Category: Fantasy

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Fantasy Television

Grimm

You can now get the entire series in one collection: Grimm: The Complete Collection DVD or Grimm: The Complete Series Blu-ray.

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What is it about Grimm that makes it special for me? I love the way this show combines the crime and mystery genre with fantasy and creates a world that’s interesting to both mystery fans and fans of fairy tales and the supernatural. That would be me.

Subpages: Grimm Articles, News, & Content

Grimm

About the Grimm TV Show

What are Grimms?

Grimms are people who are able to see mythological creatures for who they really are and Grimms are tasked with the job of finding and stopping the bad ones. Detective Nick Burkhardt is descended from a long line of Grimms, and his aunt has returned because she knows she’s dying and that Nick is about to be introduced to his heritage. This is where Grimm opens in the first episode. In later episodes, he continues to make discoveries about his heritage and the creatures he keeps running into.

This is a show I expected to like, but after reading an advance review, I worried I wouldn’t enjoy it. I’m glad I watched anyway, because unlike the reviewer who wasn’t impressed by Grimm, I’m quite happy with the show and didn’t find the first episode to be anything but great to watch. In fact, Grimm was one of my favorite new shows of 2011.

Grimm has a place in my list of all-time favorite TV series.

Notable Characters

  • Nick Burkhardt
  • Juliette Silverton
  • Hank
  • Monroe
  • Rosalee
  • Captain Sean Renard
  • Wu
  • Adelind Schade
Categories
Books Fantasy Television Tie-in Merchandise

A Grimm find: The Mythology of Grimm

Mythology of Grimm book cover
Mythology of Grimm book cover

Although The Mythology of Grimm was released a number of years ago, somehow I missed it. As a longtime fan of Grimm, and someone who rewatches the episodes whenever the mood strikes, it’s a nice piece to add to my fan collection.

The Mythology of Grimm by Nathan Robert Brown

NBC’s hit television series Grimm pits modern detective Nick Burkhardt of the Portland Police against a cast of terrifying villains—lifted directly from the pages of classic fairytales. In the world of the show, the classic stories are actually a document of real events, and Nick himself is descended from a long line of guardians, or Grimms, charged with defending humanity from the mythological creatures of the world.

From The Big Bad Wolf to Sleeping Beauty, The Mythology of Grimm explores the history and folkloric traditions that come into play during Nick’s incredible battles and investigations—tapping into elements of mythology that have captured our imaginations for centuries.

What I like about this kind of book is the ability gain insight into episodes and see them in a new light. It makes the old new again. :)

Click the image or the link for more information at Amazon.

More Grimm

Grimm Collection DVD and Blu-ray cover

If you’ve been missing Grimm and want to add the series to your fan collection, check out the Grimm complete collection on DVD or Blu-ray:

The Grimm Complete collection includes all six seasons and special features. A great addition to a Grimm fan’s collection. :)

There’s also the book tie-in series for Grimm that’s worth reading.

  1. The Icy Touch
  2. The Chopping Block
  3. The Killing Time

The links take you to Barnes and Noble for more information, or you can click the link above for the page on Scififantasies where you’ll find descriptions and cover images to goggle over.

For tie-in novels, Grimm has some of the best covers out there. (Most tie-in novels use a combination of promo shots of the actors and stock images and don’t always look that active, shall we say. The Grimm novels are better than most.) :)

Categories
Books Fantasy Television

The Grimm Novels

Although there are a lot of book tie-ins for Grimm, this updated list is for the Grimm novels.

Don’t these look fantastic? So far the series includes 3 books: The Icy Touch, The Chopping Block, & The Killing Time.

Grimm The Icy Touch - John Shirley Grimm The Chopping Block - John Passarella Grimm The Killing Time - Tim Waggoner

The Icy Touch (Grimm, Book #1)

Back in the 19th century a Wesen and a Grimm fight to the death. The Grimm wins, but the Wesen’s son escapes and vows revenge. In the present day, Captain Renard sends Nick and Hank to investigate an international crime cartel named Le Touche Givre (The Icy Touch). They discover this deadly gang is run by Wesen, and is involved in various illegal activities, including forced prostitution and drug pushing. As they close in on the gang, Nick begins to realize that their charismatic and dangerous leader is just as intent on tracking him down…

Grimm Book #1: The Icy Touch

The Chopping Block (Grimm, Book #2)

A cache of bones is found in a shallow grave in local woods… Meanwhile missing persons cases in Portland seem to be on the increase. As more bones are discovered, Portland homicide Detective Nick Burkhardt and his partner Hank Griffin investigate – but there seems to be no connection between the victims… A brand-new original story set in the Grimm universe.

