I may be a day late on this review, but did you really think that I would go this week without reviewing this episode?  This was probably the best episode since episode 4, The Killer Within, which has been the best episode thus far.  We see growth in a couple of characters, we see someone who really shows he is much more than an errand boy, and a brother who is going to have to make a choice and most of all, more Michonne.

We see a zombie gut soaked Michonne against the fence line with zombies on both sides of her not attacking her at first because she was smelling like them.  Some how one of the zombies realizes she is not one of them and decides to attack her.  That leads to one of my favorite things about Michonne which is her slicing zombies up with her katana.   As that was going on, she was being watched by Rick and Carl.  Carl shows some initiative and starts popping off zombies with his pistol as Rick runs to get the keys to unlock the gate to get the formula from Michonne.  What was impressive was that Carl followed Rick to help with the zombies and retrieving the formula with reckless abandon.  He has become another leader within the group and not just some punk kid.

We finally see interaction with Michonne and the rest of the group while she was being treated for the gunshot wound she received from Merle.  We start to see two alphas within the group.  Michonne is not one that is going to let Rick boss her around and Rick surely will not give up his reigns as well.  It will be interesting to see how this is going to go on in the second half of the season.  One more thing about Michonee, and it was pointed out by Yvette Nicole Brown on the Talking Dead, is that Michonne really seems to closely inspect everyone.  You can see as she closely analyzes everything and everyone to get an idea of how they are and if they can be trusted.  We also see that Rick is not the only person to arbitrarily kill someone when we see what she did with the hermit in the shack of a house the group was in when they took off to search for Glenn and Maggie.

Speaking of Glenn and Maggie, we see how their toughness is when they are being questioned by The Governor in Woodbury.  Thanks to Merle, they are being held captive and The Governor also knows about the other group and that the same group is what Andrea used to be part of.  We see Glenn's toughness and true manhood evolve here as Merle beat on him.  No matter how much punishment he took, he was not going to give up the group.  Not even when a gun was pointed to him.  As a matter of fact, Glenn even posted up when the gun was pointed in his direction.  He was ready to die for the group if it were to come to it.  We also see how sadistic the Governor is  when he pulled a "power" move on Maggie, but Maggie held her own, for a while.  She finally cracks and gives the wanted information.

We also see one of The Governor's men trying to test on a subject.  Does a "walker" have the ability to remember its past.  Also he had Andrea helping him as well.  We do see when the old man turns, he is just another zombie and Andrea kills it right away and at the same time saving the Governor's man.  What is really starting to get to me though is the naiveté of Andrea.  I love the fact that Robert Kirkman changes things up from the comic, but I do not like where he has taken the Andrea character on the show.  I am at the point to where I am complaining about her as well.  He redeemed the Carl character this season, now I am waiting for the redemption of the Andrea character.  Only time will tell.

All I know is that I am hyped up for the mid-season finale.  I expect a lot of stuff to go down, and I am sure another big time character will go down and join the deceased.  Like I said before, this is the best episode after episode 4, and I am hoping the next episode will be even better.  

9.0

Richard Marroquin
txrich1974

 

Okay so Rick is struggling with his loss of Lori.  The episode picks up where we left off last week with Rick on the phone.  We hear a familiar voice on the other line who tells Rick of a safe place where there have been no attacks, but she gives no specifics to where she is.  We see Rick losing a little more of his mind by the minute. There is really no telling when he may be back to his normal self.  Rick tries to convince Herschel that if they can only get the people on the other side of the phone conversation to agree to let Rick and the gang join them it would be better for them.  Herschel of course has his doubts about Rick when he picks up the phone
and only static is on the receiver.  After Herschel leaves the calls continue, thus proving that these calls are all in his head. Toward the end of the episode, we finally find out the female voice on the phone is Lori, in which we the readers already knew.  So yeah, Rick has lost it.

