The Governor is coming - What I think about him arriving in The Walking Dead

When it was announced earlier this year that the character The Governor would be featuring in season 3 of The Walking Dead and that english actor David Morrissey had been cast in the role of the comics most notorious villain I was completely gobsmacked. Not because I thought it was a terrible choice but I wondered how on earth they were going to bring the story of Philip Blake (The Governor) to the tv show without toning it down.

I'll come back to that in a minute though.

Regarding David Morrissey I'm really excited about seeing him take on the role. I know a lot of people have only seen him star alongside David Tennant in "The Next Doctor", the 2008 Christmas special of Doctor Who, playing Jackson Lake. But he's also been in many other hit shows and in films such as Some Voices, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, before he played the critically acclaimed roles of Stephen Collins in State of Play. He was also in... erm... Basic Instinct 2.
I know some of our American brothers are not happy with his casting as they seem to think he doesn't look "evil" enough but if you know the character and how he starts out then you will understand he isn't meant to look evil.

If you have never read the comics I don't really want to spoil it for you but if you are interested then take a look  at The Walking Dead Wiki's page for the comic book character. Put it this way though. It's one of the most brutal storylines I've ever read in a comic and that's not because it involves zombies either. I can't help but wonder how gruesome they are going to get with the Governor storyline on the tv show?
An American TV journalist and fan of the comic has pointed out that although AMC are pretty relaxed with what they allow in their shows they are going to piss a lot of people of either way by adding too much brutality or cutting it out near enough completely which would annoy fans of the comic. Lucky enough though I came across this quote from comic creator and producer of the TV show Robert Kirkman regarding what is coming up in season 3.

Can the dark tone of the comic be matched on the TV series? Some of the stuff with the Governor was pretty intense; how far can you take that on TV?

Kirkman: There are certain boundaries for different mediums. I think that having the month long break between issue to issue or the 6 month break between volume to volume — you can push boundaries to a certain extent on a regular basis, more so than you can on a television show. So there might be instances where we go as dark as the comic in the show, but then we cut short and try to do something else and try to shift gears. People on a couch want to be entertained, they don’t want to be completely depressed. That said, we’re definitely going to go to those places.

There are some things coming up in the 3rd season that I can happily and proudly say exceed some of the darkest things that we’ve done in the comic. I think people are really going to be pretty shocked with a lot of stuff that’s coming. The show is gonna have teeth, the show is not going to be a watered down version of the Walking Dead [comic].

After reading that I must say Kirkman has put my mind at rest.
If you are only a fan of the TV show though I'd suggest before season 3 hits screens you get hold of the novel which came out last year called 'The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor'. It depicts The Governor's struggle to survive the zombie apocalypse with his brother, his daughter and their friends before the events of the comic book and I'm guessing now the TV show as well.



Have faith people.

Daryl Dixon - Redneck Jedi and best thing about The Walking Dead

***This blog does contain minor and predicted spoilers for season 3 of The Walking Dead***

Cool Dude.

The Washington Post called him a "Redneck Jedi" and I have to agree with them. Daryl Dixon is without a doubt my favourite character in the TV adaption of The Walking Dead. For people that have never read the graphic novels it may or may not surprise you to know that the character never featured in them. He was created by original show producer Frank Darabont specifically for Norman Reedus after he auditioned for the role of Merle Dixon (which went to the great Michael Rooker). I think Norman Reedus does a great job as Daryl and the character has grown so much over the last 2 seasons I believe he will have an even bigger part to play come the return of the show in October.

Cool drawing of Daryl in comic book form.

We have seen Daryl go from an unpredictable outsider in season one to being Rick's right-hand man by the end of season 2. This made me wonder how exactly his character will grow in season 3. I've seen people say on line that with Shane's death, Daryl may fill the role as Rick's right-hand man similar to how Tyreese did in the comics. As I say above I think we already start to see this in the final episode of season 2.

So how will his character grow in season 3 I hear you ask?

Simple. His brother Merle has already been confirmed as returning. And we know the prison and the Woodbury township storyline will feature and David Morrissey has been cast as the evil Governor (I'll blog about that later in the week). As we know now Merle is an ally of the man himself.
I also find myself wondering if there will come a time in season 3 when Daryl has to choose between  loyalty for his brother and his loyalty for Rick and the group. Remember in the season 2 finale Daryl told Carol how he thought Rick had honor and that he trusted him. I can see this being severely put to the test when his and Merle's paths cross again.

