The Legend of Vox Machina (season 2)

The finale of the last season had several dragons descending on the capitol city.  They lay waste to the city, forcing Vox Machina to flee to their stronghold.  While considering what to do next, a dragon attacks their keep.  A desperate escape follows.  The dragons are the Chrome Conclave.  They are led by a red dragon who has plans beyond mere conquest, but those are held close to his scales.  Vox Machina determines that they need help and go to the city of the gods (has temples for each) to request help: denied.  However, they do learn that they need to collect powerful artefacts known as the Vestiges of Divergence.  While they are hunting for artefacts, one of the dragons is hunting them.

The season provides additional background for many of the characters.  Percy was effectively the central focus last season and received lots of attention.  Pike also got a lot of attention with her crisis of faith story arc.  This time, the twins departure from the elfin city is shown as a prelude to their return.  It is not a happy reunion.  The elf father is not so keen on his half-elf children.  Also, the first meeting of Vex and her animal companion, Trinket the bear, is shown.  Elsewhere, there are the events that led to Grog's exile from his tribe - called the Herd, which neatly leads into his strong ties to Pike the gnome.  Even Keyleth the druid gets some more backstory as she encounters her father and completes part of her 'Aramente' related to fire.  Huh, it almost sounds like she is a variant of Ang the Last Airbender.  She is an Air Ashari who needs to gain proficiency in each of the elements to complete her Aramente.  Hmm.  Even Scanlan has some interesting developments.  Heck, he proves to be the hero in more than one battle.

The combat is hyperactive.  The characters are always running, flying, flipping, jumping, or otherwise moving around the battlefield.  The party has no one who stands toe-to-toe with the enemy, except maybe for Grog.  Granted, it is hard to stand toe-to-toe with a dragon, but the lack of a tank character is peculiar.

Good popcorn fun and recommended.  Can hardly wait for the next season.

The Legend of Vox Machina

The kingdom of Tal'Dorei is beset by some unseen terror that is wiping out farming communities.  The latest band of heros that were sent to defeat it were all killed.  Thus, the king sent out a call for a new set of adventurers.  Enter Vox Machina, a rowdy band who volunteer - not out of the goodness of their hearts but for the reward.  Not at all your typical adventuring party.  There are the half-elf twins: Vex the ranger with her bear companion, Trinket, and Vax the Rogue.  There is the half-elf druid, Keyleth.  Then there are the gnomes: Scanlan the randy bard and Pike the cleric.  Rounding out the party are Percy the human gunslinger (I didn't realize there was such a class) and Grog the goliath barbarian (goliath must be something like a half-giant in this setting).  It is odd that this party has no tank character.    In any case, the king accepts this quirky party and has them escorted to the area that has seen the trouble.  The party soon encounter a dragon, utterly failing to injure it but managing to survive the fight themselves.

The dragon adventure is only the beginning of this season of epic adventure.  No sooner have they gained their reward - a rundown keep where they can live until the kingdom needs them again - than Percy's past arrives in town.  The Sylas and Delilah Briarwood arrive in the capitol from Whitestone.  It was they who slaughtered Percy's family and he means to take he revenge.  Of course, Sylas is a powerful vampire and Delilah is an even more powerful necromancer.  It will take at least 10 exciting episodes for the party to overcome such a cable duo and their various minions.

Though visually attractive, the story is often weak.  There are times when the characters seem to be abysmally stupid.  In one battle, the party finds themselves fighting several iron golems that prove entirely immune to all of their attacks.  However, the man controlling the iron golems is standing out in the open and talking smack while no one thinks to attack him.  Right.  Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.  The party is off to fight the undead, but their cleric is indisposed.  Um, yeah, that's really not a good idea.  Wait for the cleric.  To the good, there is a lot of roleplaying here.  These aren't paper cutout characters.  They all have strengths and flaws, they have cliques among themselves and don't walk in lockstep.

As for the world of Exandria, it has that multicultural mix that is required today.  Yes, the king of this European-like country is black.  The citizens are a mix of this and that.  I wonder if the Africa-based continent has a white king with mostly black subjects.

Good popcorn fun.

