You can say it as much as you like, but you will never know what it is like to walk in someone else’s shoes.  With everyone on a different life path and having different obstacles to face along the way, you may feel bad for them, but you will never know their true struggles.  As you get into different relationships with people that have different backgrounds, you start to understand where they are coming from and where they want to go and this is the first step into their world, but there is so much more that they may not tell you or you will never witness first hand that could make you understand what it is like to be them.  Keep your eyes and ears open when around your friends and even more so when visiting a place where you are not wanted, as you may start to understand what troubles are out there in the world that you never noticed before.

While sitting at a stop light Matt McGreevey is talking to his wife on the phone when an African American Man starts banging on his car door in a panic.  Not knowing what to think about this man other than he is potentially dangerous and probably crazy, Matt pulls away only to witness the man being beaten behind him. Plenty frightened about what just happened before his eyes, Matt notices that he has received a cut on his forehead but has no idea where it came from.  Having problems sleeping, Matt wakes up with aches and pains throughout his body, and sees that he is bruised from head to toe.
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Getting a cup of coffee with his friend before heading to work, Matt picks up a newspaper and sees the man’s picture on the front page.  John Woodrell, a college professor has been beaten to death during a hate crime.  Knowing he could have done something to help the stranger out, Matt tries to defend his stance on what he did and if he knew that the man was a professor, he would have let him into the car without question.  Arriving at work, the office is viewing Matt differently since his skin is darkening. Needing to find out what is wrong with him, Matt takes the rest of the day off to visit the dermatologist to get answers.  The doctor is not able to tell Matt anything about what is happening to him, just that his skin is in good health and he looks fine for a mixed breed individual.  Not believing what was said to him, Matt heads home in a huff, but when he arrives, he finds his change was far from complete.

Letting himself in his wife Hilary sees an intruder in her house and threatens to call the police unless he leaves.  Matt tries to prove that it is him, but when his neighbor comes along with a gun threatening to shoot, Matt is forced to find a safe place in town.  Not able to get a hotel room since his current ID photo looks nothing like him, Matt wanders the streets trying to come up with a plan to change him back to normal.  Seeing the Woodrell’s report in the paper, Matt decides to visit the family and try to gain forgiveness from them for not trying to help when John was beaten to death.

As the widow’s father answers the door, he sees a spitting image of his dead son-in-law standing in front of him.  Matt tries to plead his case to Thomas and the widow Clare, but when Clare askes him one simple question, she knows that she will never be able to forgive the man for what he did not do.  Matt is left on the streets alone looking like John Woodrell and everything is not fine when a couple of racists decide to make an example of him.

They say you can never know a man until you have walked in his shoes, well, that might be true and if you are forced to see the world from his body, you might start to understand how different things really are.  Matt tries to defend himself about being a racist, saying that he was frightened when John approached his car, but when the question was asked if John was white, would he have helped, Matt knew what the answer was in his heart.  It is a hard look at how society judges people based on their skin color and even though this was made in 2002, you still hear stories of it happening today.  A person should never be judged by the color of their skin, a person should be treated like a person, no matter what.  Starring Hill Harper as John Woodrell, Vincent Ventresca as Matt McGreevey, Mari Morrow as Clare Woodrell and Blu Mankuma as Thomas, this cast really seemed to capture the struggles of daily life.  This is a hard subject to tackle and be respectful in the storytelling process, but this episode did seem to show the hardships and struggles that we are still dealing with today.

​With the infamous V day just a few short days away, alright just over a week, I thought what a perfect time to get out a Geeky Gifts, Valentine's Edition. Who doesn’t love gifts? These are all from my favorite online Geek store, ThinkGeek.com, however, feel free to look at other stores for geek related items. I literally pick this store because I enjoy their selections, and while you can find other geeky things other places, Think Geek is the only geek store, online, to do a Valentine's section. Fitting, no?
 
