Links and Updates

That's it for another year, though it seems like just a few weeks ago I was joking about with some work colleagues and doing the old: "see you next year!" gag as we headed into 2018.

I had a few pop-culture highlights this year: going to Comic Con (which is called Armageddon over here) for the first time and seeing Katie McGrath, finding out that I'm a Slytherin (which has done wonders for my confidence – all I have to tell myself in difficult situations is: "I'm a Slytherin, I can handle this") and enjoyed a full season of Doctor Who with our first woman Doctor.

I saw so many stage shows, from Wicked to The Nutcracker to Jesus Christ: Superstar, loved the newest iteration of She-Ra, churned through J.K. Rowling's Strike detective series, discovered Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, and began reposting my Xena Warrior Princess reviews, having watched the show in its entirety between 2011 and 2017.

I took a trip down memory lane replaying the Gabriel Knight trilogy (1993 – 1999) and re-reading Monica Dickens's The Messenger quartet (1985 -1986) and watched a whole heap of new material, with standouts including Star Wars Rebels, The Good Place, Lost in the Space, Infinity War and (just last night) Aquaman.

As for my own writing, I've been plodding away on my latest story, but found time to write up some metas on subjects that interested me: Defying the Fridge (on fictional women who survived their respective stories), Contrasting/Comparing Three Halloween Movies (exploring the differences and similarities between three of my favourite seasonal films) and my Merlin Retrospective (written at the conclusion of the show, and reposted here for its ten year anniversary).

And now here we are on the brink of 2019. So what's there to look forward to (fandomwise) in the New Year?

It's going to be a year of trilogies in some of pop-culture's biggest franchises: the third part of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, the second half of The Avengers third film, and the final season of Game of Thrones. That's three of the biggest fantasy/sci-fi stories... well, ever. The only thing missing is something based on Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings (hey, when are we going to learn more about that Amazon adaptation?)

Then there's the third season of Stranger Things, the long-awaited third season of Young Justice, and the third and final film in the How To Train Your Dragon saga. These things certainly come in threes.

Captain Marvel is on her way, and so is the Netflix prequel to The Dark Crystal, which already looks amazing.

It's going to be a pretty incredible year for fandom.

As for my theatre-going expeditions, I've already got tickets booked for Cats and Miss Saigon, and am heading up to Auckland at the end of this month to see Disney's Aladdin! (I tried to explain this and the concept of a live-action Aladdin movie to one of my co-workers, and she ended up asking: "so is Will Smith coming to Auckland?")

On a more personal note, I hope to finally make the trip to London to see my sister and the sights of Europe this year. Fingers crossed.

As for reading, Donna Meagle from Parks and Recreation has inspired me to organize a Treat Yo Self reading month. For a while now I've been accumulating books by my favourite authors, and with the sun out and the deckchair unfolded, it's time to start enjoying them:

Kate Elliot, Phillip Reeve, Joanna Harris, Leigh Bardugo, Catherynne Valente, Garth Nix, Philip Pullman, Elizabeth Knox, Laini Taylor, Frances Hardinge – plus graphic novels based on The Dark Crystal. I'm in heaven!

Have a good New Year everyone, and I'll see you in the next one.