Sherlock Series 3 Return Date
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X Factor NZ Live Results Show Review – Farewell Eden
Our predictions look ridiculous now, although not as ridiculous as the actual results mind you. We should have said goodbye to the rap group who keep trying to sing, L.O.V.E, or Fletcher who sounded suspiciously like a wounded animal during his rendition of Paradise during his live performance last night.
Instead we said goodbye to Eden, who seemed grateful to be leaving. I’m not saying she was a favourite of ours by any stretch of the imagination (okay joke, because Jess liked her heaps) however we didn’t get to see what she was capable of. At least in terms of popular music, we knew she was capable of writing her own music however we never got to see her sing something we knew and liked. Daniel Bedingfield had the chance to give her something good yesterday but Daniel must have been on on crack when he chose his contestants’ songs for last night.
Willy Moon’s performance could have been better. He was given a huge picture of himself by Dominic Bowden, probably taken from Dominic’s personal stash. A vast collection, stored in the same place he keeps his pregnant pauses that he likes to pull out when reading the results. Ruby’s performance was comparably better, however, insert obligatory Illuminati comment here.
L.O.V.E were saved, even though it sounded like Stan was voting them out- clarity, Stan, say it with us. We underestimated Fletcher’s primarily intermediate/college aged fanbase. It’s not that I dislike L.O.V.E it’s just that I don’t like their performances as a whole. It is painful to watch. However Eden had the chance to save herself tonight, she could have sung something popular but she went with an original. Knew she was gone at that point. But it all began with Daniel’s song choice, I cannot stress this enough. Daniel only has himself to blame here.
Well, until next week!
Special Mentions:
- Eden, when asked what her twitter handle was by Daniel on stage, said edeniris2. Tweeters were quick to search it up and discover that she made it up on the spot, trolling us all with a twitter middle finger salute. However some beautiful person’s made the account. The internet, man. The internet.
- Mel looked like she fell asleep during L.O.V.E’s performance tonight.
- Troll through the #xfactornz hashtag. The hilarity.
- Uhm why were they still wearing the same clothes from the night before?
X-Factor Voting Predictions
Right, so predictions! Getting right into it because last night’s performances were, well- I don’t know. I want to say shocking, but I also want to say not surprising. I’m in a bit of an oxymoronic pickle here. I’m just going to come right out and tell you who I expect will be going home.
My top 3 choices for who should/might be going home tonight:
L.O.V.E – When they rapped they were okay, when they sung my ears bled and they sang way too much than was necessary last night.
Tom Bachelor – His mediocre singing was offset against a creepy performance.
Fletcher – what was that? He sounded pained.
Those I believe should be given another chance:
Cassie: Daniel’s poor song choice really let her down last night. I doubt she’ll be sent home.
Those who did relatively well:
Anna – not so forgettable last night. However I think it was song choice that did it, her voice was perf for her song and it showed.
Maaka – I may have been a bit rough about him getting through over Grace, however he aced his performance last night. *Said grudgingly.* Although my sister noted that his outfit looked like something her female teacher has worn before.
Meh:
Eden – I was bored. This is a reflection of Daniel’s shite song choice, however.
Taye – Haven’t really got an opinion.
Moorhouse – Yeah I don’t even really care.
Benny – Underwhelming
Everyone else:
Gap 5 – Interesting, their harmonies went a bit south toward the end.
Whenua – He can do so much better. He’s my pick to win the competition. But idk, people are all ‘but we’ve already got a Stan Walker’ and those people might well go for other choices.
Jackie – I’m still on the fence about this one. She’s hasn’t got Lana Del Ray’s charisma.
Those who need to go home for a bit:
Daniel Bedingfield – Say it with me ‘BETTER SONG CHOICES’ or at least lay off the hot sauce buddy.
Ruby – Another judge whose song choice could have one of her contestants sent home.
Special Mentions:
- ‘Golden Thrush’ Hahahah Daniel, go home you’re drunk.
- Mel was speechless after Maaka’s performance mainly because she couldn’t speak much for fear of inhaling smoke fumes.
- Need more judge bitch fights. Can they just go at each other already?