While this is going on we see Michonne on the run from Merle and company as they try to hunt her down.  Unlucky for two in the group, she has taken them down.  When Merle and his final surviving partner reach Michonne and try to take her down, they are attacked by a small group of walkers in which they easily kill.  To their surprise, Michonne was able to get away from them again.  Before we see her escape she does slice a walker in which its guts get spilled all over her (hmmmmmmmm).  Merle was finally ready to give up thinking she is as good as dead in the wild, but his partner wanted to go on hunting for her refusing to go with Merle's plan to lie to the Governor.  I liked this because this continues to show Merle's evil nature and makes me glad that he was left behind on the rooftop back in season one.  This is the type of character that is needed on this show, and I am really hoping that he lasts for at least another season.  I am sure though in true Robert Kirkman style, he will not make it past this season, but here is to hoping.

Meanwhile in Woodbury, Andrea tells the Governor she wants to contribute to the community and requests to be on the wall because she does not want to lose out on being a good shot.  In her boredom, after her partner on the wall misses a couple shots with the compound bow, Andrea jumps of the wall to kill a walker that wanders by.  She gets called into the Governor's office which leads to the two of them bonding.  We end up seeing them engage in a romantic kiss.  I really do not want to see a romantic relationship between these two, but then again, it will not last long once the truth about the Governor is realized.  I am really looking forward to see how things will go down.

What we also see in this episode is what is probably a prelude to the prison groups crossing paths with Woodbury.  We see Michonne cross paths with Glenn and Maggie on a supply run.  While Michonne is spying on them, we see Merle come around the corner and Glenn and Maggie are ready to defend themselves.  We see Merle try to sweet talk with obvious exterior motives.  Merle eventually took control of the situation.  As Michonne watches the situation go down, we get a sense that Michonne realizes how truly evil Merle is.  Merle ends up meeting with the Governor and tells his version how things went down, which of course is a lie.  Merle ends up telling of his capture of Glenn and Maggie and vows to find out where they are camped out at.   This got my gears going.  It is only a matter of time now before the two groups get into conflict.  Of course we will not see an epic battle between the two until the season finale, but I am hoping it will be memorable.

The show closes out with Rick somewhat gathering his senses to hold his baby for the first time and to spot Michonne against the fence holding a crate full of baby formula with walkers on both sides of her.  They are not attacking her because of the zombie guts that were spilled on her during her escape.  

Action wise, this episode was pretty slow, but it was very heavy in story and building up for future episodes.  It was not like the few stinker slow episodes that we watched in season two.  There was a lot of info in this episode, but those who want action all the time may be disappointed, I am not one of those people. Oh yeah, by the way, CAROL IS ALIVE!!!


8.0

Happy Dead Y'all!!!


Richard Marroquin
txrich1974

This episode started of on a high for me, but this is probably on of the slower if not the slowest episode so far, or it seemed.  We see more of what is going on in Woodbury.  It started of good, then we  got to see Michonne slay some zombies, after that it slowed down for a good while.  Then we see the end which got me as hyped up as the beginning which answered some questions I had in the past on a couple of things that happened in the comic and if they would play it out on the show.

The intro begins in Woodbury and one of my questions from an earlier post is answered.  Would we see the Governor's zombie daughter and the answer is YES!  I did clap my hands and cheer a little when I saw him combing her hair.  Then I bellowed in excitement, and sheer disgust when a piece of her skin peeled from her scalp.  I also like how they played on the fact that Michonne is not fooled by the Governor and refuses to trust him.  I also like the friction that is between them and how it is played out on screen.  The Governor is definitely not used to someone having more cajones than him, especially when that someone is a woman.  Andrea's naiveté also makes me want Michonne to smack her around as well, and we do see friction starting to form between them as well.  Michonne finally get to leave Woodbury, but there has to be an ulterior motive for the Governor to allow her to leave.

I really love that Merle is the sick puppy that he is.  I especially loved the hunting and trapping scene in which Merle showed is sickness in the joy he has harassing walkers before killing them.  There is so much I expect Merle to do.  I of course am predicting that Merle will be the cause of a major injury to a major character.  Those who read the comics know which injury I am speaking of and to whom it happens to.  

