transformation than in seeing him come on without any development needed.

As for Joker’s origin story, I’m chill with anything so long as it’s good and plausible for his character.

One thing I will be interested in (for the future, obviously) is Joker’s relationship with his fellow baddies. While there are the Gotham Sirens, there is also a male counterpart of friends-they so happen to be Joker, Penguin, and Riddler. I don’t know if they’ll do anything like that in the show, but I know the Joker and Penguin especially have an intricate relationship. In the Batman: Arkham video games, they’re enemies. But in most of the comics, they’re friends. I just find it interesting, almost beautiful even, because they’re like a yin and yang of each other, with the Penguin representing organization, and the Joker representing chaos.

So anyway, that’s my two cents on the Joker’s entrance into Gotham.

What do you think? Should there be no Joker before Batman? Do you want a fully fledged Joker on the show? Is it too soon or just on time for the Clown Prince of Crime’s arrival? Let me know in the comments!

‘Till next time, laters!

Taking It Week By Week

Posted on by theabccafe

For the millionth time by now, I’m so sorry about the delay of a new blog post!

The homework load I’ve got is a burden like you wouldn’t believe. I’m so close to the end of the quarter, but there’s just so much that needs to be done.

Until spring break comes up, I’m going to try this instead.
I will put out a post at least once a week. I can make enough time in my schedule to do at least that much. If I can do more than once a week, then terrific! But otherwise, it’s going to have to be a weekly thing.
And don’t worry! There’s plenty of things I want to get nerdy about. I will, at some point, get around to writing that review of “The Crimson Horror” from Doctor Who for once and for all. And, along with that, I’m planning on possibly discussing some Supernatural, the Greek gods (because mythology is also under the nerd umbrella, at least in my book), and some more about Gotham.

So until then, laters!

Hello, Sweetie-A Rant on River Song

Posted on by theabccafe

Hi there! Christmas break is almost upon me! I’ve got a little spare time, so while I’m at it, I’ll do one of my most anticipated rants of all time.

I’m going to rant about River Song, one of my least favorite characters from Doctor Who.

Oh dear, where to begin?

Let’s just start off with this.
River Song is a Mary Sue character through and through. She can take care of herself, fly the TARDIS, sass anyone, and fight like a boss. What can’t this woman do? (Love the Doctor, but that’s for later) And characters like that are, to be quite honest, boring. They’ll always get what they want, they’ll pull through in the end, etc. because they’re just all that and a bag of chips. And that’s not good enough.
Even when River’s struggling with something, you know how it’ll be in the end. She’ll succeed. She’ll live. Just wait for the next episode or scene, and then everything’s A-OK with her.

But the biggest thing that irritates me about her the most is this: she is the Doctor’s wife. She is his freakin’ wife!

Now I don’t know about anyone else in this fandom, but I think River does not deserve to be the Doctor’s wife. Here are my reasons why.

1. Their personalities do not go well together
I know, I know, sometimes opposite personalities go well together. And I’ve seen cases in which it’s worked in all kinds of books, movies, and TV shows. But I’m here to say that in this show, it does not work at all.
Think of it this way. We have the Doctor, a happy, bouncing puppy who loves everyone. Then we have River Song, a selfish komodo dragon who is not only cold-blooded but also cold-hearted.
What do you get when you pair up a puppy and a komodo dragon?
Nothing pleasant, I can assure you.
You just don’t put a puppy and a komodo dragon together, period.

2.River feels a false sense of entitlement to the Doctor
So River Song and a Dalek walk into a bar. The Dalek says, “Surrender or you will be exterminated!”
And River says, “Just wait ’til my husband comes.”
My husband.
Ugh, I cringe every time she says something like that (along with her famous line “Hello, sweetie”).
River thinks the Doctor belongs to her. That’s why she got so upset when the 10th Doctor didn’t recognize her at all. And then she was a moping mess talking about “her” Doctor afterwards. Would you care to enlighten the Doctor on your future history with him, River? You know, to make the situation less awkward for him? No? Geez Louise…
Another similar situation that made me extra mad was when she and the Ponds met the younger version of the 11th Doctor in S6. At the end of “Day of the Moon”, S6E2, the Doctor is saying goodbye to River outside her cell. She knows that he’s the younger version, so some of their memories together don’t exist. She knows this! And what does she do?
She acts like everything’s the same and she kisses the Doctor!
And then when he acts like they haven’t done that before (which, in this complicated case, they truly haven’t), she gets upset.
Come on, lady! You knew that was going to happen! Don’t get so crushed about it.