Currently some of their items are up to 50% off for V-day (the sale ends tonight by the way), so please browse the section and find what you like! While I normally showcase a Geek Stuffed Bouquet, this year I’m starting things off a bit different. Though, there are several selections this year for their bouquets, so check them out.  This year I have gifts for him and her picked out, and even a surprise one. So, to start, let’s do her! It’s Valentine's, and if you’ve got a lady you want to take out for a nerdy geek dinner, why not get her a dress? Yes, it’s a bit unconventional of a gift, but some things are so unique, why not get them? This Avengers dress has a pretty kaleidoscope effect and is the perfect length for an evening out on the town. The dress comes in an assortment of sizes and can be yours for just $54.99. If she’s not an Avengers fan, dump her. I’m just kidding! There are also a ton of dress, shirt, and skirt options for your one of a kind gal.

As promised I have some picks for that special geek guy in your life as well. Because, hey, everyone needs gifts! Now, to counter the ladies there is also a very nice selection of mens watches on the site. While it was hard to pick from them, I finally decided on this Nightwing Watch. How often is it that I find Nightwing things? Not very, but today was my lucky day! This watch is currently on sale for $119. While it is a bit more pricey, well, just look at it! This lovely dark blue watch is stainless steel, so, you know, if someone has a metal sensitivity that might be helpful information. It is officially licensed through DC, which hey, that’s pretty cool.  If your guy isn’t into Batman related things, or hates Nightwing, you need to leave him. I’m just kidding, we did that joke already. There’s no need to fear, the site also has a beautiful Captain America time piece, and even a TARDIS watch; that’s just to name a few.

Speaking of spoiling, I might have stumbled upon this beautiful life sized BB-8 plush. By stumbled upon, I mean John sent me a picture of it and went “you need this” because that is what friends do for each other. I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty sure my friends are only fueling my obsession with this little droid though. Whether that’s a good thing or not has yet to be determined. Now, BB-8 can be given to your valentine, because who needs a giant bear holding a heart when you can have a giant BB-8 being adorable? Seriously, I’d take this plush over any other plush any day. Or, maybe you have children, or a friend, or me, that you really want to give this to. After all, valentines don’t always have to be romantic. That’s why I included this little guy. Alright, let’s be honest I included him because I am most likely going to buy him for myself…but that is not the point! Look at that cute little face!

Heroes and villains have always managed to captivate us over the years for what I think is one simple reason...we love to know what makes them tick, especially when the character is rich, vibrant and fascinating. Once they have achieved that goal we are compelled to know why they have dedicated their lives to protecting the people of the world, or why they seem hellbent on ripping it to pieces.  

Yet despite our thirst for knowledge in that respect, comic book movies and shows have kind of snuck away from that core origin story. Our characters are just inherently good or evil and we accept it because the writing has been so absolutely strong. It's not a bad thing to say the least, just an evolution of storytelling really. But thankfully, Agent Carter decided that this week it was high time to return to that classic trope and give us everything we ever needed to know about why Peggy Carter joined up to fight in the war, and why Whitney Frost is so extremely twisted and it was brilliant.  

This week's episode, "Smoke and Mirrors" was truly a wonderful story about the different lives we lead and how that shapes who we are. Take Whitney Frost/Agnes Cully. A brilliant young woman who grew up in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma and all she ever wanted was a chance to expand her mind and use her incredible intellect to do wonderful things and perhaps change the world. But her mother was quick to point out the only thing that would ever matter in this life was her beauty, and it was the only thing that would ever allow her to amount to anything. It led to that fascinating scene where Agnes was so incredibly timid, shy and unsure of herself and extremely hesitant to embrace Hollywood as a career path, she just knew it was the only way to escape her current life. We know now that behind the scenes she helped win the war, but that's the tragedy therein...the fact that Whitney/Agnes has to keep her brilliance a secret at all times, even now. It's a sad story to say the least and her disdain for her mother, her past and this particular aspect of what the world expects of her explains this nasty streak and willingness to go to darker places.

