 Fall is here and so are our favorite TV shows!! Starting with Gotham tonight, with a very promising season 2 where as the tagline says is going to be the rise of the villains! Can't wait to see Joker!!  Our mum's favorite show - Downton Abbey, started its sixth and final season last night  Also, our favorite nerds are returning with Leonard & Penny's wedding! The Big Bang Theory starts its ninth season tonight!  What happens when you mix Ryan Murphy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Lea Michelle, Arianna Grande, Nasim Pedrad & Nick Jonas (!) ? You get a new horror/comedy show that's gonna get you hooked. Scream Queens premieres tomorrow on FOX  And speaking of shows that get you hooked.... Cookie is baaaack!!! Empire season 2 returns this Thursday!  Also on Thursday, Modern Family is back! For our amusement :-)  Same day, FOX established it's TGIT night, aka Thank God It's Thursday, with Grey's Anatomy (season 12), Scandal (season 5) and the show that gave Viola Davis her first Emmy, How to get away with murder (season 2), starting this week  Season 5 of Once Upon A Time premieres this Sunday, with Emma going Dark and new stories from Camelot! And of course many other shows such as Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, izombie, American Horror Story: Hotel to name a few, are coming in October! We've only just began....
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 The Emmys just wrapped and the big winners were Game of Thrones with 4 awards, Veep with 3 awards, and Olive Kitteridge in the limited series category, with 6 awards! What stood out? Andy Samberg descent hosting effort, Viola Davis' empowering speech, Amy Schumer's rise to fame and finally the surprising and emotional appearance of Tracy Morgan, almost a year after his nearly fatal accident. The Winners
Comedy Series: Veep Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Tony Hale, Veep Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Allison Janney, Mom Limited Series: Olive Kitteridge Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie: Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie: Richard Jenkins, Olive Kitteridge Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie: Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie: Regina King, American Crime Drama Series: Game of Thrones Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Jon Hamm, Mad Men Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones Variety Talk Series: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Variety Sketch Series: Inside Amy Schumer  Game of Thrones aired Episode 8 of season 5 last night and it hit 9,9 Rating at IMDb (at least time being with 5.700 votes in) - the highest yet! So, after that & actually watching the episode, I have to say that indeed this is the best episode of the season! Attention Westeros citizens, spoilers ahead! So, these were the best moments from last night: Watching Cersei Drink Off The Ground  Ok, I don’t want to be mean, but along with Joffry’s death, this scene really put a smile on my face… While in prison, Cersei meets her lowest point (yet)... Tyrion And Daenarys finally together  Finally this show’s two best characters share more scenes! With Tyrion’s wit and Daenary’s leadership we sure have a lot to anticipate from these two! Their scene features a very passionate speech from the Mother of Dragons! Theon/Reek Confesses To Sansa  Let’s be honest: with everything going on, we have not been thinking a lot of the Stark younger boys. Finally Theon – sorry Reek, confesses to Sansa that her brothers are still alive and we are yet to see if this is going to be Theon’s turning point… Battle At Hardhome aka The Nightwalkers are baaaaack!!!!  Seriously, with this story, everything else in this episode seemed to be there just to fill in air-time! So, Jon Snow arrives at Hardhome to unite the Wildings and things just go wrong… Although he manages to convince them to leave with him, the Nightwalkers arrive…. Yes! Finally! We had seen them just a few times and we had been getting hints throughout the season on the important role that they would play, but until yesterday, we had not felt the threat so much… The Nightwalkers are here, they seem to be military organized (remember the 4 riders? well they were there giving orders) and impossible to kill. Well, almost. Jon Snow and his Valyrian steel did the trick and shattered a Nightwalker. One. At least that’s a start. Bad news, the more casualties you have, the more newborn Nightwalkers you get….. Westeros seems to be turning into a real Zombieland these days… Really exciting episode, can’t believe we have only two episodes to go…  
One of the biggest surpises for me this season, was Empire. It came out of nowhere and became an obession! Not only to me but to millions of other fans. The show made TV history as it reached viewings that we hadn't seen in ten years! And the ratings kept going higher every week! The show just wrapped up its first season last week and has of course been renewed for next year! 
