Category Archives: TV

All The Feels for Girl Meets World

Like many children who grew up in the 90s, I watched Boy Meets World. I don’t know if I’ve seen every episode or not, but I’ve seen a lot of it, some episodes multiple times. I enjoyed the show (obviously, since I watched it), but it was never a favorite. When I heard about Girl Meets World I thought it sounded cute but I never made the effort to watch it. But a while back Annie posted about her love for the show and I knew that when I got Netflix one day I would have to check it out. If you recall, the first thing I did when I did when I got Netflix was binge Anne With an E, but after that I started Girl Meets World.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical after the first couple of episodes. The characters start out in junior high school and it felt so incredibly young, and there was just a lot of silliness I didn’t “get” at first, like “Farkle Time.” But I stuck with it and it didn’t take too long for me to fall in love with the characters and appreciate the stories and lessons in the show. In fact, I really wish there were more movies/TV shows/books with the innocence and fun of Girl Meets World.

There are so many things I love about the show – the portrayal of family, the nods to Boy Meets World, watching the characters grow up and discover themselves… But my number one favorite thing about the show is its emphasis on the value of relationships – mainly friendship, and how we can affect one another for the better. I’m going to delve into my favorite relationship moments below of the show, complete with spoilers…

So unfortunately much of seasons two and three were riddled with an unfortunate love triangle with Riley-Lucas-Maya that frustrated me, but season one had some super great moments where while it was clear that Lucas and Riley liked each other, they weren’t rushing into a romantic relationship and were content with friendship. Considering they were in seventh grade, this was really a smart thing and it’s not encouraged enough in media, which often tells kids and teens to act on their feelings, irregardless of what the consequences may be (I know I sound 100 years old but it’s true). And thankfully it did resolve in a very satisfying way in season three.

A few of these moments that I appreciated in this regard in season one…

From “Girl Meets Sneak Attack”

(After a girl has spent the whole episode trying to get Lucas to go out with her)

Lucas: Back here in the seventh grade, I think we’d have more fun just hanging out together.

From “Girl Meets the Truth”

(After Farkle “kisses” Riley)

Lucas: I just can’t believe that little guy stole my moment… again.

Riley: You thought that was your moment?

Lucas: No.

Riley: Oh.

Lucas: “My moment will be my moment.”

In “Girl Meets New World,” Riley and Lucas decide to do things in their own timing instead of everyone else’s – and he asks Cory’s permission to date Riley. At the end of the episode, it’s clear they’re not ready for a relationship yet, but instead of this being a setback, it really helps their friendship thrive as they continue to mature (well, except maybe the whole love triangle thing!). 

And then it finally culminates in “Girl Meet Ski Lodge: Part Two,” when they’re high school freshmen. (I had to include this conversation because MY HEART!)

Lucas: My favorite thing in this world is when you talk to me.

Riley: It is?

Lucas: It’s OK for you to talk to whoever you want to, Riley… But the important talks, the ones that we’re going to think about and always remember… can those be just between you and me?

Riley: Well, I don’t know, Lucas. How could that happen?

Lucas: Well I was thinking that if we were together a little more, that you would only talk to other people a little bit and you would talk to me a lot.

Riley: That’s what you were thinking?

Lucas: Yeah.

Lucas takes her hand.

Lucas: I think about it all the time

Riley: So if there was some dance or something, maybe we could go together?

Lucas: Yeah, without even asking each other.

Riley: And if you went out and got a sandwich or something, maybe you would think to get me one too?

Lucas: And a drink. And cake. So you’ve been thinking about this too?

Riley: Yeah. Yeah, I think about it all the time. I always said that the most important thing is that nobody got hurt. Will Maya be OK?

Lucas: She’s the one who sent me to you.

Riley: So this is our moment.

Lucas: I promised you that my moment would be my moment. This is it… I choose you, and I really want you to choose me.

Riley: I do. I always did.

In “Girl Meets Ski Lodge: Part Two,” there’s also resolution between Maya and Josh. Josh tells Maya that while he might be older than her, he knows a loyal companion when he sees one (“maybe it’s because your dad left, but you have the greatest capacity for love that I’ve ever seen”), and he’s willing to play the long game with her. At the end of the episode Riley and Maya talk, and Riley asks Maya, “So, you and Josh?” and Maya responds, “Someday. Who knows?” The episode ends a conversation between them that makes it clear that despite how they feel about the guys in their lives, their friendship with each other is still what matters most to them, which at that age, before their respective relationships are going to be anywhere near marriage, is exactly as it should be.

Later, in “Girl Meets Bear,” Zay tells Josh he thinks his and Maya’s long game plan is “sophisticated,” but he has a proposal for Maya. He tells her, “You helped me not feel like an outsider… I never want you to feel like a third wheel when Lucas and Riley are gazing into each other’s stupid, stupid eyes. I want you to know that I would be happy to sit next to you, next to Riley and Lucas, at the movies, so that we can all be together.” He turns to Josh, “Is that alright with you? I don’t care. Is that alright with you?” Josh: I think that’s up to Maya. (He looks at her) Till next time? Maya: Till next time.