Then there was Peggy, who we finally saw for the first time as the everyday Joe she was before the war, and it was simply amazing. The Peggy Carter we never knew was a timid young woman. One content to follow the status quo of grow up, get a job, get married and raise a family. So much in fact she was happy to turn down an opportunity to become a spy in the war effort to appease her future husband. But what made her story all the more beautiful and relevant was her brother Michael. Who made a point to call her to the carpet for living a life she simply was not suited for, and that she was meant for bigger things. The fact that it took her brother's death in combat for her to finally realize this was simply heartbreaking to say the least, but that was the moment when Peggy Carter left her mild mannered life behind...and became the warrior we know today. 

Those two storylines made this one of the finest episodes of Agent Carter that I've seen to date. Simply because of the fact it finally took us to a place that I've yet to see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe...deep into its character's minds and lives. It's something Marvel has been criticized for and I'm wondering if this is that first bold step in a new direction, because to know who Peggy really is at her core now makes her character all the more heroic and genuine and well...one can't help but feel sorry for Agnes and you have to wonder if maybe, just maybe, there's a still a person in there worth saving. Either way, I'm glad to see the show take a big time risk like this storytelling wise and I really hope that the rest of season two is going to continue to up its game because I am still impressed at how damn good this episode turned out to be. Until next time.

​Do you want to live forever? That is a question that everyone should have an answer to after they hit their mid-twenties and if you have not even thought about it at that point yet, well you should.  I can give you my answer and it is no. I have been around to witness plenty of changes in the world and although I would have liked to see some things that happened in the past, I do not want to be around to see the world end. Being around after everyone you cared about has passed on would also be terrifying and you would have to build new relationships every generation just to have someone to talk to. It sounds awful to me, but that is just my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own.

Doctor Jay Ferguson has joined the medical ranks for one reason, to save lives.  Knowing the pain that is caused from losing a loved one, Jay has made it his primary objective to fend off death with all of his knowledge and knowhow. But he is also fully aware of the fact that not everyone can be saved, when it is your time to go, the is no pushing back the clock any further.  But anything he is able to do to make someone as comfortable as possible so they no longer have to suffer and can outlive the maker's plan for another day, he is in and will not give up his fight.
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After saving his first patient at the hospital, his next one is being wheeled into the ER.  After being found hanging in a tree for over twenty hours, Dr. Ferguson believes that the homeless man that found this poor soul was pulling the chain of the EMTs.  When the mysterious man starts to come to, he says that his name is Death, but the doctor is not willing to take that as an answer.  Putting him down as a John Doe, Jay starts talking to the man and when the answers turn out to be something a crazy person would say, he is ready to turn his patient over to the mental ward.

But Death does not want to give up on his doctor and urges him to stick with him.  Being able to name the first patient who died in the hospital in 1968, Death is willing to let Jay take his time to research the facts about his story.  When Jay finds out the name of the first person that died in the hospital from the head nurse, he is ready to listen to Death’s story, but the strange man has vanished from his restrained bed.  Finding Death down in the morgue, apologizing to his recent kills, Jay wants to find any reason he can to not believe him, but when the two are walking back to his room, Death picks up a newspaper to make his point.  Opening it up to the obituaries and seeing that no one has died in the last twenty four hours, Jay has no other reason but to trust that his patient had a hand in it.

Death has been working on the planet since the beginning of time and is tired of taking lives away from the beauty the life has to offer.  Knowing that he cannot stay on the sidelines for long, since the others in the heavens get upset and can put the squeeze on him to get back to work, he is enjoying the time to stop and smell the roses.  Jay has a flashback to watching his mother die, the main reason he became a doctor and now he has a plan of his own to keep Death from working again, but has not thought out all of the consequences that could follow if no one would die from this day forward.  As a handful of patients get rolled into the ER burned to a crisp with no pulse and reeling in pain, Jay sees that his plan cannot work.  When someone’s number is up, it is time for them to be released, but when asking Death to resume his post, Jay is hit with a life changing event of his own.

