This Warehouse 13 episode brought us three different stories: one with a Broadway legend, one with a Herve Leger dress, and the last story introduces us to the newest member of the Warehouse crew. Oh! And I almost forgot the shadowy, but familiar, figure following Claudia…

Did I mention there would be  SPOILERS?

Claudia and Jinks

Artie sends these two off to London to investigate jockeys that fall into comas after their long-shot horse wins their race. Claudia is upset to find out that Jinks was keeping an eye on Artie for the regents, but they have work to do.

They start with the basics – follow the money – only no one bid on these horses. The horses have different owners and are at the end of their careers – more investigation needed! They run into a slight road block when they aren’t allowed to enter the races because of the dress code – enter Claudia in above mentioned purple Herve Leger dress (not that I would notice a thing like that) and a hat we won’t speak of. They manage to get the records of one of the owners that show that all of the horses had been treated for injury prior to their race. Off to the stables (after a quick wardrobe change, of course) and they speak with the veterinarian about the injuries to the horses.

The injuries are caused by icky jockeys illegally trying to improve the performance of their horse. They look at the vet’s files and see that all the injuries were reported by the same vet assistant and there is another horse with a similar injury reported by the same person that is about to race! Jinks goes after the vet assistant while Claudia goes after the horse and jockey. Jinks easily finds his man and learns the artifact is a riding blanket that belonged to Sitting Bull. It drains the rider’s adrenaline and passes it along to the horse. He wanted the jockeys to pay for what they had done to the horses. Jinks calls Claudia to tell her what to look for, but she can’t get the jockey to listen to her and get off the horse, so she jumps on the horse with the jockey. As they start to lose their consciousness Claudia grabs the blanket from under the saddle and bags it.

Back at the warehouse as they’re shelving the blanket, Claudia feels bad for the vet assistant because he thought he was doing the right thing for the horses he loved. Jinks points out that maybe that’s what he was doing with Artie (because every Warehouse 13 episode has to make that kind of connection)

Vegas, Baby!

Pete and Myka are sent to Vegas after people start falling from the sky. The first is a bachelor the morning after a Hangover-esque night (minus Mike Tyson and the tiger) and the second is a high-rolling teacher. Not a lot in common. After retracing the bachelor’s steps to a restaurant, bar, and strip club that Pete volunteers to do a little more research at, they realize that all the victims, including the third – a headlining magician known for stealing tricks – were volunteers in Monty the Magnificent’s levitation trick.

Pete and Myka go to Monty’s house and talk with him about magic. Did I mention Monty is played by the legendary, Joel Grey!! He tells them there is a difference between cheap tricks and real magic, and his levitation act is real magic. They don’t see an artifact anywhere and he seems to believe this is true magic. He offers to prove it to them and invites them to his next show as he needs the energy from the audience to make someone levitate.

They arrive at his show where he and his assistant, Rose, are performing a card trick. (Anyone else notice the necklace tucked into the neckline of her dress.. artifact investigating 101?) Monty announces he is going to make himself levitate to prove it is safe. This upsets Rose who suggests he levitate someone else, but he continues on as planned. He begins the trick and just when he expects to rise into the air, it’s Pete that’s high above the crowd instead. The audience loves it but Monty is freaked out and runs off the stage thinking he can’t control his own trick. After Myka pulls Pete down from the rafters, they go to Monty’s house looking for him and clues. He’s not there but they discover that Rose is Monty’s granddaughter. What better gift to give your magician grandfather than to make him think he is doing real magic?

Rose catches up with her grandfather who is ready to leave the magic business. He wants to leave with dignity and if he can’t control his magic, it’s his time to stop. She wants him to have one last hoorah and tells him to take the show of the magician who has disappeared (she doesn’t realize that he has floated away because of her artifact). She tells him she will be his volunteer and they leave for their final performance.

It’s not safe for Pete to be out in the open with no ceiling above his head, so Myka tricks him into staying in the car with the promise of cookies. Too bad she forgot to close the sunroof (really?). As the show begins, Rose floats out over the crowd and unfortunately so does Pete. Pete has no control and is about to float away when he grabs on to Rose’s hand and convinces her to bring them down. When they land Myka instantly grabs and bags the artifact. Pete was still floating above Rose’s head and had a bit of a crash landing, but what’s new? As they’re promising Rose they won’t tell Monty about the artifact so he’ll still believe, he walks up and sees Myka holding the bag and puts it all together – just another cheap trick.
Next thing we know Monty is being given a rare treat – a visit to the warehouse.

Myka and Pete show him some of the tricks of the legends, including Houdini. Magic is out there – you just have to believe. A little cheesy, but it’s Joel Grey. I’ll forgive it.

Artie

Still clearly grieving, Artie begs the plants at the B&B not to die when Mrs. Frederic introduces him to Abigail Chow, the new owner of the B&B. She asks him to show her around the warehouse and then pulls one of her classic exits before he can ask any questions. Once in the warehouse, Abigail is full of questions and wants to touch everything, actually forcing Artie to slap her hand – loved it. She asks more questions and it doesn’t take long for Artie to realize she is more than just the B&B owner – the regents sent her to be his shrink and he will have none of it! He storms off leaving her to find her way out of the warehouse.

She continues to look for useful artifacts and Mrs. Frederic appears. We learn that she has had a previous patient that was dealing with severe grief and the result was not a good one. She says Artie is arrogant and closed off and doesn’t want  to talk to her.

Abigail looks for an artifact that can help him cope. She brings him some boots that will help numb the pain so he can face it and deal with it. He continues to blow her off. In frustration, Abigail inadvertently reveals that she has a lot of experience when it comes to people dealing with grief and apparently she lost someone who couldn’t deal with it. It seems like this person was more than just a patient. She implores Artie to fight against his grief before it eats him up completely. For a moment it looks like she reaches Artie. Maybe someone could understand.