Does that sound heartless of me to say?
Maybe. But maybe it doesn’t, especially when I bring up this final point…

3.River doesn’t actually love the Doctor
I believe with all my heart that River doesn’t love the Doctor. I mean, really love the Doctor like she claims to.
At the end of “The Angels Take Manhattan”, River told the Doctor not to travel alone. And guess what happened?
He traveled alone until he bumped into Clara Oswald, the Impossible Girl.
Where the heck was River that whole time?!
If she really loved the Doctor, she would’ve stayed with him all throughout that time of grieving and lonely wandering. She would’ve stayed with him! But she didn’t. Obviously, she must not love him or care that much about him to stay by his side.
She is just a selfish woman who sees the Doctor only as a tool for her plans. And for the supposed tender moments, she knows he will give help and love to those who seek it, so she takes advantage of this without giving anything in return. She has never helped the Doctor in the way that he has helped her. Sure, she shot some bad guys for him and gave her assistance in some of his missions, but that’s not quite the same.
Even when such moments “look” tender, they just aren’t, because it’s not real love. I don’t care what it is, it’s just not real love.
So when she goes all “I absolutely trust him” about the Doctor and whatnot, I don’t buy that BS. Not one bit!

But what do you think? Do you like River Song? Do you think she really loves the Doctor? Do you think she deserves to be the Doctor’s wife? Let me know in the comments! I will not bite your heads off, I promise.

When Christmas break comes, there will be, as promised, the reviews for “The Crimson Horror” and (ugh!) Divergent, the book. Also, there is the possibility of reviews for Supernatural and the first few chapters of the hit manga series Black Butler, which I’ve started getting into.

‘Til next time, laters!

6 Days ’til Freedom!

Posted on by theabccafe

My sincerest apologies, readers. I haven’t been able to write anything at all on The Passionate Nerd because of one certain obstacle we’ve all faced at least once in our lives.

You guessed it, homework.

I’m in two classes right now. One of them is Acting, and the other one if Information Systems and Literacy.
Acting has been a breeze. We only have one assignment due at the end of the quarter, but the rest of our work is playtime.
Information blah blah blah (or INFO, as I’ll call it), on the contrary, hasn’t been a smooth ride at all.

I’m no good with computers. I hate computers. Taking this class is already hard enough for me. But to make things worse, the homework load is excruciating like you wouldn’t believe! I don’t have a job or any other rigorous class, and INFO is still eating up my time and making my schedule difficult. By the time I’m done, all I have energy to do is just surf on the Internet.

So there lies my current predicament.

But fortunately, my Christmas break is here in six days! Sure, it’s only a week, but a week is still good enough for me. When I’m on break, I will fit blog posts in between the festivities. I’ll talk about “The Crimson Horror”, Divergent (the book), and a few other things, including a rant on River Song.

‘Til then, bear with me, Merry Christmas, and laters!

Rules of Survival: Gotham Edition-Survive the Penguin!

Posted on by theabccafe

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven’t put anything out since my last post. Schoolwork just got a little bit busy, but fortunately, it’s almost over. And I’m trying so hard to finish Divergent, but it’s been such a horrible journey that sometimes, I need to take a step back. But don’t worry, you will be hearing about Divergent and Doctor Who “The Crimson Horror”.

But until I have more time to work on that, here’s a short little thing for fun.

I present to you, Rules of Survival: Gotham Edition!

So basically, these are from a compilation of tweets and thoughts from watching Gotham. As we keep getting introduced to new horrors in the city of the Dark Knight to-be, I’ve been making up lists of rules to survive various people, situations, and Gotham itself. This list is one of the longest I’ve created, and believe me, it keeps growing with nearly every episode.

Yes, this list has the rules for surviving an encounter with the Penguin (God forbid!).

So, without further ado, here are the rules as of now.

