Day 1276: Dead of Summer

I really love off-season TV shows. Honestly, it almost makes more sense to have a TV show in the off season. Why? Because everyone waiting for their favorite show to return in September or October is sitting bored on their couch, wishing that there was something, anything, on TV worth watching. Of course, the summer also usually means travel for some, and the possibility that viewers won't be at home after all, but it seems that's the risk Dead of Summer is willing to take.

I've never been one for the horror genre. As a kid I would hide behind my Dad's arm and close my eyes tightly even when we passed the Alien section on The Great Movie Ride at Hollywood Studios, and while my friends venture out to Haunted Houses for Halloween, I'm perfectly content staying at home and watching The Nightmare Before Christmas. And yet, there's something about Dead of Summer that keeps a person hooked, whether they love the horror genre or not.

It should be noted that the show isn't your atypical horror anything though. It's more of a mythological thriller, really, and while it's already obviously slow at the start, I'm curious to see where the rest of the season takes these camp counselors. Reviews for the series so far give low ratings, although I personally believe it has more to do with the format than anything else. Created by the executive producers behind Once Upon a Time, Dead of Summer follows a similar format, exploring the individual stories of each character and then compiling those backgrounds into a current event, connecting the individuals together in one overarching theme. The first episode focuses on OUAT Veteran Elizabeth Lail's character, Amy, and introduces us to Camp Stillwater, a Midwestern Summer Camp with more than a few secrets.

The most interesting moment of the episode, however, came in the form of a big reveal from Zelda Williams' character, Drew. I won't give away the surprise, although if you're really interested and don't feel like watching the show, there are plenty of headline news articles today that can fill you in. All I will say is that while we hardly see Zelda in the episode, I'm already looking forward to Episode 4, when her character's backstory will be explored, and I'm sure that it will be revolutionary.

Dead of Summer airs Tuesday nights on Freeform.

If you watched the premiere episode of Dead of Summer, what did you think?

Have a magical day!

Day 934: Fairy Tale Superheroes

It seems that with each week there's another reason Everyday Disney gets a bit behind, whether it be technical difficulties or just a complete lack of time due to the number of projects I'm working on over the summer, but this week's excuse comes in the form of a presentation on fairy tales.

Every summer my local library has a themed reading program, and this year's theme happens to be superheroes. After a converstaion a while back, I somehow ended up giving a presentation on fairy tales for this program, and despite the fact that it's fair week in our little town, there were actually a few people who showed up to hear me talk about Rumpelstiltskin, Captain America and Once Upon A Time.

It's pretty aparent if you go back here on Everyday Disney just how much I've come to love fairy tales. Honestly, stories like these are another thing that I could have never imagined as a part of my life a few years ago, even back when Everyday Disney started. Gosh, even when I started watching Once Upon A Time I could never have imagined giving a presentation on them and how fairy tale characters can indeed be just as super as Batman or Captain America.

In the process of creating this presentation though, I decided that, of course, we were going to have to watch something from OUAT, and it ended up being the original series trailer that appeared on ABC back in 2011. Don't remember what I'm talking about? Here you go:

Watching this trailer brought several thoughts to mind for me: 

1. This is the trailer that got me to watch this show. Weird. 

2. We've come so far. Back when Emma was the hero and Regina was the villain and now we have Captain Hook trying to bring Emma back from the dark side. What even happened. 

3. 2011 was a long time ago. 

4. I want to watch Once Upon A Time. 

It's awesome that even after 4 years, this trailer still makes me want to go back and start from the beginning...which I generally do every summer but I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to watch an episode in a while. Bad Lizzie. Bad. 

But now, waiting for another trailer for Season 5, I can't help but think about the way that OUAT has inspired me to keep hope in my own life, the same way stories like fairy tales and superheroes do for us every time we read a few lines, and that's really what I tried to get across through my presentation. "It's about hope," Eddy Kitsis once said, "and it's always been about hope. It's about the belief that no matter how bad things are, no matter how bad things seem, if you just keep that faith, and you keep that belief, someday they'll get better." 

After all, as my quote canvas says...

Have a magical day!