Doctor Who 7×13 – The Name of the Doctor Review
Your name is a very important thing, as the Doctor points out ‘the name you choose is like a promise you make.’ The Doctor chose to be called the Doctor, he promised to save others, to heal. So at some point the Doctor broke that promise and was therefore not deserving of the name. Or at least a regeneration we didn’t know existed. A regeneration played by John Hurt, who we’ll have to wait until November 23rd to properly meet. (Excuse me while I go rewatch Merlin episodes.) However I’m getting ahead of myself here, let’s back up a bit.
When you are a time-traveler there is one place you must never go. One place in all of space and time you must never ever find yourself, your grave. Unfortunately that’s the one place the Doctor must go in order to save his friends, Vastra, Strax and Jenny, providing she’s still saveable at this point. The three people who cared for him during the ‘dark times’, after Amy and Rory’s departure, are in peril and being detained in the one place the Doctor should never go, Trenzalore. Why must he never go there?
On the fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the Eleventh, when no living creature can speak falsely or fail to answer, a question will be asked. A question that must never, ever be answered.
Doctor who? Who’s glad his name was never uttered aloud for us to hear? It was answered, by River, but no one heard. Oh sweet heavens, there would have been pandemonium otherwise, that or great disappointment. However there we are, against the TARDIS’ wish, on Trenzalore because the Great Intelligence (and his Whisper Men) can’t give it a break. We discover the Doctor’s Tomb within the dying TARDIS, that was beautiful despite leaking the essence that makes it bigger on the inside.
Before we get there, however, we had to go through the secret passageway, River Song’s ‘tombstone’.
Seeing River again was lovely. Saying goodbye was… difficult. The Doctor doesn’t like endings, we know this. Nor do we. So his goodbye to River was, well, bittersweet. Because it hurt, but it was perfect. I mean:
Making him say goodbye like he was coming back was the closest thing to a goodbye you can get with the Doctor. Although, I still believe this isn’t the last we’ll see of River. She’s mentally linked to Clara now. However how and what exactly that entails is… Spoilers. Damn it!
And the answer to the Impossible Girl finally rears its head. We finally understand who/what Clara is. It makes sense, just don’t try to delve too far into it. When the Great Intelligence decides to walk into the Doctor’s time stream and essentially rewrite the Doctor, undoing all the right the Doctor’s done it sets his time stream on fire and the only way to save it is for Clara to also jump into the Doctor’s time stream. In doing so she is torn into a million pieces by the winds of time, a million versions of herself, living and dying all over time and space. She becomes a million copies, echoes, of herself. This is how she becomes that impossible girl. River says that she wouldn’t be her anymore, however I like to think that it is all of her versions that make Clara who she is. She is, after all, the impossible girl. These versions of her are ingredients of Clara, spread out through time and space. She is soufflé girl because all of her echoes make her. ‘The soufflé isn’t the soufflé — the soufflé is the recipe.’
I don’t know where I am. I just know I’m running. Sometimes it’s like I’ve lived a thousand lives in a thousand places. I’m born, I live, I die. And always there’s the Doctor. Always I’m running to save the Doctor. Again and again and again. And he hardly ever hears me, but I’ve always been there. Right from the very beginning. Right from the day he started running.
So who, then. Is this version of the Doctor that doesn’t deserve the name? Who is he? We’ve seen a few theories thrown about here and there. The Valeyard. Ninth Doctor? A regeneration of himself that occurred just before or during the Time War to do the unspeakable in order to come out the other side, not unscathed but alive and psychologically damaged enough to bury the memory beneath the surface? We won’t know until the 50th Anniversary episode, where we will encounter David Tennant and Billie Piper reprising their roles as Ten and Rose and of course, John Hurt as… “The Doctor.“
And with that I leave you with the final scene, just in case you needed it. Who am I kidding? Of course you need it again.
Special Mentions:
- Strax, everything this Sontaren says deserves to be preserved in an archive of hilarity.
- ‘Those little Daleks.’ HAHAHAHAHA
- ‘What kind of idiot would try and steal a faulty TARDIS?’ This guy.
Care to theorise?
