The Small Fries

During Super Bowl 50s Halftime this past Sunday, Coldplay, Bruno Mars and Beyoncé celebrated the many great musical acts that have graced the Super Bowl stadium over the past fifty years. In the spirit of that theme, I’m highlighting my Top Five Super Bowl Halftime Performances.

5) Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake

Okay, hear me out. I’m putting this on here for a couple of reasons. First of all, the performance was actually amazing. Janet is an incredible performer and it shows all over this 10-minute concert. However, the main reason this is going on the list is because of how it put the Halftime show on the map. Granted, it sparked a ton of controversy, and it unjustly ruined Janet Jackson’s career, but it was ALL anybody talked about for perhaps that entire year. If that doesn’t strike you as being Top 5 material, I don’t know what does.

4) Aerosmith, NSYNC and Britney Spears

This Superbowl performance was the only one I truly remember from my childhood, and for good reason. It had the ingredients to catch the eye of every kid in the early 2000s: a funny opening skit, the dreamy and talented guys of NSYNC, and of course Britney Spears. Aerosmith put on an amazing show, and the collaboration between all of the artists involved looked like a ton of fun.

3) Beyoncé

Beyonce is undoubtedly the best performer of our generation, and it SHOWS here. Her vocal prowess and choreography are unmatched and her showmanship is unrivaled. She even put together a little Destiny’s Child reunion as a treat!

2) Michael Jackson

Of course, the King of Pop himself has to be on this list. This performance has all the hallmarks and scale of a Michael Jackson concert. Everything is big and epic from his entrance to the audience participation at the end.

1) Prince

Man, this was ICONIC. This was the one area in which Prince one-upped Michael Jackson: he simply had a better Super Bowl performance. He performed all of his hits, had solid dancers, and his guitar freestyling was out of this world.

BONUS: Indiana Jones?!

That’s right, in 1995 Disney was opening a new Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. Patti Labelle teamed up with Disney and put on this bizarre Indiana Jones-themes halftime performance. Check out the weirdness here:

--Julie

Let me start this by saying that I read The Magicians, the first book in a brilliant series by Lev Grossman, a long time ago. At the time, it was the only book in the series that had been released, and I remember the excruciating wait between each book. I waited for the release of each book in a way that physically pained me. Grossman’s writing is engrossing (yes, I do think I’m funny), and I was addicted. It is important that you understand all of this before I get started into my review, because it is impossible for me to review this without spoiling the majority of the first book (and some of the second).

SPOILER ALERT: Proceed with caution! 

Our first episode starts out with Dean Fogg and a woman, who I’ll call Park Bench Lady, talking about a mysterious person. Editing tells us that this mysterious person is probably our protagonist, Quentin Coldwater.

Fillory and Further

Quentin is a geeky introvert obsessed with a book series called Fillory and Further, focused on the Chatwin children and their journies in a magical land (much like Pevensie children in Narnia), and he is more than happy to skip a party to obsess over his books instead. He is friends with Julia and her boyfriend, James. In the book, the trio are set up as close friends, while the series seems to focus more on Quentin and Julia as best friends, and James has become more...well, a plot device.

I’m going to cut in here with one of my biggest complaints about the show. In the book series, Quentin is a consistent ass. He is an ass to a level that is typically reserved for antagonists. He is such an ass that readers argue online over whether or not the series is horrible or fantastic based on Quentin’s assery. Quentin Coldwater is an antihero to the nth degree. It is WHO HE IS. The series seems to want us to like Quentin. I believe it is important that it is usually hard to like Quentin until later in the series. Sigh. Back to the show.

Quentin and Julia taking their entrance exams

Julia accompanies Quentin to an interview for grad school. In the book, James is going with him to a Princeton undergrad interview. In both cases, the interviewer is dead when they arrive, and in the show, our Park Bench Lady shows up as a paramedic who just happens to find a manila envelope with the manuscript to a previously unpublished Fillory and Further novel. Quentin has heard rumors of this manuscript before on the internet. (If Quentin had a Tumblr, it would be Fillory fan fiction.)

Quentin and Julia part ways on their way out, and Quentin begins looking at pages from the manuscript. One of the pages gets caught by the wind, and Quentin ends up chasing it right through a portal. I hate when that happens. Luckily for Quentin, he ends up on the lawn of Brakebills University, and the brilliant Eliot Waugh is there to welcome him.

Welcome to Brakebills

Eliot, who is in his second year at Brakebills when we meet him in the books, guides Quentin to the exam he was unknowingly transported in to take. While taking the exam, Quentin encounters Penny, who is described as punk in the novel and I have no idea what he is supposed to be in the show, and soon figures out Julia is taking the exam as well. The exam itself is much like any important exam I’ve ever taken: the words seem to shift and change as the taker moves through the test. Literally.

Quentin moves on to the second round of the exam. He is commanded simply to perform some magic. He starts out a card trick, which he fumbles, and the examiners lose their patience. Frustrated with the demand and his own confusion, Quentin lashes out and some magic finally pours out of him, causing the cards to fly around the room and build themselves into a house of cards on the examiners’ table. Quentin is obviously accepted into Brakebills at this point.

Quentin showing off his card tricks

Julia, on the other hand, does not make it on to the second round. She is sent to an office of the man charged with erasing her memory of the afternoon’s events. Not wanting to forget, Julia discreetly cuts her arm and pulls her sleeve over it. It somehow doesn’t bleed through her shirt, so the poor sap that erases her memory has no idea that she has created a reminder for herself. She is sent home to become depressed over her rejection from Brakebills.

Quentin starts settling into life at Brakebills. He is roommates with Penny, who has the levitating sex that is seen in the trailer with a girl from class. Eliot introduces Quentin to his best friend, Margo. (Her name is Janet in the books.) They discuss the dangers of studying magic, and Margo advises Quentin to “stay on the garden path.”

From left: Julia, Margo, Eliot, Quentin, Alice, and Penny

We are introduced to the Chatwin children in this episode, though the series cuts the number of children from five down to three: Rupert, Martin, and Jane. Quentin has a dream after his conversation with Eliot and Margo that features a conversation between himself and Jane in Fillory. In the dream, Jane warns him that he will die if he “stays on the garden path.” He wakes up with a brand on the palm of his hand. The television series is setting Quentin up as some sort of “chosen one,” which is not so much of a thing in the books.

Julia, still depressed about Brakebills, goes to the internet for help. She probably wastes a lot of time down the rabbit hole of Tumblr. James gets worried and asks Quentin to come to her birthday party. This is different from the books, where Quentin and Julia do not have much contact during Quentin’s time at Brakebills, but it looks like they want to kick off Julia’s own story as soon as possible. (Readers aren’t informed about Julia’s journey during Quentin’s time at Brakebills until the second book, The Magician King.)

Julia using some of her magic

Quentin goes to Julia’s birthday party with Eliot and Margo, but it doesn’t go well. He has a conversation with Julia and essentially tells her she obviously wasn’t good enough to study at Brakebills. (Finally, Quentin is an ass!) He leaves the party. Julia meets a creeper in the bathroom that decides to introduce himself by first using his magic to suggest he is about to rape her. Not cool. The creeper offers to show her an alternative route to learning magic. I’m not sure why she is trusting this guy, but I guess it moves the plot along.

In this episode, we also meet Alice, a student at Brakebills that bypassed the test and is determined to find out what happened to her brother, who disappeared at the university some years prior. She shows off in class early in the episode, so when Quentin wakes up with the brand on his hand, he goes to her. Alice recognizes the symbol and recruits him for a spell that she wants to try. It seems that she wants to connect with her brother through a mirror, but even with the help of Penny and his lady Cady, they don’t see anything other than their own reflections in the glass. Thinking it is a bust, they leave. Breath fogs the glass and an invisible hand draws a nice little smiley face.