We hardly got to see what happens i the prison.  There was maybe under 20 minutes of screen time for the prison.  Rick Grimes is obviously a mess after the death of Lori.  A time bomb ready to go off at any moment.  Dialogue is almost non existent, and sometimes it may seem like others would be better off with the zombies than with him.  I did not expect much from Rick until something big or shocking happens again, and seems like it might happen starting with the final scene from tonights episode.

The final segment of the episode got me hyped up again.  I was hoping they would play this out on TV and they did.  The gladiator style fighting in an arena.  Two fighters, one ring on the floor and surrounded by zombies.  I really did not expect that to happen, so it was a very pleasent surprise and got me cheering.  Then on the final scene at the prison with Rick was great.  All is quiet and a phone rings.  Of course Rick answered it and epiisode is over.  Once again, those of us who read the comic know exactly what the deal is with the phone and I cannot wait to see how this is going to play out.

Due to the slow middle section of the episode, this does not get one of my better ratings, but it is still a more than decent rating.

8.0

Happy Fighting Y'all!

Richard Marroquin
txrich1974

Wow, Wow. WOW!!!!!!  This is written with pure emotion and excitement.  Tonight's Episode 4 was so freaking wild.  Yeah, it's only episode 4 and so much transpired.  Stuff that I already expected to happen this season, but not until the last third of the season, not episode 4.  I am so freaking amazed as a fan of the comic and show.  Life transpired along with death.  We lost major characters as well, in true Robert Kirkman style.  The way this episode went down, one may have thought they were watching a season finale or a mid-season finale.  I would be surprised if I were to come across someone who did not like this episode.

First the slower parts.  After the beginning credits we join Andrea and Michonne in Woodbury.  Once again, it is no secret that Michonne does not trust the governor.  She even pretty much makes it know by her questions, and her expressions she does not trust him.  We see some flirting by Merle with Andrea and a maybe/maybe not stare between each other, hmmmm.  It also seems like Merle has a rebellious attitude toward the governor, which pretty much fits the persona we were introduced to in season 1.  

In the prison, we are reunited with Axel and Oscar who wondered out of their restricted area with Axel begging to be accepted by the group.  Only T-Dog wanted to let them join the group as he was drastically out numbered and the two prisoners were exiled just outside the gate.  Oscar seemed not to be too phased and looked as if he would kill the group given the chance.  This really had me not trusting him or Axel.  Of course I have read the comics and know who can be trusted, but the show does not go the way of the comic, yet still keeps the integrity of it.  So we who read the comics are left guessing as well at many points.

At one point we start seeing zombies roam into the prison yard that was supposed to be blocked off.  This is where the poo hits the fan.  Seeing the number of zombies, one just knows that someone was going to die.  We see some Kick-A slashing scenes and we sadly see T-Dog get a chunk of his shoulder being bit off by a walker.  I actually shouted "NOOOOOOOOO! NOT T-DOG!"  But yes. Yes, T-Dog.  He went out like a gangsta though.  He continued to fight until it was time sacrifice himself so that Carol may live. But we are still not sure if she is alive or not.  

I of course was wondering if Axel and Oscar let the Walkers out, but was relieved to see it was Andrew and not the other two that was behind the releasing of the walkers and the sounding of the alarms to attract the walkers to where the groups was.  I was also relieved to see Oscar take out Andrew with a shot to the head and then surrendered the gun to Rick.  After all, there needs to be another token black man in the show, but still no token mexican. J/K.  