Noggin and the Ice Dragon

Our story opens in a great hall where a man tells the tale of Noggin.  He begins his story with the great green bird, Graculus, flying near the mountains.  Graculus is a talking bird and chief advisor to Noggin, King of the Nogs.  Graculus flying near the castle one morning when he spots something moving about and dives, expecting to catch a tasty rabbit.  Instead, he finds a diminutive man who claims to be from the Hot Water Valley.  He has traveled far to meet with Noggin.  Graculus takes the little man to Noggin.  The little man declares that an Ice Dragon is terrorizing the Hot Water Valley and he asks that Noggin slay the dragon.  Noggin, who is something of a noble bumpkin, agrees and brings Thor Nogson with him.  So it is that Noggin, Thor Nogson, Graculus, and the little man set out on a dogsled to reach the distant Hot Water Valley.  A party more unsuited for the task at hand would be hard to assemble.  However, they overcome each obstacle and manage to return peace to the Hot Water Valley.

 

The story is told in 4 parts, each ending with a new cliffhanger.  Of note, there is never any fighting since it is targeted at children.  The story is told with very basic animation and only a couple of voice actors provide all the voices and narration.  Troubles are resolved with the tools at hand, be it large birds to get over a mountain, geysers to thaw from being frozen, ice to disable a cannon, and so forth.

 

The Saga of Noggin of the Nogs is a long-running British series that began in the late 50s but has been revived a couple of times since.  It is only vaguely Viking.  The main villain seems to be Noggin’s uncle, the aptly named Nogbad the Bad.

 

I like the idea of the show more than the actual show.  A hobbit comes to ask a distant king for aid against a rampaging Ice Dragon sounds like a good story hook.  The magic forest where the trees move and thus erase any path or road is a cool location.  Also, the Glass Mountains that are nigh-impossible to scale because they are smooth as glass is good stuff.  Great intelligent green birds – that might be friend or foe and can, when working in concert, carry a man aloft – make for an interesting encounter.  That it turns out the dragon was driven from his cave by the true villain provides an opportunity for hasty characters to fight the dragon rather than assist it.  This is a really good adventure that has sapped of its dangers to appeal to a young audience.

 

Vikings

The History Channel has a new show about the famed raiders of Scandinavia. It premiered last week and the 2nd episode was last night (March 10, 2013). So far, I'd say it is quite good compared to other efforts at Viking fare. The central character is Ragnar Lothbrok, an experienced raider who longs to raid richer lands to the West. Earl Haraldsson, ruler of the region in which Ragnar lives and owner of the raiding ships, refuses Ragnar's suggestion. Thus, Ragnar commissions a ship to be built and sets sail. He lands at Lindesfarne in 793, the traditional starting date of the Viking Age.

The look of the show is good. There aren't horned helmets and swords are scarce; only a rich man can afford a sword. These Vikings use axe and shield. The long ship is very cool. On its voyage across the North Sea, it is run through its paces and shows how the men lived, navigated, sailed, and rowed.

That said, the show has its faults. The writers do not seem to know Viking law. Vikings didn't have a death penalty that an earl would impose. In the first episode, a man is accused of murder and found guilty. He is beheaded the following day. Viking law would have sought a wergild - a man price - to compensate the murdered man's family. Failing that, a man was likely to be declared an outlaw. Outlaws could be killed on sight without fear of retribution.

On another point, Ragnar's wife, Lagertha, is declared to be a shield maiden. Previews of future episodes have her in the shield wall (fighting formation) with all the men. Though Nordic women had much higher standing that their fellow European sisters, they were not generally on the front lines of battle. Shield Maidens are more legend than history and doubtless related to the Valkyries who carried valiant dead to Valhalla. It seems no historical era can exist on film unless there are women warriors. If this was airing on anything other than the HISTORY channel, I'd probably be less annoyed by the bow to that current fad.

Lastly, the grand coincidence that makes Ragnar's journey to England possible is grating. He has recently come into possession of two navigation aids, both given to him by `a wandering traveler.' We learn nothing more of this wandering traveler so the items are otherwise inexplicable. Then there is Floki the shipbuilder. Apparently, his is the ship design that is now widely known. He is a genius shipbuilder who can build a ship alone in a short period of time. The shipbuilder was like a foreman who guided the building, but Floki chops the trees, cuts the planks, and all the rest. He seems to have no assistance. So, it wasn't that Ragnar was the first to dare a crossing; he was the first to even have the tools to make the crossing.

This may be History's answer to the successful Game of Thrones on HBO. I am quite hooked on that show and they both air on Sunday night. I'll be watching both.

