Grimm: Procedural Cop Show or Monster Show?

Why do I ask?  Obviously it’s a show about a monster killer. . .who’s a cop. . .who doesn’t want to kill monsters. . . OK maybe now you see my issue.  I started this show intrigued by the premise.  Harry Potter meets the Winchesters.  Man finds out he’s special and from a long line of monster killers and now he’s keeping Portland safe.  Sounds cool right?  I even did a write up on how the show had hope.  The first season was somewhat weak, but I find that a lot of shows have this issue and can get past that.  I keep waiting for this show to get past it’s mediocrity and it just can’t seem to make that happen.

I really think the reason for this is because it can’t decide what it is.  Even with it’s odd premise it seems to be being written as a procedural cop show.  Yeah, NBC knows how to do procedural cop shows, but as Dean said, “I hate procedural cop shows! There’s like three hundred of them on television, they’re all the freakin’ same.” (Supernatural episode 8 Season 5, “Changing Channels”)

I don’t harbor the same hatred for cop shows, I even enjoy some Law and Order every now and then. (I’ll even admit to having seen every episode of NCIS– ’cause evidently I’m a closet 80 year old republican).  But this show cannot be a regular cop show with slow character development.  This is a show with monsters in it!  Monsters that Nick is pretty much contractually obligated to kill.  I also get that he is conflicted about this job, that he’s made friends with some of these monsters and doesn’t want to kill them right off. I just don’t care. He’s not funny, he’s not badass, he’s not sexy.  He could be all these things, or even 2 out of 3 with very little effort.  I am at a loss as to why there isn’t any effort put forward to make the main characters likeable.

I want to like these guys.

My favorite character is still Monroe, but they are holding back with him too.  He has a cute love interest, but that love story is the has very little emotional investment.  It’s like watching middle schoolers date.  I’m not saying that I’m looking for Game of Thrones love scenes or even Sons of Anarchy, but I cared more about Sam and Jessica’s relationship in the first episode of Supernatural than I care about Nick and Juliette or Monroe and Rosalee.  (Jax and Tara, Shawn and Juliet, Tony and Ziva, hell even Cersei and Jamie have me more emotionally involved then the relationships on Grimm)

“Have fun storming the castle!” (Note: I was also more invested in Miracle Max and his wife’s relationship)

My frustration reached it’s peak during this last episode with the evil Santa had all those kids strung up in the tree.  Nick, Hank and Monroe debated whether or not this guy who had been eating kids for who knows how long should be killed.  Seriously?  Sam and Dean would have shot him in the face and not thought twice about it.  Buffy, Angel, and all the other monster killers out there too would have agreed eating kids is bad.  Evidently Nick is cool with it though and just turned him over to let someone else deal with him.  Way to not take responsibility for something that is totally your job.

FYI: This is something you kill.

Here’s my message to NBC, Stephen Carpenter, David Greenwalt, Jim Kouf and Thomas Ian Griffith:  This is not a cop show, this is not a family show, this is a monster show.  Let it be what it is.  This show needs character development, it needs witty dialog, it needs romance, and it needs overarching plot lines.  The bones are there.  The main character is attractive, the supporting cast are talented, and the main premise is interesting.  It just needs some meat.  Let Nick get it done– give him some demension, and I’m pretty sure Juliette needs to get killed off, horrifically (sorry Bitsie Tulloch– I like you a lot, but Nick needs some tragedy and he also needs some romance– romance we see from the beginning).  I want to like this show so much and I keep watching it hoping that it will finally live up to my expectations.

Related articles

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• Star finds meaty role on ‘Grimm’ (toledoblade.com)
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Top 10 Moments from Supernatural’s Holy Terror

BEFORE YOU CONTINUE!  I have a few things to disclose.  First off there will be a ton of spoilers in this post so if you haven’t watched yet– STOP.  OK and the next thing is that this really isn’t a top 10 list.  Don’t get me wrong.  I will use numbers and list things, but I make no promises on either getting to 10 or limiting myself to 10.  As long as we’re clear on that.

