Day: December 7, 2014

The Strain – Season 1

- Roshan

The Strain is a vampire / supernatural horror drama tv series that debut in the summer and concluded it’s 13 episode first season. The show revolves around an old vampire who comes to New York City from Europe and unleashes his virus like vampirism with the help of a rich & powerful businessman who is ill and is promised eternal life and vigour in return. A small group of heroes led by a couple of scientists from the CDC, an exterminator, a hacker and an elderly pawn shop owner & holocaust survivor who fought the master vampire a couple of times back in Europe, seek to stop the spread of this disease that could wipe out humanity.

The series stars Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Mía Maestro, Kevin Durand, Jonathan Hyde, Richard Sammel, Sean Astin, Ruta Gedmintas, Ben Hyland, Natalie Brown & Miguel Gomez. Leslie Hope, Roger Cross, Stephen McHattie, Adriana Barazza & Inga Cadrenal form part of a large supporting cast. It was created by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, based on their novel trilogy of the same name. Carlton Cuse serves as executive producer and showrunner. Del Toro and Hogan wrote the pilot episode, “Night Zero”, which del Toro directed.

The series starts off with a plane landing in NYC with all the lights off and the doors sealed Epidemiologist Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his team are sent to investigate. On board they find 206 corpses and four survivors. The survivors are quarantined until answers can be reached but with political pressure they are left to go home as they seem to be fine, despite the concerns of Eph and his team – Dr. Nora Martinez & Jim Kent, a CDC administrator. On the same plan a large box with a coffin inside is tagged to leave the airport with the help of Kent, as former gang banger just out of jail Gus drives it out to delivers it to the waiting hands of Thomas Eichhorst, an undead vampire acolyte of the Master, who is inside the coffin. Both Kent & Gus are unwitting accomplices – Gus is in it for the cash and Kent is promised that his wife, who suffers from cancer, will be moved to the head of the list for a new treatment. The four survivors start deteriorating in health and start to lose their hair and in case of the man, his penis, as they slowly convert to become vampires. The dead also revive and become vampires spreading out into the city, either killing and/or infecting more people during the night time.

Eldritch Palmer, an elderly billionaire invalid, is the financial muscle behind the whole process as his money is used to get the Master’s plan in place with Einchhorst doing most of the administration. An elder pawnshop owner, Professor Abraham Setrakian who battled the former Nazi general and saw the Master in action while in a concentration camp joins Eh, Nora and Jim providing them with knowledge and some weapons to fight the vampires. Setrakaian’s wife and daughter were converted to vampires long ago and he had to kill them so his beef with Einchhorst and the Master is personal. Also joining the fight is Vasiliy Fet, a once-solitary rat exterminator of Ukrainian descent and Dutch Velders, an internet hacker hired by Palmer to control the information from going out via news sites, who is miffed that she was a pawn in an evil scheme. Palmer is finally bitten by the Master and gains his health and strength but hasn’t changed completed. As the vampires keep infecting people, Eph’s ex-wife and mother to their son Zack, is also transformed. Adding to the mix is a group of vampires, led by Mr. Quinlan, the head of a band of undead hunters who are sent to destroy the vampire outbreak, who recruit Gus to join them.

Rather good series and very well done on the budget of a television show. It got good rating despite some slow movement initially but things picked up towards the end. I’d rate it high and I can’t for next season, which will also be 13 episodes – I think this one needs to be 20 plus.

Arsenal 2 Stoke City 3

- Roshan

Stoke scored three first-half goals to again stun Arsenal who staged a brilliant yet unsuccessful fightback at the Britannia Stadium. A pathetic first half saw Arsenal come up short against Stoke City, who always seems to get the better of us. Stoke City! This is not Chelsea, nor Liverpool, not Man City, nor Man Utd, nor Tottenham or even Everton. Fuck not even Newcastle United! But Stoke City. And congratulations to them because for 60 minutes they looked good enough to thrash us. 4-0, 5-0 or even 6-0 thumping looked quite likely to happen. Peter Crouch slotted in after only 19 seconds, before Bojan sidefooted in the second and Jon Walters crashed in to make it 3-0 on the stroke of half-time. And the visitors were lucky not go 4-0 down when Bojan cut inside before firing past Damian Martinez. The Spaniard and his team-mates ran off celebrating, but the goal was overruled as a result of Mame Biram Diouf being offside.

Santi Cazorla scored from the spot and Aaron Ramsey volleyed in from a corner soon after to give the Gunners hope. However, Calum Chambers was shown a second yellow late on as Stoke held on. Arsenal’s first-half defensive display was as calamitous as those against Liverpool. and Chelsea last season. It all started to go wrong after just 19 seconds when Steven N’Zonzi whipped in a cross from the right and found Crouch, who steadied himself before placing his shot past Martinez. Olivier Giroud should have equalised with a header from four yards, and both he and his team were punished for the miss when ex-Barcelona player Bojan – one of the day’s best performers – opened up his foot to convert Walters’ cross. Sanchez had a good run profiting from a mistake at the back but hit the post – had that gone it, it would surely have been Arsenal’s game. Arsenal continued pressing to find that all-important equaliser, but their hopes of salvaging a point were rocked when Chambers was shown a second yellow for pulling back Bojan. Stoke held on and won all 3 points.

Resting Koscienly who is not completely fit and with Monreal injured, Wenger played Bellerin at RB with Chambers in CB partnering Per – our defense looked weaker than it has for the longest time. Arsenal were simply out-muscled by a more physical side. Giroud looked out of it, Alexis is showing signs of being burned out and his frustration shows. Podolski was brought on for 30 minutes or so and Campbell was brought on only in injury time!!! We have a lot of work to do; squad needs to be reinforced (I would sell a couple of these players) and new players need to be brought in that can play physically as well as they can play skillfully. Wenger is so beyond redemption, just fucking resign at the end of the season you moron.