Overlong Discussion of the Filler-Free Dragon Ball Kai

I'm not even done with the first season yet, I *should* wait to write a review. But history tells me, if I wait until I'm actually finished, I'll never get around to writing a review at all.

A lot of the anime I watched as a kid has actually gotten better with age. Evangelion and Gundam Wing seem smarter than they did when I was 12 years old because I can understand more of what they're going for. Even Hellsing seems a litle more en pointe now that I've become a horror fan.

Dragon Ball Z was always my primary obsession as a kid. Memories of watching the Ocean dub Saiyan fight, and the rickety VHS tape fansub Freezer fight, are among my most eternal and cherished childhood memories. And I've certainly remained a fan. I seem to rewatch the first and/or third season of the show every couple years, which is saying something since there were probably 10 years in between my last two viewings of both Evangelion and Gundam Wing.

Yet, while I've remained an advocate of the show, it definitely hasn't gotten better with age. While it didn't irk me much as a kid, after Avatar: The Last Airbender came into existence, the flaws in Z's formula became more apparent. While Avatar tells a succinct, well-paced story, DBZ unfortunately rambles on for dozens of episodes without progressing much at all, and as the series went on the story became even less cohesive and less consequential. Don't get me wrong, there's no question that ATLA is Oasis to Z's Beatles. But I've never been one to favor history over results. I'll take Led Zeppelin over Robert Johnson, Nirvana over Fang, Ani Difranco over Joni Mitchell... And there's truly nothing I respect more in fiction than a well-paced story with a concise beginning, middle, and end; that's one reason why I prefer Breaking Bad over the Sopranos. And one reason why DBZ doesn't hold up as well as it rightly should.

But I'm not the only one who feels this way about Dragon Ball Z. In fact, they took the core of the series, subtracted the filler, and put it out anew as Dragon Ball Kai. A fresh start for a legendary series, and an attempt to right what they did wrong in their overly gluttonous and unfocused interpretation of a fairly focused and ungluttonly manga series.

First we'll discuss the bad, because it's ever so easy to nitpick.

Part of me wants to say, this was an opportunity wasted. DBZ only got a reversion when it really deserved a remake. Kai feels a little ramshackle, it doesn't flow as well as it could. Certain things are left in that shouldn't have been (e.g. Gregory serves absolutely no purpose -- Goku solves that trial the exact same way he caught Bubbles!) and other things are cut out that probably shouldn't have been -- For example, the Z fighters are called to Kami's palace for special training but Kami then proceeds to do absolutely nothing -- he doesn't train them or give them any special pep-talks, all they do is fight in front of him for a couple of scens and then leave. You also have Lunch appearing in the intro whereas she never actually appears in the series -- they cut her little scenes out. We also have a TV crew magically appear broadcasting the fight for Earth, without any explanation of their arrival or how they know what a "Saiyan" is.

So, while certain continuity issues are resolved in Kai by cutting ill-conceived content that wasn't in the manga, new continuity issues are born from the need to subtract so much filler. This problem would be resolved had Z been reanimated instead of just reedited. Presumably Gregory's little arc was included because they couldn't subtract all the future scenes that feature Gregory standing next to Kaio-sama while Kaio says something important. But a series remake could have removed the Gregory character entirely, and included brief but consequential scenes to give Kaio and Kami's respective training a sense of weight, without having to take up much time. And, naturally, I'd have taken the opportunity to give Z my dream ending -- kill off Goku on Namek and then finish with a proper season detailing Vegeta's attempt to take over Earth.

It's also worthy of note that Funimation's Kai DVDs appear to be edited, despite being advertised as uncut. That is to say.... they aren't edited, they just appear to be that way. Because the original Japanese version of Kai is "edited" compared to the original version of Z. While we do see some blood, and some swearing, and a lot of characters taking a whizz, and Kame's beer has been restored to its natural brown... Gohan's nudity has been conspicuously covered in typical 1999 censorship "here's a shrub in the way!" style and the bloodiness of Raditz's death was all but removed, his gaping torso wound looks more like a bruise. But I don't much mind, it's not like this is Game of Thrones, where censorship would actually have an effect. The cuts here are extremely minor. The only thing that annoys me is the torso wound because it looked so idiotic -- you can't have an energy blast disembowel you and then leave a fucking bruise. Might as well have sewn Raditz's head on a turtle, it would have looked equally nonsensical.

But now, onto the good. While Kai isn't as seameless as it could have been, the end result may be worth it. What we have here, is all the best of Z and none of the worst. What really started out as a fantastic story, was diluted into an ugly mess, and now DBKai has restored it to (most) of its proper glory, and that's a wondrous thing.

This is, by far, the most fun I've had watching Dragon Ball of any sort since I was probably 13 or 14 years old. Maybe the Buu saga with my brother, that was pretty fun even though the content was mediocre, not sure what age I was when we did that. But this is definitely the best time since I've become an adult. It's just, extraordinarly exciting and satisfying, to see this show with the action intact and the filler gone.

The problem with Z wasn't really the filler storylines -- Garlic Jr., Gohan & the robot, Bulma & co.'s space adventures... if you don't want to watch that stuff, all you have to do is skip those episodes. The real filler problem was the constant stalling, where you'd have the characters stand around and stare at each other, and then they'd go to commercial, and they'd reshow the exact same scene of the characters standing around staring at each other. Then the episode would end, and they'd start the next episode with the same staring scene you had already seen twice. The stalling is what made Z jarring on rewatches, and with Kai you don't have that problem. I was literally in tears watching the Nappa battles with no filler what-so-ever. It was filled to the brim with quality action and content, I was at the edge my seat even knowing every little nuance of the fights already.

I'm not about to get rid of my fansubs or DVDs of the original Z, for memories' sake if nothing else. But I do suspect I'll be rewatching Kai in the future in most cases instead of Z. This is a better version of an already great show. And I'd even go so far as to say that this is, thus far, the definitive version of Dragon Ball Z. I think they could do better with it in the future, but this is a superior telling of Z's story.

This truncated version of DBZ has gotten me thinking about the original Ocean Dub. I still have some of the VHS tapes but many of them over the years have been lost or damaged. But you know what's absolutely peculiar? FUNimation released a DVD set of the original Ocean Dub. Yeah... they did, FUNimation released a set of the Ocean dub. This has to be like... the 25th time they've released DBZ. On the one hand it's kind of sickening that DBZ can apparently make money off of 10,000 different releases while Neon Genesis Evangelion can't even stay in print. But on the other hand I'm thrilled that I have the chance to buy the Ocean dub on DVD if I want to. In some ways this was the original Kai. Yes, the censorship was unfortunate, but the voices and music in Ocean's version are far superior to FUNimation's own work on the series. The Ocean dub seemed to take itself seriously while FUNimation's version sounds more like SpongeBob than ATLA (or X-Men TAS, Batman TAS, any cartoon that takes itself seriously).