Alice and Quentin

In class the next day, time stops. Everyone seems frozen, but they’re awake. THE BEAST has arrived. In the books, his face is obscured by a branch, but in the show, it is moths. Dean Fogg arrives and attempts to stop The Beast, but The Beast doesn’t play around. He removes Fogg’s eyes and leaves them on Quentin’s desk, drawing a smiling mouth below them in blood. We hear The Beast say, “Quentin Coldwater, there you are.”

In the novel, Quentin being an ass during his THIRD YEAR causes this event, and The Beast does more than take a few eyes. He eats a student alive. A professor is casting a complex spell in class, and Quentin decides to mess with him by slightly shifting the podium. The slight hiccup in the spell allows for The Beast to force his way into our dimension. A student tries to cast a spell, and The Beast EATS HER ALIVE.

Watching The Magicians on Syfy made me feel like Julia when she returns home after her failure at Brakebills. Once you know the book series, it is impossible to UN-know it and settle for happiness with the television series.

Catch The Magicians on Syfy, Mondays 9/8c.

--Sarah

It’s 2016, and the spring line-up for major television shows looks promising. With January being halfway over and February upon us, we see shows returning from their long Winter hiatus as well as new shows unfolding before us. It won’t be long before these seasons are over and we are into Summer, patiently waiting for the Fall premieres. I have taken a look at some of the shows premiering this year and have compiled a list of the ones I am most excited for. Of course my list features the popular shows such as Game of Thrones and Outlander, but it also features shows that are new to television that sound promising.

The Expanse

The popular cable network, Syfy, has a couple of shows that have really caught my attention recently. One of them being The Expanse. Though the first episode aired on December 14, 2015, this is one show to watch in 2016. Set hundreds of years in the future, we see the human race colonizing in the solar system and Mars becoming a very independent military power. Tensions begin to rise between those on Earth and Mars, placing them on the brink of war. In this setting, insert Detective Joe Miller and a rogue ship captain, Jim Holden. They come together to investigate the case of a missing woman. This leads them on a race across the solar system that could lead to a great conspiracy being exposed.

I have heard this show being deemed as the Game of Thrones in Space. Naturally, that sold me on the show. As obsessed as I am with Game of Thrones and anything about outer space, I knew this show was for me. A full review of the first five episodes is currently in the making. However, I suggest checking this show out for yourself.

Watch full episodes on Syfy.com or Hulu.

Catch The Expanse on Syfy, Tuesdays at 10/9 ET.

The Shannara Chronicles

The highly anticipated Shannara Chronicles made its debut on January 5th this year on MTV. The show is based off the popular book series under the same name by Terry Brooks that was first released in 1977 and is set in a post-apocalyptic world known as The Four Lands. It roughly follows the storyline in The Elfstones of Shannara, which is set 300 years after The War of Races--ending magic and confining demons into a realm known as The Forbidding. The Ellcrys is basically the gateway into this realm, and as long as it is living, the demons will stay there. The series focuses on Will, Amberle, and Eretria who must fight to stop the Ellcrys from dying alongside with the last Druid, Allanon.

Considering MTV is producing this show, I watched the first episode with absolutely no expectations. I knew that if I went in with high expectations for a show about this celebrated Sci-fi classic, I would be extremely disappointed. A full review with the first four episodes is in the final stages of editing and will be published shortly. All I can say is stick it out through the first 45 minutes of the two-hour premiere, because it shows some promise (unless that is wishful thinking on my part).

Watch full episodes on MTV.com

Catch The Shannara Chronicles Tuesdays at 10/9c on MTV.

The Magicians

Calling all witches, wizards, and anyone with an interest in the magical lands! Once again, Syfy has promised another thrilling show based off the widely popular trilogy, The Magicians by Lev Grossman. This show is set to premiere on January 25th. The story centers around Quentin Coldwater, who enrolls into Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy in order to be trained as a magician. Soon, he discovers the magical world, Fillory, from his favorite children’s books, Fillory and Further, is real. Meanwhile, his childhood friend, Julia, desperately tries to learn magic after her rejection into Brakebills.

Syfy called for the first season to have 13 episodes back in May 2015. I hope that it gets an extension, as I am a huge fan of the trilogy and can’t wait to see some of my favorite scenes go from page to screen. The premiere on the 25th with be a double episode feature. So, set your DVRs or tune in, and get ready to travel into the world of magic.

Catch The Magicians Mondays at 9/8c on Syfy.

The Walking Dead

Returning to AMC on Valentine’s Day will be the popular show, The Walking Dead. We were left with several cliffhangers at the end of the mid-season finale back in November. We found out Glenn was indeed alive (I KNEW IT) but had yet to return to Alexandria. Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham were captured on the road by people who work for Negan (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Walkers had broken through the walls in Alexandria, stranding several inside their homes until the horde passed. Deanna was bitten and ultimately died. Carol found out about Morgan’s secret hostage. Rick and a few Alexandrians dressed in Walker blood and guts and are still currently attempting to walk through the horde undetected. Let’s hope Judith doesn’t decide she wants to start crying in the middle of their trek.

These last few weeks have been torture while I wait patiently for my questions to be answered. New characters are going to be introduced in the premiere, one which I hear will be another lying, cheating, and just plain terrible human being (The Governor reincarnate?). With new characters being introduced, that obviously means we are going to lose some too. I’ve heard several rumors saying this season, particularly this half, is going to the bloodiest yet. *cries*

Catch the mid-season premiere February 14th on AMC.

Vinyl

When it comes to HBO, they have spot-on shows. For the most part. (Lena Dunham's Girls excluded). Afterall, they are the network that Game of Thrones has called home for the last five-six years. On February 14th, they are releasing another drama called Vinyl. With names like Scorsese and Mick Jagger attached to the show, it’s hard not to be intrigued. The show is set in 1970’s New York and will take viewers on a wild ride through the sex and drug riddled music business just before the dawn of punk, disco, and hip-hop. The main protagonist, Richie Finestra, is trying everything in his power to save his record label company and possibly his soul without destroying everything. The show is scheduled to run the HBO standard 10 episodes for the first season.

Just by watching the trailer, this looks like a show that can unite music lovers from all generations: The nostalgic ones who grew up in the 60s, 70s, and 80s as well as those today who enjoy the classics from “back in the day.”

Catch Vinyl February 14 at 9/8c on HBO.

Fuller House

From 1987-1995 Full House was a widely popular sitcom. 11 years later, Netflix has decided to revive the show. D.J. Tanner-Fuller is recently widowed and a mother of three boys. She moves in with her sister Stephanie, who is an aspiring musician, and her best friend Kimmy, who is mother to a teenaged daughter. Much of the original cast is set to be regulars on the show, minus the Olsen Twins who got their start on Full House as Michelle Tanner. The episodes are to air on February 26.

Though I am excited to see a revival of one of my favorite 80s/90s sitcoms, I am a little apprehensive to see D.J. being widowed much like how her father, the widower, in the original series. I hope Netfilx hasn’t recycled the OS storyline and just pulled a gender swap with the characters. I guess I will just have to patiently wait until February before I make my final judgement.

Catch Fuller House February 26 on Netflix.