Grimm Book #2: The Chopping Block

The Killing Time (Grimm, Book #3)

A mysterious creature stalks the streets of Portland, looking for a new identity. With one touch it can dissolve its victims, assuming their appearance, personality, and memories. When Portland homicide detectives Nick Burkhardt and Hank Griffin are called in to track down a missing person, Nick comes face to face with the changeling, but its powers have an unexpected effect on the Grimm, unleashing a deadly Wesen plague and untold chaos.

Grimm Book #3: The Killing Time

Categories
Fantasy Television

The Almighty Johnsons

The Almighty Johnsons

One of my favorite new shows is The Almighty Johnsons. The series is TV-MA so don’t go into it thinking it’s family friendly fare (although to be honest, I wouldn’t have a problem with my teens watching—it’s certainly better than them watching people dying at every turn a la The Walking Dead). Then again, the series is airing on Syfy too, I believe, and that version might be (probably is) edited so you can catch it there if you want.

What I like most about the show is the humor. I’ve watched the first three episodes and figure I’ll end up binge watching the rest because it’s just that irresistible. :D It’s laugh out loud funny in places and I love it.

Set in New Zealand, The Almighty Johnsons is a series about norse gods with very limited powers living among humans and Axl’s (Odin’s) quest to reunite with the goddess Frigg so they can regain their full powers and … well … not die. ;)

Can’t wait to see where this show goes.

Update! I finished out season one and I loved it. This is a great show. Seriously. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend you give it a shot.

Links:

Watch The Almighty Johnsons Season 1 on Amazon Instant Video (US/Canada)

Buy The Almighty Johnsons Season 1 on DVD or Blu-Ray (US/Canada)

The official The Almighty Johnsons website, which indicates there are already 3 seasons (series in Kiwi terms) of the show

Categories
Fantasy Movies

The Odd Thomas Movie

So I watched Odd Thomas yesterday and really enjoyed it! I’m a fan of the book, and I was happily surprised at how well the movie adhered to the story and how fun the movie was. The director, Stephen Sommers, directed The Mummy, another favorite of mine. Sommers did a great job, and I loved “the mummy” cameo outside the tire store.

Odd Thomas - Movie Poster

If you enjoy movies with paranormal and urban fantasy elements, Odd Thomas might be a fit, and you certainly don’t have to be a fan of the books to enjoy the movie.

Categories
Fantasy Television

Teen Wolf: I Saw It Coming and I Still Flinched

Who didn’t see the end of Teen Wolf’s “Silverfinger” coming? Who watched it and still screamed out at the TV like the girl that she is?

That’d be me.

I’m spoiling the episode below so if you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t read on.

Here’s a description of the episode “Silverfinger” just so you have a little eye-room before I spill the goods.

Scott’s friends pledge to protect him against him against an increasingly hostile enemy while Argent, Isaac and Allison search for answers through an old adversary from the Japanese Yakuza. At the same time, Stiles enlists Melissa’s help in figuring out exactly what’s going on with him.

Stiles in the HospitalIn an awesome display of incredible acting, Dylan O’Brien completely sold me on Stiles’ possession by a cold-eyed demon/spirit. Honestly, I knew he was a good actor, but the scene really blew me away. It’s no wonder his career seems to be heating up. The guy can act.

What a great boon to Teen Wolf.

I loved the episode for several reasons, but this last scene—this was the kicker. I’m salivating for the next episode, so I know someone did their job.

Teen Wolf is still a fantastic series. I hope this thing goes on for years.

Links:

https://www.mtv.com/shows/teen-wolf

Categories
Fantasy Reviews Television

Hemlock Grove, a Netflix Original Series Let-down

Hemlock Grove

The Monster Is Within

In the shadows of a rusted Pennsylvania steel town, the mangled body of a teenage girl is discovered. As they hunt for a monster among them, rumors mount and many of the eccentric residents become suspects, from the newly arrived gypsy family to the wealthy Godfrey clan. In the twisted world of Hemlock Grove, everyone hides a dark secret. From director Eli Roth (“Hostel”) comes a chilling supernatural series based on Brian McGreevy’s novel.

Series is at Netflix.