Back at the B&B Abigail is having a little luck with the plants, and questions why she is there when Artie walks in. Before she can say anything he tells her he killed someone he loved and he doesn’t know how to deal with it. They finally agree to talk. I think Artie is going to be OK.

The shadowy yet familiar face

Just before the opening credits we see the warehouse from a distance through binoculars. Pull back and we find it’s Charlotte Dupres (from “The Living and the Dead” episode) She says that’s how she’ll get to him. We can only assume she means her husband Professor Sutton. We see her again at the end of the episode in London after Claudia jumps off the horse. She “runs into” Claudia, secretly takes her picture, and sends it to someone with the instructions that Claudia is their target! Target for what?? Not cool!

I knew we hadn’t seen the last of Charlotte and Professor Sutton, but I wasn’t really sure who was the good guy and who was the bad guy… I guess we’re still not sure.

Weird Girls

The drama continues in Westeros with a wedding, a White Walker, and a handsome mercenary take the stage in Game of Thrones!

When we last left off, Arya ran away from the Brotherhood in yet another hissy fit. The Hound picked Arya up and they are now traveling to The Twins where the Hound hopes to strike a deal with Rob and Catelyn in exchange for Arya. I’m pretty excited for Arya to be reunited with her family, though I’m sure she’ll just get pissed off at them and run away again.

The Mother of Dragons continued her mission to raise an army by paying the Second Sons a visit. The representatives for the Second Sons are: Mero- “The Titan’s Bastard” (or as I like to call him “That distasteful sexist bastard”), Prendahl na Ghezn (still distasteful yet not as awful as the bastard), and Casanova himself: Daario Naharis. Within seconds of meeting Khaleesi, the Titan’s Bastard had managed to offend her with his vulgarity. I expected Khaleesi to sick her dragons on him (especially after he goosed her new hand-maiden) but, alas, she bit her tongue and bided her time.

The captains of the Second Sons regrouped back at their own camp where the Titan’s Bastard decided that one of them should kill Khaleesi. The bastard had a woman pass out coins (sort of like drawing straws) to determine who would have the pleasure of doing the deed. Daario got the “short straw” and snuck through the Unsullied camp to confront Khaleesi. Upon entering her tent, Daario presents Khaleesi with the heads of the two other Second Sons captains. He explained that they ordered him to kill Khaleesi but he instead killed them because he liked her “Beauty”. (That’s a cheesy pick-up line if I ever heard one.) Immediately, though cautiously, Khaleesi jumps aboard and takes Daario’s oath to fight for the Mother of Dragons.

But lets take a moment to appreciate how Daario seems like a stand-up guy compared to all the other douches we’ve seen lately. During his discussion with the Second Sons about their plan to assassinate Khaleesi, not only does Daario seem to defend her but he shows how his view of women is much different than that of his comrades. Daario explains that he differs philosophically from his co-leaders because he views having sex with women who want to have sex (rather than raping or buying sex) is one of the greatest thrills in life. In a world where men seem all too willing to rape, this really stuck with me. Maybe not all Westeros men are awful people after all! In fact, it seemed like our dear Casanova was actually turned on by Khaleesi’s power and grace. I think I just found my new ship. We all knew it was just a matter of time.

The Red Priestess has captured Gendry and is planning on using his blood for some magic Light God ritual. She gives Stannis one of the greatest yet disturbing analogies: “a lamb that sees the knife before a slaughter, she panics. Her panic seeps into her meat and ruins the flavor.” Gendry must not see the sacrifice coming in order to keep the blood pure. Stannis, totally freaked out by the Red Priestess, visits Davos in the dungeon under the guise of letting him free. However, he truly wanted to seek Davos’ guidance in this matter. Stannis wont admit it, but he knows killing Gendry is wrong. Instead of letting the Red Priestess outright kill Gendry, Stannis asks her to demonstrate the power King’s blood has. The Red Priestess seduces Gendry then ties him to a bed and uses leeches to extract some blood. Stannis and the Red Priestess used the leeches to curse Joffrey, Greyjoy and Robb Stark. I have no idea what is coming for these three but I am so stoked to see Joffrey get what’s coming to him!

I felt so bad for Gendry partially because that crazy lady put a leech on his junk (AHH! GROSS!!) but mostly because the poor kid didn’t even see it coming! Talk about scaring the crap out of your sacrificial lamb and poisoning its meat!

How could we forget the awkward union of Tyrion and Sansa? What an awful way to celebrate a marriage than to be surrounded by a few dozen strangers and enemies. The only thing they all had in common waas that no one actually wanted to be there. Joffrey threw salt into Sansa’s wounds by walking her down the isle with that smug grin of his. Dear ol’ Uncle Tyrion also got the Royal Joffrey treatment by having his step stool removed from the alter by the King himself. Maybe this doesn’t sound like a huge deal but it turned out to be horribly humiliating seeing as part of their wedding tradition is to wrap the bride in a cloak. Sansa is a good couple feet taller than Tyrion so it made this tradition a bit of a struggle to complete. Though, I couldn’t understand why Sansa didn’t just kneel for him from the beginning. WTF did you expect him to do, Sansa?!

Margeary attempts to make nice with Cersi before the wedding calling her “sister” (remember, Loras is supposed to marry Cersi so technically they’d be sister-in-laws) to which Cersi threatens Maergeary both directly and indirectly. Cersi spins a story about the fall House Reyne of Castamere after they betrayed Tywin Lannister- a warning for Margeary if she betrays the King. But when the story ends Cersi follows up her indirect death threat with an actual one: “If you call me ‘sister’ again, I’ll have you strangled in your sleep.” WHOA! That escalated quickly, didn’t it? Whatever, Cersi. You’re just upset that Kharma came back to bite you. Stop hating on sweet Margeary!