College Volleyball, And Why I Love It

I'm not much of a sports fan and I never have been. And that's quite a shame considering my hometown of Pittsburgh is one of the best places in the world to be for a sports fan. We have not one but several world-class sports clubs: The Pittsburgh Steelers have won more Super Bowls than anyone else (or they're at least tied), The Pittsburgh Penguins are a legendary Hockey team, and we're a stones throw away from Penn State where the Nittany Lions reign as one of the top college football franchises.

I do ocasionally enjoy watching a bit of Penguins hockey, but there's only one sport that consistently can keep my interest. That's volleyball. NCAA Women's Volleyball to be exact. This was my first season as a fan and it sure was a specacular one. Completely out of left field, my two favorite teams ended up in the championship match! And it sure was a wonderful game. Loved every minute of it. And all this love has gotten me into the mood for explaining a bit about why professional volleyball is the most entertaining sport that exists.

But first I want to give a little shoutout to my two amazing volleyball powerhouses!

Lady Lions, congrats on your record-tieing 6th championship. Penn State has the best volleyball franchise in the world, and soon I'm sure you'll break Stanford's record and make it official. Incredible season and great job sending your accomplished seniors off with a second win!

Wisconsin Badgers, amazing job proving that you're one of the top teams there are. And great job hitting your best game against Penn State by far! You really went out on a high note and if any other team but Penn State had made it to that last match, I know you'd have crushed 'em. Carlini's only bound to get better and next year you'll have an even more powerful team.

But now here's a bit about why volleyball is fuckin' awesome.

Scoring!

One reason I like hockey more than football, is there's a lot more action and a lot more scoring. Football seems to slow to a crawl every half-minute, while hockey keeps pretty steady. But volleyball, sheesh, it has thrice the action of any other major sport. You literally score a point every five or ten seconds of play. And god, when you do get those volleys that last 30, 40 seconds... so nerve wracking! Volleyball is, by a decent margin, the most immediate and exciting sport.


It's Very Dramatic; Flamboyant

I'm quite sure that all the running around, kicking, jumping, etc. that they do in football, hockey, soccer, and basketball is extremely complex and nuanced and requires the most astronomically well-crafted athletes to perform. But I don't really know much about that stuff. Most of what I see in any of those four sports is people going up and down the field, up and down the field, up and down the field. It's atheltic but it doesn't appear to be especially acrobatic. What *is*, however, apparent to a laymen like me, is the extreme amount of athletic prowess these girls in volleyball exhibit. Every other volley you see someone doing somersaults, or contorting into a bizarre pose in order to smack the ball at an extreme angle, or wilfully faceplanting into the arena floor just to stop that ball from hitting the ground. It's an incredibly visual sport compared to a lot of the others.


It's Uniquely Confrontational

Now, there's no substitute for a good hockey fight or a dozen behemoths jumping on you in football. That's one kind of confrontation. But volleyball has a different kind of fight that I find a lot more interesting. Volleyball is like professional Dragon Ball Z, they're throwing these attacks out and the other side has to bat them right back and it's just such a cool kind of battle.


It's Not as Unattainable

Certainly the amount of celebrity surrounding the top athletes among the more popular sports can be fun in and of itself. But I feel like the volleyball players I watch are equally elite in skill, and yet much closer to us little people. For example, I haven't had a chance to try this yet (yet!), but I imagine it'd be a lot easier to go up to Lauren Carlini and get an autograph, than it would be from, say, Ben Roethlisberger. And obviously, as a volleyball fan, Carlini's autograph would mean just as much to me as Ben's would to a Steelers fanatic.

So yeah, I'm not athletic or knowledgeable about sports or that kind of stuff. But if you're looking for an exciting sport, volleyball is hard to beat.

I Spit on Your Graves (three different ones)

Notice: No need to be wary of spoilers if you haven't seen all three. If you're aware of the premise of the film, you'll find no spoilers here. What you should be wary of is the fact that this post concerns some of the most intense and gruesome movies ever made.

The "rape and revenge" genre of exploitation cinema, of which I Spit On Your Grave is the most famous and infamous entry, is a genre steeped in controversy and argument. Do movies like this provide sadistic individuals with a validation for, or even a sexualization of, their misogynistic torture fetish? Or does this story of revenge empower victims to assert their autonomy? Do they perpetuate gender roles or subvert them? Do these films promote misogyny, or shine a spotlight on it in a condemnatory manner?

I could wax philosophic on this very sensitive issue for hours, and believe me, I have. But ultimately this is a question for greater minds than mine. Do movies like this really inspire violence? I'd need the opinions of criminal pathologists to decipher that. Do movies like this actually empower women, or is the audience for these films overwhelmingly male? To understand that I'd need viewership statistics and a very wide sample of opinions from women. Ultimately I believe that these films can be interpreted in any number of ways, and that what the meaning is depends on what you bring to it.

My interest in the series is far more pedantic. I like revenge movies, and vigilante justice. Taken, The Horseman, The Brave One. I like to imagine that somewhere there's a parallel universe where all rapists and sex traffickers receive their due punishment. I'm also a huge fan of horror movies, and while torture and serial killer films are on the complete opposite side of the spectrum from the horror movies I like the most, I'm a big enough horror fan that I have room for some of them in my viewing schedule. The I Spit on Your Grave movies are incredibly disturbing,  harrowing, and terrifying. So even if they're not necessarily good movies, as a film fan I have to admire any movie with so much power to affect.

I Spit On Your Grave (1978)

Due to its simple premise, the differences between the three films are pretty direct and easy to note. The original 1978 film is the most disturbing, and arguably the most gritty (likely due more to its stark 70s style than to its content). It also probably has the most nudity, which either serves to despicably sexualize the rape, or serves the realism of the film (depending on your perspective). The rape portion was excruciating and almost impossible to watch, and the revenge portion wasn't anywhere near brutal enough to give me any sort of catharsis afterward. Plus the fact that she uses her sexuality to get her attackers in a vulnerable state before enacting revenge, just seems to me like adding insult to injury after what she's been through. (Though, I'm sure somebody would argue that she's using their misogyny against them and that it is a positive portrayal of a woman controlling her sexuality...) I respect the film for being the original and for being a noticeably well-made low budget movie, but it's a film that I can't imagine myself ever rewatching. One thing I can say for it, I found it more effective than The Last House on the Left. And if you're looking for a horrifying horror movie, this is the best film of the bunch. But it's a bit too horrifying for me.

I Spit On Your Grave (2010)

Now, if you're going to remake a legendarily controversial film, there are a lot of things I would have done that the filmmakers did not do. In the decades since I Spit On Your Grave was originally released, the ardent denouncement of the film as a misogynist wet dream has shifted somewhat, and there are now those who see it as a feminist movie. A smart way to capitalize on this while making a new version that could actually offer something new to the franchise, would have been to do the remake with a female director and feminist writers. Another easy way to make this remake memorable would have been to tell the same story but with a man in the role of the victim, and you'd open up a whole new host of difficult social and philosophical questions (especially when you get to observe how peoples' feelings may differ between the two versions).