 

The show lost me after the second season.  The introduction of King Aella grated.  King Aella didn't take the throne of Northumbria until around 860, but we have already determined that Ragnar landed at Lindesfarne in 793.  Nice screwing with the timeline.  Also the constant betrayal between Ragnar and his brother got old fast.  Of course, it was foregone that this was coming since the central character is Ragnar Lothbrok, who shouldn't even be born at the time of the Lindesfarne raid.

Game of Thrones

HBO has brought George R. R. Martin's series to the small screen. The story follows the Stark family, a noble family based in the northernmost of the Seven Kingdoms. Oddly, the 7 Kingdoms have only 1 king. Long ago, the kingdoms were defeated by Aegon Targaryen and his 3 dragons. The armies of any kingdom could not stand against the fiery breath of dragons. However, the dragons have since died but the kingdoms are still united, barely.

It has been 15 years or so since the Targaryens were deposed and Robert Baratheon became king. However, two surviving Targaryens have joined with the vast Dothraki hordes - similar to the Mongol Horde of Genghis Khan - who might yet reconquer the 7 Kingdoms. This is all the more possible since intrigue and infighting is rampant in the 7 Kingdoms and, worse still, the old enemy has awoken from a 1000 year slumber. The white walkers are coming south. They are quick and wield weapons far stronger than the steel of the 7 Kingdoms. Moreover, those they kill arise as zombies.

The tale is very dark. It is clear that Mr. Martin has read a great deal of history since his book reads like history, with all the cruelties and strange twists. There is graphic violence and a fair amount of nudity.

Ned Stark (played by Sean Bean - best known to fantasy fans as Boromir from Lord of the Rings) and his family are the key characters. His bastard son Jon has been sent to the Wall - a 700 foot tall wall that divides the continent and protects from the threat of the white walkers. Ned and his daughters find themselves in King's Landing - the capitol - where they see the intrigues. Bran and Robb remains in Winterfell, capitol of the north. Catelyn, Ned's wife, is constantly on the move, showing the action through the rest of the country.

The first season had many surprises. I look forward to next season. In the meantime, I have started reading the books. Recommended!

 

Wow, I wrote this back in June of 2011.  Series is still going strong and the last Targaryen is finally on her way to Westeros.

Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire

This goofy show follows in the footsteps of Xena, though it is entirely a comedy with much more overt sexuality. Krod (dork spelled backwards) is an incompetent leader of a band of rebels. He wields the Flaming Sword of Fire though he has a habit of misplacing it. "Where's my sword?" His nymphomaniac girlfriend, Aneka, is a Pagan (the actual name of her tribe, it seems). There is also the oafish Loquasto who appears to be some variant of orc though he says he's a Grobble. He is strong, both physically and in odor. The party wizard is Zezelryck (Kevin Hart), who is mostly incompetent and does far too much speaking. Lastly, there is Bruce, the unambiguously gay character. The adventures of this sad band are not the stuff of legend. Success is more often stumbled upon by accident.

The villain, who seeks to rule all the lands and stamp out Krod and the rebels he represents, is Dongalor. He's a portly Dr. Evil. He has a number of lackeys, the most notable being Barnabus, a deadpan fellow who sees the flaws in Dongalor's plots but nonetheless eagerly does his bidding. One funny bit about Dongalor was his illegitimate son. Upon learning that he had an illegitimate son, he suggested that the son might like a boat ride then, under his breath, ordered Barnabus to see to it he drowned.

Surprisingly, this lowbrow show had John Rhys-Davies (Gimli from Lord of the Rings) as a guest star. He was Grimshank the Wizard, a central figure for the first season though he wisely died to avoid further visits to Hessemeel.

The show is produced in Britain and thus 6 episodes constituted the season. I only saw the final three episodes. Though occasionally amusing, the goal mostly seems to be puerile humor and sexual innuendo broken by the sporadic fights. Also, like Xena and Hercules, there is an effort to insert modern conventions into the show, such as singles' night at the tavern. This show is a big step down from Xena and Hercules which were themselves campy fare.

 

I saw this back in July 2009 and, not surprisingly, there was no second season.  Kevin Hart has done quite well since this show.

Knights of Bloodsteel

Here is a TV miniseries I saw on the SyFy channel on a Saturday night in April 2009.  This was a weird one.

