I’m going to miss The Ponds when they’re gone. I love Amy and Rory. I love them separately, but I love them even more together, and Chris Chibnall, both in the “Pond Life” series of minisodes and in this week’s episode of Doctor Who, “The Power of Three,” does an amazing job of showing just how wonderful Amy and Rory are as a couple and how, when joined by the Doctor, there is nothing that can stop them.

[“What you do isn’t all there is.”]

That, my dear fellow Whovians, THAT is what Doctor Who should be. “A Town Called Mercy,” written by Toby Whithouse, was about as perfect an episode of Doctor Who as we could ask for, delving into a complex moral dilemma, showing us both the comedic and the hardened sides of the Doctor, and demonstrating just how important it is that the Doctor not be alone for too long. Also, I’m digging Doctor Who’s new episode-specific titles. It’s a nice touch.

[“You’re both good men. You just forget it sometimes.”]

When I first heard the announcement that Dark Horse Comics’ Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 was introducing a gay male slayer in October in a story arc called “Billy the Vampire Slayer,” my gut reaction was skepticism. I was miffed, even. Kind of the way I felt when I first heard of male roller derby teams. Like, you have every other corner of the world, do you have to invade the female spaces, too? There are so few stories that focus on a well-crafted female protagonists, do we need to add a guy doing the same job? But the more I thought about it, the more I realized...

…I was being a horse’s ass.

[“Then I guess you have to ‘make it better’ now...”]

Oh my dear, sweet baby Jesus, Steven Moffat. How is it that you managed to find something new to do with the Daleks, the most overplayed and overhyped (IMHO. Sorry!) alien in the show’s history? I’ll admit it, when I heard that the first episode of the seventh season was called “Asylum of the Daleks,” I rolled my eyes. Daleks?! I thought. Again? Can’t we be done with Daleks for a while? It’s a big universe! Surely there are other threats and other potential nemeses?

But then you go and do this and it’s the most brilliant thing you’ve done on Doctor Who since creating Reinette and inventing the Weeping Angels.

Not that this episode was perfect, mind you. There were a couple of things that niggled at me.

But on the whole? BRILLIANT.

[Meet the girl who can...]

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these; eight months, in fact. However, in light of my successful panel at this year’s Geek Girl Con — Moffat’s Women: Companions, Travelers, Gender Roles and TARDISES in Doctor Who — I’ve decided to get back to it, as there are several intriguing female characters created by Moffat for his episodes that I’ve yet to talk about! There’s a queen, another Girl Who Waited, a lesbian crimefighting duo, and the many faces of a daughter who’s older than her parents. There are also some gender-related issues that have come up in Moffat’s episodes that I think merit some heavy discussion and scrutiny.

So, stay tuned to the Moffat’s Women series, because there’s oodles left to talk about!

Now, on with the show...

[Basically, I rule.]

Grimmsters rejoice! Our favorite Wesen-battling detective is back, and Grimm started its second season with an edge-of-your-seat, two-part season premiere!

Sadly, Once Upon a Time doesn’t start until September, which means that I won’t be doing regular side-by-side comparisons. Also, I’m handling Grimm differently this season. Rather than doing weekly reviews, I’ll be doing periodic season check-ins, and perhaps the occasional interview or essay as part of my show coverage. For those of you who enjoyed my regular reviews, I just might be keeping them up over at The Teresa Jusino Experience, so keep your eyes peeled for additional Grimm coverage (and other stuff) over there!

Now, on to Grimm season two, and the episodes “Bad Teeth” and “The Kiss.”

[Your mom? She scares the crap outta me...]

