Cult (Season 1)

Show: Cult

Season: 1

Episodes: 13

Created By: Rockne S. O'Bannon

Released: 2013

Rating: 4/5

Basic Plot:  Tracks the investigation of a string of mysterious deaths and disappearances surrounding the show-within-a-show.
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Not Given a Chance
I have seen a great show not get a second season (Last Resort) and I have seen a decent show get renewed (Elementary). Cult was one of those shows that its network didn't seem to care about. That its network didn't like airing even one episode because it might do well enough to earn a renewal. After its second episode it was moved to the Death Slot (aka Friday Nights where shows go to die). Then the CW held up its hands and acted surprised that a new tv show was getting bad ratings on Friday Nights! Never mind that Cult was already struggling with ratings on Tuesday nights. After a few more episodes aired the CW pulled the plug and said it wouldn't air the rest of the episodes of Cult's only season. Luckily they decided to show the final episodes, but it doesn't erase my feelings that this was a show that was cancelled before it even begun.


A TV Based Cult Makes Sense
In the beginning of Cult it seems insane that Nate (Jeff's brother) seriously believes that the cult of Cult (aka True Believers) are murderous psychos. But what Nate says isn't only proven to be true, but also that it is much more complicated. Nate isn't in the majority of the show, as for the earlier parts he is captured, and Jeff searches through the twists and turns (with the help of Skye, someone who works on the show and whose father went missing because he was getting too close to the truth of Cult) to find out what is really going on. As this show wasn't given warning of cancellation soon enough, by the end of the series you are left at a big cliffhanger as you realize that the scope of the True Believers (and Steven Rae) is even bigger. And, really, a cult giving out messages in a tv show makes sense in this day and age.

Legacies
Something that fuels the plot (and sub-plots) of Cult is figuring out what happened to someone's father. It's what is the driving force behind the True Believers and it's a reason why Skye helps Jeff in the first place. To find out what lead to a father's disappearance and left a child all alone. For one person it lead to an obsessive quest that left a large body count. For Skye it lead to a healthier interest in finding out questions that she didn't know before as well as getting a boyfriend.

Final Thoughts
This show is the cancelled show I miss the most this year. At least Last Resort was given enough time to wrap everything up (albeit some subplots did feel rushed). Cult wasn't even given a chance and that's really sad for a show like this. A cult that sends out messages through a tv show seems relevant to today. It's such a crazy idea that no one would believe it was happening. Those who figured it out would be labeled as crazy and ignored. In Cult, not even the police are there to help Jeff and Skye because they don't believe there's a cult that sends out clues through a tv show. I admit fans getting so crazy that they'd kill sounds insane unless you go on sites like tumblr and Twitter and see the insanity inherent in fandoms as a whole. There is a gigantic cliffhanger that raises unanswered questions, but the ride is well worth it. And to all the True Believers out there: Hey, these things just snap right off.

Let's Play Dead Space: Extraction (Parts 4 & 5)

I continue on with the nightmare...

Let's Play Dead Space: Extraction (Parts 1-3)

I begin to delve into the Dead Space Universe.

Inbetween: The Darkening 7

I opened my eyes and looked around my room. For some reason I had slept naked and I felt sore. I never did any exercising before bed, so the feeling of being sore was different. For some reason I started remembering a dream of waking up next to a corpse. As I looked around my room I realized that the dream was real and that this wasn't my room.

The room had the same design as Hannibal's house. Then it hit me. Hannibal had helped me hide the corpse, we kissed, and then we had made love. The feelings I had for him last night, that I still had, made the word 'sex' useless to describe what had happened. No wonder I was sore.

My search for my clothing was short as I saw that Hannibal had hung them up on the door for me. I must have been asleep for a few hours at least. I put my clothes on and realized, even though I had killed an innocent man, my now lover would protect me. He would be strong as I fell down.