Although I watched every last episode of the season 1 available on Netflix, I had mixed feelings about the series, not the least of which involved some serious reservations about the ending.

The moment went kind of like this: you mean I watched all that for all this?

I gave the series three stars because even though I didn’t love it, if a season 2 makes it to Netflix, I’ll watch at least the first couple of episodes to see where they’re going next.

Still, by the end, I felt like I was watching horror moreso than paranormal or fantasy, which was more what I expected when I started watching.

I wonder what the book was like? I saw a movie tie-in edition with a new cover on Amazon tonight.

At once a riveting mystery and a fascinating revelation of the grotesque and the darkness in us all, Hemlock Grove has the architecture and energy to become a classic in its own right—and Brian McGreevy the talent and ambition to enthrall us for years to come.

But does Hemlock Grove have “the architecture and energy to become a classic in its own right?” I wouldn’t say that…. Not if the book doesn’t add something that an almost 10 hour series didn’t have.

Not at all.

Disagreement welcome if you have comments about the book or series. :)

Categories
Fantasy Television

Merlin Returns with The Darkest Hour Part 1

Merlin returned to Syfy with the The Darkest Hour Part 1 which aired on Friday night. Part 2 airs this coming Friday and promises more awesomeness from a TV I’ve missed.

merlin-darkest-hour

The family was thrilled to see Merlin and Arthur again too, although I did have to explain early on that a year had passed in TV time between the last episode of season 3 and the first episode of season 4. Gwen and Gaius discuss Uther’s condition early on in The Darkest Hour and use the opportunity to fill us in on where things stand, but for young ones I don’t think the passage of time was as easy to pick up on because that conversation was really the only time it was mentioned.

Morgana is back with a vengeance in this season opening episode. She splits open the veil between the living and dead and unleashes a terror on Camelot that puts everyone at risk. She’s also made aware of a threat to her future, but I won’t spoil it with detail. Suffice to say, Morgana is as much a threat as ever to Camelot and her resolve to flat out destroy them all only seems to be growing.

I look forward to next week’s episode, The Darkest Hour Part 2.

The Darkest Hour Part 2 airs Friday, January 13.

Categories
Fantasy Television

Grimm’s Future Not So Grim

grimm According to TV By the Numbers’ recent article on the topic of cancellation and renewal predictions, Grimm’s fate is looking good. That’s good news for this fan, because Grimm just happens to be one of my favorites to come out of the 2011 season of new shows.

Grimm is a paranormal fantasy series about a homicide police detective who finds out he’s a Grimm, descended from a long line of Grimms able to pick out a variety of mythological creatures and tell them apart from regular humans. The show makes for an interesting combination of police procedural and fantasy series, setting it apart from the equally fantastic Once Upon a Time, also a fairy-tale based fantasy TV series from 2011.

Will There Be a Second Season of Grimm?

NBC hasn’t had many hits lately, or at least nothing I’m still watching except for Chuck, which is in its final season. I tried Prime Suspect, because I am a fan of crime and mystery TV (probably one reason I like Grimm so much) but the show was dark, depressing, and generally unlikeable and has already been canceled. Why does this matter? Because Grimm is one of the few new shows doing well on NBC. That’s excellent news for the future of the show and greatly increases the chance of renewal for a second season of Grimm! :)

Categories
Fantasy Television

Merlin Season 3 DVD

The Merlin Season 3 DVD is finally available! It will be released on January 17, in a 5 disc set that contains the complete third season of episodes of this fantastical medieval TV series.

As an avid fan of Merlin, I encourage anyone who enjoys magic and fantasy TV shows to give Merlin a try. Adventure episodes are laced with humor and romance and delve into issues of trust and betrayal. I enjoy watching each episode, and season 3 has some really great episodes to further the story of Merlin, Arthur, Morgana, Guinevere, and Uther.

The Merlin Season 3 DVD Set

Syfy is about to begin airing season 4 of Merlin, where the adventure will continue with even more episodes.

About Season 3 of Merlin

Season 3 deepens the story, with several darker episodes, but there’s still that light-hearted, hope-filled feeling you get when you watch the show. Although I have an idea where things are going with Arthur, Merlin, and the rest, I can’t seem to quit hoping for a different turn of events!

This is the Region 1 set, for the U.S. and Canada.

Colin Morgan is Merlin, Bradley James is Arthur, Anthony Head is Uther (Arthur’s father, the King), Katie McGrath is Morgana, and Richard Wilson is Gauis.

Sci-fi fantasies