Outlander

IS IT APRIL YET! After finishing Dragonfly in Amber last spring, I have been biting at the bit for season 2 of Outlander, the popular drama on Starz. I’ve stocked up on my tissues and everything. Last season, we saw a restored Jamie and pregnant Claire on a ship for France to stop the Jacobite Revolution and Bonnie Prince Charlie. Several new cast members have been added to the list (spoilers…) and beautiful pictures from the set have been released (more spoilers…). Now, all I need is the show to be here...yesterday. This season you can expect to see Claire and Jamie playing the old game of politics in order to prevent history from happening and wiping all of Highland life out of Scotland. This highly emotional and nail biting season will leave you torn and puffy eyed by the end, if it is anything like the book (I definitely ugly cried at the end). On top of an intense season ahead, I’m just ready to have the Frasers back in my life.

Catch Outlander on Starz this April.

Miss season 1? Both parts are available on Blue-Ray/DVD!

Game of Thrones - WINTER IS HERE!...almost.

Things I know about the upcoming season: As much as Jon Snow. Speaking of him...SPOILER ALERT FOR ANYONE WHO HASN’T SEEN THE END OF SEASON 5:

Jon Snow. Is. Alive. He has to be. But if I dive into fan theories right now, it’d be a rabbit hole we’d never climb out of. This season we can expect to be reunited with the long lost Stark, Bran. The last time we saw him was at the end of season 4 when he finally made it to the Three-Eyed Crow. What his story has in store for us is shrouded in mystery to me, because I’m not caught up on the books yet (I’m getting there!). However, at the end of last season, we saw many things take place that are definitely going to have huge impacts on what happens this season. Cersei did a walk of shame throughout the streets of King’s Landing (ahahaha). Daenerys took flight on Drogon and was later surrounded by a horde of Dothraki. Arya has gone blind, or so it seems, in the House of Black and White. Sansa and Theon have apparently escaped Winterfell and her crazed husband, Ramsey. Stannis Baratheon may or may not have died at the hands of Brienne of Tarth. But ultimately, the scene that left me sitting in the dark contemplating my life for an hour was the Julius Caesar equivalent in The Night’s Watch. Yep, Jon Snow’s own brothers stabbed him and left him to die in the snow. However, he is as dead as Glenn...oh wait, Glenn survived in The Walking Dead. So, Jon isn’t dead. I’m convinced. Or in denial. Mainly convinced.

With all that happened at the end of season 5, questions still remain and will hopefully be answered this season. Season 6 will be the first season where book readers and non-book readers will be on the same playing field since George R. R. Martin has to postpone the publishing of the Winds of Winter. No one knows what to expect this season. All we can do is patiently wait, theorize, and speculate what will take place.

Tune in to HBO on April 24 at 9/8c for the season 6 premiere of Game of Thrones!

Need to catch up? Season 1-5 are on HBOGo and HBONow.

This is only the beginning of a great year in television. Hopefully what follows this Winter/Spring season will be just as awesome.

What television shows are you excited for this year? Tell us in the comments below!

--Kasey

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko created one of the greatest shows to grace the television screen: Avatar: The Last Airbender, which aired from 2005-2008 on Nickelodeon. The story follows our reluctant hero, Aang, and his companions on a journey all over the world to master all four elements. As the Avatar it is his duty to help restore peace and balance to a war ridden world. He has only one year to stop Fire Lord Ozai from taking over the rest of the world. Meanwhile, Aang is being hunted by the exiled prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko. With the help of his companions and several unlikely allies, he sets out to complete his mission: to defeat the Fire Lord.

Growing up, I remember sitting with my brother and best friend, watching this show religiously. However, it’s been years since the series finale, and I had obviously forgotten quite a bit about it. After recently rewatching the show, I have decided many things. 1. I blame this show for my fangirl status. 2. I really miss the show and the characters. 3. I still have so many questions and wish it was more than three seasons long. Thank god for the comic books.

The Gaang: Appa, Momo, Sokka, Katara, Aang, Toph, and Zuko

The characters in the Avatar universe are so well written and strong, but they aren’t without their flaws. They have background stories that give them so much depth, making them completely relatable. Some of the characters show better character development than others, but it’s amazing how each character shows some sort of growth. Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Zuko show the most growth out of all the characters. Aang grows from childish air nomad to the fully realized Avatar over the course of a year. We see him in the first episode, “The Boy in the Iceberg,” when he wakes from his hundred year slumber to a war torn world. By the time “Sozin’s Comet: Avatar Aang,” airs, he has taken on all of his responsibilities and welcomed the challenge of facing Fire Lord Ozai. Throughout the series, we see Aang struggling to come to terms with actually facing him. He talks about how he ran before the war in “The Storm.” In the four part series finale, Aang runs again from the task of facing and ultimately killing the Fire Lord. However, this leads to him finding his answers and becoming the Avatar the world needs.

Avatar Aang and Momo

Sokka, our favorite meat, sarcasm, and boomerang guy, grows into a warrior and a leader. In the first season, Sokka of the Southern Water tribe is just trying to keep his village safe and sound while the rest of the warriors are fighting in the war against the Fire Nation. We see him lose his sexist views that girls are weaker than guys as he gets his butt handed to him by the Kyoshi Warriors in the fourth episode, “The Warriors of Kyoshi.”

Sokka learning a lesson from Kyoshi Warrior, Suki

Quickly, we see Sokka changing and growing. By season two, he is formulating plans to defeat the Fire Nation, and in “The Day of Black Sun,” a two part event in season three, Sokka is leading the attack on the Fire Nation. After learning from Master Piandao, Sokka has grown as warrior, giving him even more confidence to lead. In “Sozin’s Comet,” we see him leading the attacks on the Fire Nation airships, and ultimately bringing down the entire fleet with the help of Suki and Toph. Sokka is one of my favorite characters to watch grow up over the course of these three seasons. He goes from a goofy teenager with narrowed views of the world to a well-rounded warrior accepting unlikely allies, despite the harm they have caused him. *cough cough, Zuko, cough cough*

Sokka leading the attack in "The Day of Black Sun"

Katara, Sokka’s younger sister and Waterbending Master, grew a lot over the course of three seasons. We learn early on that the Fire Nation took her mother away from her, and that is one of her driving forces. It is something that has scarred her and, like Sokka, has fueled her hate for the Fire Nation. Throughout each season, we see her as the kind, nurturing caregiver she is. Sokka even notes that in season three episode, “The Runaway,” that Katara has always been the mother-figure to him, because he lost his mom at such a young age. We see this as she cares for the Gaang when they are sick or hurt. She’s always the one making sure they have enough supplies and keeping everyone in line (despite Toph’s rebellious attitude). However, as the show continues, we see sides of Katara start to seep through that we hadn’t seen in earlier seasons. Once she becomes the a Waterbending Master in “The Siege of the North,” Katara starts evolving more into her warrior and healer status she has. We see her heal Aang (basically bringing him back from the dead) at the end of season two in “The Crossroads of Destiny” and even offers to heal Zuko in the same episode.

Katara facing off against Zuko in "The Siege of the North"

Once the Gaang picks up Toph, Katara’s mothering side becomes even more prominent; especially when Toph calls her out on it. In “The Painted Lady,” we see Katara pretending to be a Spirit to help a suffering Fire Nation river village. “I will never turn my back on people who need me,” she tells Sokka, who is questioning her motives for helping a FIRE NATION village. She is able to put her hatred aside for the country that killed her mother to help those in need; showing that Katara is able to look past her prejudice towards the entire nation in order to help people that are suffering from the war.