I went into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. There was something different in my eyes. Something that scared me for a reason I might've been able to know before, but not now. Whatever it was wouldn't consume me or ruin me. I was Will Graham and I was not afraid.

As I was reassuring myself, a beautiful aroma came into my nose. I smiled as I realized what the meaning behind the smell was. Hannibal was making breakfast for me. I forgot what being in a relationship could be like. How good it could get. That you could wake up one morning and your lover would make you breakfast. If only I could've experienced that with Alana.

Walking into the kitchen I looked at Hannibal. There would always be something mysterious and dark about him, but it was calming to me.

"Are you feeling better, Will?" Hannibal asked as I realized he had heard me enter.

"Last night did help." I replied and I saw a small grin appear on his face. It was subtle, like everything else about him, but it was there. I could see that he wasn't sore from last night or maybe it didn't bother him. He must be stronger than I expected for a simple shrink.

"The act of sex does release endorphins."

"So you had sex with me merely to help release tension?" I asked, not worried that what I had said was the full truth. That he didn't have sex with me merely to help his patient.

"I had other motives." Hannibal answered.

I walked to the table and sat down with hope finally back in my heart. He did love me and I would have a breakfast made for me personally by the famous Doctor Lecter. The day was beginning much better than yesterday had ended. I wasn't feeling as confused as I was then. I was, more or less, stable.

Hannibal finally finished making breakfast and brought it out. He did his usual speech on what everything was and then we started to eat. At first we ate in silence. Not because there was tension, but because there was peace in doing so.

"Did you dream about the burnt corpse?" Hannibal asked as he casually put another bite into his mouth.

That was an odd question. Especially since the morning had begun so different from the events of last night. But I was still his patient and he still had a drive to make sure of my mental stability.

"I didn't dream of anything." I replied and then paused. I was remembering the utter bliss of being in a void so I didn't have to feel anything. "It was calming. I haven't felt a sleep like that in a long time."

There was more silence as we continued to eat. It seemed that Hannibal was happy about my reply and so I felt I was on a slow path to recovery.

"How do you feel about the man now?" Hannibal asked.

Before I would have to think how to word things because of how I thought Hannibal would judge me. I didn't have that problem now.

"I feel like killing the man gave me some release. Like there was part of me that was trapped that has now been set free. That what I feel about him now isn't bad." I paused. "Is that wrong?"

"No, it isn't." My lover reassured me. "Nor do I think that you are coping. You have finally found yourself and need to let your true personality out."

"But killing is wrong?" I asked, the last bit of the Old Will vainly trying to cling on. To deny the truth of Doctor Lecter's words.

"All killing is not wrong, Will, there are people who are better dead than alive. That if they breathed another breath more harm would come to this world."

"Like Gideon." I said softly. If I had killed Gideon sooner then Alana would still be alive. Then Alana and I would be together having coffee, having sex, and making breakfast the morning after. Now she was just a lifeless corpse in a grave.

"You could make up for Alana's death by killing someone else who causes harm and is therefore undeserving of the life they have."

"Killing someone won't bring Alana back."

"No, but you will be able to save someone like you couldn't save Alana." Hannibal countered.

"Do you have anyone in mind?" I asked.

"Do you?"

I thought about the question. Did I? There was Jack Crawford who wasn't dangerous, but had driven me into madness. That had ignored the signs of me being unstable. And since Jack had ignored the signs, I had killed an innocent man. Someone whose name I didn't know and wasn't connected to me at all.

But did I really want to kill Jack?

My cell buzzed and I looked at a text from Beverly.

"Beverly Katz." I said and looked into Hannibal's eyes. There seemed to be a perverse pleasure brewing behind them and I didn't mind. "She is too close. She is trying to find things out that don't concern her."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. She is trying to take Alana's place and will find out about your unorthodox methods." This was the truth. I had leaned on Beverly for support since Alana had been murdered, but being with Hannibal showed me her manipulations. They had been very subtle.