The drama doesn’t stop there, though. Every wedding must have a reception and every reception must have a drunk groom, the creepy relative who hits on the bride and the catty grandmother. Tywin tells Tyrion to reign in his drinking as he has to consummate his marriage in order to make Lannister babies. To that, Tyrion replies that his own father called him lustful and a drunk so no need to worry, the lusty stuff will happen. Meanwhile, Joffrey has cornered Sansa and threatens to come visit her after Tyrion has passed out for the night. Sansa gives him her “dear in the headlights” look and tries to make her way back to Tyrion. Lady Olenna Tyrell explains the new titles for the  Tyrell siblings when they marry Joffrey and Cersi. It goes a little something like this: Loras will be Joffrey’s Step-Father AND Brother-in-Law; Joffrey will be Loras’ Nephew; Cersi will become Joffrey’s Mother-in-Law; Loras will be Margeary’s Father-in-Law. DRRRAAAAMMMAAAAAA!!!

Back in their wedding suite, Sansa tries to keep Tyrion from passing out but they both end up drinking more at the thought of sleeping with one another. We are reminded Sansa is only fourteen before she begins to disrobe for her new husband. Always the good guy, Tyrion tells Sansa that he will only share a bed with her when/if she is ready. He promptly passes out like a gentleman on the chez across the room.

Hey, remember a few episodes ago Sam found that spear/dagger thing? Yeah, I didn’t either until he KILLED A WHITE WALKER WITH IT! That’s basically the only interesting thing that happened during the entire 5 minute scene between Sam and Gilly.

Weird Girls

Angelina Jolie caused quite a stir when she announced that she had undergone a preventative double mastectomy. Some people applauded her. Other cried. Is it any of our business?

In an opinion piece written for the New York Times, Jolie revealed that she has a mutation in her BRCA1 gene which drastically increases the odds of her developing certain cancers. Doctors told her she had an 87% chance of developing breast cancer. Remembering the fact that her mother died of cancer when she was 56, Jolie decided to be proactive and have a double mastectomy to reduce her risk of breast cancer to less than 5%.

While her decision was very personal and effectively reduced her chances of getting cancer, people have been speaking up from all sides of the aisle. Some people applaud her for raising awareness about breast cancer. Some people are angry because they can’t afford the same level of care. Others remind women that 99% of women don’t have the defective gene. And some people are even angry because they just liked her breasts, risk of cancer be damned.

What do you think about her decision? Is it even any of our business or is it a decision best made by her, her family, and her doctor?

Weird Girls

The series finale of Doctor Who left us wanting nothing more than it to be November already so we can see the 50th Anniversary Special.

This whole episode can be summed up in one gif:

STOP NOW IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS EPISODE! THERE ARE SPOILERS!

Moffat begins the episode with a huge Clara teaser and immediately I feel both overwhelmed by all the “WTF” imagery and underwhelmed by yet another “What is up with Clara” episode. A short and sweet monologue is presented by Clara over splices of her edited into old Doctor Who episodes. “It’s like I’m breaking into a million pieces,” Clara’s disembodied voice says,”and there is only one thing I can remember: I have to save The Doctor.” It’s implied that she has been with the Doctor this whole time, saving his ass from all kinds of trouble, and we get to sit and ponder of what the hell this means while the opening scene rolls.

Madam Vastra summons everyone for a Conference Call

My fangirling dance began at exactly 2 minutes and 46 seconds into the show when Madame Vastra made another glorious appearance. She stops to visit a serial killer in jail the night before he is to be hung. He pleads for her to stop his execution in return for a prophecy: “The Doctor has a secret he will take to the grave and it is discovered.” Vastra and Jenny immediately summon a “Conference Call” with Strax and “The Women” (Clara and River). This isn’t your run of the mill call-em-up-on-the-phone conference call. That would just be too ordinary for Jenny and Vastra. Rather, the ladies gather sulfurous candles that put the members of the call into a trance-like state for the dreamworld tea party.

(Might I note that we get a sort of foreshadowing moment right before Clara is summoned to the Conference Call. She is seen at home with those rotten annoying children making- you guessed it- a souffle. The children give her a hard time for trying to make a souffle for the zillionth time to which Clara responds: “Although, this time I will make it right! This time I will be Souffle Girl!” AAAHHHHH!!!)

It’s at the Conference Call where Clara and River meet for the first time. Somehow I had forgotten the two had never actually met before but this is by far the most awkward Companion/River introductory episode EVER. Vastra introduces Clara to River, citing her as the “Doctor’s Companion”. She realizes this was rather insensitive wording because River is the Doctor’s wife and thus his LIFE COMPANION. Vastra corrects herself, calling Clara the Doctor’s “current traveling assistant”, which somewhat offends Clara as well causing Vastra to “turn a darker green”. (Heh. Get it? She was blushing?)

In order to create damage control, Vastra begins the introductions again. River introduces herself to Clara as “Professor River Song- the Doctor might have mentioned me?” Clara seemed surprised and confessed that of course the Doctor mentioned her but she had not realized Professor Song was a woman. In a brilliant and human-like attempt to ease the awkward tension, Strax brilliantly barks out “Well, neither had I.” Oh, Strax. You’ll get it right someday.

The Conference Call gets down to business and we discover the serial killer gave Vastra space/time coordinates for a place called Trenzalore. During this exchange we have two incredibly interesting things happening. Clara and River have a pissing contest of sorts about who knows the Doctor best. Clara is shocked to hear the Doctor has secrets to which Vastra replied “If you’re still entertaining the idea that you’re the exception [to the Doctor's rule of not discussing his own secrets with anyone] then ask yourself: What is his name?” Of course River teases Clara by confessing she knows the Doctor’s name because she made him tell her.