One of the reasons why the show has gained so loyal fans, is the one and only Cookie Lyon (aka Taraji P. Henson). For those of you not familiar with the plot, let me explain some things: First of all, Empire is clearly a soap opera. It might not be day time or half an hour but it has all the good soap qualities: sex, secrets, plotting and lots and lots of bling! But besides that, Empire is a show with a powerful cast and that is not afraid to touch matters as homosexuality and the taboos that still exist especially in the hip hop community. The story is about a hip hop legend, Lucious Lyon,who is diagnosed with ALS and while facing mortality, has to choose to whom from his three sons he will pass on his Empire (that is actually the name of his record label and multi-million company). But his ex wife's return forces him to change his plans. Cause you see, she just came out of prison after serving 17 years to save Lucious and Empire: enter Cookie... 
Cookie Lyon/Taraji P. Henson, is the ultimate queen because:
And the infamous..... 
But apart from Cookie, let us not forget that Empire is a music show and with Timbaland as a music consultant and many many musicians (and other celebrities) guest starring, this show took things to a whole other level, with week after week of new songs and guests! 
Let me leave you with a bite of Cookie's fierce attitude! With 26 days (I am counting) until the Game of Thrones season 5 premiere, let's satisfy our GoT appetite with a sneak peek on promotional photos with new and old faces and two videos with two of the key players for the upcoming season: Jon Snow & Tyrion Lannister! Enjoy... 
Kit Harington as Jon Snow and Ciaran Hinds as Mance Rayder – photo Helen Sloan/HBO
Rosabell Laurenti Sellers as Tyene Sand– photo Macall B. Polay/HBO
Jessica Henwick as Nym Sand– photo Helen Sloan/HBO
Keisha Castle-Hughes as Obara Sand– photo Helen Sloan/HBO
Nell Tiger Free as Myrcella Baratheon and Toby Sebastian as Trystane Martell– photo Macall B. Polay/HBO
Nell Tiger Free as Myrcella Baratheon – photo Macall B. Polay/HBO
Carice van Houten as Melisandre – photo Helen Sloan/HBO
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister and Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister – photo Helen Sloan/HBO
For those of you with no Internet connection the last couple of days, let me break it to you: yes, we have a new season 5 Game of Thrones trailer (and this is what you get by not following herdudeness Facebook page)! So, until the 12th of April, we have to settle with the trailer and the first promo pics!                    And a bonus clip with the new cast for season 5! 
Once again, Christmas is upon us! A time of giving, joy, family and lots of food! It's also that time of the year when our favorite TV shows go on hiatus and we are stuck for about a month without new TV material! How cruel and un-christmass-y of them! Thankfully, our beloved TV characters never leave us without a Christmas special! Something to keep us going until January... Following this long tradition, almost all of our beloved TV shows have given us at least one decent christmas special!  Friends: "The one with the holiday Armadillo" Friends have given us plenty of holiday memories, but I have to admit that nothing beats that time when Ross desperately was trying to teach his son about his Jewish heritage, with the help of Santa, the holiday Armadillo and of course Superman! Another memorable holiday Friends moment, is of course Phoebe's chrismas song...  The O.C.: “The Best Christmukkah Ever” Christmas or Hanukkah? Why choose when you can have it all? It was 2003, the year that Christmukkah swept the nation (according to Seth Cohen at least). Yes. I know, it's so fangirly of me, I admit it: I was an O.C. fan. Before you go all judgy, let me tell you that it was a cool show back then! And it gave us a new holiday - with twice the resistance of a normal holiday! 
On a different vipe, a show that knows its way around Christmas episodes, keeping the narrative of the story, is Downton Abbey. 
"Christmas at Downton Abbey" was the episode that marked the beginning of Downton Abbey christmas specials and of course the moment that all fans were waiting for: Mary and Matthew finally having a happy ending (at least for the time) with him proposing in the snow at the final minutes of the episode. Hooray! Same country, completely different show. What would Christmas be without Mr Bean’s turkey trouble? Well, the story is simple: Mr. Bean wakes up on Christmas day, gives a couple of gifts to his "friends" and then tries to cook christmas dinner. With disastrous results... And it just occured to me that Friends totally ripped off the turkey scene for one of their Thanksgiving specials! Same country, same actor, different show: Blackadder's Christmas Carol, was the TV special that aired in 1988, featuring the Blackadder characters in their own -a bit twisted- version of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol"... 
Back to the States, Community, had plenty of holiday episodes, from “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas,” to "Comparative Religion" , but nothing beats "Regional Holiday Music" - an hilarious Glee parody! To quote Pierce "What the hell are Regionals??" We all know that Sheldon hates Christmas, so in the Big Bang Theory holiday episode of season 6, Leonard thought of using Dungeons & Dragons to make Sheldon love Christmas! Not so succesfuly... Christmas on SNL means loooots of memorable holiday sketches, from Stefon's christmas suggestions to NPR's Delicious Dish Schweddy Balls! And remember: even if you were a naughty child this year, don't worry! Sump'n Claus will pay you a visit! Merry TV Christmas everybody!! 
