So many people are afraid of what other people think about them.  I know it is difficult to make yourself look perfect all of the time when talking with your friends, or even when meeting new people, but there is one thing that you have to remember, nobody is perfect.  There will always be people out there that will not like you and you should not bother to even try and earn their friendship, especially if you have to work hard and do questionable things to get it.  Just be yourself and the people that should be in your life, will be.

Harold is working hard on the set of a movie, being a mummy.  With a ton of makeup and wrapped in bandages from head to toe, there is no escaping his costume.  When lunch is called in the middle of the night, Harold is not able to get a bite to eat since that means he would have to be de-bandaged and the crew does not have time for that.  After drinking his soda, he gets the phone call of his life as his wife is about to have their first child.

Needing to get to the hospital as soon as possible, Harold does not care about what he is wearing or what anyone will think about how he looks, he needs to be there for his wife.  As he starts driving down the backwoods road, the sign for town seems to have been dislodged and he cannot tell what way he needs to go.  Trying to flag down an oncoming car, Harold finds out that the locals are frightened to death by his attire.  Running through the woods to try to find a phone, Harold is being hunted by the rednecks and they are not messing around when organizing a hunting party.

Willie Joe gets his buddies together and they are all ready to hunt down the legendary Ra Amin Ka, the mummy who killed so many people in the area so many years ago.  Without wanting to leave their homes to escape the mummy’s wrath, they decide that it would be better to capture or kill the ancient being.  Harold does not believe what he has become a part of since he is just an actor in a costume.  Finding an out of the way shack where a blind man resides, Harold is taken in, but the bind man fears that there is another mummy on the loose and releases the ancient Ra Amin Ka to protect him.  Running for his life, Harold now has to worry about a real life mummy catching him, along with the crazy rednecks looking to kill him.  Having to get the hospital is the only thing on Harold’s mind and even when the ancient evil is looking to take him down, he will not be deterred from seeing his wife and his first born.

This episode really puts things into perspective when it comes to what people are willing to do when feeling threatened.  When Willie Joe and his friends catch their first glimpse of the mummy, they fear the worst and will not take a second to even think it through, they want the mummy’s head on a stick.  Harold is running for his life the entire time and even though he is slightly able to speak, no one will listen to him.  It is sad to think about how many things have happened over time that could have been avoided if people would just take a step back and think things through, but sometimes our emotions get the best of us and we have to walk before we crawl.  Always sleep with one eye open since there are things that go bump in the night.

I've always had incredible respect for special effects makeup artists. The work they do is nothing short of spectacular and difficult and there was even a short time I dabbled in the field myself as more a hobby than anything and it gave me a greater appreciation for the craft as a whole.  

But for me it remained just that...a hobby. Writing is what I truly love but my respect for these intrepid artists, and yes it is a form of art, has never diminished. These guys and gals in the business work hard and for anyone who has ever wondered what the process or the work is like, they need not look any further than Syfy and the awesome show Face Off.  For those unfamiliar with the show, this is a reality style competition where amateur makeup artists come together from across the nation to show off their skills in weekly challenges, eventually of course crowning a winner that snags a bevy of prizes and a shot in the mainstream market.  

It's a show that's been on for nine seasons and one that I've watched religiously over the years, but only recently decided it was time to write about because well...it's an awesome show. The competition is hosted by McKenzie Westmore and judged by Hollywood makeup legends, Glenn Hetrick and Academy Award Winner Ve Neill and Creature Concept Designer Neville Page and their input, along with mentor Michael Westmore (another makeup legend in the business and McKenzie's dad) make for some incredible pieces of work on the show and last night's episode "Siren Song" was no exception. 

In fact this week's episode was extra special, since last week's season premiere featured no eliminations what so ever, leaving the team intact to climb aboard the USCGC George Cobb and set out to sea to begin concept work on this week's Spotlight Challenge...taking a beautiful, but deadly species of sea animal and turn it into a modern day siren. Now what I've always loved about this show is the fact that we see the entire process beginning to end, giving these creations a certain level of emotional attachment for the audience and the artists.