Again, I like the emphasis here that is placed on the friendships first and foremost. Zay doesn’t have a romantic interest in Maya, but he cares for her deeply and doesn’t want her to miss out on fun times they can have as a group because she’s waiting for Josh.

As I said before, the whole show is really about the value of friendships in our lives. Healthy, thriving friendships. Even when they disagree, Riley and Maya always work things out. No matter what’s happening in their lives, they get through every bump in the road with each other and their other friends. I absolutely loved that.

And now I really want to rewatch the show…

If you’ve seen Girl Meets World, tell me what you love about it! 

My Top 5 Episodes of Voyager Season Six

As my husband and I are going through our second full watch of Star Trek as a couple, I thought it would be fun to report on the highlights along the way. So I decided to copy the same format as Charlene. See her favorite episodes of Voyager season six.

5. Fair Haven

This episode is a little silly, but it’s fun to see the Voyager crew in a new environment. The main plot follows Janeway’s romance with a holodeck character whose program she alters to better fit her needs (and to delete his wife!), which is slightly alarming for Janeway, but not outside of the realm of plausibility for her either.

4. Good Shepherd

After Seven identifies the ship’s resident misfits, Janeway takes them in for an away mission, to prove to them that they add value to the crew. What is supposed to be a simple away mission turns into a potentially life-threatening situation, and they all have to rely on each other more than ever anticipated. I really kind of liked the hypochondriac character on this episode; I would have liked to have seen more of him!

3. The Haunting of Deck Twelve

Episodes that take place entirely on the ship hardly ever catch my interest, but I love the way this episode is framed. Neelix proves to be quite the storyteller as he deflects the Borg kids’ questions about what is happening on Voyager by telling them a scary story, which may in fact be the truth of what is happening.

2. Blink of an Eye

The concept behind this one is so fascinating: Voyager is trapped in a planet’s atmosphere for what feels like days for them, but for the people below, it’s centuries. If Voyager doesn’t act quickly enough, the people on the planet will soon have technology that outpaces their own.

1. Unimatrix Zero 

I barely remembered this season finale (and part two season 7 opener) from my first watch of Voyager, but it was a stand-out episode for me this time. Though I do feel like Seven relaxes some after this episode, I would have liked to have seen her relax even more. She really seemed to thrive in the world she and some other Borg had created for themselves.

What are your favorite episodes of Voyager season six?

Monthly Recap: August

Books I Read

It Started With Goodbye by Christina June

The Leveller by Julia Durango

And I am about halfway through my reread of Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix… #foreverlong

#bookstagram Images of the Month

Technology Stinks

A list of things that crapped out on me in August: my Nook, my hair dryer, and my secondary computer monitor (only a little over a year old).

So my Nook seemed to be in dire straits earlier this month, acting up quite a bit when I read It Started With Goodbye, but after not using it for a few weeks, I tried charging it again and turning it on and it seems OK. I guess time will tell. I was looking into replacing it but wasn’t happy with any of the options out there; I just really love this particular model of Nook that I have. I think I’ll try replacing the battery though and seeing if that works. So I’m holding off e-book reads for a little while.

Watched

So my husband wanted to see if a show we had seen a few episodes of years ago, Better Off Ted, was on Netflix. When we checked, only season two was available until September 1, so we spent some nights in August watching that. It was a funny show; too bad we didn’t get to see most of season one.

August Happenings

The Switchfoot/Lifehouse concert was very enjoyable and I think my husband enjoyed all his birthday festivities.

Hurricane Harvey has hit my heart very heavy, as I spent eight very formative years of my life in the Houston area and have so many friends there. From Facebook I have seen friends of mine who have lost a lot materially, but who have had their church, friends, family, strangers really come through and help them. One of these friends even went viral with a video he shared of himself playing his piano in his flooded house. Please keep thinking of Houston, guys.

 

Looking Forward To in September

VACATION VACATION VACATION. We usually go in May, but I used up all my PTO in the winter when I got sick with that awful virus, and I’ve been building it back up since then. We’re going to Savannah, GA, and it cannot come soon enough! I’ll also be attending the SCBWI Midsouth conference again so I’m looking forward to that! And then my birthday… even though it’s been a nearly year, I’ve had some trouble adjusting to the idea of being in my 30’s. HOWEVER, I do feel like I have been embracing being an adult a little more lately.

And speaking of being an adult, the last week of August I accepted an offer of promotion within my company and will start training for that this month. I’m nervous and excited… I’m going to be doing a little accounting which is something I never dreamed of doing in 1000 years, but I’ve been working in the department for a while and they think I’m capable of this… and I’m starting to believe I am too. I was ready for a change so I think it’ll be a good way to stretch myself.