"Why?" Hannibal asked and the question seemed like he was trying to keep me from making a mistake. But, by his tone, I knew he thought I was doing the right thing.

"Because if she keeps me from you I'll become even more unstable."

"Then you will find the control you didn't have before when you kill her." After he said that we both smiled, in our own different ways, at each other.
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Inbetween: The Darkening 6

I could hardly breathe. I could hardly think. Nothing seemed real right now. Everything felt like a nightmare. Because if I was just in a horrible dream it meant that I hadn't killed anyone. It would mean that I was still the same man who risked sanity for the sake of other's living. That this man who killed randomly wasn't me. That we didn't share the same body and mind.

I felt something warm pushing itself into my hands. I looked with an uninterested gaze at the cup of tea that Hannibal was giving to me. I didn't want to accept it. I didn't want to put anything into my body at this moment in time. But my friend wasn't going to take no for an answer it seemed.

I took the cup and looked around at his kitchen.

"Is this going to kill me?" I asked and looked inside the cup, deep into the tea, and all the way down to the bottom of the cup.

"No, it will relax you." Hannibal replied. "You need to be able to think clearly now."

"Why?" I asked and let out a small chuckle.

"You are in shock right now. I only want the best for you, Will."

"Yeah, thank you for taking care of the body." I said and started to sip at the tea. It tasted strange and I tried to identify what was in it.

"The FBI needs you, they won't find much use from you behind bars." He said and then looked at my face. I liked his gaze. "I gave the tea to Abigail before. It contains mushrooms."

Mushrooms? Calming tea? Was the great doctor drugging me? A smile formed on my face. It wouldn't be the first time I had gotten high, but this was the first time I'd get high to escape from myself.

"Where did you put the body?" I asked, suddenly more curious than I had been before Hannibal had suggested the idea.

"It would be best that you didn't know, at least in your current state."
"What do you mean by 'my current state'?"

Hannibal stood beside me and his presence felt comforting to me. He was my guardian and I was in a state of distress. My mind was trying not to think of what my body had done. I drank the tea.

"You killed a man without realizing it." Hannibal stated and I remembered the corpse clearly. How the man's skin had changed due to being set on fire. How his throat had looked inviting since it had been slashed open. I remembered the stranger's corpse clearly and I didn't know how to feel. "I'm worried that you'll get yourself into more problems than you intended."

"We didn't have this conversation when I killed Gideon." I retorted and I saw my friend think for a moment. Whether he didn't know what to say or he needed some time to phrase it properly, I didn't know.

"I thought, when you killed Gideon, that part of you was protecting Alana without realizing it." Hannibal said.

"And now you think part of me is a remorseless killer?"

"No, Will, I think there is part of you that you need to learn to control. I can help you with that."

"Help me?" I asked and put the empty cup of tea on the counter behind me. I had killed people and Hannibal was talking about controlling me? I didn't think I could be controlled. Maybe if I had put more importance in my sanity earlier I could have. But not now. It felt like a monster was getting out of its cage.

"There must be some ways that your dreams are alerting you to what you're actually doing."

I thought about my most recent dream and I didn't want to examine it any further than I had. Well, I hadn't really examined the nightmare in the three hours since I had woken from it. But I didn't want to. I felt that if I examined it I would finally see myself as I was tonight. That wasn't something I needed now.

"I touched a form in my dream." I said, trying to keep the bile from rising in my throat. "I touched it and it became covered with fire. I slashed its throat. Then I woke up beside what I saw in my dream."

"How did you recognize the corpse once you woke up? You never said you recognized it in the dream."

"I couldn't tell who it was in the dream but...somehow I recognized it when I woke up."

"Because part of you remembered killing the man." When Hannibal said that it seemed like he had just calmed himself down about my situation. I didn't realize he was tense but the tea was affecting my judgment. Plus, he was always good about hiding his feelings.

"You're pleased with that?" I asked, a real smile coming to my face.