I like this episode since Death is very straight forward throughout and makes it fun to listen to his stories.  Wanting to see what life has to offer, Death has never taken the time for himself and give the world a break, even the young Doctor.  But when he is urged to stop his former ways, Death fears that something bad could happen instead, but he is taken back by the young Doctor and understands where his feelings are coming from.  Poor Doctor Jay does not know what to expect when death is taken out of the equation, but quickly understands when he sees what can happen first hand.  Starring Tyler Christopher as Dr. Jay Ferguson, Jason Alexander as Death and Lynda Boyd as the Head Nurse, this is a fantastic telling of good and evil, or maybe just life and death since everyone has their path, you just need to keep your name out of Death’s notebook. 

I've been a fan of Superman and Supergirl for as long as I can remember and over the many years that I've read their comics, I've seen a lot of villains, some good, some bad, some iconic. But of the many foes both these Kryptonians have faced over the years, one has always caught my eye...Bizarro. 

This sad creature, originally a failed clone of Superman's has always fascinated me. He's a true tragedy through and through and well...I've always wanted to see him pop up in the live action DC Universe for one big reason...he would be an incredible acting challenge. With makeup coming into play, a raw fury in his soul and a limited vocabulary, the actor that would get the chance to play this villain would get a solid opportunity to display their acting range, and after all this time, my wish has come true, with an awesome twist, courtesy of this week's episode of Supergirl, "Bizarro".

Yes, this brute and powerful villain finally came to life...as a she since we finally discovered that Maxwell Lord's secret room with a comatose girl was all designed to bring about the end of Supergirl...by way of a second Kara and let me just go ahead and say that Melissa Benoist deserves all the credit for making this entire episode work. She is of course stellar as always as Kara Danvers, but she is the actor gifted with the task of bringing Bizarro to life and man...she did an outstanding job. After all, it's not until later in the episode when Bizarro becomes her usual self with a shattered skin and backwards S, so before she becomes incredibly distinct, she basically is Kara and Melissa's performance is subtle but strong enough so that you are always able to know who is Supergirl and who is Bizarro. 

If anything Bizarro's storyline in this iteration of the super universe manages to take the tragedy of the character to new levels. After all, the fact that it took six other Jane Doe's to get to this point is horrifying and this poor girl has not a clue what has happened to her or what's going on really. Just that Maxwell Lord expects her to put an end to Supergirl and that also makes his fate in this episode all the more satisfying. After all, Maxwell has been a pain in the ass for some time on the show, with his over the top bravado, and clear disregard for human life to get what he wants, so to see Alex lock him up...well I may or may not have cheered at my television when he was escorted to his cell. 

Will there be consequences for Alex's actions? Absolutely. Is Maxwell Lord even more dangerous now that he knows Kara's true identity and the location of her adopted mother? Without a doubt. But it's those loose ends that make this episode work on so many levels. It's an imperfect ending on a show that should end happy and has ended happy on several occasions. As the show evolves however, the choices become more complex, the answers are no longer easy and that's really what this episode gave us, tough decisions and plenty of consequences for staying the course. Either way, loved this one not only for it's storytelling but for finally giving Bizarro a proper story and an awesome upgrade as Supergirl's equal. Until next time.

Gated communities can be some of the greatest places to live, there is no crime, and anyone that does anything wrong is dealt with and the undesirable neighbors are forced to move.  These communities can be some of the most elite places to live, but what would you be willing to give up to live there?  With so many great benefits that are offered, there is a trade off on what you might be allowed to do.  Most of the time, these tradeoffs are worth it, but when it comes to changing yourself completely to comply with the rules, it may not be worth it.
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The Winslow family is making their move into the Evergreen Estates community, looking for a better life.  With their out of control daughter Jenna along for the ride, they are hoping that the move will straighten her out.  This move has cost the family more than they could afford, but to make their new house a home with kids that follow the rules, it will be worth it.  But if someone is not complying with the rules that the community has carefully laid out, they can be forced to leave, costing them everything.

Jenna is not too happy with the move, but it is out of her hands.  When looking up and down her new street, she sees all of the uniforms that the kids are forced to wear and is having second thoughts.  But when she sees Logan mowing the lawn, she thinks that this little community might have a redeeming value.  Getting drugged by her parents when moving her belongings into her room, Jenna wakes up to see that all of her tattoos have been removed, along with her multi colored hair being dyed to one consistent color.  