Katara as The Painted Lady

When we finally learn the whole story behind the loss of her mother in the season three episode “The Southern Raiders,” we see more into what shaped Katara. She lost her mother when she was a young girl, and she is fueled by hate and anger towards the Fire Nation. The choices and decisions that she makes in this episode show us how hurt Katara really is. She had to grow up entirely too fast, because a war took her mother away from her. By the end, she is able to forgive Zuko for everything he has done and accept him as a close friend an ally...or maybe more….hmmm. She even agrees to help him in “Sozin’s Comet: Into the Inferno and Avatar Aang.” She manages to defeat one of the most powerful Firebenders in the world, Princess Azula, and heal Prince Zuko. Katara grew from a damaged girl of war whose motives were driven by the loss of her mother and the love she has for those left to a Waterbending Master and Healer who will “never turn [her] back on people who need [her],” even a Fire Nation Prince. Needless to say, Sifu Katara is a badass character that I would rather have on my side than against me.

Katara healing Prince Zuko after saving her life in "Sozin's Comet"

It took Fire Prince Zuko a while to learn that lesson. Banished from his home land for dishonoring his family, he was scarred and sent to hunt the Avatar; only allowed to return to the Fire Nation after finding him. Honestly, I could sit here and write an entire segment on how Zuko is, without a doubt, one of the best characters to appear on television. He makes some of the most drastic changes. Over the course of the sixty-one episode series, Zuko manages to go from trouble-exiled prince who has lost his way to a reformed ally of the Avatar on the path to restoring peace and balance in the world. *sheds tear*

One reason I love rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender is because of Prince Zuko’s character development. First of all, I just want Zuko to be happy. He’s had such a terrible life, and he deserves one thing to go right for him. In “Zuko Alone,” we get a glimpse into Zuko’s troubled past, and in “The Storm,” we see exactly how and why Zuko was banished by his father. Both of these episodes give us a chance to see why Zuko is the way he is. All his life he has strived for his father’s affection, and with everything he’s done he has fallen short of his goal. Whereas his younger sister, Azula was rewarded everything, because she was Ozai’s golden child. His main support was his mother, who mysteriously disappeared after the death of Fire Lord Azulon. She sacrificed herself for Zuko when he was a young boy, and he never sees her again. Ozai holds the information over his head, thus showing viewers how tortured Zuko his by his own family.

Prince Zuko and Aang in "The Avatar Returns"

In the beginning, Prince Zuko, though hellbent on capturing the Avatar, is clearly just lost. He’s not the evil villain that we think he is. If anything Zhao and Azula are the main adversaries for the Gaang in seasons one and two. We see a glimpse of the good side of Zuko in “The Blue Spirit,” which shows him saving Aang from Zhao’s clutches. This is definitely my favorite episode in season one, because it is so unexpected to see Zuko as a masked vigilante that is saving the Avatar. He is saving Aang instead of kidnapping him. Whatever his true motives were, Zuko acts as an ally to Aang instead of against him to help his own agenda move along.

Aang and The Blue Spirit

He also does this without his Uncle Iroh knowing. Iroh acts as Zuko’s moral compass throughout the series, until season three when he is left to determine his own destiny alone. Zuko captures Aang in “The Seige of the North.” This shows the desperation in his desire to return home. He may think that the capture of the Avatar is wrong, but Zuko wishes to return home and receive his father’s love more than he wishes to do the right thing. In season two, when Zuko is on the run from his sister, we see his character develop a lot more. He starts contemplating which side is right or wrong. In “Lake Laogai,” we see him struggling with freeing Appa or holding him hostage in order to capture Aang. Thanks to the help of Iroh, he makes the decision to free Appa. However, this sends him into a war within himself in “The Earth King,” where he must decide which side he chooses.

Iroh and Zuko: Above is just after Zuko's banishment. Below is Zuko asking for Iroh's forgiveness.

“The Crossroads of Destiny” is Zuko’s first test, and he fails miserably. After spending a moment gaining Katara’s trust in the prison Azula threw them in together, he turns against everyone, including his uncle. He joins forces with Azula and attacks Katara and Aang, in an effort to bring them down; ultimately leading to Aang becoming severely injured. Needless to say, when season three starts, Zuko is now more lost than ever. He tries to speak with his Uncle in the Fire Nation’s prison, asking for advice, but Iroh won’t budge. He knows that this is something Zuko needs to figure out on his own. In “The Beach,” Zuko explains that he is angrier than ever before, and the only explanation he has is he’s angry with himself. He is once again at war: The good Zuko versus the bad Zuko.

The Final Agni Kai between Azula and Zuko in "Sozin's Comet"

Finally, in “The Day of Black Sun” we see Zuko choose. He decides that his destiny is to join forces with the Avatar to restore peace and balance in the world. The scene where Zuko stands up to his father is one of the most powerful scenes in the entire show. It shows how much he’s grown as a character as well as a Firebender. He only continues to grow, learning he must pay for his mistakes that he’s made. In “The Western Air Temple,” Zuko is trying to make amends with the Gaang in order to join them and teach Aang Firebending. “The Firebending Masters” takes him back to the heart of Firebending, and ultimately showing him he chose the right path. “The Boiling Rock” shows Zuko helping Sokka rescue his father and Suki from a Fire Nation prison. “The Southern Raiders” is a real turning point for him, because he finally gains back Katara’s trust after risking everything to help her track down and face her mother’s murderer. The final four episodes, “Sozin’s Comet,” show us the new and improved Zuko as he helps prepare for the final battle and ultimately the final Agni Kai against his sister. When we finally see Fire Lord Zuko, he is a completely different character than Fire Prince Zuko we met in season one. He had gone through a lot of changes over the course of a year, but it’s so amazing and well written that it keeps me revisiting this series.

Zuko saving Katara from Azula's lightning

Zuko’s character is completely relatable, because we all have that battle inside between good and evil and which path to take. Out of all the characters in ATLA, he has grown the most and developed some of the best relationships because of his struggle throughout the story. His character arc is well fleshed out and detailed that he seems almost real. Everyone can relate to season one, two, or three Zuko at one point, which gives this show even more depth and meaning.

Zuko and his mother in a flashback in the episode, "Zuko Alone"

As much as I love this show and am addicted to the universe, there was only one big issue I had with it. At the very end of the series finale, “Sozin’s Comet: Avatar Aang,” we see the typical hero get the girl. This may be an unpopular opinion, but it really caught me off guard. The entire time DiMartino and Konietzko were building Aang and Katara’s relationship it seemed more Mother-Son or Sister-Brother relationship. Katara cared for Aang like she would her children. I never felt any chemistry between them. The argument is that the writer’s built it up for “Kataang” to happen, however I thought it felt forced.

Aang and Katara in "The Ember Island Players"

Anytime there was any “romance” happening between the two characters, Aang was always the one initiating the moment, and almost pushing Katara away. Even in “The Ember Island Players,” Aang tells Katara how he feels. When she replies that she is confused and needs time to think, he forces himself on her. To me that is not the right way to build a relationship between characters. The canonizing of this relationship seemed more forced than anything in the show, and I felt that the writers did this to prove a point that the hero should always get the girl.

The final scene between Aang and Katara

With that being said, I’m sure you’d like to know how I think it should have end. WELL, I am a firm believer that Katara and Zuko had a stronger relationship than Katara and Aang. They had chemistry and they balanced each other. I mean, COME ON! First of all, Fire and Water. They’re polar opposites! Yin and Yang. Tui and La. BALANCE. Their relationship could have meant so much more to the show, because it would have resembled a world that is restoring balance after a war as well as resolving hostilities between nations. Not only would it have been a great symbol, but they also had more in common. They both understood each other. Each of them lost their mother because of the Fire Nation, bringing them even closer together. Not to mention, Katara is the ONLY character he ever let touch his scar that brings him so much emotional pain.