And of course while all this is going on, Lori goes into Labor.  Her, Carl and Maggie retreat into what seems to be a power control room where Lori goes into full labor.  At this point I was thinking, "wow, this is kind of early in the season for this to happen.  Then I though that some time has to pass after the baby is born before Lori and the Baby get killed the way it happened in the comic.  SURPRISE! I was wrong.  Yes, the baby was being born, but no things were not going to go as they did in the comic.  I was really pleased by this, because it kept me and fellow comic readers to be affected by the surprise factor of the episode. the baby is breach and there is no anesthetics or sterile equipment to perform a caesarian.  Maggie has no experience in this procedure and Carl is  a kid who knows not what to do as well.  By this point we know Lori is toast.  Lori of course knows it as well as she told Carl to basically be the man.  The crude surgery is performed and Lori bleeds out and Maggie exclaims that she cannot shoot Lori.  I was impressed by the way Carl manned up to do it.  He shed all the tears he could with his mom before she died which left no choice but to wear the big boy pants.  As we see Maggie proceed away from the door we hear the gunshot and Carl walks out with a blank, emotionless stare on his face.

What impressed me most is when Maggie and Carl come out to the yard with the baby and as Rick finds out that Lori is dead and breaks down, Carl just stares with that crazy look on his face.  Carl has officially evolved into a badass.  I really believe we are going to see the Carl we see in the comics today.  He will be pure darkness and he will no longer think twice about taking someone's life.  I have said many times on so many fan boards where people speak of hate toward Carl and I have tried explaining to them he is a badass in the comics and now it seems that he will be that badass on TV.  Please Walking Dead, do not burst my bubble on this one.

Granted I did like the way Lori died in the comic better with a bullet piercing her from behind and travelling through her and through the baby, but for TV, this was more fitting.  Now what are the writers going to do when it comes to the baby.  I have a feeling Glenn and Maggie may be the caretakers just as they became Sophia's caretakers in the comic, but of course there is no Sophia on the show anymore.  I am glad the show has me guessing thus keeping the integrity of the comic alive.  This was absolutely the best episode since the beginning of the show.  I really thought the perfect score would be rare for me, but I believe this is my second perfect score in an entertainment review in the past month, but this episode was worthy of it in an almost flawless episode.

10

R.I.P. to Lori and T-Dog Y'all!

Richard Marroquin
txrich1974

The episode starts of with a helicopter crash being witnessed by Andrea and Michonne.  They of course go to investigate the crash where they discover another group where we discover is the Governor's group.  Within that group we are reunited with the wonderful Merle.  This of course leads to the town of Woodbury.

This episode had nothing of Rick and his group in the prison and focused on the Woodbury setting only.  We got a heavy dose of Andrea and Michonne.  I like the eerie quietness of Michonne. She never spoke while in the town and when she ever does speak, it is not empty conversation.  It is always so a point can be made. She did not once buy into what is going on in Woodbury.  She was very pissed to be separated from her beloved Katana.  Audrey of course is the talkative one of the two, but because of that we get to know more about how Woodbury came to be.  Of course, Michonne not interested and very untrusting.

We finally see the return of Merle and he is as big a douche as he was in season one.  I must say I am happy with that and hope he is still the racist jerk we all came to hate on his short tenure on season 1.  I cannot wait until he is reunited with Rick and T-Dog.  He has a kick butt prosthetic that is also used as a weapon.  We can tell by his interaction with another character that he does cause friction in the group.  The Governor had to settle him down and is questioned about adding Merle to the group.  

Now to the Governor.  First of all, let me say I was not at all pleased with the pick of David Morrisey to play the Governor.  I wanted a grisly, dirty bastard to play him.  Kind of like what we see in the comic, not this British version of an Edward Norton look a like.  I must admit though, it did work.  As we see in the show, he is very believable as a leader of a town.  He is level headed (at least at first) and he composes himself in public as a politician would.  I have to admit, he is more believable as a Governor on the show than on the comic.  As i was seeing his leadership qualities, I started wondering when will I see the evil side of him.  Finally we see him take down some military and then to end the episode we see his trophies.  Zombie heads in aquariums.  That tells me we are only scratching the surface of his evilness.  Now I wonder if we will be introduced to his daughter or if this governor even has one.  Only time will tell.

Overall, it was a slow episode, but we do get to know some new characters.  Things seem to pick up more next week.