 

Dragon Eye the cursed wizard lives in an isolated fort in craggy terrain and leads the dreaded brood, a mixture of men and goblins. He has much bloodsteel, a metal that can power magical objects but is drained over time (Knights of Nickel-Cadmium was already taken). All the mines are running dry and only the recovery of the Crucible, source of all bloodsteel, can refill the mines. More importantly, with the Crucible, Dragon Eye would have the power to awaken his magically ensorcelled son and become ruler of all Mirabilis (a Latin word that means `wonderful' which shows I'm not the only one who took Latin). You see, Dragon Eye makes these Bloodsteel-powered harnesses that he can attach to dragons or people to turn them into virtual slaves, flying mechanisms that can drop bombs, bug-like automatons that can spy for him, and even hand grenades. There are only a few things between Dragon Eye and world domination.

First, he has to find the Crucible before dawn on the day the planets align. This is made all the more difficult because he has no idea where the Crucible is hidden. Luckily, there is an elfin oracle who knows. The oracle prophesizes that only the Knights of Bloodsteel will be able to stop Dragon Eye. This proves to be his last prophecy as the Brood arrives to kill him. The Brood has learned of a map but must solve a riddle to find it. Of course, goblin minions are notoriously unreliable and intend to keep the Crucible for themselves should they find it.

Second, the Trion of Black Roc (sort of like a town council that consists of a human woman, a goblin woman, and Tesselink the Elf Sorcerer played by Christopher Lloyd) seek to assemble the Knights of Bloodsteel. The oracle said they would number four and be brought together by a death. Sure enough, John Serragoth (David James Elliot from the TV series JAG), Perfidia the Elf (Natassia Malthe), Adric the Charlatan/Rogue, and Ber-lak the Goblin fight forces of the Brood in a failed effort to rescue Adric's sister. The Trion grants knighthood to these four and sends them to their doom.

The world of Mirabilis is not your typical fantasy setting. The elves have pointy ears (as you would expect) but also pronounced incisors (like vampires?) which seemed strange. Also, anybody could be an elf provided they wore the pointy ears. There was an old white guy, a black man, an Asian fellow, and the Norwegian-Filipino actress who played Perfidia. Oh, and the elf girl had an arrow-shooting slingshot. What the heck was that? This world had crossbows and arrow slingshots. As for the goblins, they tended to be gray-skinned and human-sized. They had a more pronounced brow, jagged teeth, and ears that looked like a combo of seashells and batwings. The males were mostly bald though the one female I recall was a busty red-head.

Through the quest, there are fights with dragons, goblins, magical contraptions, and even the elements. Our heroes are sorely tested and show there mettle. John falls for Perfidia, Perfidia is plagued by self-doubt, Adric proves to be a good-hearted rogue, and Ber-lak acquires powers by touch (like Rogue of the X-Men). It is so very epic. There were some really entertaining bits like when John explained that appeasement only encouraged the goblins or when Adric convinced some villagers that it was better to fight than surrender.

Dragon Eye's son has been left in his magical slumber and John Serragoth leaves to complete his revenge but not before telling Perfidia that he plans to return. Thus the movie concludes to show that this was clearly a pilot for a TV series. I sense it was not picked up since the source of Bloodsteel was destroyed, thus negating the Knights of Bloodsteel.

 

Interestingly, Natassia Malthe took over the role of BloodRayne in the two sequels that went straight to video.

Legend of the Seeker

I have discovered, thru Hulu, that there is a TV show based on a series of books by Terry Goodkind. The series is produced by the same team that did Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess. However, this is played seriously and the campiness has been left behind.

The show follows the efforts of Richard Cypher (Craig Horner), a good-hearted fellow who learns that he is the Seeker of Truth. Only a Seeker can wield the Sword of Truth which apparently grants great fighting prowess and a degree of immunity to magic (he can block wizard's fire like Luke Skywalker blocked Stormtrooper blaster fire). As he doesn't wear armor and has a talent for tracking and wilderness lore, he is clearly a ranger in the mold of Aragorn. He accompanied on his quest by Kahlan (Bridget Regan) the Confessor and Zed (Bruce Spence) the Wizard. Zed is a fairly typical wizard and hardly needs description; we all know what wizards do and Zed fits that quite well. Kahlan is sort of a Cleric though her magic is limited to one power: Confessing. By her touch, she can cause anyone to love her unconditionally and become a virtual slave. Worse, once confessed, the only way to regain free will is for the Confessor to die. Interesting power, especially since there is no resistance. Kahlan most often uses the power to convert an enemy into an ally who dies soon after as he turns to fight his former comrades. Mostly, Kahlan will fight with two weapons (daggers) and no armor. Why she is so skilled at such melee compared to professional soldiers is unclear.

