Like any large, hirsute mammal that comes out of the cave after hibernating all winter, the first thing I do is catch up on the series I've been missing out on. Let's start with Netflix's Iron Fist, and work our way back to Firefly. Yes, I know Firefly is 15 years old. I been hibernating. Don't judge.
IRON FIST (2017): Okay, Iron Fist is the most contradictory hero of the Marvel universe. I thought Luke Cage was a bit mired in the 70's era, but Danny Rand makes Luke Cage look like the most together man in the multiverse. I get the backstory, which I'm not going to ruin for anyone who hasn't finished the series on Netflix, but let's tackle the basics. Danny spends 15 years learning martial arts. He's beaten when he fails at something, which is apparently often, and supposedly learns to control his mind, body and emotions. He says he always wins, and has fought his way to earn the Iron Fist by challenging and defeating all comers. Which, is funny, because the first time he gets his butt kicked, he's whining about how he feels like one big bruise, and winces at the first touch of disinfectant on some tiny cut he has on his arm. He also flies into a rage at the first hint of frustration. So, does that sound like a guy whose taken a beating before? And is completely in control of his mind, body, and emotions? Nope. So about halfway through the series, minor spoiler, Danny Rand tries to take back control of his company, the Rand Corporation, but is ousted by the Board, which is just glad they never actually gave him a position at the company. So, Danny buys a sports car with his millions, and takes the private plane off anywhere he needs to go. Which is awesome, except... where's he getting his millions exactly? He's been ousted by the Board, he's not pulling down a salary, and he has no position at the company, so how exactly is he getting these millions? Especially without an address, and never visiting the bank? Pretty sure Danny doesn't even have a computer, so, what, he does his banking via... snail mail? And how does he rate a Rand Corp private jet? I don't get it. A lot of people are blaming Finn Jones for screwing the whole thing up, and yeah, maybe he's not the best choice for the role, and maybe a horrible actor, but everything I just mentioned? That's all just bad writing. The actress who played Colleen Wing and Rosario Dawson were some of the few bright points in a otherwise very predictable and monotonous plot. The "end boss fight," I'm going to call it, wasn't even worth going through all 14 episodes. Horribly convoluted and ridiculous plot. Madame Gao was pretty cool, though, gotta say. The rest of it? Blech. I've heard some media company decided that Iron Fist was actually the most popular show on Netflix, and it sounds like they're going to renew it for a second season. I think it's absolute rubbish, and if Netflix renews it for another season, then I don't know WTF they are thinking. Wouldn't be the first time some crap show made it to round 2, though.
GRIMM (2017): For those in the know, Grimm (NBC) ended tonight. Not quite sure how many seasons it was on (6, maybe), but it had a decent run. I been watching it religiously since the first episode, when it aired in October a half dozen years back, and it was all about horror (just like me). :-) There was a whole "Zerstorer" plot line running the last few episodes, and the beastie basically had control of what I'm going to call the Spear of Destiny, which the show never said, but which was what I got out of it. And Nick ended up with it, so that's nice. Maybe we'll see a Grimm movie at some point in the future, who knows. I like how the series ended, and there was a very brief appearance by a couple of the actors at the beginning of the Series Finale who said goodbye and thanks and all, so that's nice. Broke the 4th wall a little bit, but they didn't do it during the show, which was great. Sure, Deadpool was great for people who like adult-oriented Superhero movies, but stop playing to the camera, Ryan Reynolds/Deadpool. You're not a goddamn beauty queen. I like to see the actors outside of the characters they play, from time to time. Reminded me of the last episode of Family Ties, way back when, when Michael J. Fox and the rest of the cast came out on stage and took a bow. I wish more series did stuff like that at the end. I checked the IMDB pages for the Grimm actors, and unfortunately, many of them don't have any other credit lined up for 2017. I know, Grimm just ended and they are probably on vacation after a good run, but I hope they will get some good roles after this. Would be a shame if they all faded out somewhere, they all seem like decent actors and actresses. And Claire Coffee (Adelind)? Jesus, she's smokin' hot. I know she's married and all, but, wow. Gotta see her in other stuff.
FIREFLY (2003): Yea, okay, so, I'm a little behind the times on this one, but I just caught up on all the episodes I missed via Netflix. The series is going off Netflix's streaming service tonight, so I had to hurry. Firefly was a pretty good series, and I'm sorry I missed it during it's initial run. Sadly, I was probably working nights at the time, so I had good reason to miss it. They came out with Serenity, a movie based off the show, which was also pretty damn good. One thing I'd like to mention, I had heard the phrase "I'll be in my bunk" quite a number of times on the internet, and had even used it myself on occasion. I mean, I knew what it meant by inference, but had no idea where it had originated from. Turns out, it was probably the episode of Firefly where Inara (the Companion) entertains a female customer, and the sexual tension they exude seems to inspire Jayne to spend some extra time, uh, polishing his weapons, as it were. As the "Jayne Cobb" of my cohort of friends and relatives, I know how he feels, at times.
Let's take a quick look at the actors and actresses of Firefly, 15 years later, shall we? Nathan Fillion (Mal) has 4 different projects coming out in 2017, including a role in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, so, he's doing awesome. I loved him in Slither, because I love monsters, horror and Sci Fi, and that pretty much encompassed all three of those genres. Gina Torres (Zoe) has been busy, and just finished up a series in 2017. Alan Tudyk (Wash) has been super-busy, and I loved him in Tucker and Dale vs Evil. Morena Baccarin (Inara) is hugely famous now, and was obviously in Homeland, Deadpool and Gotham. Adam Baldwin (Jayne) is, at least still working. Apparently, he's not actually one of the less-popular Baldwin brothers, and no relation to Alec. I did not know that until just now. And, now I feel awkward. Moving on. Jewel Staite (Kaylee) was adorable on the show, and was working as of last year, according to IMDB. Sean Maher (Simon) is working in voice acting and has other projects coming out in 2017. Summer Glau (River) was still working as of last year, and I have seen her in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse, the Cape, and Knights of Badassdom, most recently. Sadly, we lost Ron Glass (Shepherd Book) late last year, the year of a billion celebrity deaths.
And that's all we have time for tonight, boys and girls. Things to do, and I wanted to get this post out in march, which ends in 12 minutes. :-) Hopefully, I'll catch you guys up soon on what other shows I been watching lately, crappy or otherwise. Til next time!