That being said, there are actually a lot of things about this remake that I like more than the original. For one thing, the rape is less brutal. In fact they gloss over much of it, and you only have to stomach seeing a couple of the men rape her. It's still extremely sadistic and makes me want to guzzle a bottle of corrosive acid. But it's merciful compared to the original, and then the good part starts. While the 1978 version gave Jennifer a very mild and unsatisfying revenge, the 2010 version gives her the extreme revenge she rightly deserves, complete with creative tortures and psychological torment. For that reason I came away from this film much more satisfied than I did after the original.

The one thing I didn't like about this version was the middle segment where she sort of haunted her attackers. I get that it was probably meant as a form of taunting or mental torture, but it played out like any cliche', dime-a-dozen thriller. I felt it undermined the unique nature of the film by erring too closely to everyday entertainment, which rape and revenge fantasy probably shouldn't be included in.

I Spit On Your Grave 2 (2013)

No, this isn't a continuation of the story from the 2010 film. You won't find Jennifer, instead we have another girl who is unfortunately destined to experience a similar fate. The concept is the same, a pretty young girl runs afoul of some horrible people, and you know what happens next. Surprisingly, I Spit On Your Grave 2 (2013) is by far the best of the series. It's not even close, it's a much better movie than the original and the 2010 remake. Now there are definitely things I didn't especially like about it. It's easily the grossest of the three, relying perhaps a bit too much on gross-out content. And it certainly is a movie you could put under the "torture porn" category, which is a genre I try to avoid.

But what it also is, is a more complex film than the other two. And while that certainly wasn't hard to do, considering how simple the first two films are, it was still a welcome evolution. Here there are more characters than just the victim and the sadistic misogynists who attack her. Don't expect a whole lot of daring new ideas here (there aren't many), but do expect a better written and more nuanced storyline. It also manages to be better as a horror film, with certain unsettling scenes included that don't have anything to do with the rape and torture.

This film downplays the actual rape itself more than any of the others. Personally, I find this an agreeable and merciful change, as I'm watching these films for the revenge. But while it downplays the rape itself, it's more brutal than the 2010 movie. Overtly sexual violence is largely (though not exclusively) exchanged for monstrous torture of a more traditional nature. And the revenge portion is even more intense. I can't say I enjoyed all of it, as it did seem a bit "torture porn" for my taste. But I give them props for definitely one-upping the castration scene of the original 1978 movie and creating what is probably the most extreme and best revenge scene from any of the three movies.

Halloween: Two Weeks In (Overview)

Well, I try to take it slow until the thick of the season, but I've already stumbled on some really great finds. I don't have time to delve into TV right now so I'll stick with the films.


Absence (2013)
8/10

Oops, I may have screwed myself. If I knew it'd be half this good, I'd have saved it for later. There's never been a truly flawless, 10/10 alien-themed found footage movie in equal to The Blair Witch Project or [REC]. Absence doesn't quite reach that height, but it's the best the genre has shown me so far. Incident In Lake County will always have a place in my heart, but the superior effects in Absence just barely edge it out.

Alien movies don't need to have convoluted storylines. The idea of beings from another world with no concept of humane treatment and who can grab you right out of your bed from the sky is terrifying enough. I was worried it'd be more of a mystery like The Fourth Kind, but the premise of a woman losing her baby was only used as the excuse to film everything that's happening. Ultimately this is just your classic, cabin in the woods, strange lights in the sky film. And for that, I adore it. All the great money shots you never get from most alien found footage movies, Absence finally gives us. And the characters, and their slice of life activities, actually were quite enjoyable in and of themselves. Definitely scared the crap out of me and definitely a great film.


Midnight Son (2011)
7/10

This instantly has become one of my favorite vampire films. I love, love films of this style. In the tradition of Let The Right One In and Ginger Snaps, this is a coolly dark, slow and brooding, seductive story of a human being who just happens to be a monster. Most impressive.


Pontypool (2008)
7/10

A charismatic radio DJ gets a new gig in a small town. Unfortunately he finds himself in the midst of... the zombie apocalypse. Watch them scramble in the studio to find out what's going on, and listen to the horrific bits and pieces of the story trickle in. It's an interesting concept, definitely a different and welcome vanage point from which to explore the zombie apocalypse. I was genuinely impressed. The ending was very clever although it was definitely not what I would have preferred.


The Pact (2012)
7/10

Traditionally ghosts have not been one of my favorite topics for horror. So this year I'm making a conscious effort to explore and endear the genre to myself. The Pact is a fairly run-of-the-mill ghost movie but it is highly effective and fairly clever.


The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
5/10

I've heard a lot about this being among the worst remakes. But I thoroughly enjoyed it. How much more do you expect from your average 'sadistic hillbilly' film? I mean I'm no huge fan, nor afficionado, of that subgenre, but this is probably the best film of its ilk that I've seen so far. I found the characters somehow more believable than their counterparts in other sadistic hillbilly films such as The Hills Have Eyes remake.


The Lost World (1992)
4/10

The old story of Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World. It's my favorite cryptozoological concept. The effects were less than satisfactory, but the story was solid enough and the characters were charismatic. Not a horror movie but a good adventure film for kids.


Truth or Die (2012)
4/10

A group of hot shot mean kids (college or high school I guess), get caught up in the sadistic game of an ex-military man looking for some answers. It's pretty run of the mill for the genre but it gets some props for subverting expectations a bit. It's a fun romp, if you're into this kind of movie. Torture & serial killers are not among my interests so it has to be a truly exemplary film of that genre to work for me, which Truth or Die is not. But I did find the characters pretty interesting.


My Babysitter's a Vampire (2010)
4/10

Disney Channel still puts out paranormal-themed TV movies most years, this one they imported from Canada. They're never scary but they're sometimes good fun. This time they take their stab at the Twilight craze, and for the portion of the film that mostly pokes fun at Twilight -- this was a very funny and fun movie. But when they end up fighting vampires, I quickly lost interest. Action movies in general are not what I'm out for, let alone action movies that can't show blood or violence or treat it realistically. But hey this is sort of like a vampire-themed Shaun of the Dead. If that's the kind of thing you're into, you may well like it.


Hansel & Gretel Get Baked (2013)
3/10

I'm all for an adult interpretation of a fairy tale, films like that can be incredibly chilling. But Hansel & Gretel Get Baked fell short. Not nearly enough pot smoking, not nearly enough comedy for a supposed comedy movie, and I just wasn't invested in the story. Good concept, good try, just wasn't to my liking.

Will o' the Wisp

Walking around in my neighborhood, one of the things that strikes me the most is the multitude of floating lights I invariably see. They're just, all around me in the otherwise black night. But they really don't illuminate much of anything, not in the pitch darkness and the morning fog. Instead they just sit there like vigil lanterns, little orbs appearing to float of their own volition. Exactly like the will o' the wisp. Many of the streets are very curved as well, so small walkway lights or garage lights, etc., that people may have in their yard, end up looking like they're sitting in the middle of the road when I'm far away. I like to think they're leading me home but... they might just be leading me deeper into the shadow.

