Sunshine Challenge - Prompt 3
Aug. 3rd, 2019 01:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_rosePrompt 3: Canon Recommendations
I've seen people recommending their lesser known fandoms so I'll do the same, these are all older canon rather than new things.
Sinbad (2013)
If this, like Merlin and Atlantis, had aired on the BBC it would have been popular but Sky's original series are pretty much unknown outside the UK. Also there's the underlying racism in some parts of fandom...
Sadly the show only lasted 1 season with Sky saying the story had been told despite obvious set-up for more and plenty of opportunities for more adventures and backstories.
Sinbad cast an appropriate actor for the titular part and there was one white dude amongst the crew as they went on their adventures. Sinbad faced a temporary curse that he couldn't stay one land for more than day and night, and his wider arc was trying to rescue his brother from the otherworld.
Summary from wikipedia: Sinbad accidentally kills the son of the powerful Lord Akbari in a fist fight. As recompense for the blood debt, Sinbad's brother is killed in front of his eyes. Sinbad escapes, but his grandmother uses a magic talisman to curse him for the death of his brother. The curse prevents Sinbad from staying on land for more than one day; if he tarries the talisman will choke him to death. This prohibition against remaining on land leads to a life of adventure at sea that holds many wonders. Sinbad is unaware that he is still being hunted by Lord Akbari, who does not consider Sinbad's brother's death as sufficient payment of the blood debt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinbad_(TV_series)
Starring Elliot Knight as Sinbad the seies also featured Naveen Andrews (Lost) as Lord Akbari and Elliot Cowan and Estella Daniels (both went on to feature in Da Vinci's Demons) as crew members. Daniels' Nala sadly departed the show to take her place as ruler of her land and was replaced by Tuppence Middleton's white girl 'Tiger' which I personally feel was a huge mistake. Orla Brady's Taryn, a powerful witch serving Akbari while seeking to restore her daughter to life was good and Dimitri Leonidas and Marama Corlett's characters had good backstories; Anwar's parents wanted him to be a physician but he wanted more, Rina was a thief who had to learn to trust. The late Junix Inocian was the Cook who had no other name but was a vital part of the crew and, fans, speculated, linked to the ship itself.
In a particulary good episode, "Old Man of the Sea", Nala comes face to face with Death, delightfully and creepily played by Timothy Spall, one of many familar faces.
Fans of Merlin should be able to embrace the concept and characters and ignore/giggle at the more over the top drama and sometimes dubious cgi.
Sinbad
Other Sky shows I've enjoyed but am not fannish about include medical drama Critical, renewed for season 2 buddy cop drama Bulletproof with Dr Who's Noel Clarke, and Idris Elba's loosely based on his adolesence comedy In The Long Run. Curfew was a lot more miss than hit but that's a meta on its own. A Discovery of Witches is a co-production that has plenty of attention.
Bulletproof
Queen of Swords
I have a love of a lot of Canadian and SyFy shows that few people seem aware of. Killjoys starring Hannah John-Kamen, Dark Matter, The Shannara Chronicles and Outpost (currently airing), along with Murdoch Mysteries, The Frankie Drake Mysteries, and more. Hell I watched most of "Life With Derek" back in the day. I love watching Canadian actors pop up in various shows and made for tv movies :)
Queen of Swords (2000) is one of those shows that isn't Great TV and certainly isn't Imporant TV but one of those where I loved the characters beyond all reason.
The premise is based on a 'female Zorro'. When her father is murdered, Spanish aristocrat Tessa Alvarado travels to California and after a dream featuring her father becomes The Queen of Swords, trying to get justice for the people who are ruled over the wily Colonel Montoya and his sidekick Captain Grisham.
Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_Swords_(TV_series)
The show starred Tessie Santiago as Tessa, with Paulina Galvez as her friend, maidservant, and reader of the Tarot. Highlander's Peter Wingfield played the town's doctor, Robert Helm, who had respect for the Queen but not Tessa (who played the part of a vapid noblewoman in a Scarlet Pimpernel fashion to throw off suspicon) and fellow Highlander Valentine Pelka played Colonel Montoya.
Grisham was played by Anthony Lemke; an American deserter taken under Montoya's wing so long as he's useful. I've followed Lemke's career since and very much enjoyed his part in Joseph Mallozzi's post SG1/SGA sci-fi show "Dark Matter". He's currently featuring in the excellent The Frankie Drake Mysteries which stars Lauren Lee Smith who sets up a female detective agency in 1920's Toronto. Grisham was having an affair with a Don's wife, played by Elsa Pataky.