It makes the anticipation of seeing the final creation on stage all that more magical and sometimes you're so vested in a particular artist or their plan for the week that you find yourself disagreeing with the judges but this week there was none of that for me. Kevon and Meg truly pulled off the best siren of the night, one that was haunting and terrifying but gorgeous enough that you could not look away. But it should be noted that since no one went home last week, two artists had to go home this week and Sidney and Omar were the team whose makeup simply did not make the cut and once again I fully agree with the judges here, it just did not inspire.  

Either way, another wonderful season of Face Off is underway and I'm looking forward to next week's episode since it happens to be the 100th of the show and it looks like people will be getting married...in full prosthetics. Until then.  

Being able to follow through with an assigned task seems to have become a thing of the past.  It seems like if the task does not benefit the person doing it, they will put it in their back pocket for a rainy day to complete, rather than just getting it done then and there.  With some people’s attention spans becoming nonexistent these days, it is easy to see why so many things are not completed in a timely manner.  There are some people that are the ‘go to’ ones that you will give any task to that needs to get done right away, but that is a breed of person that is soon to become extinct. 

Young Jobe is fighting among his friends and fellow volunteers at the Alamo to save Texas from being sent back to Mexico.  Doing his best, Jobe moves from person to person when told to and helps by reloading muskets and calling out what is happening during the battle.  When seeing his friend Davy Crockett get shot in the arm, the reality of the situation comes to light as he is ordered to tear off a dead man’s shirt and patch up the fighter.  But Jobe is not only seeing the Mexican Army making it inside of the fort, but people in strange clothes walking around the grounds like there is nothing going on.

After watching a tour group enter the Alamo behind his opponent, Jobe fears that his eyes are playing tricks on him and asks Colonel Travis who these strange onlookers are.  Not knowing what the boy is talking about, Travis sends Jobe on an errand to get a letter to General Lefferts before the fighters succumb to the enemy.  Hearing from the tour guide that everyone in the Alamo dies, Jobe moves quickly through the fort until he is cornered by the enemy.  Knowing that his time is up, Jobe closes his eyes, but is surprised to feel a hand pull him out of harm’s way.  Being escorted out of the Alamo by a guard, Jobe is thrown into present day, but this does not keep him from what he has been ordered to do as he starts to venture around the city to find General Lefferts. 

As he starts to move around the city, he notices how strange the time he is in really is.  With nobody seeming to care about the battle that is raging on at the Alamo, Jobe is all alone on his venture.  Meeting a young boy who tries to help the buckskinned teen, Jobe has no ideas of how to get around, much less what all the commotion around him is.  Pulling his musket to stop a van from hitting him, the police are now in hot pursuit of the boy.  Finding an old antique shop that has Lefferts name attached, Jobe hands the letter off to the General’s great grandson and hopes that it will help before the Alamo is overrun by Santa Anna’s men. 

This is a fun episode as you get to see how strange our time looks to someone that comes from the past. I really like Jobe as he is never persuaded from competing the task that has been put in front of him, not even a shift in time that should leave him out of sorts. Finding out what is about to happen at the Alamo from the tour guides and curious onlookers, Jobe will continue to fight for what he knows is right and there is nothing that can stop him.  I must admit, if I were to find out my future and knew I was going to die doing something, I would probably refrain from doing it, but it was just right for Jobe as he will die for what he knows is right.  Remember, there is always something more to see, as long as you know how to focus.

Sometimes the only way you learn about a television show you're missing out on is by word of mouth and that's exactly how I discovered Sense8. It came highly recommended to me by several friends and trusting their judgment, I made a point to check out this show and I'm glad that I did. At times I found this show a little bit polarizing, but also extremely brilliant. So with that in mind, let's look back at the freshman season of the series, and all the good and bad that came with it. 