Zuko and Katara in prison in "The Crossroads of Destiny"

After “The Southern Raiders,” they both had mutual respect for one another. Aang didn’t understand Katara’s need to find her mother’s killer. Zuko, however, is there for her, and doesn’t judge her decisions when she is bloodbending for information. If anything, he grows to respect her even more and sees her as his equal. Whereas, Aang, with most certainty, would have judged and condemned Katara for her actions in her mission with Zuko. After this, Zuko and Katara have an even stronger relationship.

Katara and Zuko in "The Southern Raiders"

Katara is there for Zuko when he seeks his uncle’s forgiveness, and in the series finale, Zuko asks Katara to join him when he goes to face his sister. Let me start off this bit by saying, YOU DON’T JUMP IN FRONT OF LIGHTNING FOR JUST ANYONE! Zuko risks his own life when Azula sends a bolt of lightning towards Katara. Um, Zuko sacrifices his life and the future of the Fire Nation just to save a Waterbender only because he’s friends with her? Yeah. I’m not convinced.

On their way to find The Southern Raiders

Say what you will about Zutara, but they had chemistry. It may be wishful thinking on my part, but their relationship ended up being one of the strongest on the show, aside from Zuko and Iroh’s. It's just a shame the writer's never expanded on such a strong bond, even if it is just a friendship. They set them up with so much potential.

Katara has forgiven Zuko for everything he's done to them

Overall, Avatar: The Last Airbender is possibly one of the best cartoons of my generation. It had an amazing story that taught great lessons with characters that had depth and relationships with meaning. Each character was relatable, and at one point I saw myself in every character. They each had such detailed backgrounds. This set up an entire universe that was able to continue on: Legend of Korra and several comic books. I like to argue that this show is not a children’s show. It is full of dark undertones and deep meanings that may be too difficult for children to understand. I’d say that it is directed to the Young Adult age group, or even adults. It carries a message for all ages, however. Rewatching this show as an adult has allowed me to pick up on the stronger themes and lessons in each season that I definitely missed when I was younger. This show has obviously made an impact on television if it is still being heavily debated and discussed seven years after it has ended.

Pick up the entire box series on October 6, 2015.

--Kasey

Welcome, welcome to a special post on the latest season of Game of Thrones! I was asked by the gracious runners of this fabulous site to write this special feature post about this latest season as a whole and how it relates to its source material: the book series A Song of Ice and Fire. What makes me worthy to write such a post? Is it the fact that I plowed through all the books (well the five that are released so far) in a matter of a couple months, that I watch the show every Sunday religiously, or the fact that I constantly find myself on fan sites that are dedicated to the show? I have no idea other than I am a sincere fan of both the books and the show. As such I will certainly try my best here. So without further ado, let’s dive right in!

This season took us on a wild ride just like the ones preceding it. It took us on a journey of the rise of many characters with their fall happening oh so quickly. Cersei went from finally being in charge to being jailed and forced to undergo a Walk of Shame and Atonement. Jon went from being elected to the Lord Commander to being stabbed in the back. Tyrion started off the season drinking his life away to ruling a second city of corruption, death, and despair in the form of Meereen. Every character in the series went through amazing transformations this season. Some more subtly than others but the thing that makes this universe so amazing to me is just that. The subtlety but rich deepness of the characters are what makes GoT and ASOIAF so popular around the world.

There are so many details that I could go into in this post and maybe I will get that chance in the future, but I am going to try to keep this as big picture as I can. The structure of this season was beautifully crafted in my opinion. Halfway through it seemed that all the action was gone, that episodes were being full of side plots and weird looking at castles…cough cough Brienne. However, as I saw these complaints happening online, I knew that something big was coming and man did it. The last three episodes gave us punch after punch of full out craziness. The showrunners did a great job of keeping the tension just under the surface with spikes of terrible acts done on our favorite characters till it just boiled over and everything went nuts.

Unlike others online, I find it difficult to pick whether I like the books or the show more. I take the words of the great George R. R. Martin to heart and see them as separate entities. They are simply two different methods of telling the same story. Understanding this allows me to be objective when discussing changes from the source material and whether they have merit or not. To me all the changes made can be summed up in one idea, especially in this one particular season. All the changes are simply moving characters to different locations to highlight the storylines that take place at said locations.

So far in the books, Jaime never goes to Dorne. However, by putting him there the audience is automatically seeing how this new place full of new characters relates to the big picture. Without Jaime there we just wouldn’t care enough about that storyline. Now we could argue about how well that storyline went and everything but the point is still made. The other blaring obvious example is Sansa. The show catches up with book Sansa’s storyline in the season premiere of seeing her at a tournament in the Vale of Arryn. That’s as far as the books go. The show then has her take the part of a super minor character by having her go to Winterfell. Now I will admit that before the season started I was super hesitant about this being a possibility. As a book reader, I knew how sadistically psychotic Ramsey is to his future wife and I sure as hell didn’t wish that upon Sansa, but that is the direction the showrunners decided to go on. And as awful as that is and how much everyone hated it, so badly that multitudes screamed that they were done with the show, one can’t argue how effective it was. Would we the audience had such a strong reaction if it was Sansa’s childhood friend in her place? I hate to say it but probably not. It also brought attention to the really tough issue of marital rape. That is the genius of the books and show. They make us think of the bigger issues out there.

Now to shift from direct changes between the two, I will give some of my thoughts on how the show took scenes from the books and how they translated on the screen. I have to say that the best book to show scene for me has to be Cersei’s Walk of Atonement. That scene was done perfectly leaving the audience with a sense of joy of seeing this character reap the consequences of her choices and total disgust of what she is put through at the hands of the crowd. By also having Cersei locked up by the Sparrows two whole episodes before the Walk and only showing small scenes of her captivity, they show a hidden depth to her quick fall from rule. It is quite an effective way of showing it, but at the same time they ended the season with a look on Cersei’s face that tells the audience she is far from being beaten. It would be insane for me to not mention the craziness of episode eight in this post. I’m sure that everyone was blown away with the Massacre of Hardhome. The really beautiful thing is that we don’t get to actually “see” it in the books! Due to the changes like I mentioned in the previous paragraph, the showrunners decided to have Jon travel to Hardhome which he doesn’t do in the books. It is way more powerful to show the massacre than have it hinted at in letters that Jon reads. I was completely blown away with the last twenty minutes of that episode. It reminded us that the end game isn’t who sits on the Iron Throne no matter how intriguing that stuff is. The end game is who will save the entire realm from the malicious evil White Walkers. We were definitely reminded of that with that episode.

Now we have to wait nine to ten months to find out the answers of all the cliffhangers in that season finale! Will Sansa and Theon survive their jump? Pause to fist bump the air for Theon’s revival! Will the misfit duo of Jorah and Daario find Dany? What will happen to Arya now that she is blind? What will Jaime do when he gets back to King’s Landing? And is Jon really dead?? The truly amazing thing is that for the first time, the book readers are basically totally caught up with the show watchers. We are all now in the dark as to what will happen to our favorite characters in the crazy world of Westeros. In the meantime, the best we can do is speculate like crazy and obsess over the season as we re-watch it multiple times over the coming months. I for one plan on doing just that!

--Jeff

E3 2015 Recap

E3, the biggest week in gaming, has just wrapped up its round of press conferences. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have all released their plans for the next year. Developers such as Bethesda and Square Enix also had exciting presentations. Here’s some highlights of this year’s E3 conference, as well as what I wish I could’ve seen from E3.