Trying to lash out at her parents, Jenna meets Cliff Brooks who is in charge of the community.  Mr. Brooks says that he has her best interests in mind, but Jenna knows that her life will never be the same while living in Evergreen Estates and wants to get away so she does not lose herself.  Talking a walk in the woods, Logan meets up with her and offers her something that should not have found its way into the community.  Setting a place and a time, Logan shows up late and Jenna witnesses what happens to the trouble makers when they do not abide by the rules.  Seeing Logan getting stunned and thrown in back of the police truck, she heads home and tries to sleep it off.  But the next day, Mr. Brooks comes calling and asks Jenna to come clean about her relationship with the delinquent. 
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With a mandatory town hall being held to decide Logan’s fate, Jenna watches from afar and when the decision is handed down she sees what happens to the kids that do not follow the rules.  As Logan is loaded into the back of the Arcadia truck, Jenna sees the dirty secret that the community is hiding and rushes home.  Telling her sister Julie to lie for her and them meet her down at the park, Jenna is beside herself with what is happening and will not allow herself or her sister to be sent off.  But Julie knows all of the rules of the community and will follow them to the best of her ability and when she goes to meet up with her sister, she brings the Calvary as well.  Jenna knows what will happen to her and what will happen when a tree is planted in her honor.

A disturbing look at how a community tries to become the best place to live.  With a community charter being upheld at all times, if you do not follow the rules, you are out, no matter what.  Having this being a focus on the children of the community, you have to believe that the parents just want the finest place to live for themselves with little to no regard for their offspring.  My take is that Jenna’s parents knew exactly what was going to happen with their delinquent daughter and have no remorse over it since they have their other perfect angel.  Starring Amber Tamblyn as Jenna Winslow, Paul Perri as Cliff Brooks, Jesse Moss as Logan and Chantal Conlin as Julie, this group plays off of each other like you would imagine a family would.  It is hard to believe that a family would however try to get rid of their child, especially when moving to a new home, but this just goes to show that the bad apples have to be thrown out before making the pie.

Freak of the week. It's a phrase we are all familiar with when it comes to television and I'm quite certain The X-Files was the first television show to coin it since over the course of its now ten seasons...Mulder and Scully have tracked down some wild and crazy monsters, week in and week out, and heck a few of them were even referenced by Mulder during his opening narration in the season premiere. 

It was such an important element of the first nine seasons that I've been wondering as to whether or not the monster hunt would return this season on the show, and considering how the first two episodes returned us to the conspiracy at hand...it seemed as though the freak of the week was going to be nothing more than a thing of a past. But then last night's episode of the show happened, a monster returned and "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" was an absolutely glorious and incredibly impressive little piece of storytelling.

For starters, I loved the twist of Mulder experiencing a mid life career crisis if you will, by having him question whether or not his work was a joke or even worth it anymore. Seeing all the cases that were relevant mysteries fourteen years ago had been debunked or solved over the years without him working The X-Files was a wonderful touch since the world as it stands today, with the help of the internet, has become a place where facts are desired by many and self made Mulders have picked apart so many of the world's mysteries on their own. It seemed that the show was hinting that all that was left for Mulder was the conspiracy and that perhaps he and Scully had already discovered all of the world's creatures that go bump in the night.

Which makes the best part of the episode all the more magical, the discovery of a man sized lizard. I mean, everything that came with the monster last night was absolutely brilliant. After all, it felt like a traditional monster hunt from back in the day on the show, but it ended up with quite the twist. Instead of the usual, man is bitten by a creature and turns into a horrible monster mythos we are used to...it ended up being the opposite. Yes, the creature turned into a human because it was bitten by a man and that whole plot thread works thanks to Rhys Darby and his powerhouse performance as the man-lizard's alter-human-ego Guy Mann. He was just delightful in the role and his reveal of the entire twist to Mulder left my sides hurting from all the laughter.