8.0
Happy Dead Y'all!
Richard Marroquin
txrich1974

I thought I had it.  I truly though it finally happened.  I really, really thought it was here ever since the "Vatos" episode in season 1.   Finally, a token Mexican is in The Walking Dead!  But more of that later on.  In this past Sunday's episode of the Walking Dead, we come to meet a few new characters.  We see the aftermath of Hershel's injury and whether he turns into a zombie or not.  We get to see some more of the development of Carl.  We get to see Carol practice medicine on a cadaver, sort of.  We see more minorities in a single episode since "Vatos", sort of again.  Most of all we get to see another good amount of blood.

The story picked up soon after we see Rick Grimes cut of a portion of Hershel's leg after being bit by a "walker."  At the same time we are introduce to five more characters i which only one was white.  So we know that does not bode well for the other minorities since we already have T-dogg and Michonne (I am jokingly playing the race card, LOL).  Of course we know that Rick Grimes and company have the numbers and weapons over the prisoners who only had a handgun.  Knowing he had the advantage, Rick makes a deal with them to help clear a cell block for them in exchange for half of their food supply.  I love how Rick was able to manipulate with words and really leaves the prisoners with no choice, mainly because they really had no choice.  We see the events build up which we see Rick get darker and darker in one single episode as if he were not already the darkest character on the show.  We see a total loss of emotion in his decision making.  We even see him put a machete through the head of what I thought would be the token Mexican and feed another prisoner to the "walkers."

While this was going on, there was drama going on in the cell block as well.  Hershel is clinging on for dear life.  Fear of bleeding out and infection plagues the group with worries.  We see the exact opposite of Rick's attitude in this setting.  We see the group really cares for and loves Hershel.  Of course two in the group are his daughters, but we can see that Lori and Carol care just as much.  We see Carl takes initiative coming into the cell block after apparently raiding the infirmary of all medical supplies.  He did this without the knowledge of anyone else and is scolded by Lori for taking off on his own and putting himself in danger.  Apparently Carl had been watching the way Rick talks to Lori and took the same approach.  He tells her off wearing his big boy pants, but puts his little boy pants back on and runs off.  I have a feeling we will be seeing more of big boy Carl this season and killing off his annoying kid persona.  

We still have not been introduced to The Governor or seen the return of Merle, but we do see in the trailer for the next episode that they will be introduced.  As a matter of fact, it looks like the episode will revolve around them.  Also, it looks like Audrey and Michonne are going to be tied to the Governor story line before Rick Grimes and company does.  In this past episode, we do see Carol,while she practices in cutting for a C section on a zombie, being spied on by somebody in whom I believe is Merle, but that is just speculation on my part.  I personally hope that the governor is as evil as the comic made him out to be.

Once again, there is blood.  Not so much from Hershel's injury since it does get wrapped up.  We see Tomàs hack up one of the prisoners after the prisoner was bitten.  At one point, I was wondering if this guy would ever stop.  We see the blood just splashing up and dousing him.  By the time he was finished, he looked like the picture above.  Later, after Tomàs tries to throw a Walker on Rick, Rick brings a machete through the top of Tomàs' skull thus ending my hopes for one of my own to be represented on this show.

A very entertaining episode in which even the slow parts were interesting.  So far Hershel is still alive and it does not look as if he will be turning.  Carl's character seems to be improving.  We seem we will be getting a good dose of the newer characters next episode.  This show always has me wanting more.


9.0
Happy Dead Y'all!
Richard Marroquin
Txrich1974

I don't know how many Wrestling fans there are out there, but if you are a fan of some very exciting wrestling, then you should really watch TNA Wrestling.  If you are a fan on TNA wrestling, or wrestling in general, then you really should have seen TNA: Bound for Glory.  Yes, I know, some will complain that these are the washouts and nobodies.  It is more than just that.  It is filled with action and athleticism that WWe has seemed to have lost.  Don't get me wrong, WWE is still superior overall, but it is missing some qualities that TNA has which does not fit into the style of today's WWE.  But just because it does not fit in today's WWE does not mean that it is not missed by fans and that we cannot go find it somewhere else.  Sunday night's event, Bound for Glory, did not disappoint.