X Factor NZ – Top 12 Review
If you missed today’s episode here’s a concise little rundown. The judges made some predictable decisions and some unpopular decisions. And *le gasp* TWIST! They each get to choose a contestant they rejected as a Wildcard that we have to scramble to text in or vote on facebook to save. I voted for Grace. You should also do the same. More about why you have to vote for Grace in the Overs paragraph.
The Groups
Predictable. She kept Moorhouse and Gap 5, I don’t mind so much. Although can Moorhouse tone down the cheese? Channel the need to be cheesy into making your voices stronger. I still can’t get over the fact that she sent home the one group who gave the best performance during the Judge’s Retreats episode, Anabac. And what’s worse she decides to put TYP as her Wildcard. No what’s worse is she put L.O.V.E through. We all know who the first group to go home will be, the one with the least members.
The Overs
Stan stan stan, yes those are his choices. Taye, the Blonde with the forgettable voice and Maaka, whose performance wasn’t very enjoyable, let alone Top 12 material. Grace aced her performance and she’s being sent home. I can still remember Jessy’s voice, and she got sent home. At least Stan made Grace his Wildcard. I have to agree with his choice to let Bryan go, however.
The Boys
Ruby’s first choice, Whenua, was obviously her best choice. Hopefully getting through to the top 12 will encourage Tom to take a shower. Benny’s original audition is the only reason he’s made it this far, that and Ruby’s toner. There’s a chance Fletcher’s fangirls could push him into the that 13th spot.
The Girls
Daniel’s decision to not put Oriana through to the final round lost him one of his strongest voices. Cassie was an obvious choice and we all knew that Jackie wouldn’t have been called back for nothing. Eden’s an interesting choice, I would like to see her sing something other than her own music, because this is X Factor and that’s what this show is about unfortunately. She could quickly become alienated if she continues to sing her own music over and over again. It’s also a bit annoying, save that for when you’re not in the competition anymore.
So who will be voted into the final top 12th, well 13th, spot? I don’t know. It could swing either way really. Do you even care? I’m invested, it’s why I’m angry. Haha yeah I’ll keep watching and I’ll even vote. Seriously though, the ad for next week is pretty sleek. Well done guys, just don’t cut the contestants off during their live performances to talk abut their feelings, okay?
Special Mentions:
- Twitter Corner:
And in that weird part of Twitter we have Dominic Harvey. This guy secretly wants to be publicly stoned aye? This dude is ALWAYS stepping over the line. Here’s the line
__________________________________________________________
And all
the
way
down
here
is
Dom.
Game of Thrones 3×03 Walk of Punishment and 3×04 And Now His Watch Has Ended Reviews
Walk of Punishment
Awkward, when your marksmanship is so bad that your uncle the Blackfish has to snatch the bow and arrow off you and set your dad’s funeral pyre on fire himself. Edmure isn’t the most competent of Tullys, however he is Hoster Tully’s heir. Think about that. That’s mean, especially considering if you’ve read the books you know he’s more than just a bit of a blundering fool, he’s someone who cared enough about his people to open up the doors of the castle for his smallfolk.
The thing about family dynamics in such a show is that it’s always, well, messed up. Robb seems to forget that if anyone’s made the hugest blunder in his camp, it’s the person that stares back at him in the mirror.
Back at King’s Landing Tywin calls a meeting and watches as Varys, Littlefinger (Lord of Harrenhal, laugh at the joke, go on.) and Maester Pycelle scramble for the ‘best seats’ while his two (adult) children make do with what is left and how they both handle it is of interest. I can’t remember whether this particular tidbit is in the novel, however I will say this. This one scene is the equivalent of a chapter in terms of character exposition. Cersei will drag her chair from the end of the table to be right beside her father. Tyrion, however, not content with sitting on the sidelines, or being put there, drags his chair to the other end of the table directly across from Tywin. Unfortunately he then has to sit there and be made Master of Coin. Ouch.
Arya and Gendry’s with the Brotherhood- who have the Hound. She wants the Hound to be punished for what he did to the baker’s boy the last time they were at the particular inn.
Theon gets ‘saved’ by someone he thinks is sent by Asha- sorry, I mean Yara. We, readers of the series, know who he really is. He’s a bastard. Literally.