Highlights

•Fallout 4. Enough said.

•With the Final Fantasy VII remake, a new generation of gamers will be able to experience the best game in the franchise.

•The Star Fox Zero trailer looked amazing! It was great to see Star Fox returning to true form as a flying shooter.

•The Last Guardian looked absolutely breathtaking. After being only a rumor for years, the end of the trilogy that includes Ico and Shadow of the Colossus was confirmed at Sony’s press conference.

•After 20 years, the first Mother game (or Earthbound Zero as it is known in America) was finally localized for American audiences on the Wii U Virtual Console. The second game in the series, Earthbound, is a zany twist on the RPG genre and one of the most popular games on the SNES. Talk about a throwback!

•Xbox One is now backwards compatible!

•Rare is releasing a 30 game bundle for the Xbox One, including classics such as Battletoads, Banjo-Kazooie, and Perfect Dark.

•A new Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer was released! Now if only they would give us a release date…

•The Japanese franchise Yo-Kai Watch is being localized for the States. It looks like an interesting, Pokemon-esque game. I’m excited to hear more about it.

•Microsoft released more gameplay of the upcoming Halo 5.

Wishlist

•A KINGDOM HEARTS 3 RELEASE DATE. Seriously, Square Enix, you’ve been toying with our emotions for far too long.

•As a long-time fan of the Zelda franchise, I was very intrigued by last year’s presentation of the new open-world Legend of Zelda game for the Wii U. While the release of the game was pushed back, new gameplay footage would have been very well-received.

•The footage from Metroid Prime: Federation Force left a lot to be desired. A lot of people are upset that it’s a spinoff. That’s not the issue for me, the game just looks very half-hearted. However, it might bring the next big multiplayer game to Nintendo in the form of Blast Ball.

•Legend of Zelda: Triforce Warriors looks like a rehashing of Four Swords. It doesn’t look like it will bring anything new to the table.

--Julie

We stand before the journey that leads us all...TO OREGON!!

The Oregon Trail. I remember sitting in school learning about the pioneers heading west and the many challenges they faced. I have seen numerous documentaries and movies about the pioneers and The Old West - full of cowboys and Indians; bandits and buffalos. However, the one thing I think of almost immediately when hearing “The Oregon Trail” is the old computer game. That’s right. The computer game where someone randomly breaks their leg in the wagon, dies of dysentery, is bitten by a snake...don’t even think about fording the river. The last thing I would ever think of would be a musical. That is, until now.

Last summer, Team Starkid performed their newest musical, The Trail to Oregon, and then released it on YouTube this past Valentine’s Day. This hilarious musical parodies the computer game that many of us played so long ago. Written by Jeff Blim, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang, TTO is a one of a kind musical that allows the audience to interact with the characters. Blim not only was a contributor to the script, but also wrote all of the fun and catchy numbers. I’ve had “Wagon on Fire” and “Lost Without You” stuck in my head for weeks, not that I am complaining. In the opening number, “Gone to Oregon,” the characters are immediately calling on audience members to “decide on the names of all the people in our wagon party.” The audience must choose who are wagon members are, “are they carpenters or bankers or leaving their farm?” Careful with your decisions, because this is more than a game.

From Left: Rachael Soglin, Jaime Lyn Beatty, Corey Dorris, Lauren Lopez, and Jeff Blim

As we dance through the first number, we name our Wagon Leader and Father (Jeff Blim), Wagon Mother (Rachael Soglin), Son (Lauren Lopez), Daughter (Jaime Lyn Beatty), and Grandpa (Corey Dorris). However, what is a wagon party without a wagon and a yoke of oxen? Obviously the best place to get supplies is “where our great trek begins.” Independence, Missouri! It's the city that’s “so pleasing that everyone’s leaving.” Enter Joey Richter, our fast talking townsfolk, General Store Guy, and horny ox. He switches between various character giving advice and ripping off our wagon party. Richter’s many characters warn everyone of the various hazards on the trail like dysentery, losing your ox, and fording rivers. I believe his exact words are “Friends don’t let friends ford the river; take a ferry.” “Independence” is a fast paced song that informs and warns the audience and wagon members making The Trail to Oregon “fun and edumacational.” This is one of my favorite parts of the whole musical, because it shows just how talented of a group these actors are. Richter manages to fly through several sections of the song listing things to do and not do on the trail all while switching between several characters (I lost count after a while) and keeping the song and show moving forward.

Joey Richter as one of his many roles in "Independence"

Now that our wagon party is ready to go with their supplies and “Wago-9000,” we are almost ready to start our journey. Except for one small detail. We have yet to meet the villain of our story. Joey Richter piles on yet another role to the stack he already bears. “The name’s McDoon, and I make the ladies McSwoon,” or so he tells the daughter. McDoon, partnered with Cletus Jones (Corey Dorris), is the infamous Bandit King, and he has his eyes set on the daughter. He wants to make her his “bride, alright alright!” The Mother has something to say about that, and basically denies him the chance of marrying her daughter. This now gives the family a new enemy, The Bandit King.

Joey Richter as The Bandit King

As our wagon party heads down the bumpy trail, they stumble over a broken axle, hunger, and your typical family road trip obstacles. “The Grind” pretty much covers everything from playing I Spy to enjoying time with the family on the road. Honestly, this song sums up every one of my family road trips. Once the family is set in and is going at a great pace, they realize they’re out of food. Grandpa take both children out to gather more food via hunting which leads into the next song, “Pays to be an Animal.” This teaches the son a lesson about being an animal, because “sometimes it pays to be an animal, sometimes it don’t.” In the end they shoot an entire adorable family of buffalo, approximately 2000 pounds, but they can only carry back about 20. This is obviously poking fun at the computer game, because of the amount of meat you can bring back to your wagon after killing several animals. *insert side-eye at the game makers.*

Joey Richter as "Horny Ox" and Rachael Soglin as Mother

We open on the next scene which leads to a very powerful and beautiful song performed by Rachael Soglin. “When the World’s at Stake” is about her difficulties as a young mother and how she is doing everything to give her daughter a better life, despite the fact she may resent her for it in the end. Just before the song, Mother and Daughter have a typical mother-daughter fight, and this song justifies her reasoning behind everything she’s done for her children. Soglin does such an amazing job with this emotional number and conveys such strong emotion throughout the entire performance. You can feel the love she has for her children.

"I can do better, hold you closer. I'm learning that as I grow older." - When the World's at Stake

The next few scenes leave behind the serious and head into the hilarious and ridiculous. Blim’s character travels through a snake venom induced dream telling him that one of his family members will die of dysentery. “Dysentery World” is telling the audience that someone they choose is doomed to die. Yes, the audience does choose who dies at the end. “No two shows will ever be the same.”

"It's a shitty shitty world for all you boys and girls. Oregon is for the damned." - Dysentery World

Once the family decides to pick up where they left off after a good night’s rest, we head into the end of Act One and one of my favorite songs of the show, “Wagon on Fire.” FINALLY, Joey Richter has a villain song. As long as I have been a Starkid fan, I’ve wanted to see him in a villainous role with a villain song. “Wagon on Fire” is an intense song that shows McDoon and Cletus capturing the daughter. Not only that, but it blends together all of the themes already sung making it a very powerful song that ends the first Act. On top of that, Richter does an amazing job showing his range as a vocalist and an actor.