The night started of with the X Division Championship bout with the champion Zema Ion defending the belt against Rob Van Damme.  To those who do not know, the X Division is dedicated to the fast paced higflyers.  Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara would definitively be in this division if they were in TNA, in which I think that is where they belong, but their popularity is too high in the WWE.  This bout was what one would expect it to be.  A lot of high flying, high impact, and super fast action.  It was not as back and forth as I though it would be as Rob Van Damme controlled most of the fight.  Ion did have his moments, but RVD was too much to handle and rVD gets the pin and is now the new X Division Champ.

The following match was Samoa Joe defending his Television Championship Belt against Magnus.  These here are two big guys with inexplicable speed for their sizes, especially Samoa Joe.  These guy battled hard in a true back and forth match and had equal moments of dominance.  I know these fights are scripted and predetermined, but some of these hits these two gave each other had to really hurt.  Samoa Joe's athleticism is uncanny and his mechanics are almost perfect.  It seems like Joe was going to end it with an STF of all things, but Magnus was able to get to the ropes to avoid a submission.  Magnus would work on Samoa Joe's legs to weaken them and later attempts to put him into a submission move (either a figure four or a sharpshooter).  Samoa Joe was able to reverse it and bring Magnus down and into a choke hold in which Magnus was not able to escape and he submitted allowing Samoa Joe to retain his Television Title.

Next fight was a Street Fight between former partners Bobby Roode and James Storm with King Mo of Bellatore MMA fighting as the special enforcer.  This fight was totally awesomely sick.  This fight was a throwback to the old Hard Core Division of the WWE and the old Mick Foley or Terry Funk days.  It started off  a normal grudge match, but at one point when Roode was thrown out of the ring, he starts pulling thing from under.  Eventually there were trash cans, chairs, tables, cheese graters, crutches, tacks, beer bottles and of course a lot of blood.  Even King Mo was surprised by the amount of blood.  There was so much that happened in this match that it would be too long to write down here.  It came down to Roode hitting Storm with a low blow to allow him time to pull out a six pack so he could crash a beer bottle on Storms hea, but storm returned with a low blow of his own.  This allowed Storm to crash a bottle on Roode's head, then followed with a Last Call Superkick which led to the pin for the win for James Storm.

Next match was Al Snow versus Joey Ryan. This here was in my opinion on of the weaker matches.  This here is a rivalry that started off from TNA Impact's Gut Check Challenge when he lost to Austin Aries and was voted by the Gut Check judges not to sign a TNA contract for Ryan based on his performance.  Ryan appeared during the following Impact and interrupted Taeler Hendricks questioning the judges.  Ryan later was confronted by Taz live on air during the Vandetta Wrestling Radio show in which Ryan was a guest host.  To make a long story short, Ryan punched Snow, Snow later slapped Ryan, this led to the match.  It was a boring silly match in which Ryan won thanks to an interference by Matt Morgan. Moving on.

The next match was a Triple Threat match for the tag team championship.  It was the champs, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian versus AJ Styles/Kurt Angle, and Chavo Guerrero/Hernandez.  This was another one of the more boring matches so I will just tell you that Chavo and Hernandez won the belts.

We move on to the Knockouts Championship mach in which Miss Tessmacher , the champion, defends her Knockouts Title against challenger Tara.  First, let me say that I think the Knockouts are much more talented than the Divas of WWE, but the Divas are hotter.  This match is another example where their skills are flaunted more than their sexiness. Don't get me wrong though, There is much sexiness with the Knockouts.  They are not called knockouts for nothing.  I loved the technical skills that were displayed during this match, and without a lot of the screaming and yelling you hear with the Divas.  There were times when it seemed that Miss Tessmacher would win the match, but Tara was able to land the Widow's Peak for the win and the belt.