I have posted one fic for the show (Queen of Fantasies and I did write a few unposted drabbles that I should one day publish to AO3, and 2 novellas never posted publicly (though to my surprise I did post all the chapters of the novellas as private entries to my journal, something I don't remember doing but which accounts for the high tag for this show!) One novella I wrote as a Yule gift for my mum. The other was just for my own enjoyment.
I don't ship the 'right' things for this show; the canon leaned Helm/Queen and the small amount of fic leans Helm/Montoya. I was a Grisham/Queen fangirl and the novella I wrote myself went that way. I also got a lovely Yuletide gift fic that leaned that way, Five of Swords.
The show had an excellent theme song by Jose Feliciano.
The episodes are available on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBYkS93uqZE&list=PLzovi87vDfzI4FrltJpix1GJ6UbkMyoQM
Relic Hunter
Talking about theme songs reminded me that I've written extensively on Tumblr about another Canadian adventure show I loved, Relic Hunter, starring Tia Carrere which had an amazing opening sequence and there was some discussion on how you rarely get long opening sequences these days. I won't rehash it, just link you to the tumblr post: https://meridianrose.tumblr.com/post/152340235356/fandom-rec-relic-hunter-in-the-golden-era-of
I will directly embed here too however that opening credit sequence
I've not written for Relic Hunter but made a graphic and read some fic :)
I've seen people recommending their lesser known fandoms so I'll do the same, these are all older canon rather than new things.
Sinbad (2013)
If this, like Merlin and Atlantis, had aired on the BBC it would have been popular but Sky's original series are pretty much unknown outside the UK. Also there's the underlying racism in some parts of fandom...
Sadly the show only lasted 1 season with Sky saying the story had been told despite obvious set-up for more and plenty of opportunities for more adventures and backstories.
Sinbad cast an appropriate actor for the titular part and there was one white dude amongst the crew as they went on their adventures. Sinbad faced a temporary curse that he couldn't stay one land for more than day and night, and his wider arc was trying to rescue his brother from the otherworld.
Summary from wikipedia: Sinbad accidentally kills the son of the powerful Lord Akbari in a fist fight. As recompense for the blood debt, Sinbad's brother is killed in front of his eyes. Sinbad escapes, but his grandmother uses a magic talisman to curse him for the death of his brother. The curse prevents Sinbad from staying on land for more than one day; if he tarries the talisman will choke him to death. This prohibition against remaining on land leads to a life of adventure at sea that holds many wonders. Sinbad is unaware that he is still being hunted by Lord Akbari, who does not consider Sinbad's brother's death as sufficient payment of the blood debt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinbad_(TV_series)
Starring Elliot Knight as Sinbad the seies also featured Naveen Andrews (Lost) as Lord Akbari and Elliot Cowan and Estella Daniels (both went on to feature in Da Vinci's Demons) as crew members. Daniels' Nala sadly departed the show to take her place as ruler of her land and was replaced by Tuppence Middleton's white girl 'Tiger' which I personally feel was a huge mistake. Orla Brady's Taryn, a powerful witch serving Akbari while seeking to restore her daughter to life was good and Dimitri Leonidas and Marama Corlett's characters had good backstories; Anwar's parents wanted him to be a physician but he wanted more, Rina was a thief who had to learn to trust. The late Junix Inocian was the Cook who had no other name but was a vital part of the crew and, fans, speculated, linked to the ship itself.
In a particulary good episode, "Old Man of the Sea", Nala comes face to face with Death, delightfully and creepily played by Timothy Spall, one of many familar faces.
Fans of Merlin should be able to embrace the concept and characters and ignore/giggle at the more over the top drama and sometimes dubious cgi.
Sinbad
Other Sky shows I've enjoyed but am not fannish about include medical drama Critical, renewed for season 2 buddy cop drama Bulletproof with Dr Who's Noel Clarke, and Idris Elba's loosely based on his adolesence comedy In The Long Run. Curfew was a lot more miss than hit but that's a meta on its own. A Discovery of Witches is a co-production that has plenty of attention.