The Whispermen

Meanwhile, in the “real world”, someone (or something, rather) has broken into Jenny and Vastra’s house and murders Jenny while she is at the Conference. River forces everyone else at the conference to wake up from the trance as her and Clara become surrounded by The Whispermen- creatures that look and act eerily similar to The Gentlemen featured in “The Hush” episode of Buffy. They even kill you by removing the heart! Well done, Moffat. You have single-handedly reopened my horrifying psychological scar that is The Gentlemen.

Clara wakes up in her home to find the Doctor attempting to play with those rotten children. (Can I just say how much I love that the Doctor called them Daleks?) She explains the business of the Conference with him AND THEN MAKES HIM CRY! You see, each time traveler has one time/location where they are forbidden to go- their own grave (which in the Doctor’s case is Trenzalore). After re-watching the episode I’m a little confused why the Doctor got so emotional. I assumed at the time I originally saw the episode that it was where he died (though I can’t remember if River actually killed him at the lake so maybe my timelines are getting jumbled). I’m not sure why the Doctor was crying but in the moment of it all I got a little teary eyed with him.

The Doctor whisks Clara off to Tranzalore to save Vastra, Jenny and Strax. After arriving on Trenzalore, River presents herself to Clara, but stays invisible to the Doctor, in an attempt to help her guide the Doctor. In the same moment the Doctor finds a grave for River Song. This was a huge “WTF” moment for me because, if you remember, River essentially died and her consciousness was locked in the library database in “Forest of the Dead”. The Doctor explains to Clara that River is dead but her grave couldn’t possibly be on Tranzalore. The Whispermen appear and come after Clara and the Doctor. River suggests the grave is the door to the Doctor’s tomb and they all jump in.

Meanwhile, Vastra, Strax and Jenny’s lifeless body are transported inside of the tomb. As Vastra cradled her wife’s body I didn’t find myself feeling sad- I was pissed. With all the uproar in the Whovian fandom to have a Vastra/Strax/Jenny spin-off, I was convinced Moffat would be a total dick and kill the dynamic trio to snuff out any more talk of a spin-off. However, I totally forgot Strax has that awesome Sontaran “Standard Electro-Cardio Restart” gadget. Strax brought Jenny back from the dead (YAY!) but not until after Vastra threatened to cut him to bits if he didn’t help her. But damn you, Moffat, for putting me through that awful mix of emotions!

During their journey into the tomb, Clara starts to remember memories she never had (i.e. THE ENTIRE EVENTS OF JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE T.A.R.D.I.S.!!!) I can’t tell you how glad I was that the events in JTTCOTT (yep, that’s what I’m calling it now- deal with it) were all for nothing. She starts to “remember” the Doctor telling her of her own death in the Dalek Asylum and Victorian London. A disembodied voice speaks to Clara and the Doctor “The girl who died he tries to save she’ll die again inside his grave.” WHAAAAATTTT?!?!?!?! (Though, I have to admit, at the same time I was like ‘UGH, FINALLY!!)

Turns out the bad guy that controls The Whispermen (the Gentlement-esque creeper creatures) is none other than “The Great Intelligence” dressed as Dr. Simeon from “The Snowmen” episode. He brought them all to the Doctor’s grave in order to summon the Doctor to open the tomb. Of course the only thing that opens the tomb doors is the Doctor’s greatest secret- his name. Moffat creates a rather intense scene here- the T.A.R.D.I.S. friends are all threatened by The Whispermen while The Great Intelligence becomes increasingly aggressive at getting the Doctor to say his name to open the doors. Every moment following each “DOC.TOR.WHO?” my heart stopped. I braced myself for the incoming drama bomb that would be the Doctor’s name. Part of me assumed it would be “Allons-y” for some reason.

Instead, the Doctor says “Please!” and the doors open. “Please?” I thought, “Doctor’s name is PLEASE?!” Oh, no, that was just River, whispering his name to the tomb in order to save the Doctor from unleashing it himself. Thank you, Moffat, for not giving me the Doctor’s name and effectively ruining the mystique.

Inside the tomb, The Great Intelligence leads everyone to the “personal time tunnel”- the Doctor’s very own scar in the fabric of time. For some reason which I’m still trying to figure out, the Great Intelligence jumps into the time-scar, scattering himself across the Doctor’s timeline. Every victory turns into a defeat. Every happy moment is destroyed. Jenny dies again; Strax turns against Vastra, forgetting their past together. The Doctor dies again in the Dalek Asylum and again in Victorian London. Clara realizes the reason she was at the Dalek Asylum and Victoria London was because she was a part of the Doctor’s timeline this whole time. She jumps into the time-scar and then things get weird. She falls through the time stream (or was that the T.A.R.D.I.S.?), saves all eleven Doctors and in turn reverses the effects of The Great Intelligence.

The Doctor decides he has to save Clara by jumping into his own time stream, Remember when I said things got weird? Well, lets take a quick pit stop into the land of “Moffat has once again personally assaulted my soul”.

Throughout most of the episode, The Doctor has been able to see and hear River but has ignored her. He says he has always seen and heard her but never responded because he was afraid it would hurt him too much. They share a very long kiss that seemed to slow time itself. For a brief moment I thought this was a “Hey, you’re back, I missed you kiss” but then I remembered Moffat wrote this one so of course it isn’t!

The Doctor tells River that she’s an echo and should rest now. “There’s only one [goodbye] I will accept. If you ever loved me, say it like you’ll come back.” The Doctor steps back, placing a wall between himself and his River feels, and says he’ll see her around. River drops her last drama bomb – She and Clara were psychically linked so how can River still be there if Clara is dead? She gives him one last “Goodbye, Sweetie” and fades away. My fangirl heart exploded in a silent scream. River can’t be gone forever!…Can she? If she’s still linked with Clara, then she can always come back, right? Right?!

(But let’s also talk about how incredibly confusing this was about the whole River/Rory/Amy thing. River’s timelines always get me confused. Was she still a people when she met dear ol’ mum and dad or was she part of the database still? What do you think?)