The overarching quest is for Richard to kill Darken Rahl, a powerful wizard/sorcerer who seeks to conquer the world. This is all foretold in prophecy. Yeah, the plot is a bit stale but the execution is entertaining. Perhaps the most annoying feature of the show is that they all refuse to carry missile weapons. Richard is a skilled crossbowman but doesn't carry one with him. Why not? Another annoying thing is that Richard and party seem to have this notion of just marching up to Darken Rahl and fighting. Shouldn't you have a few troops before facing the armies of Rahl? Oddly, Rahl is always on the move to avoid assassins and Seekers, so the quest could go on a long time (3 or 4 seasons, easy).

 

Turns out it only lasted 2 seasons.  While watching the first season, I had a notion of reading Goodkind's books for more background but never did.  Bridget Regan recently had a great run as a villain in Agent Carter.  After seeing her as the white-clad brunette do-gooder in Seeker, it was a real switch to see her as a particularly nasty blonde Russian agent.  Definitely better as a villain.

Robin Hood (TV Series)

On April 29, 2008, I saw the BBC's Robin Hood show and was less than impressed.

 

The BBC has a show, now in its second season, about Robin Hood. I saw ads for it online and was intrigued. I like historical fiction and thought this might be entertaining. Well, I have now seen the premiere episode to the second season and am aghast at what the British have done to Robin Hood. This is Robin Hood meets Xena. There is entirely too much kicking, jumping, spinning, flipping, and martial arts. In the few battles we see, though all are armed with swords or bows, no one is wounded. To make matters even worse, Maid Marian is now the Nightwatcher (or something like that) who stalks about in a mask and subdues guards with her unarmed fighting skills; one might describer her as a Ninja. Though it is incredibly obvious from the fit of her costume that the Nightwatcher is a woman, everyone refers to the Nightwatcher as `him.' Toward the end of the show, Robin has an arrow aimed at the Sheriff who is only a few feet away, a sure kill. However, he learns that King John has made a deal with the Sheriff to utterly destroy Nottingham (slaying every man, woman, and child) if the Sheriff should die an unnatural death. Oh, how convenient. Robin cannot kill the Sheriff in the series, only his lackeys. Talk about lazy writers. Another annoying thing was when one character told another to `Jigger off!' That was such a popular expression in the 12th Century. Much of the dialogue was no different than it might be if the show were set in modern times. Painful to watch, best avoided.

 

Despite my own warning, I watched another episode some weeks later where Robin swears off killing (not that he had killed anyone in anything I had yet seen), announcing that he can't stomach it anymore: Robin Hood the Pacifist.  He needed to abandon the freedom fighting and just become a hunter.  The show managed to go one more season, running from 2006 to 2009, and is well-rated (7.6) on IMDb.  Maybe I encountered a rare bad episode.  None of the actors have become famous yet.

The 10th Kingdom

Having missed this massive miniseries when it aired, I bought the DVDs and started watching.  By February 13, 2007, I was done.

I recently saw the 10th Kingdom, an epic made-for-TV miniseries that spanned 7 hours. Here is a tale about Virginia Lewis and her father who, though living in New York, suddenly find themselves in the 9 Kingdoms. The 9 Kingdoms are the home of all the classic fairy tales, though it has been centuries since the days of Cinderella, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, et al. but their kingdoms remain. The father-daughter duo find themselves stranded in the 9 Kingdoms thanks to a magic mirror (of which there are many) and aligned with a prince who has been turned into a dog. His coronation as king is imminent and an impostor will take the throne if he cannot be restored. The nine kingdoms are filled with a wide assortment of creatures and magic. The footwear-obsessed trolls get the most attention but there are dwarves, goblins, fairies, and elves. Magic is truly magical and mostly inexplicable to any but a D&D enthusiast. There were slippers of invisibility (which were oddly addictive and reminded me of the One Ring), a magic hair-cutting axe, many mirrors with various
purposes (travel, spying, communication, etc.), a fish that grants the Midas Touch (which predictably goes wrong), a Bean of Many Wishes (it nourishes as it grants your desires), and a Crossbow of Ultimate Accuracy.