Since I’m not sticking to the list rules we’ll start with 1.

1.  I feel Dean’s frustration.  He tried to save Sam (again) and it’s (of course) not going as planned. All he wants is Sam whole.  But how long has it been since Sam was truly whole?  I’m going to say college.  I would like to preference my next statement with this:  I love this show and don’t want Sam to die.  However, I have been rewatching the series again and Dean goes through this whole, “what’s dead should stay dead” phase and now he’s totally not playing by those rules.  Dean should have let Sam go.  Sam was ready, Sam wanted to be free.  I feel like this is less about saving and taking care of Sam and more about Dean not having to be alone.  (Once again although that’s how he should have been I need Sammy just as much as Dean does.) End of series finale prediction: At the end of Supernatural Season 15 Sam and Dean go through with a suicide pact.  One that kills a ton of demons and angels at the same time.

2. I also feel for Sam.  Think about it.  He’s missing time, he doesn’t remember how he got places, this is a legitimate concern he should have.  After all this wouldn’t be the first time he lost it mentally.  Just a few years ago Sam had Satan riding shotgun and before that he was running around soulless doing some cold heartless things.  Also his look when Dean says, “would I lie?” breaks my heart.  Yes, Dean would lie, yes Same knows he would and yes Dean is lying.  I miss when they trusted each other (that may have also been back when Sam was in college). Sam, we love you.

3. Now on to Zeke, or Gadriel or whatever he’s calling himself these days.  I think most of us had a suspicion that Zeke wasn’t really Zeke, or if he was Ezekiel something had changed him and he was no longer the good guy that Cas vouched for.  As long as I’m sympathizing with people though I must say I sympathize with Gadriel too.  If he’s been locked up since the snake got into the garden he has no way of knowing what’s going on.  I understand how he could trust God’s scribe.  Speaking of Metatron he is doing a bang up job of manipulating Gadriel.  Just enough reminders of why he was punished in the first place and then offering him redemption.  Redemption. It’s the same way he got to Cas. I wanted to scream when Gadriel said this to Dean:

OK Sam and Dean are pretty much the only 2 safe characters in this show and by safe I mean if they die they probably won’t stay dead long.  Still though, even if (when) they get Sam back he is going to be sooooooo angry and hurt.  What Dean did to save Sam has now hurt people they love.  Sam doesn’t really like that kinda stuff.

4. Cas. Cas, Cas, Cas.  I am both really glad that Cas got his/a grace back so that he can assist with everything now and really loving the skills that he has picked up or refined during his stint as a human.  As awesome as it was to see him escape from all the evil angels I was saddened by the fact that lying comes so easily to him now.  He didn’t even hesitate slitting Theo’s throat open to get his grace and instead of healing the vessel he killed (I feel like smote is a better term for that) him.  I am glad that he has proven that he can survive on his own though.  As much as I love how much he works with the boys, he is somewhat like a overly dependent girlfriend.  He has just waiting around for direction from the boys and I’m glad that he’s finally decided that he can handle himself.  I think that maybe he actually can.

This is a new self confident Cas that we’ve seen question Dean’s decisions.  It’s been a long time since he’s had direction and motivation all on his own.  I’m excited to see where this goes.  Cause this is a Cas I can get behind– this is the Cas that should have taken over Heaven (maybe he will again??)

5.  I just have a tiny bit to say about Crowley.  First off why hasn’t Dean gotten him to help from the beginning?!?! No I don’t trust Crowley, yes he’s done horrible things, but seriously at some point you have to realize, “everything is going to hell, but wait, I have the King of Hell locked up– lets use him!”  Next I wonder how different he will be after being partially cured.  Will he be able to torture Gadriel with the same enthusiasm that he normally would have?  That’s pretty much all I have about him, other than the fact that I love Mark Sheppard and am glad he will have a bigger part after the break.