The darker, reddish pictures are the creepy ones of what I *actually* see when I'm haunting the neighborhood, the lighter ones are with my camera's night mode to make it look a little more clear.

I also found 3 deer grazing in a yard. These deer were damn smart, they were standing right in a patch of pitch darkness. I honestly could not see them, I HEARD them snorting and took the picture with my night mode on to bring in more of the light. I actually had no idea there were *three* deer until I got home and looked at the picture. I may just as well have come home and found a chupacabra in this picture!

Halloween Collections 2013

One of my favorite parts of Halloween are the Halloween collections I make. Similar to my Pop collections, they are composed of individual new tracks to form a cohesive whole. I put together haunting rock songs with eerie movie soundtrack material to create the perfect mixes for scaring the shit out of myself on my late-night walks.

So far this year I have three new ones to add to the canon. I find that the live tracks from Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit are ideal for something like this: they're acoustic, sparce, and more than a little haunted. The Harry Potter movies also have some surprisingly fantastic horror-esque music. Each album is about 45 minutes.

Halloween 5: Neighborhood of Creatures

1. The Neighborhood -- Douglas Pipes [Trick 'r Treat]
2. Original Inhabitants -- Jeff Grace [The House of the Devil]
3. Darkness Takes Over -- Nicholas Hooper [Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]
4. Nothing As It Seems (Bridge School) -- Pearl Jam
5. The Mothman -- Jeff Toyne [Shadow in the Trees]
6. Passing Trees -- Jeff Grace [I Can See You]
7. Walking With a Ghost (Bridge School) -- Tegan and Sara
8. Footsteps -- Jeff Grace [House of the Devil]
9. Like Oh, Like H (Bridge School) -- Tegan and Sara
10. Laurie's First Time -- Douglas Pipes [Trick 'r Treat]
11. Little Anna -- Javier Navarrete [Mirrors]
12. Ghost (Demo version) -- Indigo Girls
13. Creature -- Jericho
14. Lumos! (Hedwig's Theme) -- John Williams [Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]

Halloween 6: Spirit on the Porch

1. It's Halloween, Not Hanukkah -- Douglas Pipes [Trick 'r Treat]
2. Heritage -- Opeth
3. Girl and the Ghost -- KT Tunstall
4. Not a Trick / Red and Black -- Douglas Pipes [Trick 'r Treat]
5. He's Calling You -- Jeff Grace [House of the Devil]
6. Asturias / The House is Safe -- Javier Navarrete [Mirrors]
7. The Devil's Orchard -- Opeth
8. The Halloween School Bus Massacre -- Douglas Pipes [Trick 'r Treat]
9. The View Upstairs -- Jeff Grace [House of the Devil]
10. A Book of Blood -- Javier Navarrete [Pan's Labyrinth]
11. Ghost of the Gang (Acoustic) -- Indigo Girls
12. Bathilda Bagshot -- Alexandre Desplat [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 1]
13. Ghost of a Dog (Bridge School) -- Edie Brickell

Halloween 7: Will o' the Wisp

1. Pitch Meeting -- Jeff Grace [I Can See You]
2. Scars (Bridge School) -- Kacy Crowley
3. Something Out There -- Anton Sanko [The Last Winter]
4. Disposable Heroes (Bridge School) -- Metallica
5. Lights Out -- Jeff Grace [The House of the Devil]
6. I Feel the Dark -- Opeth
7. Snape's Demise -- Alexandre Desplat [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 2]
8. Fade to Black (Bridge School) -- Metallica
9. Ghost Hardware -- Burial
10. Evening Fog -- Jeff Grace [I Can See You]
11. Ghost Dance (iTunes Original Version) -- Patti Smith

HBO's The Newsroom

A few years ago I was turned on to an older show, a CBS phenomenon from the turn of the century called The West Wing, written by famed writer and showrunner Aaron Sorkin. It was an innovative, unique, and very touching series about the inner-circle of the US President and their struggle to keep afloat and do no harm while navigating the politics and crises of the world's most powerful office.

Sorkin's newest show is The Newsroom, an HBO drama that could work as a spiritual sequel to The West Wing. This time the focus is on the staff of a cable news network and their struggle to bring real news to the people without succumbing to the petty tactics of the tabloid mentality which has befallen cable news.

The pulse and flow of the series is very similar to The West Wing: we have plucky idealists at the pinnacle of their respective career path, fighting the good fight but failing to always keep their head. The Newsroom isn't half as innovative as The West Wing was, but it improves on the formula in two notable ways. Firstly, The Newsroom doesn't concoct artifical news stories for their fictional world, they frame their fictional story around real-life news stories. This is a very unique and engaging flourish, that also allows real ethical questions to come into play on a more realistic playing field.

Secondly and most importantly, The Newsroom brings to life a cabal warm, charismatic, loveable characters in a way The West Wing never did. I liked The West Wing's crew as human beings and individuals. I was rooting for them, I wanted good things to happen to them. But I never found it in me to really feel for them, to really relate with them or love them. They were just such dry, burdened workaholics. "Real life," the personal stuff, was never more than a burden to them. The star of The West Wing was the politics and the writing, the characters were mere vessels. When they tried to get personal, they always failed, and those were the episodes that didn't interest me.

The Newsroom, on the other hand, almost instantly endears you to these characters. They're people with lives and loves, hobbies and aspirations. I've fallen in love with all of them and I really care what happens to them. Emily Mortimer is especially beautiful and engaging as the Peabody-winning journalist & producer who keeps this tumultuous group together by the skin of her teeth.

This program has received a lot of middling reviews for its perceived preachiness and saccharine ethos. But mostly critics are forgetting that this has been both Aaron Sorkin's M.O. and his claim to fame from the start. It's not 1999 anymore and the tone of well-crafted adult dramas has changed. Today the critics are all about main characters who are vicious monsters (Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Vikings, Dexter), and anyone can die at any time (Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead). But there's room on the airwaves for more than one zeitgeist, not everything has to be grim and brutal.. If you appreciated The West Wing, there's no reason you can't appreciate The Newsroom.

In the last year's time I've watched about 20 different drama shows. Out of these, four are worthy of a perfect 5/5 rating. These are: Jericho, In the Flesh, Switched at Birth, and of course The Newsroom. The Newsroom has really been able to improve upon The West Wing's formula to create something truly special:  enormous fun, clever characterization, and heart-wrenching sentimentality at a pinpoint perfect note.

And so, it begins...

This is the moment I've been desperately waiting for. Friday Night at Midnight I at long last get to begin my Halloween viewing for lucky 2013. This year, thanks to a wonderful new work schedule, I get not 2 but 3 nights each week to watch spooky material. That's a whopping 50% increase! I watched 40 movies total last Halloween Season, will I watch 60 this year? Quite possibly, but I also have a profoundly richer selection of TV and documentaries to watch this year, so time will tell. I guess I better get down to some watchin'!

And hey, thanks to Netflix and Amazon Prime, I'll get through this season barely spending a sent. Here's a rough draft of my TV/film list for this year. It will be frequently edited. Keep in mind the goal isn't to watch everything, the goal is to always have something good to watch!