On their epic quest, our heroes visit many strange lands. There is the Beanstalk Forest of the trolls, a sad result of Jack's magic beans that ruined the land so that it was left to the trolls. There is an impassible swamp (except for our heroes) that has singing mushrooms. The mountains where the dwarves live make for quite the vista. There is the town of love, which looks like a city where every day is Valentine's Day.

Lastly and most importantly, the world has all the fairy tale characters you would expect. There is the wicked witch who is generally dead but sometime counsels the evil queen behind the plot to put another on the prince's throne. There is a wolf (always in human form though sometimes sporting a tail) who seems torn whether he is with the evil queen or the father-daughter duo. There is a troll king allied with the evil queen but never really obeying her commands. The queen does have one committed servant, the huntsman who gladly kills. Both Snow White and Cinderella make cameo appearances. The blind axeman who demanded that the heroes guess his name was humorous when his name wasn't Rumplestiltskin. There are a variety of courtiers who flit about in a panic about the prince's absence.

The story is entertaining in its parts but unsatisfactory as a whole. There is an underlying story about Virginia that is telegraphed almost from the start but not confirmed until the very end. The story careens from goofy comedy to wanton slaughter, which doesn't work well. It was really annoying that Wolf (clever name that) never turned into a wolf (I suppose they didn't have the money for the effect, which is surprising) but only had a tail from time to time. This is all the worse since Wolf was a central character who was afflicted A.D.D. He talked at a run and was often breathless even when sitting. Despite this being a 7 hour epic, Tony, Virginia's father, – who was also a central figure, never developed much beyond his endless quest for money.

The story ends with Virginia declaring this to be the end of the first book of the 10 Kingdoms, clearly trying to setup a sequel. This doesn't deserve a sequel and since it has been 7 years, I doubt it will get one.
 

The titular 10th Kingdom was New York City, named such by the trolls who came there via a magic mirror. They claimed it for themselves though they didn't stay very long.

 

Checking on IMDb, I don't know if this was a ridiculously long pilot to launch a series or an effort to have multiple giant miniseries in the setting.  It was funny to see Ed O'Neill (aka Al Bundy) as the Troll King.  John Larroquette played John Larroquette but with the alias of Tony Lewis, Virgina's dad.  Really, if you have seen him in Night Court or The John Larroquette Show, you will be familiar with the character.  Lucy Punch plays Sally Peep, a relative of Little Bo Peep.  Kimberly Williams-Paisley, best known for her stint as Steve Martin's daughter in the Father of the Bride movies, is the psychologically damaged Virginia.  Dianne Wiest has a rare opportunity to play a villain.

Earthsea

January 25, 2006

Though the miniseries ran sometime in 2004, I only just recently saw it. Generally, I liked it. There are wizards, clerics, and fighters. The hero is an impatient fellow who is marked for greatness but manages to muck it up. But, of course, this was all part of some grand prophecy so he was destined to figure it out. A bit pat but well executed.

The world is limited in its monsters. We see a dragon that bears an uncanny resemblance to the dragons of D&D the movie. The CGI is weak but one doesn't expect great effects here. There are harpy-like demons that are held behind a great door guarded by the world's clerics who all seem to be women. There is also a Gebbeth, some undead looking beasty that chases the hero a lot.

Having read the reviews of others, it seems the movie is not true to the books. This has infuriated fans so the reviews were surprisingly harsh. Even the author weighed in with her disappointment. Gee, I liked it. If a weak adaptation proved to be this entertaining, the books must be outstanding. But if I read the books, will I come to hate the movie that prompted me to read them? Interesting thought.

In any case, if you see this movie on the shelf at Blockbuster or being replayed on SciFi, it is worth a look.

 

I did go on to read the books and see why fans and Ursula K Le Guin were upset.  I think I review the books somewhere further along.

New Blog!

In 2004, I started a group on Yahoo! Groups.  It saw a lot of activity in the first year, less in the second, and then almost nothing thereafter.  It quickly became a site where I would review historical and/or fantasy movies, TV shows, books, short stories, and such.  I've continued to write reviews even while I have done the same thing on Musings.

 

As I am much happier with BlogSpot than Yahoo! Groups, I'm going to migrate my reviews here.  Also, it has been four years since anyone besides me has posted anything on the group.  Time to retire it and post the reviews here.  Maybe some of the other aspects will find their way here too.  Time will tell.

 

Welcome to the Downland Review!