Remember how I said things got weird? Well, the Doctor ends up jumping to the time scar and finds Clara. The end of the episode doesn’t explain how they got out of the time-y wimey thing. I guess we don’t necessarily need an explanation in Doctor Who, but I just can’t get my head around what the hell was happening with that. Did he just climb a ladder to pull him out of the time pit? Did the T.A.R.D.I.S. come for him? Wouldn’t the time stream just implode on the paradox?

These questions aren’t answered. Instead we get a fantastic teaser for the 50th anniversary episode. Clara sees a man in the time stream who the Doctor dismisses as “himself” but clarifies that this is NOT “The Doctor”. That is the man that broke the promise of the Doctor. Do you think it’s who the Doctor was before he was “The Doctor”? The man claims he had no choice to do what he did but did it in the name of peace and sanity. Is that the man that ended the Time War?

How do you feel about this Season’s finale? Do you have answers for my numerous questions? Did Moffat personally destroy your soul with feels as well? Lets discuss in the comments below!

Weird Girls

We’re gearing up to shoot the pilot for the “Weird Girls” Pilot. If you’d like to be considered for casting, here’s how to submit.

Casting for the new pilot “Weird Girls.” This is a digital series and this is the requested proof of concept pilot.
Submit your information to casting@weird-girls.com and we will contact specific talent to come in for live auditions.
You MUST submit all of the following. If you do not submit all of the following, your submission will NOT be considered.

1. Headshot
2. Resume
3. Link to monologue or reel
4. List of social media accounts that you are active on. (Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine, etc…)

Submissions must be received by May 25th in order to be considered. You must include all elements in order to be considered.

1. This is a proof of concept pilot for the series “Weird Girls.”
2. Four young girls deal with the usual drama of growing up with relationships, popularity, puberty, and supernatural, trans-dimensional uber-evil demons. ‘Cuz that happens.
3. Cast…
   1. Audrey (female, 14-16 years old) – Audrey is the leader of her group of friends and pushes them to be better than who they are. Even though she’s the “leader,” none of the other people in school really see her that way. Think of Ashley Rickards (“Awkward”) or Cady Herron (“Mean Girls”… before she becomes a Mean Girl)
   2. Hilary (female, 14-16 years old)- Hilary is the oldest of the group and the most rational when it comes to their whole “destiny” of fighting evil. She’s also torn between her old friends and her burgeoning popularity with the school’s elite. Think of Kat Stratford (“10 Things I Hate About You”… but less intense)
   3. Emma (female, 14-16 years old) – Emma is the quirky and sarcastic girl who LOVES old b-movies, the gorier the better. She runs off pure emotion most of the time and doesn’t think things through. Think of Janis Ian (“Mean Girls”) or Claudia Donovan (“Warehouse 13”).
   4. Sage (female, 14-16 years old) – Sage is the youngest and is the heart of the group. While she can come across as naive, it’s really that she honestly believes people are good at heart and gives everyone the benefit of the doubt. She photo-bombs her way through life since she’s always in the background until she says something amazing that makes people notice. Think of Willow (“Buffy:The Vampire Slayer”) and Britney (“Glee”… except Sage is much more well-read)
   5. Neil (male, 15-17 years old) – Neil is the star football quarterback at school and the guy all the girls want, at least he thinks so. His recent introduction to the crazy world of demon fighting makes him question who he really is and if being popular is as important as he thinks. Think of Finn (“Glee”).
   6. Krista (female, 14-16 years old) – Krista is the definition of the Mean Girl at school. While she used to be friends with Audrey, she turned her back on her and her friends and controls the popular kids and the cheerleaders with a cold fist. Think Quinn Fabray (“Glee”)
   7. Brad (male, 15-17 years old) – Neil’s best friend and side-kick. He plays ball with Neil and in general follows him around on his adventures, even though he’s starting to get tired of always getting the short end of the stick. Think of Wallace Fennel (“Veronica Mars”).
4. No pay. Reel provided.
5. Meals and snacks provided
6. Crew will needed.
   1. 1st AC
   2. 2nd AC
   3. Gaffer
   4. Key Grip
   5. Hair/Makeup
   6. PA’s
   7. Sound Recordist
   8. Boom Op
   9. On-site Editor
7. Shooting is currently set for June 22-23
8. Shoot will be on RED
9. Digital distribution on YouTube and other online outlets  as well as pitches to mutiple MCNs and traditional Networks
10. Email all information to casting@weird-girls.com
11. We will only accept digital submissions for first round consideration.
12. We will be filming in and around Austin, Texas

Weird Girls

Disney just elevated Merida to full princess status, but apparently they felt she needed a makeover before letting her join the realm. What do you think?

In case you’ve been living in a cave for the past week or so, Disney decided to give their newest princess Merida a little bit of a glam makeover in order for her to be included as a Disney Princess. She apparently went on some weight loss as well as some new hair condiditoner which makes her look more like the mirror universe version of Merida rather than the spunky 16-year-old we all know and love.

Speaking of 16, does the new Merida look a little more like an adult fashion model than a strong-willed teen? I say yes.

What do you think of Merida’s makeover. Let us know and ask your friends.

Weird Girls

This Once Upon a Time episode was the perfect follow-up to last week’s episode with fast action, plot twists, intertwining family stories, and Peter Pan getting even scarier. It’s the season finale so there’s lots to talk about…

In case you didn’t know by now… Spoilers!

We start with a flashback of Hook looking longingly at a drawing of Bae’s mother. Smee asks him where Bae came from and could he belong to “Him?” He thinks if they return the boy to Him it could be the key to their survival in Neverland. Bae yells at Hook that a pirate killed his mother and that his father is a coward and abandoned him. Hook puts the pieces together and asks his name. Baelfire tells him and Hook welcomes him aboard – it’s a pirate’s life for you!