Let's face it, this was a vintage episode of The X-Files, repurposed and reimagined for modern times. It was lighthearted, hilarious and incredibly well written. The fact that it was in essence, Mulder centric only enhanced it further and some of the best moments of the night came from David Duchovny. I'm especially fond of Fox digging into his smartphone's features to photograph the monster in question and the hilarity that ensued with that. But what matters most is that Mulder was able to discover that the unknown still exists. There are creatures that still roam the darkness, and plenty of mysteries revolving around them still waiting to be solved, and that's all thanks to another wonderful episode of the show, and this one was so damn good, it leaves me a little sad that we are only getting six episodes for season ten. Until next time.

Mankind's history is filled to the brim with rich mythology and powerful beliefs that have managed to shape our world and our civilization or better or for worse. Of course we won't be getting into a big discussion or debate as to which religion is the right one or anything like that...instead today we need to discuss an idea that I think has crossed all of our minds when it comes to our modern mythos...what if we discovered irrefutable proof that one particular religion or belief was absolutely real?

It would of course change our lives, change our world in so many incredible ways and it is that concept that was integrated into the first season finale of Battlestar Galactica in stunning fashion. While religious overtones had already played a part in the world building, anything beyond that seemed ambiguous and that made sense, because I'm sure many of us believed that thematic concepts related to religion would have no home in a science fiction show...but "Kobol's Last Gleaming" proved that it could, and it wouldn't be the last time we would see it on the show either, but for the sake of today's recap...none of us ever knew that this episode would become the guiding point for the rest of the series, especially when this episode turned out to be so incredibly dark.

After all, there is an incredible anger hanging over this episode. Every character seems ready to go after their fellow man in some form or fashion and...it works. The plucky joy seen at the end of the last episode is replaced with hints of desperation. This anger isn't out of the blue, they're in the middle of deep space, the void, with no hope in sight  so when the episode does drop Kobol in our laps, it changes everything. I love how suddenly now there is a debate between religion and science, despite the fact that Kobol turns out to be a factual place. It's about the need to believe in something more that drives this episode and some of the character's decisions and those decisions turn out to be so incredibly tense that well, I honestly lost track of time watching this two part finale. It was just that damn good.

Of course this episode also finally wraps up the long standing side Caprica plot line with Helo that quite frankly I haven't discussed much because it doesn't get interesting until this episode. Sure Caprica-Boomer is pregnant, but it has no weight or power until the opera house scene on Kobol with Baltar & Six when we realize that oh...this little girl is probably the one in the cradle and she's going to be a big freaking deal. I distinctly remember how much I loved the mystery that this episode provided by way of the forthcoming baby and the strength of that mystery still exists after all this time. Despite knowing what "God's Plan" is after all these years, there's something about this mystery that calls to your imagination on a primal level and you're compelled to pop in season two to get started right away.

But the cornerstone of this episode...is Galactica-Boomer. She goes through such a dark and terrifying journey. The whole attempted suicide piece is something I never saw coming and one has to wonder if her programming as a Cylon agent is what kept her from finishing the job if you will and that's horrifying. It means this poor character was always a pawn, always without control and there's a tragedy to that. Especially when she discovers her true identity aboard the Cylon Basestar. It's heartbreaking to see the flock of Sharon's surround her and try to comfort her when it's clear she wants to curl up in a ball and cry. But her terror and her actions in blowing up the Basestar make those final seconds all the more powerful when she pulls her gun up and puts two rounds intp Commander Adama. 

It's done in haunting fashion. That near sly smile on her face while Adama writhes in pain after all these years...it still has the same effect. There's a lump in your stomach as you watch it happen and it only tightens when the credits roll and we fade to black. If anything, the season finale bookends the series premiere/miniseries so well...both are dreary and angry tales that end with uncertainty and I honestly think this particular episode is what brought forth the modern day cliffhanger that so many television series employ these days because let's be honest...we had to know what the hell happened to Adama. Would he live? Would he die? Were the Cylons on their way? Of course we would have to wait until season two...but man...what a ride season one turned out to be. It may have been uneven at times and a little lost but oh well...because the best episodes, the ones like this made everything worth while and the show was only getting better from here. Until next time.