Next match was Aces and 8s versus Sting and Bully Ray.  The Aces & 8s is another take over group like the NWO.  This match stemmed when Joseph Park (Abyss) was kidnapped by the Aces & 8s in order to get Hogan to agree for them to have access to Impact.  Of course it was also to free Joseph Park who ended up freeing himself breaking his handcuffs from the railing.  He would go on to beat up a third member of the Aces & 8s organization down the entry ramp and heading of to the back.  After this, many more members come in to interfere during this no disqualification match.  This would leave Bully Ray to get smashed through a table (tables, surprise, surprise with Bully Ray) with a pin immediately following allowing Aces & 8s to be able to come into Impact as they please.  Following the match Hulk Hogan comes down the entry ramp with the members running to attack Hogan one by one.  As each member arrives to Hogan, they are met with a vicious clothesline until he meets the last remaining member in the ring.  Hogan of course Hulks up as he is being hit a la the vintage Hogan we all know and love.  He throws the remaining member against the rope with an Irish Whip and meets his face with his boot.  Hulk picked him up and revealed who the one member of the Aces & 8s is.  Brother Devon was the man behind the mask.  Everyone is shocked and Devon's former partner, Bully Ray, has the look of shock and hurt on his face.  Say it ain't so.  Can't wait to see who are also members of Aces & 8s.

The final match was for the TNT World Title between the Champ, Austin Aries, and Jeff Hardy.  This of course was to be the match of all matches for this event and it was.  I am not even a Jeff Hardy fan, but I have always enjoyed his high, flying dare devil tactics.  Aries was no slouch either.  These two performers left everything on the ring and everyone in attendance and every PPV customer got their money's worth with this match alone.  I must say that I do like Aries as a heel since I am a fan of heels to begin with.  That is one main reason I never rooted for Hardy since he was so loved by fans in the WWE.  That is not the complete case in TNA.  The fan base in Memphis actually seemed divided.  I heard as many chants for Aries as I heard for Hardy.  That is always cool when that happens.  It reminds me of whenever Cena fights CM Punk with the divided crowd.  There were so many "oh s--t" moments in this battle.  Even the fans started chanting "Holy s--t!"  Hardy tried to finish with a Swanton-Bomb but failed as Aries raised his knees.  Hardy later pulls a Twist of Fate on Aries in which Aries kicked out from the pin.  Aries pulls a BrainBuster on Hardy, then Hardy kicks out from the pin. Hardy pulls off another Twist of Fate and finally got the pin for the Belt.

TNA: Bound for Honor was a very exciting PPV.  It basically is the Wrestlemania for TNA.  If you hae not watched TNA Wrestling, I highly suggest you give it a try.  If you have seen it and still don't like it, well, i guess it is not for everyone.

Happy Rasslin Y'all!

Well the day has arrived.  The Walking Dead Season 3 Premier.  I must say that it did not disappoint.  They did not waste time when it came to zombie killing.  Countless numbers of zombies were slaughtered and we see the beginnings of the Prison story line about to start.  Carl seems to have a different persona. Lori is super pregnant. Michonne's brief appearance was exciting to see.

It seems the setting takes place at least 7 months later since Lori was not showing at the end of season 2 and she seems like she is going to burst any minute.  That does kind of leave a hole since the prison was just over the hill at the finale and they don't reach the prison until a few months later.  At the same time, they had to let some time pass to coincide with the growth of Carl.  He has definitely sprouted and his hair is much longer.  I am hoping we see growth in his character traits, which I think we see that he is starting to have eyes on someone.  It is only obvious when you see a certain scene, so puberty is definitely kicking in for him.  Also, he does seem like he is going to be a darker character, which would be awesome since he is a dark character in the comic.

I like that Lori does not have as many lines which means she is not as intolerable as usual.  She is pregnant though, and I foresee that taking over and we will be wishing for an upcoming death (please writers, let it be soon).  That is all I want to say about my least favorite character.  