Content available for free on Netflix and/or Amazon Prime is coded in BOLD.
Keynote/primary content is coded in RED.


TV Drama

Dead Set
American Horror Story Asylum
The Walking Dead Season 3
Survivors
Falling Skies
Harper's Island
Earth 2
The Vampire Diaries (s1/s4)
Teen Wolf
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The X-Files
Jeremiah
Being Human
Apparitions
Hemlock Grove
Revolution
The Gates
The Lost World
Defiance
Under the Dome
The Secret Circle
Roswell
Stephen King's The Stand
Defying Gravity
Outcasts
Wolf Lake


TV Anthology

Masters of Horror
R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Lost Tapes
Goosebumps
The Hunger
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
The Twilight Zone


1st Tier Films

Warm Bodies
The Roost by Ti West
Scream 3
Ginger Snaps Back
Cronos
Silent House
V/H/S 2
The East
Abandoned Mine
Mutants
Citadel
Stake Land
Invasion
The Road
The Reef
House at the End of the Street
Compliance
Apartment 143
Hunger
Cargo
The Mooring
The Bay
Abducted
Tomorrow When the War Began
Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan
The Others
The Eye
The Uninvited
Devil's Backbone
Trigger Man
Diary of the Dead
Zombieland
Les Revenants
Darkest Night
Right At Your Door
The Quiet Earth

Carriers

Unaware
Absence
Another Kind
Europa Report

Night Skies

Silent Warnings
Progeny
Midnight Son
Evidence
Last House on the Left
World War Z
Nightfall


2nd Tier Films

Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows

Lovely Molly
Tremors 3: Back to Perfection 

The Devil Inside

The Hole

The Hole (other one)

Intruders

To. Get. Her.

Kill List
The Ward

John Dies at the End

Pet Sematary

The Lost Boys

Identity (2003)

Slither

The Host

Big Bad Wolf

Zombie Diaries 1/2
Hollow
Vampires
Mimic
Fear Island
Kidnapped
Black Death
The Faculty
Trapped Ashes
The Devil's Carnival
Greystone Park
Ghost Cat
Crowsnest
Cropsey
June 9
UFO Target Earth
The Ritual
Exhibit A
Recut
Girl Vs. Monster
Creepy Tales: Girls' Night Out
Vampire Diary
Spiders (2013)
Elevator
Dark Waters
The Objective
Truth or Die
The Pact
The Frozen
Jacob
Dead of Winter
Splintered
Blackout
State of Emergency
Ghoulies
Barrio Tales
Rites of Spring
Last Kind Words
Munger Road
I Spit On Your Grave
Pontypool
The Open Door
The Shrine
The Afflicted
Shark Week (film)
Donner Pass
The Orphanage
Under the Bed
Visitors
The Bunker
Darkness
The Strangers
Excision
Sinister
American Mary
The Purge
War of the Worlds: The Untold Story
Communion

Apollo 18

Shadow of the Vampire

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Blindness

The Divide
Battle Dogs

Lo

I Know What You Did Last Summer

Splice

Carrie (2013)

Halloweentown

My Babysitter's a Vampire

Blood and Chocolate
Mother of Tears
I Am Legend

HORROR FEST

Documentary TV Shows

Is It Real?
Paranormal Witness (highly recommended)
Unsealed Files
A Haunting
The Universe
Dark Matters: Twisted But True
Urban Legends
My Ghost Story: Caught On Camera
Celebrity Ghost Stories
Deadly Women
Best Evidence
Shark Week
Stalked: Someone's Watching

Dark Days in Monkey City

Untamed & Uncut

Night

I'm Alive

After the Attack

Nightmare Next Door
Beyond
Ancient Aliens
Destination Truth
Ghost Adventures
Forecasting The End
Real Scary Stories
Beyond Belief/Bizarre
MonsterQuest
Sightings

Documentaries

The Truth Behind Zombies, National Geographic
Mermaids: The Body Found
Mermaids: The New Evidence
The Last Dragon/Fantasy Made Flesh
Werewolves: The Dark Survivors
Twisted History: Vampires
PBS Nova: Can We Make it to Mars?
Apocalypse How?
Secrets of the Dead: The World's Biggest Bomb
Countdown to Zero
Trinity & Beyond
Out of the Blue
The Watcher
Hiroshima: BBC History of WWII
The Forgotten Bomb

Eyes of the Moth Man

The History Channel: Apocalypse, Puzzle of Revelation
Secret KGB UFO Files
Murder By Proxy: How America Went Postal
666 Revealed
Fastwalkers
The White Mountain Abduction
Devil Worship: The Rise of Satanism
Hell: The Devil's Domain
History Channel/A&E specials
The Unexplained: Zombies
History's Mysteries: Zombies
Investigating the Haitian Zombie

History Channel: Hauntings
Haunted History: Halloween
Zombie Apocalypse (Discovery Channel)\
Europa: Mystery of the Ice Moon

Film Classics

Cryptic TV & other Roku horror channels
Jaws
An American Werewolf in London
Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Alien
Nosferatu
Suspiria
The Exorcist
Fire in the Sky
The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane


Notable Rewatches

Perkins' 14
Penny Dreadful
Trick 'r Treat
The House of the Devil
The Cabin in the Woods
Jack & Diane
Deadgirl
Grizzly Man


I've decided (loose blueprint) that Saturday will be movie night, Sunday will be theme night, and Monday will be TV night. I mean each night will feature a mix, but each with a different focus. I've already got Witch night set up for this Sunday.

But it's not just about the watching. I've got about 17 (and counting!) of Halloween-themed audio on my iPod. Eight & a half of those hours are creepy campfire stories. I'm also on the lookout for a good horror novel to read.

I'm planning two "Samhain Feasts" this year, though the specifics of what they'll include is sub-preliminary at this point. This time it's A Feast For Ghouls and A Feast For Goblins; the first being intended to scare the shit out of me and the second just for pure Halloween fun.

The Top 15 Best Superhero Movies

Like much of the world, I had my little super hero phase in the 00s. Yeah it's getting played out by this point, but that doesn't mean there weren't a lot of great films made, and hopefully some great ones left to be made.

I'm someone who really, on an intense personal level, likes to visit that fantasy world where morality is not ambiguous and good crushes evil. It's the same reason Taken is one of my favorite films of all-time. I like super heroes for being successful vigilantes more than anything else. And with that in mind I've seen much more than my share of super hero movies and these are the best ones, if you're asking me.


15. Superman Returns (2006)

It's definitely more of a quiet, underwhelming kind of film that doesn't hit you over the head with bombast. But with so many by-the-number super hero bunkerbusters, I find the tone in Superman Returns pleasant. It's not brilliant but it's interesting and entertaining. Plus it features the amazing Kevin Spacey and a super-cute Kate Bosworth. In this era of instant-reboots, this quasi-sequel to 1980's Superman II has become even more unique and refreshing since 2006.


