Vixen: Episode 2

Do you know what comes after action-packed cold opens? Exposition of course!

Vixen handles it pretty well; in fact they manage to package all the requisite information in quite an interesting way: first through a flashback to ten-year old Mari, and then through an encounter with an archaeologist professor which holds traces of romantic chemistry before it's revealed he's secretly selling our heroine out. Darn it, he was cute!

Woman of the Month: Giulia Farnese

Giulia Farnese from The Borgias

Watching all three seasons of The Borgias gave me plenty of candidates for Woman of the Month, most obviously in Lucrezia, the girl who goes from naïve innocent to political player, and Caterina Sforza, the woman who proudly identifies herself as a freak of nature due to the fact she lives her life with the power and freedom of a man. Either one would have been a shoe-in for this post, but instead I found my thoughts turning to Giulia Farnese, a woman who begins the drama in the rather inauspicious role of mistress to the Pope.

She may seem like an odd choice for Woman of the Month, but across the course of the three seasons, Giulia manages the impressive feat of surviving her relationship with a Borgia. Other assorted lovers, associates and enemies of the family do not fare as well, but Giulia is characterized right from the start as a woman of cool intelligence – more than that, a woman devoid of jealousy or resentment when it comes to potential rivals. And it's perhaps this very trait that secures her future.

Having pointed out to Lucrezia that the lack of control women have over their own destinies often pits them against each other, she elegantly defies this stereotype by befriending (or at least allying herself with) the Pope's former mistress Vanozza Dei Catteni, seeking out her advice and assistance on more than one occasion. It is Vanozza who counsels her to accept Rodrigo's wandering eye and to procure for herself a palace and pension, so that when the Pope's affection finally does wane, she has the means to carry on her comfortable lifestyle. In return, Giulia passes much of her wisdom on to Vanozza's daughter Lucrezia, teaching her how to use her charms and beauty to her advantage.

It's a welcome change from the usual role you would expect a character like Giulia to play – that of the jealous mistress, hateful of any competition and terrified of losing her position in her lover's affections. Instead she's portrayed as a deeply pragmatic woman, well aware that her position as Rodrigo's mistress is a temporary affair, and clever enough to prepare for the winter of her life while she has the chance.

Hers is a story of quiet, dignified survival; an outcome achieved with so much poise and composure that it's almost soothing to watch.

Links and Updates

Well, I begin my new job tomorrow which means that my already-limited free time will be whittled down even further.

But that doesn't mean I'll disappear entirely. I'm going to keep on reviewing Vixen (which is thankfully short and sweet) and am currently writing up a review on Indian Summers, and I'm itching to get onto season two of The 100 (so many tantalizing GIF sets on my dashboard). As well as that, my TBR book list is stacked halfway up the wall, and I've got another Polytech assignment to finish by the end of the month.

So it's all on at my place at the moment; but honestly – I'm pretty happy about it.

Vixen: Episode 1

So it's arrived, the first of an influx of shows that I've been looking forward to settling down with. This past month has felt so empty without my weekly dosage of favourite serials. 

Available on CW Seed, Vixen is a thirty-minute animated web series divided into six short instalments, set within the continuity of Arrow and The Flash and with the possibility that the transition from animated series to a live-action appearance will occur later down the track.

People following me on Tumblr will know I love animation, and those who read my blog will know that my viewing experience of Arrow has been a very slow and sporadic process – but combining the two in an animated spin-off starring one of my favourite superheroines immediately piqued my interest.

Fantasy and Science-Fiction Films You've (Probably) Never Heard Of

As you may or may not know, I contribute a fortnightly column called "Big Worlds on Small Screens" on my friend Helen Lowe's blog. It basically involves me writing about science-fiction and fantasy as it exists on television, though occasionally I focus on films as part of specially themed sub-series.  

Most recently was "Fantasy and Science-Fiction Films You've (Probably) Never Heard Of", with the "probably" disclaimer inserted because I knew that such a title was bound to cause contention from people who have of course seen all these films. It just has a nicer ring to it than "Fantasy and Science-Fiction Films That Aren't Mainstream."

I had a lot of fun revisiting some of my old favourites and discovering some new classics, so I'm shifting the list to this blog, with links to the more detailed reviews on Helen's website. I hope it brings some otherwise-unheard of films to your attention – more than that, I hope that if you chose to seek any of them out, you'll end up enjoying what they have to offer.

Standing Tall #9

Yikes, I haven't done one of these in ages!

This giraffe was one of the very first I went to visit (in fact, it might well have been the second) and it was beautifully placed next to the Peacock Fountain in the Botanical Gardens, just across the road from the Arts Centre which is still undergoing extensive repairs. Called Spring: Brilliance in Resilience by Gwilym Devey, the bright flowers against the black backdrop symbolises the onset of hope that accompanies the arrival of spring, as well as the on-going city rebuild. Like spring flowers, we'll eventually grow back.

It also marked the first time I realized how special this project was, as I was joined at the sculpture by a couple of American tourists – the first of many occasions in which I would end up in conversation with other people who were deliberately seeking out giraffes across the city.

Review: Humans

Yes, I'm back – but just barely. After surviving the onslaught of the flu I realized the deadline for my Polytech assignment was looming and so had to haul myself back into a motivated state of mind before the due date. I didn't actually achieve this, and so for most of this month I feel I've been dragging myself through sludge before handing in what's sure to be a subpar essay, but at least I can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel.

I recently had an interview for a shelving job at the local library – and got it! I didn't want to say anything here or on my Tumblr until I was sure of the results, but now that I've received the confirmation phone-call I can celebrate.

And how do I celebrate things? By reading, watching and writing about stories – starting with Channel 4's Humans which wrapped up a couple of weeks ago.

Spoilers below the cut. Also: I was a little lukewarm on the show, so if you're completely enamoured, it's probably best to give this review a miss.