Although the Peaky Blinders season 1 (or series 1 as the British call it) aired last year, unfortunatelly I discovered this awesome show just a couple of weeks ago when some friends suggested it. The show already runned it second season this Fall and the latest news is that season 3 has already got the green light and the cast will soon be announced (yay!). 
Peaky Blinders is set at Birmingham in 1919, just after the end of the World War I. The show is centrered on the Shelby family, a gang lead by Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) that deals with illegal betting. The family is supported by Aunt Polly (Helen McCrory), a mother figure that does not hesitate to use machiavellian methods to protect her clan. The story gets complicated when Inspector Chester Campbell (Sam Neil) arrives in town to investigate the robbery of a massive quantity of guns that could be used to support IRA. To help him get closser to the Peaky Blinders - the #1 suspect- he hires Grace (Annabelle Wallis) to work undercover close to the family ang provide him information. Grace gets close to Thomas and it seems that the cruel and unemotional leader, finally reveals a week spot. 
Amazing performances, exquisite costumes and cinematography, great script, make this show one of the best shows that I have watched lately! What makes it difference from other gang related or era shows is that eventhough it deals with crime and violence, it manages to develop the characters in such a range that we come to understand and sympathize those outlaws, that are obviously deeply affected by the horrible experiences that they had during the war. Another amazing feature of the show is the music. Who would have thought that a show set in 1919 would feature music from Nick Cave, White Stripes or even the Arctic Monkeys? And trust me the execution is impeccable! To demostrate the coolness of the show, please take a look at the opening credits, which are different in every episode: Cillian Murphy is the ultimate star of the show, an actor that has already shown that he can take on an era role (at The Wind that Shakes the Barley), but at this show manages to demostrate even more his acting range. The chemistry with both his romantic interest (Annabelle Wallis) but also his nemesis Sam Neil, is powerful and helps set up some scenes that are simply an acting lesson. 
So, I already finished season 1 and am halfway in season 2, where Tom Hardy joins (!), so you will have to excuse me, I have to catch up with the show :-) In the meanwhile, enjoy the season 1 trailer! Well, it’s time to talk about obsessions & guilty pleasures. That TV Show that you are crazy about, go fangirl/boy about it but when you try discussing it with your colleagues, peers, friends, they give you that weird “what’s is that about” look and quickly change the subject... Yeap. The time has come to talk about Buffy. 
In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the forces of darkness. 
The Slayer
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, for those that lived in an alternative dimension for the past 17 years, is the ultimate vampire show that without it most of today’s vampire shows/films would never have existed. The series aired from 1997-2003 but the story starts some years earlier, in 1992 with a film that shared the same title but thankfully not a lot more. Buffy the movie starring Kristy Swanson, Luke Perry (yes, Dylan McCay) and Donald Sutherland, was a mediocre vampire comedy about a high school girl destined to become a vampire slayer. Although the film was written by the show’s creator, Joss Whedon, the final film had little to do with his original script and deluded the original vision. Following the film’s flop, our Joss never stopped believing in Buffy and when the time was right, he brought her back to life. 
Da man. Joss Whedon.
Whedon’s take on the strong female character that was the exact opposite of all the female characters in horror movies and was far beyond the typical blonde that screamed at the sight of the monsters, finally found its way to the small screen in 1997. With Emmy winner (for All My Children) Sarah Michelle Gellar and a cast of fresh faces, including Alyson Hannigan and David Boreanaz, the show started airing on March 1997 on WB, slowly becoming cult and gaining a loyal audience. 
Can it get any more '90s than that??
The vampire mythology and the monsters attacking Sunnydale on a weekly basis were not the only things that attracted the fans: the characters, their relationships, the cleverly written script, made fans love the show and the whole Buffyverse (nerdy term referring to the Buffy universe). *Attention: the following post contains spoilers .Not so many, but yes it contains spoilers. You have been warned. Now keep reading* 
You have been warned.
The CharactersBuffy and her doomed relationship with Angel, the 270 year old vampire, cursed with a soul by the gypsies, Giles and the Scooby Gang and of course Spike, Drusila and even Darla, all characters with multiple layers that evolved in an amazing way throughout the seven seasons of the show. 