14. Iron Man (2008)

Iron Man is cool because, like Batman, Tony Stark's primary super powers are limitless wealth, impossible technology, and the ability to amass military-grade weapons without inviting the suscpicion of the FBI. This makes suspension of disbelief a lot easier for those of us who aren't keen supernatural powers and alien intervention. The first Iron Man film was crisp and fun.


13. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

It may have some flaws, but The Dark Knight Rises provides a very satisfying climax to Nolan's magnificent Batman trilogy. It retains the sharp-witted ability of the other films to weave an impressive menagerie of classic Batman characters to form a coherent whole, and it packs an emotional punch as well.


12. Batman Returns (1992)

It's twisted, it's fun, it's Burtonesque. Burton's first Batman was good, but the sequel introduces more of the vigilante action I love plus the best film version of Catwoman to date, and Danny Devito as a grotesque Penguin.


11. Chronicle (2012)

The found footage aspect doesn't really add much to this story other than a gimmicky dose of uniqueness. But that doesn't stop this from being by far one of the best super hero tales, about a few friends who happen upon supernatural powers and the complex ethical and social dilemmas they face as a result. The special effects are also excellent.


10. Spider-Man (2002)

A perfectly paced, emotional and exciting origin story for one of Marvel's greatest characters. Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben was pretty awesome in the new Spiderman, but it was the same story we had heard so recently before, and 2002 just did it better.


9. Unbreakable (2000)

M. Night Shyamalan was a decent filmmaker back before he ruined The Last Airbender. Unbreakable is among the more straight-faced superhero movies, with a stoney atmosphere and an exceedingly clever storyline.


8. Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

It doesn't expand too much into new territory, but Kick-Ass 2 provides bucketfuls of what made the original Kick-Ass such a remarkable standout film in a sea of superhero movies. Excellent characters abound and Jim Carrey, as "Col. Stars & Stripes," fantastically fills the patriarchal shoes left behind by the first film's charismatic Nicolas Cage (as "Big Daddy.")


7. The Dark Knight (2008)

A disturbingly brilliant Joker provides The Batman with a worthy counterbalance to his crimefighting agenda in this excellent and brooding sequel to 2005's Batman Begins. Just a shame they couldn't get Katie Holmes back.


6. Boy Wonder (2010) 

Technically this could be considered simply a vigilante film, but the thematic content is clearly there and it reminded me a lot of both Unbreakable and Kick-Ass. Very grim, very dark, very real, and it never flinches from a punch. When his mother is killed by assailants, an average boy toils to turn himself into a ripped supersleuth and seeks revenge on the criminal underworld.


5. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

This is one of the least-beloved X-Men films but suffice to say I have very specific things I like about X-Men and Last Stand touches on those things vastly more than any other X-Men film to date. It's based on Joss Whedon's story of a mutant cure, similar to one of my favorite episodes of the 1990s X-Men cartoon. Furthermore, Magneto, with his pro-gay, er I mean... pro-mutant agenda and quiet dignity, is my single favorite fictional character of all-time. The Magneto of X-Men: First Class might get to kill some nazis, but I find more depth in the way Sir Ian McKellen (one of the all-time greatest actors), subtly alludes to the dark genesis of his worldview and his love for Professor Xavier, in this film.


4. V for Vendetta (2005)

Wasn't quite sure if this one counts, but hey Wikipedia lists it as a super hero movie and we all know that's a reliable source. This stunning dystopian comic book film about a masked vigilante who uses prodigious skill to debase the totalitarian government is gothically cool and considerably powerful.


3. Watchmen (2009)

This is one of the best and most-celebrated takes on the concept: what if real people decided to become superheroes? The characters are deep, the story is nuanced, and the alternate history it posits is fascinating. Zack Snyder may have a bit of a slow-mo fetish but Watchmen is stylized in just the right way to make it slick and effective.


2. Kick-Ass (2010)

Overly-stylized action and gore are generally things I try to avoid, but I have to admit that scene of Big Daddy in the warehouse is just so utterly gorgeous. This story of a regular joe who decides to fight for love & peace expertly flirts with relative realism while never straying from its roots as a trashy comic book adventure. It's a solid, clever story with likable characters, and it provides everything I need in both superhero-style realism and rah-rah vigilantism.


1. Batman Begins (2005)

The Dark Knight may have the indelible Heath Ledger, but Batman Begins boasts two of my all-time favorite actors: the perpetually-enchanting Katie Holmes, and the reputable Liam Neeson. I also have a thing for origin stories. And Bruce Wayne searching for truth in the crimepits of the world makes for an exquisite story. Plus I like to see the easy, early stuff, like when the superhero is up against regular every day criminals and just pounds the fuck out of their scumbag asses, yay Batman! It's dark, it's cool, it's smart, it's fun: Batman Begins is just, to me, the perfect super hero movie.

31 Days of Halloween 2013

It's August 25th, you probably haven't started thinking about Halloween yet. Me? I've been obsessed with Halloween all year, practically clawing my eyes out for 10 months waiting until September 1st so I can start my Halloween festivities. I start in September because there's just not enough time if I wait until October. I mean, I've been watching horror movies all year, an average of two per weekend. But for Halloween I go all out, everything becomes Halloween: what I listen to, what I read. And to pump myself up and research which movies, TV shows, and documentaries I'm going to be watching this Halloween season, I compose my "31 Days of Halloween," 750 hours of premo spooky October television for my as-of-yet purely hypothetical fanstreamed television network.

The inaugural 2012 version was more about structure than content. While the pieces were there, it was full of filler: movies and programs I haven't even seen that were necessary to withhold the structure for each different marathon. This time around I have a much more vast collection of horror film, tv, and documentary knowledge in my hands and I've crafted what is, for me personally, a completely flawless month of horror programming. Nothing but the best films, the best documentaries, the best TV shows, everything here is either a personal favorite of mine or something I'm looking forward to watching this season.

I've also expanded many of the themes. So you may not be ready for Halloween yet, but if you're looking for some great material to watch this October, bookmark this page or get out a pen and paper, 'cause I've got you covered for 750 hours! I'll also be updating the list as I watch new programs this season, to insure that the absolute best possible marathon is represented here.

Movies are coded in RED.
Documentary programs & series are coded in GREEN.
Fictional (drama, comedy) television series are coded in BLUE.

Weekday Lineup (Monday through Thursday October 1st through October 24th.)