"I'm glad that you can recognize what you're doing, in some way, which means that you won't always kill without reason."

"Don't lie to me!" I paused. "I am a monster and if I am not locked up soon I don't know when I'll strike next. Or who my next victim will be."

Hannibal walked in front of me and put both hands on my shoulders. I looked at his hands as I felt their warm comfort. My eyes then looked into his. Those eyes were all consuming and showed no fear. Showed no doubt. Showed me the soul of the man who cared about me.

I felt something inside of me reveal itself to my mind. I felt comfort in Hannibal not because he was continuing to help me, but because I loved him. I loved him because he had been there for me when Jack sent me into madness. And Hannibal was here, now, when I had murdered someone. Hannibal was here, now, when I was losing my grip on reality.

"I can help you, Will." Hannibal said and in that moment I made a choice. I don't know if I would've done it if not for the mushroom tea.

I brought my face close to Hannibal's and then put my lips gently on his own. I couldn't tell what his reaction to it was, but it wasn't violent. A few seconds went by as I was regretting my decision, but he returned the kiss with passion.

I loved him and I knew he would help me.
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Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Title: Star Trek Into Darkness

Series: Star Trek

Director: J.J.Abrams

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Zoe Saldana

Rated: PG-13

Released: 2013

Personal Rating: 4/5

Oscars: N/A

Plot: After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.
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Khan and Benedict Cumberbatch
Now I am white and know I can only look at this situation as an outsider. I have no choice in that matter, but I can do my best to understand and care. Khan was originally Native American aka not white. In this version of the Khan story, he is white. I have nothing against Cumberbatch's acting, and he does a fantastic job in this film, but the problem is that Khan has been made white. In film, and television, PoC are hardly ever able to be represented by a character like Khan. While Khan is a villain, his plights are so great that I couldn't help but sympathize with him (even until the end) and he is a master manipulator that can usually get what he wants. Never mind Khan being genetically engineered for perfection! Let me repeat: I'm not saying Cumberbatch is bad for being white, but they should've cast a PoC for the part.

Spock's Sass And Deeper Feelings
Vulcan's are supposed to be pure logic. As in there are no feelings like a human has. However, Spock has some very good snarky replies to comments made to him. It is one of the best parts of the movie, in all honesty. Spock is not comic relief, but he does bring some levity to the movie. While Spock does bring levity, there is more going on in this character. In the beginning he tells the crew of the Enterprise not to rescue him and after he's rescued this brings problems to his relationship with Uhura, his girlfriend. He also has friendship problems (I keep shipping out of my reviews the best I can so contact me outside of my blog to find out my whole thoughts on Spock and Kirk in this movie) with Kirk. All in all, I loved Spock in this movie.

How Far To Go To Be Prepared
Now Khan is, of course, the villain that was supposed to be revealed as such in a twist. This didn't happen as that spoiler was known far and wide, so it can't be a spoiler. However, the surprise villain brings up a good thing to consider. The villain did what he/she did because she/he wanted to protect the Federation. He/she was willing to go beyond what he knew was right to do so. He/she woke up Khan so that the genetically engineered man could create weapons for him/her. It is good to be prepared, but doing so at the price of morality is wrong. Even if it is with the best of intentions.

Final Thoughts
I was never a fan of the original Star Trek series. Of course I had heard about Spock, Kirk, Khan, and a few others. This stems from the fact that I wasn't much interested in the special effects as a young child and has nothing to do with the fact that I used to be a huge Star Wars fan. I have seen parts of old Star Trek episodes (including some Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes on BBC America), but haven't seen enough to make me real knowledgeable about the series. While I can enjoy the Abrams films, I can't always see problems that long time fans have. With that being said: this was a very enjoyable experience. I loved the effects and the acting. Very glad that I got to see it in theaters.

Let's Play Mario Kart Wii: Getting Gold (Parts 31-33)

I finish up racing for the day.