The cast back in the day (does everybody see Angel grabbing Buffy's ass? No wonder why the guy lost his soul...)
Buffy Summers: Also known as the Slayer, the Chosen one, Buffster, Blondie, Pet, Goldilocks. Activated as a Slayer at the age of fifteen, Buffy is a fresh type of Vampire Slayer that enjoys witty comments during vampire slaying, has vampire allies (and boyfriends) and saves the world - a lot. Portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar, Buffy grew a lot throughout the 7 seasons on air. We saw her falling in love for the first time, slaying, dying, getting brought back to life, slaying, getting her heart broken, slaying, dying again, getting brought back to life again, slaying, getting into a nasty affair, saving the world and so on and so forth….  Power Couple #1 Angel: Also known as Angelus and Liam, he is the 270 vampire that stole Buffy’s heart and million others fans’. Vicious vampire, who was going by the name Angelus until a gypsy clan cursed him and gave him his soul back. For those of you unfamiliar, when a human becomes a vampire at the Buffyverse, his soul is taken and a demon takes over the body. So when Angel got his soul back, he also got back his conscious and his humanity, making him suffer for all the slaughters he performed while being Angelus. The complexity of the character, David Boreanaz’s charm and his undoubtful chemistry with Buffy, kept the character on the show for three seasons and even gave him his own spin off show Angel that aired for 5 seasons.  Spike: Also known as William the Bloody, Spike is my favorite character of the Buffyverse. The vampire who has killed two slayers in his unlife, arrives at Sunnydale with his immortal love Drusilla with sole purpose to kill yet another slayer (Buffy). We soon find out his history with Angel and he becomes a threat for Buffy and the Scooby Gang. Portrayed by the talented James Marsters, Spike was supposed to be killed off after his first season in Buffy, but due to his large popularity among fans he stayed on until the series end, becoming a series regular, getting a different character direction and later on joining Angel at the show’s final season. 
Scooby Gang post Hellmouth destruction
Scooby Gang: Giles (Anthony Head), Buffy’s watcher, Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan), Buffy’s friends, as well as Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) who stayed for 3 seasons and later on joined the cast of Angel, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) who joined the cast on season 5, Tara (Amber Benson) and Anya (Emma Caulfield), all formed the Scooby Gang, Buffy’s allies and research group. A powerful group that brought humor and great support to Buffy. 
The EpisodesBuffy is a show with many memorable episodes, which helped shape TV as we know it today. It was one of the first shows that introduced thematic episodes, musical episodes, even silent episodes. Here’s a list of my favorite episodes (again, *spoiler* alert): 
Hush.
#1. Hush (Season 4, Episode 10): This episode gave the show its first major Emmy nomination for cinematography and writing, which is outstanding given the fact that the majority of the episode was actually silent. In this episode, the monsters of the week, The Gentlemen, some creepy dudes in suits who have a constant smile on their face, steal the town’s voices and then start reaping hearts. A hell of a scary episode that showcases the talent of Joss Whedon, who manages to make an exceptional episode by having his actors performing silent. Excellent music. 
#2. Once More, with Feeling (Season 6, Episode 7): “So, last night, did anyone..um.. burst into song?” Well, what can I say about this episode, without bursting also into song? As Whedon said, it was his dream of making a musical episode and he had been working on the concept for years. Having Anthony Head and James Marsters in the cast helped a lot, as both actors are also skilled musicians, so when the time was right, Once More, With Feeling was brought to life. An amazing episode that skillfully combined the storyline with the musical numbers and revealed the musical talent of Emma Caulfield!  The Body #3. The Body (Season 5, Episode 16): “Mom. Mom. Mommy?” In a heartbreaking episode, Buffy faces her mom’s death. While death seems to be a daily thing in Sunnydale, this death, a natural death, yet that of a parent, seems more shocking that anything we ever witnessed in the show. The episode written and directed by Whedon, is lacking mood music and only features natural sounds, so as to make it even more raw and dramatic. Great performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar. 