Driving from L.A. to Seattle and back is hard. So hard, that I needed a couple of days to recuperate. (i.e. Totally pass out and nap for three days, then re-learn English.) Now that I’m back on solid foods and putting sentences together again, I’m happy to report that GeekGirlCon has done nothing but improve and thrive in its second year. Remember last year, when I told you that GeekGirlCon was the most important con of the year? Well, it still is, for many of the same reasons. Same warm, friendly, welcoming atmosphere. Same lack of judgement no matter how you identify, whom you’re dating/married to, or whether or not you have children. Same wonderful spotlight on female contributions to genre storytelling, the sciences, and fandom. But there have been some changes this year, too, which have improved the con immensely, expanding on its mission statement and offering attendees even more.

[“The default gender happens to not be male...”]

We got to know Cheeks and Brady last year when new web series Husbands, co-created by Brad Bell and Jane Espenson, hit the interwebs. It’s a sharp, funny, intelligent comedy about a newlywed couple who got married accidentally, but stayed married by choice. Choice is the key word since, in the world of Husbands, gays and lesbians can choose getting married.

I had the pleasure of attending the Husbands panel at Geek Girl Con this past weekend where they surprised the crowd by screening episode 1 of season 2, which premieres today! Season 2 of Husbands will feature longer episodes (three longer episodes rather than the uber-short 2-minutes-or-so episodes of last season), an examination of how social media affects relationships, a slew of cameos from the geekerati, and the first recurring acting role for rising star, Joss Whedon.

And judging by his performance in this, that kid’s gonna have a bright future.

[Read more]

We joke about it all the time. One day, we’re all just gonna have chips in our heads and we won’t need things like TV or computers anymore. But what if that actually happened?

That’s the starting point for a new web series produced by Warner Bros. and Bryan Singer called H+: The Digital Series, which launches next week. Although, “web series” is a bit of a limited term. Web experience, more like, as H+ is going to be hugely interactive, allowing viewers to watch episodes out of order, edit them together differently, and create their own experience of the world, much like the characters are able to do with their web experiences in the context of the show.

I had the chance to speak with H+ star, Alexis Denisof (Angel, Dollhouse), and producer, Jason Taylor (Bryan Singer’s Bad Hat Harry Productions), about this unique and exciting sci-fi project.

[Humanity goes offline. Survival goes on.]

I’d heard about Zachary Levi’s Nerd Machine and seen references to NERD HQ online, but I was never exactly sure what it was. Is it a place? A website? A movement?

As it turns out, it’s all of these things. It’s also everything geek culture should be.

[What’s your NERD number?]

SDCC is geekdom’s largest showcase, so it’s no wonder that cosplayers prepare elaborate costumes all year so that they can bring their “A” games to Comic-Con. That said, this being my first-ever SDCC, I was surprised by how few costumes there were. Cosplay round-ups past have made it seem like there’d be costumes galore, so I was surprised by how few and far between the costumes seemed as I walked around the convention center and San Diego. Perhaps someone else who went can comment below and tell me how this year compared to previous years as far as number of costumes at the con? In any case, there was still plenty to catch my eye. This was Comic-Con after all, and tons of people arrived ready to make a splash!

[Silver Surfer, My Little Pony, Consuela, and more!]

You already know about (and have probably seen footage from) the Firefly 10th Anniversary panel at SDCC but what you might not know is that shortly after that, there was a Firefly 10th Anniversary press conference where Joss Whedon, Tim Minear, and the cast continued to revel in the Firefly love and got a little more in-depth about their feelings about the show, the anniversary, and how badly Fox treated the fledgling series.

[You can’t stop the signal...]

Grimm, the winner of the Battle of the Network Fairy Tale Shows, had a huge presence at San Diego Comic-Con this year! Naturally, I checked it all out so that I could report back to the Grimmsters and Grimmlins out there. I walked through the Black Forest, got a gaping blutbad wound, explored Aunt Marie’s trailer, got insights into the show from cast and crew, and got to watch the first act of the Season 2 premiere!

What the heck was Wu actually eating? Will Monroe survive the first episode of Season 2? And most importantly, is Captain Renard really a woman?! Find out after the jump.

[Follow me into the Black Forest...]