Back in the present day, Henry is swinging at the park guarded by Granny with her crossbow, when we see Gold watching from a distance. With a twist of his walking cane, the rope on Henry’s swing begins to fray. Naturally, like any good public playground, there are large, pointy rocks directly in front of and behind the swing – just the perfect spot for Henry to land on if the rope were to break. Just then Mary Margaret, David, and Emma arrive to break the bad news  to Gold and Henry about Neal being shot and falling through the portal. They follow up with the even worse news of the diamond that is about to destroy Storybrooke.

Down in the caves Greg uses some app to find the location of the dwarf’s pick axes (I checked the app store and couldn’t find it.).  With one hit of the ax the diamond glows and floats in the air. The town shakes and vines wrap around the clock tower. The forest is taking over again.

Regina has regained her strength just as the good guys arrive back at the apartment. The room shakes and Regina confirms the diamond has been activated and everyone not born in this world will disappear, leaving Henry alone. Enter Hook. Enter David’s fist in Hook’s nose.  And then David asks him what he is doing there.  I like David’s punch first and ask questions later technique. Hook tells them he wants his life more than his revenge and offers his help. Regina tells them she can’t stop it, only slow it. If they can get the beans back from Tamara maybe she can give them enough time to get everyone to safety before total destruction. Regina tells Henry she loves him and won’t let him be alone.

Back in Neverland, the Lost Boys approach Hook’s ship. Smee tells Hook he has to give up Bae, but Hook refuses now that he knows who he is. A skinny, stringy blonde haired Lost Boy boards the ship and tells them they are looking for a boy He has a particular interest in and they search the ship. He asks Hook if he knows what He does to people who lie to him… he rips your shadow right from your body. Rrrriiiiippppp. Bae is hidden well and they don’t find him.

In Storybrooke, Gold finds the dwarves looking through his shop for Sneezy’s drinking stein. Mother Superior has created a potion that cures the memory problem, but he has to drink it out of something he owned in his old life. Fortunately she also made a second dose for Lacey – have I mentioned I’m not a Lacey fan.

David and Hook arrive at the cannery looking for Greg and Tamara. David tells Hook he’s fighting for his family and asks what Hook is fighting for? They find Greg and demand the beans, until Tamara shoots at them from behind.  Hook wrestles Greg while David chases Tamara. They both get away but Hook managed to get one bean.

Emma and Regina are in the mines headed for the diamond (I guess Regina has magic and doesn’t need an app). Regina tells Emma that slowing the device will require all the strength she has. Emma realizes Regina isn’t coming with them and when she said goodbye to Henry, she was REALLY saying goodbye. Regina said she created this device, it’s only fitting she die saving everyone else from it. Everyone looks at her as the evil queen, she wants to die as Regina. She does her thing as lightning shoots from her hands to the diamond (or vice versa – I don’t know).

The vines continue to creep and crawl around the town and back at Gold’s shop, Gold and Lacey are having a few drinks preparing for the end of the world. Gold takes Belle’s broken cup from the cupboard and fixes it. He pours some of the magic potion into the cup, Lacey drinks it, and yay! Belle is back! I was getting pretty tired of Lacey… Lots of hugs and kisses. Gold tells her he didn’t want to wake her up to die, but he needed her. Sigh…

At Granny’s café the whole town (or the dozen people we know) are waiting to hear from the good guys when they bust in and announce they have a bean! Emma tells Henry that Regina isn’t coming with them. He gets upset saying they saved her from the wraith, why can’t they save her now? Everyone agrees although Emma is reluctant, not wanting to risk leaving Henry alone if they fail. Hook grabs the bean saying they are all mad. Emma tells him to join them and be a part of something or do what he does best and be alone. He gives her the pouch with bean but asks why is she doing this? Emma tells him Henry just lost his father and she’s not letting him lose anyone else. Hook asks who is his father?

Back in Neverland, Smee asks Hook why they’re saving the boy? Just then Bae attacks Hook with a mini sword and asks how he got the picture of his mother. Hook tells him the truth about Bae’s father and that Hook loved her and now wants revenge. All Bae hears is that his mother also abandoned him and that Hook tore his family apart. Bae demands to be taken back to his real family – the Darlings. Hook lets him know that’s not possible.

In the mines, Regina struggles to control the diamond when Emma, Henry, Mary Margaret, and David rush in and tell her they have a plan to try and save her. Too bad Emma then finds that the pouch is empty – no bean.

Hook….

Back on the Jolly Roger in olden Neverland, Bae tells Hook to just drop him off anywhere. Hook tells Bae that the ship can be his home, his family. It’s not too late to start over. Bae tells Hook he’ll never change because all he cares about is himself. Hook thanks him for reminding him what he’s all about – killing Bae’s father. Just then the Lost Boys board the ship and take Bae. They throw hood over Bae’s head and row away. (Is the hood really necessary? Aren’t they floating just off the coast of Neverland? Not hard to figure out where they’re going.)

We instantly flash back to present day and Hook on the Jolly Roger thinking about Baelfire.

More vines!!!

Regina can’t continue much longer. Emma goes to her parents and for the first time (I can remember) she calls them Mom and Dad… hugs. Regina tells Henry she loves him and that she wishes she was strong enough to stop this.

Light bulb!

Emma has magic, too! She tells Regina she  may not be strong enough to stop the diamond, but maybe THEY are. She joins Regina with the lightning fingers and after about 10 seconds – boom! The diamond falls, the vines recede, and everyone’s happy to be alive. David says Henry is right again! Henry?? Emma runs down the mine to find his backpack on the ground with a torn strap.

The next thing we know Henry is at the docks with Greg and Tamara with his wrists zip-tied. They tell him they came here to destroy magic but then they found something more important – Henry.