We check in with Jon Snow beyond the wall kickin’ it with Mance Raydar and the Wildlings. They come across some nice artwork left by whitewalkers. The Night’s Watch were attacked and the survivors make their way back to Craster’s keep, where Gilly is having her baby and the men try to warm themselves near Craster’s fire without killing him.
Dany, in Astapor, is shown walking along the Walk of Punishment. A wall where slaves who’ve ‘stepped out of line’ are strapped to a cross and left to die in public. She offers one a drink but he tells her he wants to die. Dany is witnessing slavery at its worst in Astapor and being the kind of person she is, you can see that it troubles her. She haggles with Kraznys mo Nakloz, through the translator Missandei who tries to relate Kraznys’ vulgar words much more delicately, about acquiring all of the Unsullied, even those that are not fully trained. She winds up using Drogon as a bargaining chip, something that Ser Jorah and Selmy (who’s there to serve, aww yeah) argue with her over. Daenerys does not take kindly to them opposing her in public. She also takes Missandei, who’s much older here than she is in the books. But that’s cool.
Ah yes and Jaime, trying to save Brienne from being raped, gets his sword-hand cut off.
The world of GRRM is a cruel place, for those high and low born. But we already know that. There are a few more highborn folk who have yet to discover this.
Special Mentions:
- Podrick Payne, a lover as well as a fighter it seems.
- Farewell Hot Pie and don’t burn your fingers. Sage advice from Gendry.
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And Now His Watch Has Ended
I just want to stare at Daenerys Stormborn’s badassery for a bit. This episode was, in a sense, crazy! Crazy good! I’m pretty sure I didn’t blink for the final ten minutes of the episode. The final scene was like Baddassery 101. Dany not only cements herself as the most BAMF character of the season, she does it so flawlessly that you can’t help but hate yourself for ever doubting she would make it this far in the early stages of your ASOIAF reading/GOT watching career.
What is a man without his other hand? The aftermath of Jaime sans hand is pretty bleak, I mean dude lost a hand.
The Hound is sentenced to trial by combat and the person he’s to fight is…Beric Dondarrion! Dun dun dunnnnn! Arya’s still not impressed- because in her mind the Hound’s already guilty. Well, because he is.
Bran had a dream that his mum chucked him out of a tree. Um?
Dianna Rigg- honestly Lady Olenna making Varys slightly uncomfortable is the best thing ever.
Cersei, sucks to be you.
Margaery trying to work her magic for Sansa. It’s sweet. Really.
Remember how the Night’s were trying to keep warm without killing Craster? Everyone fails. Why? Because Craster’s a creep and eggs them on and one thing leads to another and before long the place is in chaos. Honestly, MUTINY ENSUES! Which seems to come out of nowhere, but really has been brewing for a bit. The Lord Commander literally gets stabbed in the back. Samwell’s crawled out of the place by that point, but stops by to find that Gilly’s given birth to a son, and they run.
But I keep coming back to the end of the episode. I swear I’ve re-watched it like fifteen times. I was getting antsy about the whole ‘does she/doesn’t she speak Valyrian’ situation. Because in the books you know straight away that this dude is really pissing her off, however with the television show you’re not inside Dany’s head so you don’t know until that moment where she yells out ‘Unsullied!’ in Valyrian and you just double fist pump like you did at the end of the 2011 Rugby World Cup final- well unless you were France. I mean she reveals that she speaks Valyrian and then has the Unsullied kill all the slavers and then frees the Unsullied, giving them the choice to walk away so that they follow her willingly, WILLINGLY. AWWWWW MAN WHEN DROGON KILLED KRAZNYS BY FIRE BEFORE JUST FLYING AROUND BREATHING FIRE- THE EPICNESS IS UNCONTROLLABLE! When Dany throws the whip down and the Unsulllied trample on it is as they march past. Dany doesn’t need a whip to command love and respect.
Special Mentions:
- A Dragon is not a slave.