4am: Beyond Bizarre
5: movie slot d "early morning"
7: Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
8: The Twilight Zone

9: Falling Skies

10: movie slot a "kids"
12:  Urban Legends (Mon & Tues) / Ancient Aliens (Wed) / MonsterQuest (Thurs)
1pm: slot reserved for Halloween-themed episodes
2: Unsealed: Conspiracy Files
2.30: R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour (Mon & Wed) / Lost Tapes (Tues & Thurs) 
3: Jericho
4: The Vampire Diaries
5: Are You Afraid of the Dark?
5.30: Sightings
6: A Haunting (Mon & Wed) / Paranormal Witness (Tues & Thurs)
7:  movie slot b "primetime fun"
9: American Horror Story

10: The Walking Dead
11: Real Scary Stories

11.30: Unsealed: Alien Files

12: movie slot c "scary"

2am: Is It Real?
3: Masters of Horror

-------------


"Halloween Essentials" Weekend Theme Marathons (Beginning 4am Friday morning, ending 4am Monday morning)

-------------------------

Prehistoric Night

(Friday, October 4th, 2013)

4am: Carnosaur

6: Jurassic Fight Club
7: MonsterQuest s3e18 "The Last Dinosaur"
8: Is It Real? s1e5 "Lake Monsters"

9: Land of the Lost (1960s)

10: Land of the Lost (1990s)

11: Dino King
1pm: Terra Nova

2: Terra Nova

3: Shark Week: Prehistoric Sharks

4: Planet Dinosaur

5: Planet Dinosaur

6: Jurassic Park

8: The Dinosaur Project

10: Jurassic Park III 

12: Area 407

2am: Incident at Loch Ness

-------------------------

Beast Night

(Saturday, October 5th, 2013)

4am: Open Water

6: Night

6.30: Shark Week: Blood in the Water

8: MonsterQuest s2e18 "Jaws in Illinois"

9: When Animals Attack

10: Dark Days in Monkey City
10.30: Dark Days in Monkey City

11: In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro

1pm: Untamed & Uncut

2: I'm Alive 

3: MonsterQuest s2e15 "Giant Bear Attack"

4.30: Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives

6: Jaws

8: The Reef

10: Grizzly Park

12: Grizzly Man

2am: Eyes in the Dark

-------------------------

Creature Night

(Sunday, October 6th, 2013)

4am: Feast

6: The X-Files s1e20 "Darkness Falls"

7: iCarly s3e17 "iBelieve in Bigfoot"
7.30: Futurama s4e17 "Spanish Fry:"

8: Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science

9: Is It Real? s2e2 "Chupacabra"
10: MonsterQuest s1e12 "The Real Hobbit"

11: They

1pm: Lost Tapes

1.30: Animal X
2: Animal X

2.30: Mermaids: The Body Found
3.30: Mermaids: New Evidence 

4.30: The Last Dragon (Fantasy Made Real)

6: The Roost

8: The Descent

10: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

12: Trollhunter

2am: Cloverfield

-----------------------------------

Alien Abduction Night 

(Friday, October 11th, 2013)

4am: Visitors of the Night

6: Is It Real? s1e2 "UFOs"

7: The White Mountain Abduction

7.20: Is It Real? s3e6 "Ancient Astronauts"

8: The X-Files s2e5 "Duane Barry"

9: The X-Files s3e9 "Nisei"
10: Best Evidence: UFOs

11: Altered

1pm: UFO Files s2e12 "Texas' Roswell"

2: Sightings

2.30: Sightings
3: Unsealed: Alien Files
3.30 Unsealed: Alien Files
4: The X-Files s3e20 "Jose Chung's From Outer Space"
5: Sightings

5.30: Unsealed: Alien Files

6: Fire in the Sky

8: Grey Skies

10: Night Skies

12: Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County

2am: The Wicksboro Incident

-------------------------

Extraterrestrial Life Night 

(Saturday, October 12th, 2013)

4am: Unaware

6: Falling Skies

7: Falling Skies

8: Falling Skies

9: Curiosity s1e2 "Alien Invasion: Are We Ready?"

10: The Universe s2e7 "Astrobiology"

11: District 9

1pm: Defying Gravity

2: Europa: Mystery of the Ice Moon

3: Is It Real? s2e7 "Life on Mars"

4: The Universe s5e2 "Mars: The New Evidence"

5: The Universe s6e4 "Crash Landing on Mars"

6: Alien

8: Monsters (2010)

10: Europa Report

12: Infection (2005)

2am: Nightfall (2011)

-------------------------

Apocalypse Night

(Sunday, October 13th, 2013)

4am: Carriers

6: Outbreak: Anatomy of a Plague

7.30: Survivors

8.30: Survivors

9.30: Stephen King's The Stand (part one)

11: Hell

1pm: Countdown to Zero 

2.30: Jericho

3.30: Forecasting The End s1e2 "Rogue Planet"
4: Forecasting The End s1e6 "Tsunami"

4.30: Apocalypse How?

6: The Road

8: Right At Your Door

10: The Quiet Earth

12: The Bay

2am: Chernobyl Diaries

-----------------------------------

Night of the Full Moon (Wolf Night)

(Friday, October 18th, 2013)

4am: Dog Soldiers

6: Freak Encounters s1e2 "Werewolf"

6.30: Lost Tapes s2e4 "Werewolf"

7: The Real Wolfman

8: MonsterQuest s1e14 "American Werewolf"

9: Fear Itself s1e9 "Something With Bite"

10: Wolf Lake

11: The Grey

1pm: Teen Wolf

2: Teen Wolf

3: Being Human

4: Being Human
5: Werewolves: The Dark Survivors

6: An American Werewolf in London

8: Ginger Snaps

10: Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed

12: Jack & Diane

2am: Ginger Snaps Back

-------------------------

Witch Night

(Saturday, October 19th, 2013)

4am: Suspiria
6: Curse of the Blair Witch

7: Eastwick (2009)
8: Charmed
9: Salem Witch Trials [History Channel]

10: Witchcraft: The Magick Rituals of the Coven

11: Hocus Pocus

1pm: The Secret Circle

2: The Secret Circle

3: The Secret Circle

4: Secret Circles Hidden Prayers

4.30: R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour s1e15 "My Sister the Witch"

5: Witchcraft: Myths & Legends [National Geographic]

6: The Wicker Man

8: The Craft

10: The Woods

12: The Blair Witch Project

2am: Paranormal Activity 3

-------------------------

Vampire Night

(Sunday, October 20th, 2013)

4am: Interview With the Vampire

6: Lost Tapes s2e1 "Vampire"

6.30: Hellsing

7: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

8: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

9: True Blood

10: True Blood

11: Cronos

1pm: Real Vampires... Exposed!