Should we be preparing to gear ourselves up for Daryl's sudden betrayal of the group? I'd like to think this won't happen but knowing how unpredictable the show is it wouldn't surprise me if it did.

What do you think?

Dodger loved End of the Road Festival 2012...

So the weekend of the 31st August-3rd of September saw me and friends attended the End of the Road Festival 2012 for the second time. The End of the Road Festival is an annual music festival which focuses on alternative music. It is hosted at the Larmer Tree Gardens on the border of north Dorset and Wiltshire.
The festival is run over four stages: the Woods Stage, the Garden Stage, the Big Top Stage and the Tipi Tent, as well as a clearing in the woods around the Garden Stage containing a piano at which semi-secret sets take place. There are also children's areas and workshops, a healing field, a film tent, comedy, a library in the forest and a games area (ping pong, table football etc). Due to the nature of the gardens the festival is set in it is not unlikely to see peacocks wandering around the area and parrots in the trees.
The thing that I love about EoTR is it's virtually in the middle of nowhere. It's great how you really need a car to get there as it made it feel more private and special.
Camping isn't overcrowded either. There are plenty of room to just chill out.
In the main event areas it's relaxed and not overcrowded. There's a wonderful atmosphere and a real feeling of community. Compared to the other festivals I've been to this really is a family affair. All sorts of people are at EoTR. Parents with children, couples, people going solo and mates (the category I fell into) just chilling out listening to music. It's wonderful just to lay down on the grass and listen to bands.

Graham Coxon

Unfortunately there were a few downers for me. Nothing serious The longest gap between poos was 26hrs and the couple in the tent next to me who clearly didn't realise how loud they were while getting jiggy. It didn't help she made the strangest sex noises ever. Like a dying giraffe getting bummed.
The highlight's by far though were Graham Coxon, Alabama Shakes, Grandaddy, Comedians Tony Law & Patrick Monahan.
Of course there are other bands that I enjoyed over the weekend but I've only ever seen Coxon with Blur and there was something special for me about seeing Grandaddy. I also can't praise Alabama Shakes enough. A brilliant band I'll be checking out more in the future.
The best thing of all about this weekend after the music has to be that kids and drunken adults can share the same spaces without bloodshed and no one set fire to anything like at certain other festivals I don't care to mention. for anyone who’s never been grab a ticket for next year asap and enjoy a different festival experience. I'll be going back in 2013 for sure.

Who watches the Watchmen? Jamie_Dodger_ does.

As a huge fan of the graphic novel I was really excited to see this back when it hit cinema screens.

The look of the film was stunning and I think Zack Snyder got the balance right on what to put into the story and what to leave out this cinematic version and save for the extended DVD.
Rorschach and Nite Owl II were just how I imagined them to be in the flesh. I think Jackie Earle Haley really nailed Rorschach and Patrick Wilson as Nite Owl II was very good.

It was a nice touch to have Nite Owl there when Rorschach died as it made for a more emotional scene compared to the book where he died alone with nobody there but Dr.Manhattan.

On the subject of Doctor Manhattan I might as well get out the way what everyone was talking about and that would be his very blue penis. I never really noticed it after the first time to be honest but I am glad they decided to keep him how he is for the film and not give him some permanent underwear as that wasn't what he was all about.

Maybe there would of been more of an uproar if it had been one of the human characters with their schlong forever hanging out?

As for the 'sex' scene on Archie (The ship) between Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre I would admit that seemed a bit out of place with the content and maybe should be cut down for the DVD. It was like watching poor porn (Or so I have heard) and it did make me chuckle for all the wrong reasons. I don't think what that was all about was really covered on film like it was in the book and so it came across completely different to what it should of been.

I was also chuffed that the scenes from the book I wanted to see were in there. Don't read too much into my mental state about that please as they were mostly violent scenes involving Rorschach in prison.
I loved the cooking fat mutilation and the whole time he spent in prison although it was short compared to (dare I say it again) the book and I don't think he should of got his costume back straight away.

He was without it a while after he was freed in the book if I remember correctly.
I also did not see any problems with the look of President Nixon (some people have commented he looked fake) as I took it that he was just a caricature from the book and that was what was being aimed for.

The minor changes in the film really did not bother me at all and I would go as far to say in some respects it made it better. I really did not have a problem with the new ending either.

I think Zack Snyder has done a good job of bringing this film to the screen and he deserves praise considering the development hell this project had been in for well over twenty years. He has received a lot of stick from fans while making this and I think he has did a fine job.