- In the book series I really start to understand the honor code that Jaime lives by, and in a way it’s heartbreaking. I hate and love that they’re beginning to go into that, because the internal conflict it causes, both for viewer and character. However the way Martin makes Jaime much more complex than just being the other half of an incestuous, villainous, set of Lannister twins.
- Ramsay, ya’ bastard.
- And now his watch has ended. *creys*
X Factor NZ – Judges’ Retreats
Wow, the retreats were pretty cool. I mean- was it summer still when this was filmed? Because one of chicks in the Groups chucked herself into the pool, the Groups and Over 25s stayed in New Zealand.
I have to get this off my chest, the editing on the show has been pretty ace so far- so whose decision was it to have contestants talking over their performances? I mean, surely they won’t be interrupting live performances with voice overs of what the contestants’ hopes and dreams are. I suppose it comes down to cutting down time and having just one episode of the performances at the judges’ retreats as opposed to more. It’s still rather grating to cut into a performance like that, but them’s the breaks. Also, they brought someone back, Jackie. Skinny Love chick who stuffed up during Boot Camp.
Let’s just cut to the chase, Daniel’s bright pants. Joking. The best and worst of tonight’s performances.
The Groups
Anabac: Hands down had the best performance of the groups I reckon.
Gap 5: Were alright. That final note they sang was a bit weird. Anyone else notice it?
Moorehouse: Kind of bored me to be honest, however I think they’re a shoe in.
L.O.V.E: Can we stop it now?
Voltech: Don’t even get me started. What was with the animal print? When do they get stylists?
TPY: Oh honey, no.
The Boys
Whenua: He’s going through, one of the performances I definitely wish didn’t have a running commentary just cut through it. If he doesn’t go through you’ve gotta wonder what Ruby’s looking for. It’d be the Y Factor.
Fletcher: Will your looks get you through to the next round? Also, his voice broke very briefly during his performance. Anyone else hear it? Glorious.
Benny: His headband distracted me. Also, people are still waiting on the Neil Finn shade.
Tom: I’m sorry, I checked out when he noted that you can never have too many socks.
Taiaroa: Distinctive voice, enough to put him through?
Liam: He’s got a nice country voice. But is New Zealand a country music country as a whole?
The Girls
Oriana: Performed a nice rendition of Girl on Fire- bonus, she wore red. Because fire is red guys. And in Game of Thrones, if you’re a wildling and kissed by fire you’re good luck. Not that Oriana’s a wildling, and being kissed by fire means being ginger.
Jackie: Back from the abyss of rejection! She sang a favourite song of mine. Was it enough to keep her in the competition?
Eden: Someone noted that Eden can’t just keep singing her own songs. This show’s about appealing to the masses and most of the time what appeals to the masses includes singing what the masses already know and like.
Madeline: Someone called her Duffy Wigmore, stop it! She sounds nothing like Duffy or Gin, and by nothing I mean exactly.
Finlay: She clopped onto the porch and bored me a bit. Why didn’t she sing a rockish type song?
Cassie: Her voice is on the straight and narrow.
Aotea: Sang a Frank Ocean song, she’s got a nice voice but I don’t know that she had the right voice for an Ocean song.
The Over 25s
Grace: Admitted she can’t learn a song within 2-3 days. Uhm, you’re lucky you have an amazing voice.
Taye: Why were you crying?
Jessie: Why did you choose Somewhere Over the Rainbow? Why? (Forever ruined by the force of nature that is Carly Rose Sonenclar.)
Maaka: I don’t know that he did enough to make it through to the top 12.
Anna: Someone said she’s got the look and the voice. I’m not sure I agree.
Bryan: He sang Robbie Williams.
Special Mentions:
- RACHEL STEVENS!!!! Sorry, I’m a child of the 90s, so an S Club veteran was whoa. (Granted their attempt at a comeback was very sad, have you seen the clip? I still love them!) Yeah. Woop! NEVER HAD A DREEEEEAM COME TRUE, TIL THE DAY THAT I FOUND YOU! REACH FOR THE STARRRRRSSSS CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN HIGHER! S CLUB MASH-UP!!!
- The Boys’ reactions to being mentored by Ruby Frost.
- Twitter Corner: Twitter was a hot mess this week. I can’t even choose!