2: Vampire Secrets

3.30: Hellsing

4: The Vampire Diaries

5: Diary of a Vampire: The Legacy of Bram Stoker

6: Stake Land

8: Let the Right One In

10: 30 Days of Night

12: Vampires (2010)

2am: Shadow of the Vampire

----------------------------------

Zombie Night

(Friday, October 25th 2012)

4am: [REC] 3: Genesis

6: Lost Tapes s3e1 "Zombies"

6.30: Unsealed: Conspiracy Files s1e5 "Zombies"

7: Dead Set (part one)
8: Dead Set (part two)
8.30: Dead Set (part three)
9: Dead Set (part four)
9.30: Dead Set (part five)

10: History's Mysteries: Zombies

11: Zombieland

1pm: The Walking Dead
2: The Walking Dead

3: The Walking Dead

4: The Unexplained: Zombies

5: Zombie Apocalypse (Discovery)

6: Night of the Living Dead

8: 28 Days Later

10: 28 Weeks Later

12: [REC]

2am: Diary of the Dead

-------------------------

Partially-Dead Syndrome Awareness Day

(Saturday, October 26th, 2013)

4am: Beneath the Surface

6: Investigating The Haitian Zombie

7: Zombies: A Living History

8.30: Masters of Horror s1e3 "Dance of the Dead"

9.30: Scare Tactics s3e16 "Zombie Town"

10: The Truth Behind Zombies 

11: Shaun of the Dead
1pm: Fear Itself s1e6 "New Year's Day"

2: Beyond Bizarre s1e4 "Goths and Zombies"

3: In The Flesh s1e1

4: In The Flesh s1e2

5: In The Flesh s1e3

6: Warm Bodies

8: Deadgirl

10: Les Revenants

12: Mutants

2am: Perkins' 14

-------------------------

Ghost Night

(Friday, October 27th 2013)

4am: Atrocious

6: Real Scary Stories

6.30: Real Scary Stories

7: American Horror Story

8: American Horror Story

9: American Horror Story

10: My Ghost Story

11: Insidious

1pm: Scariest Places on Earth

2: Celebrity Ghost Stories

3: A Haunting

4: Paranormal Witness

5: Paranormal Witness

6: Poltergeist

8: The Innkeepers

10: Session 9

12: Paranormal Activity

2am: Lake Mungo

-----------------------------------

Possession Night

(Monday, October 28th, 2013)

4am: Exorcismus

6: Exorcism: Driving Out the Devil

7: Is it Real? s1e9 "Exorcism" 

8: A Haunting s1e8 "The Diabolical"

9: Apparitions

10: Apparitions 

11: The Conjuring

1pm: Apparitions

2: The Secret Circle s1e4 "Heather"

3: The Secret Circle s1e5 "Slither"

4: A Haunting s3e24 "The Possessed"

5: A Haunting s2e4 "Where Demons Dwell"

6: The Exorcist

8: Requiem

10: The Possession

12: The Last Exorcism

2am: [REC] 2

-------------------------

Killer Night

(Tuesday, October 29th, 2013)

4am: Penny Dreadful

6: The First 48

7: Snapped

8: Deadly Women

9: American Justice

10: Harper's Island

11: Scream 4

1pm: Stalked: Someone's Watching
2: Unusual Suspects
3: American Horror Story: Asylum

4: American Horror Story: Asylum
5: American Horror Story: Asylum

6: Scream

8: Wilderness Survival for Girls

10: ATM

12: Home Movie

2am: Amber Alert

-------------------------

Devil's Night

(Wednesday, October 30th, 2013)

4am: Night of the Demons (2009)

6: Lost Tapes s2e10 "Dover Demon"

6.30: Lost Tapes s2e7 "Jersey Devil"

7: The Twilight Zone s2e41 "The Howling Man"

8: Scare Tactics s3e1 "Satan's Baby"
8.30: Todd McFarlane's Spawn

9: Todd McFarlane's Spawn

9.30: Todd McFarlane's Spawn

10: Masters of Horror s2e5 "Pro-Life"

11: Devil
1: Todd McFarlane's Spawn
1.30: Hell: The Devil's Domain

3: Unsealed: Conspiracy Files s1e09 "The Anti-Christ"

3.30: Masters of Horror s1e8 "Cigarette Burns"

4.30: Devil Worship: The Rise of Satanism

6: Jacob's Ladder
8: Evil Dead (2013)

10: The House of the Devil

12: Darkest Night

2am: Paranormal Activity 2

-------------------------

All Hallow's Eve (Campfire Night/Anthology Night)

(Thursday, October 31st, 2013)

4am: Trick 'r Treat

6: Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files

7: Tales from the Crypt
7.30: Goosebumps

8: Goosebumps
8.30: The Hunger

9: Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction

10: Real Scary Stories
10.30: The Hunger

11: Trick 'r Treat

1: Beyond Bizarre

2: Urban Legends

3: Masters of Horror s1e9 "Fair Haired Child"
4: Masters of Horror s1e13 "Imprint"
5: The Real History of Halloween

6: Campfire Tales

8: Trick 'r Treat

10: V/H/S 2

12: V/H/S

2: Trick 'r Treat
4am: The Cabin in the Woods

-----------------------------------

Weekday Movie Slots

Movie Slot A (kids)
10am
- 15 slots -

Surviving Crooked Lake
Pan's Labyrinth
Ghost Cat
Let Me In
Wilderness Survival for Girls
Legend
Fun Size
Ginger Snaps
Requiem
The Hole
The Devil's Backbone
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf
My Babysitter's a Vampire
In The Company of Wolves
Halloweentown


Movie Slot B (primetime fun)
7pm
- 15 slots -

Scream
Scream 2
Scream 3
Scream 4
The Mooring
The Cabin in the Woods
Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil
Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed
Incident at Loch Ness
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Abandoned Mine
The Horseman
Bram Stoker's Dracula
The East
Trigger Man

Movie Slot C (scary)
Midnight
- 15 slots -

Atrocious
Blair Witch Project
Paranormal Activity 2
[REC]
The House of the Devil
Grave Encounters
Silent House
Ghostwatch
Dying Breed
Cherry Tree Lane
Another Kind
Midnight Son
Compliance
From Within
The Mist


Movie Slot D (early morning)
5am
- 15 slots -

Deadgirl
Fourth Kind
Hideous
Kissed
Splice
Unearthed
Crazy Eights
Tooth and Nail
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Milo
Battle Royale
Communion
The Woman
Red State
Midnight Meat Train

HALLOWEEN THEMED EPISODES (1pm Mon - Thurs slot)

- 15 slots -
(half hour programs are paired together)

• iCarly s1e7 "iScream on Halloween" & iCarly s6e4 "iHalfoween"
• Roseanne s2e7 "BOO!" & Roseanne s3e7 "Trick or Treat"
• A.N.T. Farm s1e14 "MutANT Farm" & Jessie s2e1 "The Whining"
• Veronica Mars s3e5 "President Evil"
• Sabrina the Teenage Witch s2e7 "A River of Candy Corn Runs Through It" & Eerie, Indiana s1e5 "America's Scariest Home Video"
• Dawson's Creek s3e7 "Escape from Witch Island"
• The Drew Carey Show s2e5 "The Devil, You Say" & George Lopez s3e7 "No One Gets Out Alive"
• Freaks and Geeks s1e3 "Tricks and Treats"
• Wizards of Waverly Place s3e2 "Halloween" & Austin & Ally s2e1 "Costumes & Courage"
• Dawson's Creek s5e9 "Four Scary Stories"
• Good Luck Charlie s2e25 "Scary Had a Little Lamb" & Good Luck Charlie s3e15 "Le Halloween"
• Pretty Little Liars s2e13 "The First Secret"
• Beavis and Butt-head s5e1 "Bungholio: Lord of the Harvest" & Everybody Hates Chris s1e6 "Everybody Hates Halloween"
• Dawson's Creek s1e11 "The Scare"
• The Secret World of Alex Mack s2e4 "The Secret" & Lizzie McGuire "Night of the Day of the Dead"