They walk to edge of pier as the good guys arrive. Greg throws the bean into the water opening a portal. Greg, Tamara, and Henry jump in and the portal closes behind them before Emma or the rest of the good guys can catch up! Gold and Belle arrive (thank goodness she changed clothes and brushed her hair) and just as they’re telling Gold that Hook took the bean, Belle sees a pirate ship in distance. Hook’s coming back!

Hook tells them he just needed a little reminding that he could care about anyone but himself. They realize they don’t know where they went – a bean is great but how will they track them? Gold says leave that to him. He tells Belle he has to go, but Greg and Tamara’s group will return so he gives her a cloaking spell to protect the town. He tells her Henry is his downfall but he’s also his grandson and he must do this to honor Baelfire. Hugs and kisses. She tells him Baelfire would be very proud.

Switch to an unexpected scene… We see an unconscious man washed up on a beach somewhere. People rush up to him and flip him over – it’s Neal! But where is he? We then see who found him – Princess Aurora, Prince Philip, and Mulan! He’s back in the Enchanted Forest!

The good guys are getting ready to set sail on the Jolly Roger, but the  first order of business: Hook and Gold make sure they are no longer trying to kill each other. With that out of the way Gold magically whips up a magic finger-pricking globe, drops some blood on the translucent white globe and things and stuff appears. Regina asks him where Henry is and he answers grimly….Neverland. Hook throws the bean into the water in front of the boat while David asks Gold who they are up against. Gold answers it’s someone they should all fear.

Flashback to Neverland, and the Lost Boys un-hood Bae. The blonde Lost Boy asks another if this is the one they’re looking for. Another looks at a piece of paper and says no. The blonde replies not to worry, they’ll find the one they’re looking for. Peter Pan never fails. We see that he’s holding – a drawing of Henry.

SO MANY QUESTIONS!! I Can’t wait for next season of “Once Upon a Time” – perfect ending!

If Greg and Tamara are so interested in getting rid of magic, why are they helping Peter Pan?

Who are Greg and Tamara working for??

Are there any magical people left in the Enchanted Forest? Who is going to help Neal rejoin the others to fight for his son?

We know Hook had been in the Enchanted Forest before he found Bae. Why did he act like he couldn’t leave Neverland?

So many truces…will they last?

Why is Peter Pan looking for Henry and why has he been looking for him years before he was even born?

Weird Girls

Kelli Nova and Danni Danger team up to review an older book and one of Kelli Nova’s favorites: “Ms Marvel: Best of the Best.”

Kelli introduced Danni to this lovely little book that follows Ms Marvel right after the events of “House of M.” While the art could stand to be featured in the Hawkeye Initiative, it’s a fun story and help develop our favorite Ms Marvel into The Captain Marvel we all know and love. (Even though she was already Captain Marvel in “House of M.” It’s confusing.)

Also, what did you think of the art? Did they go too far into female contortionists? Should The Hawkeye Initiative take a swipe at the book? What do you think? If you have any interpretations for the Hawkeye Initiative we’d love to see them as well so make sure you get us those links. You can even join our forums and post your pics there.

Have you read “Ms Marvel: Best of the Best?” What did you think of it? What are you favorite Ms Marvel books? And what do you think of Carol’s hair? Let us know in the comments.

Weird Girls

The fifth episode of “Defiance” fixes some of the annoying rattles that new shows usually suffer from, especially shows of this scope. Defiance has gained its footing and while it’s not a perfect episode, it’s really strong and pushes the show to the next level.

While this episode feels like “Firefly” at times, that’s not a bad thing. Could that ever be a bad thing? That wild west adventure feel is engaging and entertaining, if a little simplistic at times. What’s more entertaining is the dark side of “Defiance” that we see. I’m not talking about the seedy bars and criminals and the slightly shady Need Want. I’m talking about the dark side of the characters. They’re scarred and they’ll strike out when pushed and it’s a joy to see characters who are motivated by more than whatever the villain of the week is.

The episode starts with the Wells Fargo Wagon rolling in to town and I was so hoping they would break into a futuristic rendition of The Music Man. Maybe next week. I’m sure Wells Fargo isn’t running postal service in post-apocalyptic Earth, but someone is because everyone gets super happy when the bus shows up.

I call it a bus because apparently it carries people as well. They apparently transport anything: mail, people, money, criminals, sociopaths… but we don’t see that until later. In this case Nolan pulls double duty guarding Rynn, the Irathient who tried to murder the entire population of Defiance with hell bugs, and guarding the money Defiance pulled together to bring the maglev train to their town. It’s a ton of money and the only thing really keeping the mysterious Earth Federation out of Defiance. Throw in a homicidal Irathient and Nolan has his hands full.

Before Nolan leaves he makes sure to tell his deputies not to break too many things while he’s gone, which doesn’t take long for them to ignore. At this point the stories split in two with Nolan and the others on the road and Irisa and Tommy doing stuff and things. Let’s start with the most interesting story that follows Irisa.

As Nolan and the bus take off, Irisa notices a Castithan that looks a little familiar. She stalks him at Need Want and we hear all about his lovely wife and child. What a charming Castithan travelling salesman.

Irisa apparently doesn’t think so because she jumps him in an alley, knocks him unconscious, and ties him up in a dark basement. A bigger over-reaction to cheap jewelry has never existed.

Irisa is convinced that our travelling salesman is in fact the man who tortured her when she was a child. Actually her parents gave her to him to perform some religious ceremonies on. We finally see Irisa’s parents and what they put her though. And now we can finally understand just how scarred she is. The implied abuse is pretty scary and when Nolan does arrive and save her, that connection between them starts to make sense. It’s great that we’re finally getting to see some of the character development that I’ve been dying to see here, and I’m especially excited to see it in Irisa, who has always been put forward as someone who’s “important” not only to the story but in the new Earth everyone lives in.