 

6. Metatron.  Yeah I can’t even.  Nope.  Don’t like you.  I hope Cas is the one that kills you. The end.

7-10.

Kevin. Freakin’. Solo.  I have loved Kevin since we met him.  I loved his homework timer, his obsession with getting perfect scores, his high stress life and I even loved that he had a kinda, but not really, girlfriend that was just as crazy (way to go Kev).  When I think of Kevin Tran I think of this kid:

Osric Chau has done an amazing job not only bringing Kevin to life, but he truly seems to love the Supernatural family.  I find that awesome.  I love reading his tweets because he seems to truly understand what Twitter is for unlike some other celebrities (little known fact: it is in fact not there to sell products or as a pulpit to preach from).  Kevin has had his life turned upside down and then sideways, but he has worked hard to fight against evil.  He was a 100% good souled character which isn’t easy to find in this show.  Dean, Sam, and Cas (as well as all the other characters that are now gone) manipulate and lie to get what they want or think they want.  Even though they are good guys in our eyes they have hurt plenty of people along the way.  Kevin wasn’t like that.  Kevin wanted to take down the enemy, but he didn’t manipulate.  I hate Metatron for using Gadriel to do this and I hate that Gadriel fell for it.  I just hope that before Crowley finishes with him Gadriel realizes what he’s done.  Kevin Tran you will be missed.

And we won’t forget you.

 

(all of these GIF’s are from Tumblr.  Amazing people made them and they are not me).

 

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BREAKING NEWS: Elves Declare War on Dinovember

I recently introduced you to Felix and Fiona, a pair of Elves on the Shelves (that’s the correct plural form right?).  Things have suddenly taken a nasty turn. Evidently they received word about Dinovember and in response to what they see as interlopers trying to divert attention from their one month of living a year they decided to take action.

WARNING: The following photo may be disturbing to some.  It may also cause mass hysteria.

It seems they have not only issued this warning to all plastic dinosaurs they have also taken the largest, most powerful hostage.  No word at this time from the remaining dinosaurs.  We will update as this situation develops.

Pink Ariel Dress Tutorial

I had already planned on making my daughter a Cinderella gown for her 4th birthday and to take to Disneyland this Christmas, but then a friend of mine asked if I could make Ariel the Little Mermaid’s pink gown for her daughter for a Christmas present.  Evidently the pink one isn’t as readily available and Etsy has them for the low low price of $300.  So after some Googling I decided that I could alter my Cinderella pattern to be able to make both dresses at once.  And then of course decided that I couldn’t make just one pink satin dress and then, in my daughter’s eyes, get rid of it.   So here’s how I did it.  I tried to break it down  as simple as possible, but if you don’t understand something, just ask!

I used Simplicity Pattern 2817  and then just made adjustments to make it look like the Ariel dress. A 3 year old doesn’t need so much cleavage (or really any), but I do think that puffed sleeves and skirt volume is a must.  I used a costume pink satin and then used a stiffer white special occasion fabric to add body.  I added a crinoline to my daughter’s, but the one I sold didn’t have one so I wanted it to have enough shape to not look limp while she was playing in it.  I didn’t want to add tulle because although tulle is cute, it’s itchy and bunches.

I made the top just as it instructed, but I would recommend cutting the front piece on the fold of the fabric. I don’t understand why they want you to sew that together.  I did it with this dress, but not when I made the Cinderella one.Just keep in mind that you need to shift the pattern off the fold the length of the seam allowance or it will make the front bigger than the stated size.  Unless that’s what you’re going for. I also added interfacing down the back because I didn’t put in buttons, but eyelets and lace. Here’s photos of progress so far:

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I lined it in the stiffer white.  Lining is a lot cheaper, but like I said I wanted this to hold up and the pink satin wasn’t real sturdy. Also I top stitch everything that could ever possibly need it.  I think it looks neater and helps hold everything together.