The Second Act follows up with just as strong of an opening with Jaime Lyn’s song “Lost Without You.” We see this angsty teenage girl finally realizing how much she loves and needs her family. As “in love” with McDoon as she was at the beginning of the show, Daughter resents her captor, because she believes he killed her family in order to achieve his goal. She’s not as naive as her mother thinks she is. This song is a sad, but catchy number that gives her a chance to show off her pipes that we haven’t really seen since A Very Potter Musical.

"Your wagon is on fire! Your wagon is a flame! Your wagon is on fire! It'll never be the same." - Wagon on Fire

When we finally catch up with our broken and beaten down wagon party, they are at a bar in the middle of winter. Frustrated, Mother takes the rest of what’s left of her family and leaves Father behind. Leading to a heartwarming reprise of “When the World’s at Stake” performed by Jeff Blim. It shows that his character is a true family man, because he just wants his family to be safe and happy. He thought this road trip to Oregon would be the “Greatest Family Vacation.” He often reminds me of Clark Griswold in how often he puts his family and their happiness first. We see his motivation and love for his family in the sweet reprise, along with Joey Richter’s great improv skills when he tries to belt out his own version of the song. Each time his story is different, and Blim’s reactions are priceless.

With our family headed after McDoon to get their daughter back, they’re “gonna have to go down this trail like no one’s ever gone before. [They’re] gonna do a Speedrun.” I enjoy “Speedrun,” because it makes another nod at the game about reducing rations and going faster down the trail, trying to make it to the next checkpoint/Oregon before you die. Honestly, it’s impossible. I always die or run out of food before I can get to my next checkpoint on a speedrun. Kudos to this Wagon Party.

Remember the piece of advice the townsfolk gave earlier about fording the river? Well in “Caulk Your Wagon,” McDoon is planning on fording the Great Columbia River, the most dangerous river in the world, and sailing south to start his new life with his “Child-Bride.” This song is hilarious and full of fun innuendos as McDoon, Cletus, and Daughter prepare to sail down the river. Of course, her family arrives just in time to save her, leaving McDoon and Cletus behind.

Corey Dorris, Jaime Lyn Beatty, and Joey Richter caulking their wagon

Just as the family is reunited and they finally make it to the Oregon border, a Doctor (Joey Richter) appears and does his “routine check” for dysentery. Sadly, one of them has it and cannot cross over into Oregon. This is where the family member the audience chose dies. “You Gotta Go” is by far the funniest song in the entire show. From the fart noises Richter makes on his arms to the different dramatic interpretations of dying of dysentery, this scene is a riot. Each character’s ending is on Starkid’s YouTube channel, and each character does a hilarious interpretation. On top of the character dying, you have the other characters reacting behind them to the smells and sight of the death. I can’t pick a favorite ending because they are all so different and equally hilarious.

"You gotta go when you gotta go. Close you eyes, give it a shove." - You Gotta Go

Now, just because they’re dead, doesn’t mean the rest of the family will cross over into Oregon without them. Once everyone is safely on the Oregon side, the deceased rises from the dead. Everyone is happy and reunited, and finds their favorite stretch of land. And you know what that means, “come on, buddy, the water’s just right. So come on, buddy, let’s have a water fight.”

“Naked in a Lake” is such a carefree and fun ending to this piece of comedic gold. Everyone is taking a “mini-vaca wearing only your birthday clothes.” While our Wagon Party is singing and having a great time, Jeff Blim randomly walks out playing his saxophone. Honestly, highlight of the whole show right there. Who knew Blim could play the sax so well?!

Let's get NAKED IN A LAKE!!

Overall, I think this show is one of the best Team Starkid has done so far. Not only is it incredibly funny and well-written, but it gives the audience a sense of nostalgia to see their favorite educational game come to life on stage. The actors have done a great job with portraying their characters and working with the audience to create a storyline that is different each time. For those fans who missed the original run last summer, Team Starkid will be doing a limited run of the show this week in New York City at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Seriously, this is a show you do not want to miss.

 For Tickets follow the link below:

http://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/9992989

 Can’t make the show? Check out the YouTube version here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxKCX-UvPrI

--Kasey

Photo: hellofromthemagictavern.com

I may be a little late to hop on this bandwagon, but lately I’ve come to find Podcasts as a refreshing form of entertainment. Thanks to our other editor, Julie, I have come to enjoy several different ones from Serial to Welcome to Nightvale and Comedy Bang Bang. However, recently I saw a new podcast sneak its way on to my Twitter feed and decided to check it out. That was possibly the best decision I made all day.

Hello, From the Magic Tavern is truly a one of a kind podcast about a man named Arnie, played by Arnie Niekamp, who fell through a magical portal behind a Burger King into a land called Foon. He is able to get a weak WiFi signal from the restaurant and broadcasts weekly episodes from the tavern, The Vermillion Minotaur, in the town of Hogface. He is accompanied by his co-hosts Chunt and Usidore, and each week they have special guests talk about this magical land so that people on Earth know that there are other worlds in other dimensions.

Chunt was Arnie’s roommate, that is Arnie has become a permanent resident of The Vermillion Minotaur. Chunt, played by Adal Rifai, is a shapeshifter who is currently in the form of a badger. He is a different kind of shapeshifter, considering he only changes shape when he has sex; he takes his partner’s form. Chunt is a very “chill” character who used to work at the tavern. His job there really depends on his current form. If he’s a larger form, he is usually a bouncer -- as opposed to being a caterpillar, to which he is in the kitchen. Chunt is a badger/shapeshifter who is just looking for a good time. Which is why he frequents the hot spot, “Make Out Point.” It’s not what it sounds like. Make Out Point is a haunted shack, and if you and your partner are able to make it through alive, you will fall in love. Chunt is 0 for 30. Poor Chunt. Over the last eight episodes of Magic Tavern, I’ve decided that Chunt is a character that I would love to be friends with. He’s laid back, easy-going, and won’t hesitate to let you room with him during your hardships. Everyone needs a Chunt in their life.

Usidore, the wizard of too many names to remember and played by Matt Young, is Arnie’s other co-host/friend. He is a wizard of great power and has the ability to summon miniature horses for imps to ride all while famously falling into the “Wizard State” mid conversation. Usidore is hellbent on completing his quest to defeat the Dark Lord with his carefully selected party. For the majority of the show so far, he has had no one join him, that is until the most recent episode. Pimbly Nimblebottom, an imp that poops coins and rubies, has volunteered to join Usidore on his quest. Now, he only needs to recruit twelve more adventurers, and he can continue on his quest. Good luck, Usidore! I would join if I were in Foon….maybe. This character is such a funny character. He is the polar opposite of the relaxed Chunt, because at any moment he could be bursting with energy and exploding on the podcast about his quest or something that could doom us all. He is the type of character that any description given would not do justice. I can only suggest you go listen to this podcast and experience all that is Usidore yourself. He goes on rants and tirades that usually get the group off topic of whatever the guest is speaking about. However, like Chunt, he has done a wonderful job educating us on Foon: from the seasons to social norms. By the way, there are six seasons in Foon, just in case you were wondering.

There have been various special guests on Magic Tavern ranging from a talking Flower to the Foon Mittens League Commissioner to a Princess. Each tie in with the other in some way: For example, the Flower is a key component of the sport, Mittens, and each episode we learn something different about this magical land. It is the home of goblins, wizards, and smorps. Yes, smorps. I am not going to explain Smorps only because Usidore and Jak Vorpal, Foon's Greatest Swordsman, do a better job explaining these magical beings.