Back to the story though, our lovely Castithan insists that she’s wrong and that he’s just a salesman. It’s only after Irisa ups the ante and gets a snake that things get real. Tommy follows her back to her makeshift torture chamber and tries to talk her out of what she’s doing, but Irisa effectively puts an end to that when she puts her gun to his head and handcuffs him across the room. Between Tommy telling her to be rational and our Castithan friend being fairly convincing, Irisa looks like she’s going crazy. But she KNOWS his smell. She KNOWS it’s him. She knows it so much she throws the snake at him and lets the biting begin.

It’s only after the snake’s venom starts pumping through him that our salesman admits that it was him. He’s convinced that Irisa is the Chosen One and the only way for her to ascend to that status is to kill someone. Nolan arrived before they made her do it as a child. But now she can kill him and fulfill her destiny to be the Chosen One.

To which Irisa says nope. If he wants it, she won’t do it. She let’s Tommy go, and he proceeds to beat the crap out of our weird salesman cult leader (are they really that different?). Irisa finally stops Tommy and convinces him to let our snake charmer go. Because the worst thing for him will be to live knowing that he failed. While that sounds cliché on the surface, this isn’t like most of your other heroic deeds. Irisa would have happily killed him after long hours of torture. She didn’t let him go because she’s sympathetic or honorable. She lets him go because it’s the best way to hurt him. Irisa can be cruel and brilliant and it makes her scarier at the same time.

To cap this little foray off, we finally get to see Tommy admit that he’s in like with Irisa, which spurs Irisa into some Business Time. I like Tommy and his chemistry with Irisa has worked since day one. But I have a feeling that  this was more of a spur of the moment thing for Irisa. Mark my words, there will be romantic drama ahead for these two.

On the other side of wherever they are, Nolan travels the dirt roads with Mayor Rosewater to deliver his prisoner and Defiance’s money. It’s your usual mixed bag of passengers consisting of a lawkeeper, a mayor, a priest, a criminal, Ambassador Olfin Tenney from the Earth Federation, and her two husbands.

Wait, did I say Ambassador for the Earth Federation? It’s true. We finally get to put a face on this organization we keep hearing about. Tennety wants Defiance to join the Earth Federation but Amanda is having none of that. I haven’t really heard or seen what they do that’s so bad, but apparently joining them is bad because they’re bad. But now we have this awkward situation playing out in front of us as the bus makes its way cross country.

Rynn makes one escape attempt that Nolan foils, although how no one noticed her grab the pen from the driver’s pocket is beyond me. Our two clueless husbands make some annoying comments about Rynn and generally act like pampered kids that I want to smack across the face. But other than that, all goes well.

That is until the driver’s head explodes.

Turns out someone planted something in the driver’s compartment that killed our friendly driver as rollers pull up to rob the bus. The only person near the driver’s compartment happened to be our priest, who also happens to be the leader of the thieves. They want the Defiance money because they have a source that tipped them to the money on the bus.

If you haven’t figured out who the source is by now then I’m really disappointed in you.

There’s some gunfire, one of the husbands dies, some others get injured, Rynn escapes, blah blah blah. In all the hub-bub, the two remaining thieves grab Ambassador Tennety and tie her up for ransom. They want the money and if they don’t give it to them, Tennety gets eaten by wolf-bug-bear-things. (I really don’t get the animals in this new Earth)

Nolan decides to team up with Amanda and they save Tennety while taking out the thieves. Yea! Then Tennety pulls a gun on them. Boo!

Turns out that… wait for it…. Tennety was the source that told them about the money. She wants Defiance to join up with the Earth Federation and that means not letting Defiance use that money to get the rail. So she’ll kill them all and tell everyone she was the only survivor and the money was stolen.

Great plan, except Rynn shows up and stops Tennety because Irathians have a code about people who risk their lives for others, like Nolan did. Rynn takes off with the last surviving husband and Amanda commutes Rynn’s sentence because she saved them and she only murdered a few people any way.

Nolan and Amanda take Tennety back to Defiance and put her on the next bus out of town to face the music for her crimes. Little to they know that as soon as she’s on board they bus, they let her go and she starts throwing orders around. Looks like Amanda’s made a new enemy and the Earth Federation is going to play a bigger role in the battle for Defiance. There sure are a lot of people interested in taking over this town. Or at least killing everyone in it.

So in one fell swoop, Defiance opened up the world to more drama and conflict while bringing one of its main characters into tighter focus and adding depth to everything she does. This was a really strong episode and I’ll definitely continue the ride to see where they take things from here. Are you in or are you still on the fence?

Here are a few more highs and lows from the show….

HIT: Nolan asks Irisa if she can stay out of trouble while he’s gone. Her answer? “Probably not.” She might just be the coolest on the show

MISS: Alak Tarr is the resident pirate radio DJ in Defiance. I don’t buy it, especially considering how narrow his father can be. But maybe they’ll turn it in to something interesting. I’ll give them some time.

MISS: Is the Earth Federation really so powerful that as soon as you leave Defiance everyone is on your side? I guess I need to understand more of the world they’re living in. Are there other settlements outside of the Earth Federation? Are they all on their own? Do they not talk to each other? Won’t someone notice that Tennety isn’t in jail? How will that play with their efforts to get Defiance and other towns to join the Federation. Wait…. did they intentionally name themselves so they would sound like Star Trek? Those Earth Federation rulers must have some serious geek cred.

Weird Girls

It’s time for new comics again, and it’s also time that Kelli Nova showed up and put in her two cents. Danni Danger and Kelli Nova: together at last.

Whether it’s the long awaited color version of a cult classic or the latest in a LONG-running series, there’s plenty of new comics for everyone in this week’s pull list. There’s actually so much coming out that it takes 2 people to make this pull list happen.

What books are you picking up this week? Anything that we missed? Let us know what you’re reading and if you want to see everything coming out, check out the full list after the video.

Weird Girls