Innocence
#4. Surprise (Season 2, Episode 13) & Innocence (Season 2, Episode 14): A two part episode, actually played in two days in a row when Buffy was moved from Monday to Tuesday, brings a major change in the storyline. After Buffy sleeps with Angel on her birthday, she triggers his curse, as right after he experiences his true moment of happiness with Buffy he loses his soul, becoming the villain Angelus again. His transformation will affect the rest of season 2 and his later on relationship with Buffy, as we now see that they literally cannot be together. Innocence, is actually Joss Whedon’s favorite episode.  Becoming Part II #5. Becoming, Part II (Season 2, Episode 22): “Close your eyes…” Another episode written and directed by Joss Whedon, the season 2 finale, brings Buffy head to head with Angelus, who tries to revive an ancient demon. The only way to stopping the world from ending, is for Buffy to kill Angelus. Right before she does, Angel’s soul is magically restored by Willow, but it’s too late so in order to save the world, Buffy is forced to kill Angel. A heartbreaking finale.  Fool for Love #6. Fool for Love (Season 5, Episode 7): The episode where we learn all about Spike’s story, after Buffy asks him to explain how he killed two slayers. From his siring by Drusilla and his days with Angelus, to the Boxing Revolution and ‘70s New York, we get to see yet another side of Spike and his fixation to Buffy turning in to love, when he comforts her after she hears that her mom is sick. 
The Gift
#7. The Gift (Season 5, Episode 22): "Buffy Anne Summers, 1981-2001, Beloved Sister, Devoted Friend, She Saved the world. A lot". The finale of the 5th season was written by Whedon, without him knowing what the future of the show would be, as it was facing the danger of getting cancelled. This is why Buffy dies at the end of the episode. Buffy’s sacrifice to save Dawn, Spike’s willingness to also scarify himself builds up to a really emotional finale, with the last shot being Buffy’s tombstone.. 
Conversations with Dead People
#8. Conversations with Dead People (Season 7, Episode 7): The First Evil messes with the Scooby Gang in a great episode where the fears and weaknesses of the characters are put into the test by the form of beloved ones that have passed away. Amazingly written dialogue.  Passion #9. Passion (Season 2, Episode 17): The episode where Angel at his darkest as Angelus, kills Jenny who ironically was trying to find a way to restore his soul. A turning point for Buffy that sees Angel getting more and more twisted and fears that she will never get him back. Great performance by David Boreanaz. 
The Prophecy Girl
#10. The Prophecy Girl (Season 1, Episode 12): “Sure, we saved the world. I say we party.” Written and directed by Joss Whedon, season 1 finale is the episode where Buffy first saves the world and dies –then comes back to life after Xander gives her CPR. The climax of the Master story, “The Prophecy” is the first of the series grant-world ending-finales. 
The Wish
#11. The Wish (Season 3, Episode 9): Cordelia makes a wish that Buffy had never arrived at Sunnydale and Anya (at her first appearance) grants her wish by transporting her at a Buffy-free alternative reality where Xander and Willow are vampires. The first appearance of the dopplegangers 
Doppelgangland
#12. Doppelgangland (Season 3, Episode 16): “Me as a vampire? So evil. Skanky. And I think I’m kinda gay.” This episode that has the first reference of Willow’s future sexuality, brings doppelganger Willow back in a really fun episode. WWBD: What Would Buffy Do? 
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, not only shaped TV as we know it today but actually influenced culture. Buffy was the first show that actually used the term “googled” and was the first show to a lesbian sex scene ever on network TV. 
 Buffy may aired the last episode on May 20th 2003 but the show lived on through a season 8 comic book and other spin off comic books and of course as previously said, Buffyverse lived on through Angel the series for 5 seasons, where many characters originated from Buffy starred or guest starred: Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Spike, Harmony, Buffy, Willow, Faith, Oz, even Andrew had a (hilarious) Angel episode. So, it’s fair to say that Buffy was more than a TV show. It created characters that still live on though various means, affected pop culture, introduced us to a talented generation of actors and of course to Joss Whedon the man behind Firefly, Serenity, Dollhouse and Avengers. Well, what are you waiting for? Go watch Buffy now! 
Finally a new show to get excited about! Gotham premiered yesterday and it proved to be worthy of everyone's expectations! The origins of Detective Gordon, Bruce Wayne, Catwooman, The Riddler, Penguin, Poison Ivy and the Jocker (small debate there as to whether actually saw him or not on the epilot episode), are unraveled and Gotham City comes to life. Ben McKenzie is Detective Gordon, who reminds me a lot of Gary Oldman's version (at least a younger, less experienced one) and the talented Donal Logue plays Harvey Bullockin the first live-action portrayal of the Detective. Jada Pinkett Smith plays sassy Fish Mooney, in a TV comeback after 3 years, Robin Lord Tayor is amazing as future Penguin Oswald Cobblepot and the junior league features young talents David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne, Camren Bicondova as Catwoman and Clare Foley as Poison Ivy. 
What I liked about the pilot:
The show airs every Monday on FOX.
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