Now we come to the part where I changed things.  I wanted puffed slashed sleeves so I used the sleeve pattern for the Snow White dress instead of the Cinderella sleeves.  That means a different sleeve and it also had an armband at the bottom of the puff.  Now I cut out 2 pink and 2 white.  You don’t really have to cut the white into the sleeve shape, I just found that easier to keep track of everything.  So what you do is you then cut all the sleeves into strips and sew the white strips in.  That makes sense right?  Well here are some visual explanations:

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I stack them all up and then cut them together so both sides match.  The thing to make sure is that it starts and ends in pink and that you keep the pink strips in order.  You will use ALL pink strips, but not all the white ones.  This method kinda wastes fabric, so if you have a better idea– DO IT!  OK once they are sewn together they will look kinda messy, but don’t worry, we’ll fix that.

The next step is to sew the pink sections together at the top and bottom leaving the space in the middle open.  Now it should look more like the original sleeve, but it will have white sections like Ariel.  Turn the sleeve over and trim and clean up the white.  Right here is when a serger comes in handy.  It cleaned up the area and cut off the white at the same time.  Here’s what you should have now:

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DO NOT ATTACH THE SLEEVES YET! Ariel has long sleeves so after I sewed the arm banding on the bottom of the sleeve I added a long pointed sleeve.  You can make this pattern but making the top as wide as the arm banding, from the middle of the banding measure down how ever long you need the sleeve to be plus 1/2 inch, then 1/2 inch below the bottom draw a line as wide as you need the wrist to be (make sure it will be loose enough), connect the ends of the wrist line to the ends of the armband lines.  Once again that’s really confusing so here’s a picture:

I then finished the pointed end of the sleeve then attached it to the same seam where the sleeve and armband meet.

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OK then just attach the sleeves as the regular pattern calls for it just make sure that you have the armband facing the right direction.  Believe me (not that I would make that mistake– *cough cough*).  Now you have this!

Yay!  It’s starting to look like more than a mess of fabric!

So I’m sure you see the skirt next to her on the dress form.  The pattern has 2 parts for the skirt, a side and back piece and a front piece.  For this dress I cut all pieces out in the white and cut out another set of side/back pieces in the pink to make an overskirt.  I sewed the pieces of the white together like the pattern asked, then sewed the two pink ones together, then attached the pink and white at the top of the skirt leaving an inch free at the edge of the pink that meets the center front piece (that way I could finish the edge down the front easily.  I had this:

looks fantastic right?  OK not so much, but trust me on this.  I trimmed up the front of the pink so that it had a more sloping gradual opening then I attached the skirt to the top.  The white front piece I gathered between the darts on the top  and then distributed and gathered the pink the rest of the way around.  Ta da!  You’re almost done!

I have serged all my edges which makes the hemming a lot easier.  I made the pink skirt shorter than the white to reflect the Ariel dress a little more.  After I was all done hemming I added the eyelets and just used pink ribbon.  I like to mark all the eyelets on one side and then do the other.  I find that makes them look much more even then trying to do both sides at one time.  Here’s the back:

This dress is the one I sold and she is a couple sizes bigger than my daughter, so that’s why I left the ribbon long and the dress is a bit big.  I also had issues getting my little girl to stand still.  I’ll try posting some more detailed shots when she wears this in Disney.  Surely she’ll get tired and sit still at some point right??

Here’s some more photos and if you want to know how I made my super easy, non itchy crinoline keep reading.

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OK for the crinoline I bought an old square dance crinoline on eBay and cut it to be 4 inches wider than what she needed it to be, serged the back together leaving the cotton portion open for easy on and off, ran some twill tape through the old elastic casing and voila!

twirling!

the new back serged together

It’s soft and washable.  I can use it with any of her gowns.  Cause, yes she has gowns.  Speaking of which pictures of her Cinderella gown will be up soon.