Bulletproof
Queen of Swords
I have a love of a lot of Canadian and SyFy shows that few people seem aware of. Killjoys starring Hannah John-Kamen, Dark Matter, The Shannara Chronicles and Outpost (currently airing), along with Murdoch Mysteries, The Frankie Drake Mysteries, and more. Hell I watched most of "Life With Derek" back in the day. I love watching Canadian actors pop up in various shows and made for tv movies :)
Queen of Swords (2000) is one of those shows that isn't Great TV and certainly isn't Imporant TV but one of those where I loved the characters beyond all reason.
The premise is based on a 'female Zorro'. When her father is murdered, Spanish aristocrat Tessa Alvarado travels to California and after a dream featuring her father becomes The Queen of Swords, trying to get justice for the people who are ruled over the wily Colonel Montoya and his sidekick Captain Grisham.
Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_Swords_(TV_series)
The show starred Tessie Santiago as Tessa, with Paulina Galvez as her friend, maidservant, and reader of the Tarot. Highlander's Peter Wingfield played the town's doctor, Robert Helm, who had respect for the Queen but not Tessa (who played the part of a vapid noblewoman in a Scarlet Pimpernel fashion to throw off suspicon) and fellow Highlander Valentine Pelka played Colonel Montoya.
Grisham was played by Anthony Lemke; an American deserter taken under Montoya's wing so long as he's useful. I've followed Lemke's career since and very much enjoyed his part in Joseph Mallozzi's post SG1/SGA sci-fi show "Dark Matter". He's currently featuring in the excellent The Frankie Drake Mysteries which stars Lauren Lee Smith who sets up a female detective agency in 1920's Toronto. Grisham was having an affair with a Don's wife, played by Elsa Pataky.
I have posted one fic for the show (Queen of Fantasies and I did write a few unposted drabbles that I should one day publish to AO3, and 2 novellas never posted publicly (though to my surprise I did post all the chapters of the novellas as private entries to my journal, something I don't remember doing but which accounts for the high tag for this show!) One novella I wrote as a Yule gift for my mum. The other was just for my own enjoyment.
I don't ship the 'right' things for this show; the canon leaned Helm/Queen and the small amount of fic leans Helm/Montoya. I was a Grisham/Queen fangirl and the novella I wrote myself went that way. I also got a lovely Yuletide gift fic that leaned that way, Five of Swords.
The show had an excellent theme song by Jose Feliciano.
The episodes are available on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBYkS93uqZE&list=PLzovi87vDfzI4FrltJpix1GJ6UbkMyoQM
Relic Hunter
Talking about theme songs reminded me that I've written extensively on Tumblr about another Canadian adventure show I loved, Relic Hunter, starring Tia Carrere which had an amazing opening sequence and there was some discussion on how you rarely get long opening sequences these days. I won't rehash it, just link you to the tumblr post: https://meridianrose.tumblr.com/post/152340235356/fandom-rec-relic-hunter-in-the-golden-era-of
I will directly embed here too however that opening credit sequence
I've not written for Relic Hunter but made a graphic and read some fic :)
no subject
Date: 2019-08-03 01:06 pm (UTC)I’ve not seen the other shows, I’ll have to look out for them!
no subject
Date: 2019-08-12 03:23 pm (UTC)Sunshine Challenge
Date: 2019-08-03 04:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-03 01:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-12 03:25 pm (UTC)I think there was another shower scene too. PG show so you never see much but still it's there :)
no subject
Date: 2019-08-18 03:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-04 07:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-12 03:28 pm (UTC)I think when I rewatch, now my own interest in Tarot has developed, I might side-eye those scenes a bit but it's been too long to remember. I know when I wrote the novella I had a whole big scene about the Tarot and needing to interpret broadly.
no subject
Date: 2019-08-04 11:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-12 03:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-06 04:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-12 03:29 pm (UTC)QoS was one we found by accident on a cable channel but seeing Wingfield was an initial draw that made me keep watching :)
no subject
Date: 2019-08-06 04:25 pm (UTC)Thank you!
no subject
Date: 2019-08-12 03:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-07 09:18 pm (UTC)Came to it from Highlander fandom, because: Valentine Pelka + Peter Wingfield. XD
no subject
Date: 2019-08-12 03:31 pm (UTC)It's a must for Highlander fans! That's probably part of the reason Montoya/Helm is the big ship of course :)
no subject
Date: 2019-08-15 06:36 pm (UTC)