The Good: Let's start with the obvious...this is a damn original concept. To unite eight strangers by way of an evolutionary change in our genetic makeup is nothing short of brilliant. We get the mysticism of psychic abilities with a heavy dose of science fiction and the concept alone had me excited to watch this show, but it only got better from there. After all, characters matter most and Sense8 features perhaps the most diverse set of characters on television in history. I mean really, I cannot think of a time I've truly seen people from all walks of life be represented in a show and we get it here and man, those characters are rich. The acting in this series was top notch and their stories were nothing short of fascinating. 

Not to mention, I love the villain as well. The fact that Whispers happens to be a Sensate and hates his species and wants nothing more than to see his own kind wiped off of the planet is an interesting twist and one that I wasn't expecting. It gave a story that appeared to be some kind of sweeping superhero tale at first a special kind of grounding since the whole thing boiled down to a celebration of life and the beauty of it.

The Bad: At the same time however, the show's greatest strength was also its only downfall. Granted this didn't ruin the show by any means, but it did endanger it. At times there was too much of a focus on the characters, to the point where the plot didn't advance at all. In fact in the middle of the season the show managed to stumble into a simple pattern. Recap and resolve the events of last week, spend more time wondering if the characters are crazy or not because they can see and hear one another and then a taste of something big to come. It became quite frustrating simply due to the fact this original an idea and this special a concept deserved a little more care. 

The Verdict: In the end however, Sense8 completely redeemed itself, getting back on track and finally realizing its potential in the latter half of the season. I am still in awe of how seamlessly these characters can interchange between one another's lives and use their special talents to save people. They may not be able to fly or have super strength but these are definitely a new breed of heroes and I want to see where else this story plans to go. Hopefully Netflix gives this series a green light for season two and we can return to the world of the Sensates sometime soon.  Until next time. 

There comes a point where every television show arrives at a crossroads, and at that junction the show either finally comes together in impressive fashion, or everything simply falls off the rails. It may happen in season one, might happen a couple of years down the road, but it always happens and after sitting down for the season one finale of Sense8 I am proud to say that the show finally found its footing and came together in impressive fashion. 

Yes, this was an episode that worked on every single level. We had redemption, we had answers, we had action and adventure and most importantly of all now...the Sensates have a purpose in this life and our villain is now in plain sight and I was so happy to find myself satisfied with the story at last when the show faded to black. So what exactly made "I Can't Leave Her" so wonderful and amazing? Well...let's start with the action and adventure, courtesy of Wolfgang. 

In fact our intrepid thief managed to tie up every loose end in his story. He's already defeated one set of baddies and as we saw at the end of episode eleven, he was ready to finish up his final business with Sergei as well for his and Felix's safety. That of course turned into one epic shootout and we learned at long last who took down Wolfgang's father...Wolfgang. If anything the conclusion of his journey in season one was a tragic one to say the least simply because there was no redemption for Wolfgang...merely resolution.

But there was plenty of redemption for Riley. Her haunted past, her regret, all of it came around full circle, which we will get to in a moment. Because what came first, was the incredible rescue of Riley thanks to Will...and everyone in the cluster. This is where the show truly impressed the hell out of me, for while last week gave us a taste of exactly how amazing it is when these eight folks truly work together, this week polished that idea and the end result was a sparkling shine. Everyone helped out in their own special way, and thanks to their help they were able to foil Whispers' plan for the time being and get Riley to safety. But that moment of redemption came when Riley arrived back at the place where she lost her child so long ago, and finally overcame her fears and her pain to rescue Will...and in the process the rest of her cluster.

But while we had a happy ending, there is still plenty to be resolved in a second season. We still don't quite know where Jonas' loyalties lie, and Whispers unfortunately knows what Will looks like, leaving the intrepid police officer/hero in a perpetual state of drowsiness in order to keep the bad man at bay. I also loved how this non traditional show ended in traditional fashion with the Sensates heading off into the sunset, now fully aware of their abilities and the possibilities of what they can do, since they are in various places on the planet...are endless. The last two episodes of season one were a perfect mix of comedy, action/adventure, character growth and a sprawling story. This should mean, that since the show has finally jelled, we can expect a second season that is nothing short of spectacular, provided Netflix gives it a green light. Until next time.