The Elf on the Shelf Queen

I sew, I bake, my children sing, but I am a horrible Elf on the Shelf mom. I forget about it, I make up horrible explanations and I’m really just not that great with the whole Santa thing either. I make up for it by having a friend that is insanely good at it.  Like, make you ashamed that all you did was run into the room right before your kids did and move him from one bookcase to the other.  This lady is a fierce, strong, DIVA.  She mostly scared me in college and now I mostly stand back in awe of her.  She is an hilarious heartfelt writer who really should have a blog of her own and her kids are the kind of awesome that you’re excited when she shares a story or posts a picture (lets be honest there are a few people you hide in your newsfeed because of all the baby photos– well this is not that person).  Her name is Lindsey Blackwell and here’s her story in her own words:

When Felix first came to our house I was “meh.” about the whole thing. For the first year he sat quietly on the shelf. Three year old Emma had about as much interest in that elf as she did in eating asparagus or cleaning the windows. It wasn’t on her radar. So that year, he moved quietly from one shelf to another. Usually he moved in a panic at around 5am accompanied by strong language from a frazzled mommy who realized the three year old was running down the stairs behind her. No one else I knew had an elf. No one I knew had Facebook, either. All was well at our house.

Fast forward to Christmas 2010. Kid A had turned 6 and Kid B was a delightful one year old. We were celebrating our first year in our new digs and I was celebrating a Christmas with a new outlook, one not marred by the wretched memories of the year before. We were happy and against my better judgment I found myself being downright chipper. I know. Disturbing. This was about the time that Felix began acting out. It started with a few candy wrappers and a mess left in the kitchen. And before we knew it, he was sitting in Emma’s jewelry box looking like Lady Gaga.

Every morning got increasingly exciting at our house as Kid A would run through shouting about Felix’s whereabouts and small child Blackwell was hot on her heels although I suspect he didn’t know why. You know how one year olds are, they’ll laugh just because everyone around them is laughing and if everyone were to run screaming into a burning building, they’ll follow just to be a part of it. They’re funny that way. Anyways, back to that elf. The year ended pleasantly enough and Felix went back to the cupboard, shoved hastily into a cramped position where he would remain for the next 11 months.

Now we’ve reached the Elf of Christmas Present. This year, I started to think about Felix in November. I started to have these ideas. So it began. Felix started slow, eating candy and leaving treats but he quick escalated out of my control. I saw what was happening. I saw my friend’s Facebook elf pictures and it annoyed me. I would scroll down, eyes rolling, thinking “Please don’t let me be that mommy” and “Oh great, there’s that cute mommy again with her cute elf making cute cupcakes.” The whole thing made me nauseous. But it was too late. That damned elf had me in his grip. I couldn’t stop. I could tell you that I do all this out of some desire to “give joy and happiness to the hearts of children”. But that’s only part of it. I do it because I like it. A lot. Too much. Once I began this descent into Elf mischief I knew what had to happen. I knew my primary goal for 25 days would be to constantly outdo myself. It’s quite exhausting, being in competition with your own self. But yet here we are.

Felix takes a moment for prayer

Did I mention she was an awesome mom?

He even likes ballet

and jewlery

and vandalism

This is about the peak of my own imagination

He began baking some Paula Deen

Then Felix joined a band and things went downhill

Left to his own devices Felix began acting out

Deciding he was lonely Lindsey arranged a marriage for their first elf. Mail order bride and everything.

The big event

Of course Spiderman is the best man

Officiated by Mickey

Fiona’s side of the family

The happy couple

Felix is obviously a bad influence on his new wife

a really bad influence

I’m impressed she didn’t rip this down on accident after setting it up

Felix does try to protect his new bride from Spidey

So yeah and if that’s not enough she also sings like this.  I love her in spite because of all her awesomeness.  I will keep adding photos of her elf as she continues her insanity this year.  She has stated plans for a Hunger Games themed elf adventure and that Felix and Fiona evidently have a message to the dinosaurs that are causing all that mischief.  So stay tuned so see how crazy she is what her elves get into!

Related articles

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