The CW and CBS both debuted genre offerings at SDCC this year. Ballroom 20 played host to both the CW’s Beauty and the Beast and CBS’ Elementary with wildly differing results. For one panel, the pilot was excruciating, and both the panelists and the audience members struggled to pretend that they genuinely cared. For the other, the pilot was a lovely surprise, the series stars were warmly welcomed and displayed wonderful chemistry.

Which is which? Find out after the jump.

[Elementary, my dear reader...]

I’m 32 going on 33. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer film (starring Kristy Swanson as the titular heroine, and the dreamy Luke Perry, riding high on his Dylan McKay fame) came out when I was thirteen; when High School was still new and exciting, and a sixteen-year-old like Buffy Summers seemed so worldly. I saw the film in the theater, and thought it so awesome that I immediately got posters and bought the tie-in novelization. By contrast, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television show (starring Sarah Michelle Gellar) came out when I started college. Suddenly, Buffy was two years younger than me, and watching her high school antics seemed more nostalgic than current. Over time, I fell in love with the show, mostly because of Joss Whedon’s writing and that of his brilliant team, but I didn’t watch at first, because the whole thing seemed a bit silly. What had once made sense to me as a high schooler suddenly felt cheesy.

Which is why I’ve been such a huge fan of the continuation of the Buffyverse in Dark Horse Comics. They allow Buffy Summers to grow up.

[Buffy is a big girl now!]

It’s been an exciting season filled with magic, mystery, animal creatures, vengeance, love, and death...but we’ve finally arrived at the end of the first season for two extremely successful fairy tale shows that will both be returning for second seasons later this year! In a way, they’re BOTH winners.

Of course, there can only be one winner in my little battle. Mostly because, you know, I scored with numbers, so there’s math.

Onward, ye Oncers and Grimmlins, and find out which show takes the top prize in the Battle of the Network Fairy Tale Shows!

[If I could execute a drumroll in print, it would go here.]

Season finales are upon us! And I think they deserve special attention, don’t you? While the Once Upon a Time finale aired Sunday night, I’m going to be posting my write-up next week as part of the big Battle of the Network Fairy Tale Shows: Season One conclusion: a review of both Grimm and Once Upon a Time season finales (complete with final Battle stats and a winner declared!), and a season wrap-up essay discussing the shows’ arcs, their strengths, their weaknesses, and what I’m looking forward to from their second seasons. So make sure you’re around next week, kids! There’s going be a lot going on! 

Now, on to Bigfoot!

[“Everything has an end. Only the sausage has two.”]

Welcome to your second helping this week of the Battle of the Network Fairy Tale Shows! Please note that this here post catches us all up to the most current episodes! Huzzah!

Fairytale families are effed up. No, really. Single-parent households where at least one of the kids is being treated like crap. On Once Upon a Time, we got to see how the Snow White’s evil stepmother really got her to eat that apple, while on Grimm we watched as Cinderella got her revenge on her stepmother and stepsisters.

If you haven’t got time, here’s the short version: Once Upon a Time whupped Grimm’s butt this week. Severely. Whupped. (and this pains me to say, because I love Grimm!)

For those of you who have the time to spare, read on to find out why!

[An apple a day keeps the Saviors away...]

Heh. Heheheheheheh. Last week, Once Upon a Time was about a boy who used to be made of wood. Heh. And Grimm was about a whole mess of beaver. Heh-heh. Clearly, I’m a twelve year old boy trapped in the body of a 32-year-old woman. It happens.

You know what else happens? Sometimes I perform spoken-word poems about Grimm. Like this one.

Also, you can vote for your favorite Network Fairy Tale Show as Best New Show as part of TV Breakroom’s Monday Madness. Grimm’s currently in the lead (#Grimmsters are workin’ it!), but I know there are plenty of Once Upon a Time fans out there! #Oncers, #Snowers, and #EvilRegals? You’ve been served.

Now, on with the reviews!

[ "I move to request that the Grimm not cut off our heads for opposing him on this question...”]