This podcast is a healthy mix between weird, ridiculous, and hilarious which is what makes it so addicting. I can honestly say that I have listened to each episodes multiple times, and not just because they are that funny; I know I’ve missed something in each cast just from laughing all the time. To give you a better idea of what kind of podcast you are getting into, I mostly describe it as The Chronicles of Narnia meets Saturday Night Live. Each episode is funnier than the last and full of things that you won’t see coming; each an adventure in itself.

Hello, From the Magic Tavern is released every Monday.

Catch up, subscribe and review on iTunes!

Visit their website: http://hellofromthemagictavern.com

--Kasey

When looking for original, out-of-the-box content, the internet is definitely the place to venture. For this first installment of YouTube Spotlight, I’m going to the weird side of YouTube to shed light on the Don’t Hug Me, I’m Scared series.

Don’t Hug Me, I’m Scared is a collection of videos created by Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling. The first installment was uploaded in 2011. In the video, a notebook takes our three main characters on an adventure to explore their creativity. It starts out very joyous and with similarities to a Sesame Street episode, but things take a dark, psychedelic turn. At the end of the video, the trio decides to never be creative again. In subsequent episodes, the main characters inquire about concepts such as time, love, and computers. They are then misguided by seemingly innocent teachers into a disturbing direction.

A year after the second episode, the creative duo made a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for 4 more episodes to be made. In a little over a month, they reached their goal of $96,000. The episodes are released erratically, which makes finding out about a new one even more exciting.

The thing that is so great about these videos is the ability to connect the feeling of nostalgia with absurdity and wild visuals. People who grew up on shows such as Sesame Street will appreciate the craziness of these videos. I find the best way to describe DHMIS is “Sesame Street meets Adult Swim”. It’s along the lines of Wonder Showzen, mixing adult themes into a whimsical aesthetic. However, DHMIS is not only for 90s kids with a cynical side. It definitely appeals to anyone with a dark sense of humor.

--Julie

From left: Corey Lubowich, Joey Richter, and Brian Rosenthal photo: tincanbros.com

If you’re looking for a good laugh, look no further. The Tin Can Brothers are the perfect comedians to fill the comedy gap in your life. They are an outrageously hilarious comedy group based out of Los Angeles, and with hours of weekly sketches, two live shows, and several live streams, TCB is bound to entertain . Corey Lubowich, Joey Richter, and Brian Rosenthal are at the helm of this crazy group. Actually, they are the only ones, but their videos also include special guests like Mary Kate Wiles, Carlos Valdes, Curt Mega, Ashely Skidmore, and many more. Each sketch is just another adventure waiting to be seen.

They are now headed into their second year , and they have pulled out all the stops. After their failed attempt to recruit a fourth Tin Can Member, the Brothers began their new “mini-series,” Spilled Milk. This is a four part series where each segment focuses on each brother and their special guest, Josh Berkowitz.

Josh Berkowitz in Spilled Milk: Part 1

Part one, released on March 10, 2015, starts with Josh happily pouring himself a well-deserved glass of milk. The milk jug is tragically knocked off the counter and spills all over the kitchen floor. This is where hilarity ensues, and it only gets better from here. They are out of paper towels; Corey leaves to get more. They are out of milk; Brian leaves to get milk. A very discombobulated Joey enters and decides to leave to find a new cup (which is not broken, mind you). Josh is left alone to deal with his spilled milk.

The dramatic background music adds to the already humorous situation, making him seem even more desperate than he already is. Josh finds remnants of toilet paper left on a role and attempts to clean up the milk and put it back in the carton. Things begin to look up, that is until he drops the wad into the milk carton. In an effort to get it out, he just makes things worse. He becomes so desperate that he uses a half-eaten chocolate chip cookie to mop up the mess while crying to himself, “How does doth thou friends abandon thee...woe is me. Woe is me! Oh gee.” I can’t help but just laugh at his whole situation, as he continues to make it worse. He eventually tries to scoop it up with his hands into the trash can, only to make the mess even bigger. The stress is obviously getting to Josh as he cries to the Heavens, “Is this all God playing a trick?” Honestly, I don’t know what is funnier: the actually scene or how much this reminds me of getting my life together post-graduation.

Josh attempting to clean up his mess.  Gif: cottognapple.tumblr.com

Finally, all the milk has been scooped into the trash can, and finally our Brothers return. A very bruised and beaten Corey bursts through the door with a roll of paper towels. A mustached, Nicolas Cage-esque Brian rings the doorbell holding almond milk, and a perplexed Joey in a kimono walks in with an Etch-a-Sketch drawing of the word “cup.” Josh asks the question we are all thinking: “What happened to you guys?” Naturally I tried to draw my own conclusions. It was obvious Corey was in a fight for the paper towels, but why? As for Brian’s and Joey’s stories, I had absolutely no idea where they were going.

Corey's return. Gif: cottognapple.tumblr.com

Each part was released once a week on Tin Can Tuesday, the best day of the week. So, the following week, we learn Corey was on the hunt for paper towels. However, Curt Mega kept beating him to each store, only to purchase the last roll each time. Finally, our hero has had enough and challenges Mega to an awesome ninja fight in the middle of a parking lot. This of course explains the one third of the ending to the previous episode. Corey then returns beaten and bruised with his paper towels, but we are still left wondering what happened to Joey and Brian.

Curt Mega in Spilled Milk: Part 2

A victorious Corey.  Gif: cottognapple.tumblr.com

Brian is our beloved hero in part three that leaves for milk and basically does not come back. This episode is slightly darker but still hilarious. Brian decides that instead of regular 1% or 2% milk, he wants to go with the much healthier choice, almond milk. Here is where we meet her. Holly Grossman plays Brian’s love interest. They both reach for the same carton of almond milk, and it is love at first sight. They fall in love, get married, and have a baby. Soon after, Brian’s wife falls ill with tuberculosis and dies. This leaves our hero as a single dad, hesitant of letting go of their almond milk. Obviously some time has passed since the original incident, considering Brian has a baby and now resembles Nicolas Cage with a mustache. He finally returns to the gang with the almond milk he bought so long ago.

Brian in Spilled Milk: Part 3

Brian returning with the milk. Gif: cottognapple.tumblr.com

Now , this leaves us with Joey. What happened to him? Why does he look so perplexed? Luckily the wait is over. Today, the Tin Can Brothers released the highly anticipated conclusion to Spilled Milk. It opens on Joey sitting in his bed contemplating on taking shrooms. SPOILER ALERT: he eats and entire bag. After the milk is spilled, we follow Joey literally out of the window on his drug induced adventure to find a cup. We are led by his imaginary friend/guide who is special guest and fellow Starkid, Dylan Saunders.

Joey listening to his Imaginary Friend/Guide, Dylan    Photo: GeekInTrainingJ

In all honesty, any summary I write for this finale will be sub-par. It had me crying I was laughing so hard. From Dylan’s high-pitched munchkin voice to Joey aimlessly following his directions, this finale everything I hoped for and so much more.

Joey Returning with "Cup"  Gif: cottognapple.tumblr.com

I went back and watched Spilled Milk from start to finish, and I definitely got my ab workout for the week. TCB never fails to deliver in their usual hilarious and unexpected way. If you aren’t familiar with these funny and ridiculously talented Brothers, this is the perfect introduction into the Tin Can Family. Thank you, Tin Can Brothers, for making me look at a glass of milk differently. I am proud to say I cried over Spilled Milk. I can’t wait to see what else you have in store for us.

Photo: GeekInTrainingJ

 If you want to see more hilarious shenanigans check out their channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/tincanbros

Also, their live shows are available for purchase at http://shop.annarbortees.com/s/tin-can-brothers-store

--Kasey