I would go as far as saying Watchmen is the most faithful adaption of it's genre ever and unfortunately that also may be it's downfall when it comes to non-fans of the book. Do you need to read the novel to appreciate this movie? I think it would help but then I know people that have not read it and have really enjoyed it.
I love it though and I 100% recommend you check out the three hour director cut as well.

Some poetry for you. @Jamie_Dodger_ style...

For some reason last week I felt the need to write some poetry. While it's not the best in the world I thought I'd share it with you.

'Dog Turds'
Big and small but always brown.
White are vintage.
Dog turds.

'Women'
Women, like marmite.
Sometimes you love them.
Sometimes you hate them.
Both have yeast based issues. Women. 

'Gosling'
Ryan, Ryan Gosling.
You can't act.
But apparently you're a hunk.
Shallow, shallow women.

'Love'
Like Nik Kershaw I won't let the sun go down on me.
But the woman who works in carphone warehouse can any time.
Love.

It's not exactly Keats but it will do.

Marzipan Pubes - The day I rocked Twitter with a picture of a cake.

Sundays normally see me going to the pub like most for a few beers and the football on Sky Sports.

Today ended up being a bit different though as a friend  had called asking if me and someone else could go and rescue him for a while at a baby shower in a pub we wouldn't normally go to. The first thing I found a bit odd was someone having a baby shower in a pub? Isn't that something you ladies do at home? The second thing I thought odd was my mate was there. Making a mental note to rpi the piss out of him at a later date we were more that happy to oblige. We went along and walked straight into the pub and quite frankly the worst cake I've ever seen in my life.

As soon as I walked in I noticed what can only be described as the most bizarre looking cake I've ever seen. Straight away I thought to myself I really need to get a picture of that to share with others as not only did I find it hilarious it also disturbed me a bit that someone thought that was actually a good idea? Don't get me wrong I'm sure it tasted very nice but who the hell came up with that?

So I managed to take a few pics of it on the sly (remember I don't actually know the people who are having this baby shower) and immediately posted one on twitter saying:

Just stumbled into a baby shower when walking in the pub. This is a 100% real picture I've just taken of the cake...

And that is when it all went a bit mental on my Android.

I've been getting tweets and retweets from people that have found that picture either funny, disgusting or they are just baffled that anyone would think that a good idea and not in bad taste at all. I'm really not a prude (as people that follow me on Twitter know) but something about that cake just made me cringe.

I had to turn the alerts system on my phone to off in the end as it was beeping every second with people messaging me. It's still going now. People from all over the world are seeing this picture and sharing it. And then the people they share it with are sharing it and it doesn't seem to be stopping even now this evening. I also seemed to be trending for a while on UK Twitter which to be honest was bloody terrifying. As of me typing this that picture was coming up to 900 retweets.

I'll end by saying one of my favourite comments from someone so far has been - 

That cake isn't that realistic. The NHS would never allow you that many pillows.

Brilliant.

Discrimination at it's strangest....

Unfortunately it is still a common misconception that if you don't look a certain way some people expect you to be somehow mentally lacking.

You may or may not know I was born with a cleft lip a palate.

Approximately 1 in 700 children are born with a cleft lip and/or a cleft palate each year. Clefts can also affect other parts of the face, such as the eyes, ears, nose, cheeks, and forehead. Lucky for me I've not had other problems apart from scaring, my nose and some speech and hearing problems when I was a kid. The only problem I have with my forehead is the lack of hair which now seems to be falling out (thank you Dad).
Anyway, it's a shame that in this day and age some people still seem to associate such problems with mental capability as well. I don't get this from people very often but when it does it still catches me off guard. Although I'm capable of ignoring such ignorance I find myself still rather pissed that some people can be so narrow minded.
I recall once I was minding my own business when an elderly lady came up to me one day and told me it was nice that people like me were able to get jobs. When I asked her what she meant she said "You know" to which I replied "No, I don't".
She then went on to tell me how she thought it was good that despite me being "slow" (her words not mine) it didn't stop me from getting a job. After I got over the sheer disbelief of what this women said I couldn't help but wonder how many other people put up with such ignorance on a daily basis and how they handle it?
These days I find it rather amusing in a sad way when I come across these people. Don't get me wrong it's young and old that can be like this (don't want some pensioners group having a go at me) but if at some point in the future you look at someone that maybe doesn't conform with your narrow view of society for goodness sake think before you open your mouth.