1. Never ever call him Penguin
We all know what happens when you call Cobblepot “Penguin”. Instant death!
Okay, maybe not anymore. Earlier in the series, calling Cobblepot by his villainous nickname was the number one way to get yourself killed. But after he started working for Maroni, he’s started slowly embracing his given title. He even calls himself “the Penguin” in the trailer after the fall finale!
However, I will say this. While it’s semi-safe to call him Penguin, I still say you call him Cobblepot. Addressing him by his nickname could get him a little disgruntled (depending on his mood). Calling him Penguin is okay now, but if you really want to get on his good side, call him Cobblepot. Addressing him by his real name would be like a sign of respect. And as we all know, at the end of the day, a little respect is all the Penguin wants.

2. Stay as far away from him as you can
Hopefully, this shouldn’t be a problem. Stay out of the nastier parts of Gotham, and you should be good to go! Then again, the Penguin has been known to pop up here, there, and everywhere in the city. Oh well…
However, if you are in his vicinity, keep your distance, and just calmly walk away. Don’t be an idiot and attract his attention by suddenly taking off in a run. The only exception is if it’s just you and him. Then run. No matter how slow you think you are, you can always outrun a man with a limp.

3. If he’s eyeing something you have, give it to him immediately
Gothamites, you only know too well that this is the truth. If you’re not killed for calling Cobblepot “Penguin”, then you’re killed for not giving something of yours that he wants. It doesn’t matter if it’s a tuna sandwich, working shoes, or a brooch-if he wants it, he’ll get it. Preferably, you should also come out on top of it too instead of coming out dead!
If the Penguin’s eyeing something you’ve got, just put it in his hand/set it on the ground, and then calmly (emphasis on calmly) walk away. He gets what he wants, you walk away with your life, it’s a win-win situation and we’re all good!

4. Watch the nonverbals
This is one of the most important rules to go by in surviving an encounter with the Penguin. Words can say a lot, but nonverbals say a lot as well. This is especially true with the Penguin. I’ll give you one hint on the nonverbals-if he’s smiling at you while looking very ambitious, or if he’s pinning you down with a killing look, you’re screwed. So screwed.

5. Don’t engage in conversation with the Penguin
If you follow Rule 2, this rule, among other rules, shouldn’t apply. However, if you happen to be with Penguin in the same space, don’t talk with him. Don’t risk being an idiot and saying the wrong things to trigger his inner psychopath. And if he tries talking to you, don’t freak out. Stay as composed as you can, and be monosyllabic in your responses. The less said, the better.

6. Play nice. Always.
This is one of the most crucial rules there is for surviving an encounter with the Penguin. If you’re stuck in the same space with him, be courteous, polite, and kind towards him. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is the thing to remember.
The Penguin has to deal with so many rough people in his work. More often than not, he receives more hurt than respect from these people. At the end of the day, he’s not going to want to deal with that. Anyone who bullies him further is going to pay with their life.
So if you’re with him, treat the Penguin with respect and kindness. You can’t go wrong doing that, and I can guarantee that 99% of the time, you’re going to walk away with your life by following this rule.

Of course, if you can follow Rule 2, all the other rules should never have to apply. But some Gothamites may find themselves in unique situations where following Rule 2 is either not enough or no longer an option. By following the other rules, you should be able to survive an encounter with the Penguin and live to tell the tale.

Are there any other Penguin survival rules you think should be up here? If so, let me know in the comments section!

Let’s hope Cobblepot doesn’t read this and break my system…

‘Til next time, laters!

Coming Up This Week-Doctor Who & Divergent

Posted on by theabccafe

The week is almost upon us! Why did the weekend fly by so fast?

But despite the upcoming business, worry not! There will be more posts coming up soon. Along with other possible topics, we will be looking over a Doctor Who episode from Season Seven, “The Crimson Horror”, and I will rant (not in the good way) about my agonizing reading through Divergent by Veronica Roth.

‘Til next time, laters!

Penguins Eat Fish-A Gotham Review

Posted on by theabccafe

Ever since Gotham began, I’ve wanted to talk about it so much. But there are few people close to me watching the show, and some are still catching up. Now that I have this blog, I will rant and rave to my heart’s content.

There are a lot of bases I’d like to cover with Gotham. For today, I will focus on two major villains: Fish Mooney (played by Jada Pinkett Smith) and Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. the Penguin (played by Robin Lord Taylor).