It really seems the group has bonded.  There seems to be better chemistry between the actors.  Whatever the Director and producers suggested, it really worked. Last season, there was totally a noticeable lack of chemistry between the actors.  Many scenes suffered because of it.  Scenes with Shane and Rick flowed well as did the scene with Daryl hallucinating and talking with an image of Merle (who will be returning), but it seemed like every other pairing or ensemble was lacking something.  The pairing of Glenn and Maggie is much more believable now as well.  That needed to happen since they seem to becoming a couple now.  The whole Daryl/Carol thing is kind of throwing me off.  I do not know if if the are going the budding romance route or a mother/son type relationship (it is Georgia, so it could be one in the same, LOL).  

Another thing that struck me odd is that it seems like they made the Beth character seem younger than the previous season.  I have my suspicions on that though.  In the comic, Sophia is still alive and Carl takes a protective role.  It is not blatant in the comic, but it does hint of a young budding romance between the two. Sort of a young puppy love kind of thing.  I have a feeling that is what they will be doing in the show.  Since Sophia is dead, they need someone closer to Carl's age so a relationship can be developed to where Carl feels a sense of responsibility to someone.  Like I said, this is just my speculation.

I like that they did not feel the need to push Michonne on the audience.  They showed just enough of her to whet the appetite of her fans (ME!!!!!).  She she was oh so sexy killing zombies with her katana.  Her cajun accent was sexy as well and really fits her persona.  No Governor yet, which I did not expect.  That needs to get worked in and I hope they don't rush it.  I think along with the introduction of the Governor, we will see the return of Merle. I am so stupid, crazy, happy with this episode.

Overall, this was a near perfect episode. I take a half point because the lapse in time does not fit well with how close the prison was at the end of the season 2 finale.

9.5
Happy Zombie Apocalypse Y'all!

For the past few years How I Met Your Mother has been one of my favorite comedies.  After see in Ted Mosby roll off with his long lost love, Victoria, my wife and I had been anticipating last weeks season 8 premier with much gusto.  I must say we were both very disappointed with the outcome of the show.  We did not know what to expect in the same manner the writers did not know where to go i guess.  There is no doubt in my mind that this may be the last season, but as it seems, the show may have already gone one season too long.  Ted Mosby is still Ted Mosby with Bob Saget telling the story as older Ted to his two children.  As for the rest of the characters, there seems to be nowhere else to go with them.  

Marshal and Lilly are still dingy, but it seems the writers really stretched it out to where they have become annoyingly dingy.  There is no longer a cuteness factor to it.  As a matter of fact, it was already starting to wear thin in the middle of season 6.  Of course people will try to argue that everyone goes bonkers after their first child, but it really got to the point of being annoying and only in the first two episodes. I do not foresee this stopping at any point of the season.  Throughout the seasons, their innuendoes, pillow talk, and their endearing nicknames for each other were cute and normal for newly married couples.  Now they have become the couple that reminds others of their time of teenage dating that parents would not be proud of.

The Barney character has gone from being the young womanizer that everybody loves to get creeped out by. Now he is coming close to being the dirty 40 something that should be on a neighborhood watch list for sexual predators.  He is no longer borderline creepy, he is now just a creeper.  Another character who fell victim of the writers not knowing where to go with him.  The character is so type casted that they have nowhere else to go, because it is not believable for him to be anything else. 

Nor Robin, sigh, she is the lost cause of all lost causes in any show.  This character has hit a brick wall.  She should have been written out of this season.  Maybe this time actually accepting an assignment for her big break and moving out of the city, state, country, or taking the Howard Wolowitz route and gone into space.  This character is still being forced down our throats when she should have been gone since season 6.  Everytime she appears on screen or says anything, it is painful to sit through because it feels as if Cobie Smulders herself does not want to be there anymore.  Cobie was great in The Avengers, so that tells me that there is just a chemistry problem amongst her and the cast.  Let Cobie go off and do movies, that is where I see her in the future anyway.

Once again, this has been one of my favorite shows, but it needs to end last year.  I hope this is the final season and they can end with a bang and not fizzle into obscurity.  It is not too late for this show to have an ending that is Legend....wait for it...............

Happy Waiting Y'all

DARY!!!!!!!!!!!