Potential September TBR

My TBR kind of feels like a crapshoot at the moment, but just for the sake of saying I tried…

Finish The Order of the Phoenix (obviously)

Walking on Water by Madeline L’Engle

A Dash of Dragon by Heidi Lang and Kati Bartkowski

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Sorry for being such a blogging slacker… I’ve been busy! I hope to actually post that DS9 Top 10 post soon, but it’s been a hard list to compile! So how was your August?

My Top 5 Episodes of Voyager Season Five

As my husband and I are going through our second full watch of Star Trek as a couple, I thought it would be fun to report on the highlights along the way. So I decided to copy the same format as Charlene. See her favorite episodes of Voyager season five

In my mind this season of Voyager was very okay. There were some I wasn’t crazy about, one standout, and the rest were good or fine. However, I do have two honorable mentions I considered for this list that I wanted to mention: Relativity and Nothing Human.

5. In The Flesh

In this episode, the Voyager crew finds a recreation of Starfleet Academy on a planet and learn that an alien species they have encountered are using it to learn how to infiltrate the human race.

4. Equinox Parts 1 & 2

Part Two is technically in season 6, but I still decided include them both on my list for season five. It’s comforting to the Voyager crew when they run into another Star Fleet ship, the Equinox, but their crew is hiding a dark secret that makes it clear they have abandoned Star Fleet protocols. Between Janeway and Ransom these episodes made me uncomfortable at times, but that is the point. What are you willing to do in order to survive?

3. Someone to Watch Over Me

This is a fun episode where the Doctor (of all people) tries to teach Seven about social interactions and dating, and then ends up falling for her (which I can live without, but whateves). There’s also a secondary plot where Neelix is hosting an alien ambassador who gets a little too caught up in the pleasures Voyager has to offer.

2. Counterpoint

Even though this episode features the most awkward kiss ever, I love all the trickery and deception in this one.

1. Bride of Chaotica

This episode is pure fun and a great homage to classic sci-fi. When an alien species mistakes the characters from Tom’s Chaotic holodeck program for the real crew, they have to be creative in defeating the enemy in the program, as well as effectively communicating who they really are with the aliens. You can tell Kate Mulgrew had a blast putting on the persona of Queen Arachnia.

What are your favorite episodes of Voyager season five?

Monthly Recap: July

Books I Read

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (reread)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick (finished July 1)

So I read A Wrinkle In Time for the first time. And I can see why it’s so beloved and classic. However, some of it was too on-the-nose for me and some of it was a hair too out-there. It’s like when I watched Interstellar for the first time, and I was pretty sure where it was going and I watched as this movie teeter-tottered on the fine line between interesting sci-fi and going off the deep end. I wanted to feel just a little more invested in the characters and could have done with less unnecessary riddles. I also watched the trailer of the new movie coming out the same day I finished and felt a little disappointed. I guess I wanted the movie to feel more classic, but to me it already screams: THIS WAS MADE IN 2017, so I don’t see it enduring as a movie. But that’s based off a two-minute trailer, so what do I know? Maybe it will be amazing.

A New Favorite…

Baking mix! Though don’t let the fact that it comes in a box fool you, this is almost as involved as made-from-scratch, but just as delicious and so worth it!

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

For some reason, it feels really momentous to have finished Deep Space Nine again. Probably because I love the show so much and the end is just so satisfying for me. As is reflected by my top episode of the season, the Nog arc really did it for me. But of course there are also the great arcs we see for Kira, Bashir, Damar, Sisko… It could be talked about forever, which is why there are podcasts dedicated to such. (If you’re a fan of DS9, be sure to give The Orb podcast a listen.)

#bookstagram Images of the Month

I think that both Caraval and Wall-E have made it onto my #bookstagram images of the month before, but they’re just so photogenic!

Movies I Watched

My husband and I saw Spider-man: Homecoming and Dunkirk. I reviewed Spider-man here, and I’m still sorting out my feelings for Dunkirk. It’s incredibly raw and intense, but without much of a narrative it was hard for me to appreciate it as a story. It’s a beautiful film, that’s for sure, but I would have loved to have gotten to know the characters onscreen better. I mean, in a way we know them because we see them when they’re afraid, but… I just wish I could adequately describe how I respect what Nolan was doing but just don’t really love it but I desperately want to. I actually want to try to see it again, preferably in film, now that I better understand what happened, thanks to the movie’s Wikipedia page that spelled it out.

In Case You Missed It…

I was featured on Andi’s ABCs talking about what decision I wish technology would make for me!

Plans for August

Switchfoot concert! I’m so excited. I lost count on how many times I’ve seen them long ago. It’s got to be around the dozen mark at this point. It’s also my husband’s birthday month! Which means CAKE! Oh, and celebrating my wonderful husband. 🙂 It also means my birthday is around the corner SOS I don’t want to get older.

Potential July TBR

It Started With Goodbye by Christina June (already started)

These Vicious Masks by Kelly Zekas and Tarun Shanker

Without a Summer (Glamourist Histories #3) by Mary Robinette Kowal

(yes I know those last two were on last month’s list… shhh…)

How was your July? What are you looking forward to in August?