Fish Mooney is an original character created specifically for the show. A mobstress working for Don Carmine Falcone, she’s secretly planning on bringing “the old man” down and taking his place.
Let me begin by saying that I hate Smith’s acting in Gotham. It is horrible. The way she moves, the way she speaks-it’s so badly stereotypical and makes Mooney look like a caricature. Because of that, I can’t take her or her character seriously. I groan every time she does one of her characteristic trait moves.
The acting goes hand in hand with the character, and unfortunately, Mooney is not a great character. We know practically nothing about her. Sure, there was that small little bit about her growing up with her mom (even though parts of it were lies), but that’s not enough. There is nothing about Mooney that I can relate to or sympathize with. She is just another stock villain used for the sake of being evil. She doesn’t even intimidate me at all.

Now with that out of the way, let’s talk about the real villain between the two-Oswald Cobblepot.

Where to begin?
Oswald Cobblepot (the future Penguin) starts off as a low-level grunt working for Mooney. But after a series of events, including the faking of his death (spoilers!), he begins his conquest for power and his revenge against Mooney.
Well, first off, it has to be said that Robin Lord Taylor’s acting is brilliant. Just brilliant. And personally speaking, I think he’s the best Penguin ever! He has totally changed who the Penguin is for me. Like with Deadpool, I had a fixed mental image before Gotham (Penguin=squat, cowardly bully of a mobster with serious case of Napoleon Complex). But Taylor completely blew that image to pieces with his stunning portrayal. Bravo!
Like with Mooney, the acting and character go hand in hand with Taylor and Cobblepot. But in contrast to Mooney, Penguin is one of the most well developed villains in the show, hands down. Since the beginning of Gotham , we’ve seen how much he’s grown, from lowly grunt to total game-changer. With every episode, we’ve come to realize just how much of a mastermind Cobblepot really is. And, as well as getting glimpses of the inner neurotic psychopath inside, we’ve also gotten to see his humanity, particularly in the adorable yet creepy scenes with his mother.
Partially because of my aforementioned mental image, I didn’t know what to expect of Cobblepot after the pilot, other than not much. But after E4 (“Arkham”), it was just one clever surprise tactic after another in my face. E7 (“Penguin’s Umbrella”, which I’ll discuss in a later post) was the move that totally blew me away. Now I just can’t imagine what he’ll do next. All I know is this: there is no such thing as a small move for Cobblepot. The things he does, he does for a reason. It might not always make sense in the moment, but sooner or later it will.
One does not simply underestimate the Penguin.

Now, with the characters in relation to each other, I’d just like to finish with a look into the future.

Mooney is clearly not on the same level as Penguin. She says that Falcone is “weak and feeble”, but I don’t think that’s true. From everything we saw and learned in E7, I think he may be at his sharpest right now. From the look of things, it’s Mooney who’s getting weak and feeble. She can’t see the intricacy of the games that Penguin’s playing with her. And if she doesn’t, then she’s so going down. Maybe even very soon.

Penguins, after all, do eat fish.

With Cobblepot, it’s fairly easy. The only people he really has to worry about are Falcone and Maroni. But when it comes to Mooney, she’s nothing. Cobblepot plays her so easily, and he will keep playing her until (if it happens) he gets his revenge on her.

No matter what happens, Mooney’s going down. Hopefully it’s sometime in Season One. I can’t stand the thought of having to see her for another season.

What do you think? Do you like Smith’s acting and her character? What do you think of Taylor’s portrayal of Penguin? Let me know in the comments!

‘Til next time, laters!

Hello Everyone!

Posted on by theabccafe

Hello and welcome to the Passionate Nerd!

This is one of the first blogs I’ve created that isn’t about serious topics (The ABC Café) or a NanoWrimo story (Prowess). This is dedicated to talking about the different things I get nerdy over. Mainly books, movies, TV shows, and music; from LOTR (Lord of the Rings) to Skulduggery Pleasant, Inception to Thor, Doctor Who to Gotham, and Beethoven to Lindsey Stirling. This is where I will gush and vent over all those things and more.

I’ve got so much to say, and I can’t wait to get blogging away on this. ‘Til next time, laters!