Saying Good-bye to Hank Moody, Of Penny Dreadful, Tyrant and more

It's hard to believe it, but Californication has come to an end, after seven seasons. So now it's time to bid a

fond farewell to Hank Moody. While I will miss him, and Charlie, I have to admit that the show pretty much ran its course, and it was time. That being said, it was an interesting last season. ****SPOILERS AHEAD*** Hank discovers that he is a father of a son he never knew existed - a rather backward, randy young man by the name of Levon, whose mother is Julia, who Hank impregnated before he ever knocked up Karen, apparently. Which didn't sit all that well with Karen when she found out. To say Levon has issues would be an understatement. At the beginning of the season, Hank throws his heart at Karen, only to have it thrown back at him. Not quite the scenario he pictured. Becca is seeing the world with a male friend, and frankly I was really glad not to have to deal with her, she got on my nerves.

In this last season, Hank got a job as a writer on a TV show - Santa Monica Cop - whose star is an utter ass, and his producer is Rick Rath, played by Michael Imperioli, whom I first met on Chopped. The season follows, among other things, Hank's work on the show, and his developing relationship with Levon, whom he gets a job as a production assistant. He also provides a prostitute to pop his cherry, which doesn't sit too well with either Julia or Karen. Charlie and Marcy are struggling to make ends meet, and when Marcy's ex, Stu, makes an indecent proposal, they can't help but listen.


In helping Levon deal with his life, Hank is forced to grow up himself, and to take a good hard look at himself, who he is and what he wants. Although the various threads are given endings, there is no final happily ever after, because life goes on, even beyond what we see. We can only hope for the best for Hank and Karen and all the rest.

Showtime came up with a new series (the first season of which is now done) called Penny Dreadful. It takes

place in Victorian England, and some of the characters are familiar to us, lifted from the pages of well-known works of literature set during that time. Such as Dr. Victor Frankenstein and his creature. Wealthy profligate Dorian Gray. Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) is a young woman of extraordinary psychic abilities. Her patron is Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton). His daughter is missing, held by a fiend, their goal is to find her. Which is why Sir Malcolm has assembled his little group. His daughter's name is Mina, whom you may remember from the novel Dracula. Josh Hartness plays an American Wild West sharpshooter by the name of Ethan Chandler, and Billie Piper (Rose Tyler, from Doctor Who) is a prostitute named Broana.

I wasn't sure if I would like this or not, but decided to give it a try. I was more than pleased with what I saw, so much I watched the entire first season. The writing is imaginative and creative, the acting well done, the stories very interesting. Even thought they took my favorite, Dracula, and twisted it a bit, I didn't mind, as it was well done. ****SPOILER ALERT** I won't give too much away, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a particularly hot and intimate encounter between Dorian Gray and Ethan Chandler that I totally didn't see coming. I'm looking forward to next season.

Tyrant just began a couple of weeks ago on F/X. I have a love/hate relationship with that channel. I love that they brought me Justified and American Horror Story. I hate that they took away Terriers and Lights Out. Tyrant concerns an American pediatrician named Barry Al Fayeed, whose father is the king of an Arab nation called Abuddin. Barry hasn't been back home in twenty years, but he is persuaded to return by his wife to attend the wedding of his nephew. **SPOILERS AHEAD** They take their teen-age son and daughter with them, despite Barry's misgivings about going at all. While there, Barry's father dies of a stroke, and his brother, Jamal, who is a real pig, is in an accident (deliberately caused) and Barry has little choice but to remain in the country.

I've enjoyed the first two episodes. I like Barry and hate his brother Jamal. I really dislike Barry's wife, who

is constantly telling him how to feel, when she has no idea of the reality of the situation. His children are rather obnoxious, particularly the son, who has been hitting on one of the security guards at the palace. He questions him as to his family, his biggest concern being that they aren't related. It's easy to see that these two will end up in bed together at some point. I look forward to seeing how this develops in future episodes.

We've been watching the third season of Game of Thrones. It gets a little confusing, since I'm ahead in the books, having read the first four volumes. Season 3 only covers half of book 3. Actually, we only have one more disk left in the season, the one containing the infamous Red Wedding. ***SPOILERS*** It's hard not to hate Joffrey, in fact he makes it easy. One of the scenes that is indelibly etched on my mind concerns a woman who is an associate of Littlefinger, but a spy for Varys. Littlefinger is a very dangerous man. When he discovers her duplicity, he presents her to someone who has an unusual use for her, to Vary's dismay. And in the closing scenes of that episode we see her being used as a human target for Joffrey and his new crossbow - a chilling scene indeed. One of my favorite scenes was when Daenyris bought her army, the Unsullied. The pig of a man whom she was dealing with, thinking she did not speak Valyrian, insulted her which way he could, belittling her at every turn. But she got the last laugh when she bought every one of his Unsullied and turned them against him - and had her dragon roast him. Great scene! There is a touching scene with Dany and Khal Drogo and their unborn child.

Sansa is saved from marrying Joffrey by Maergery Tyrell. When pressed by Maergery's grandmother

(played by Diana Rigg), Sansa confesses to Joffrey's cruelty. That doesn't faze the Tyrells, though, and Sansa is promised Loras' hand. However, things never seem to work out for her. Tywin Lannister, who has taken Tyrion's position as Hand of the King, wants Loras for Cersei (who is none too keen on the idea), and instead, weds Sansa to Tyrion, expecting him to be the heir to Winterfell thus. Despite his father's wish that he pop a bun in his new wife's oven posthaste, Tyrion is a gentleman and tells her he will wait for her to want him.

He might be waiting a while.

I really despise the Red Priestress, and Stannis Barratheon is a weakling. The Onion Knight, Sir Davos, would make a better king. One thing that they have changed from the books regards Arya's friend Gendry. We knew he was Robert's bastard, and he is taken prisoner by the Red Priestess because of her need for royal blood. I'm waiting to see what Stannis will do, since Gendry is the rightful heir to the throne. Last seen, Arya is riding with Sandor Clegane, who promised to take her to the Twins, where Robb's uncle Brynden is to wed a Frey daughter (Robb should have really known better, instead of thinking with his dick and insulting the Freys).

I loved the relationship between Arya and Jaqen H'gar (not to mention he's really easy on the eyes, and

although he's no longer in GoT, he is on a new series, Crossing Lines, which should be coming back for a second season). They also changed Tyrion's battle wound. In the book, he loses his nose and part of his lip, and has a terrible scar, in the series, just the scar, and it's not even that bad. He is my favorite character. All I can say is GRR better let him live! I have come to like Jaime Lannister more and more as the series goes on and his character develops from the shallow young man he began as, even if he has shit for taste in women. Cersei is, and always will be a bitch, and deserve whatever she gets. Not sure what it is, but I hope it's unpleasant.




New seasons of Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex and The Bridge are starting soon. I'm thinking of watching Face Off, I keep hearing I'd like it. Might look into Seven Deadly Sins, also on Showtime, I think.

Just started watching the sixth season of True Blood. I know the seventh is the last. I hope they wrap things up in a satisfactory manner. More on that later, as well as my cooking shows, and watching re-runs of Dragnet every night.

Have a great day!

Even Bad Boys Face Consequences

Look at that face. How can you say no to it? Most women can't. Maybe that's his problem.  For those of you who don't recognize him, that is Hank Moody, author, bad boy and all around sexy guy - the foundation upon which Californication is built, the sexy comedy on Showtime now in its fourth season.

Hank Moody is the ultimate badboy. He does what he wants when he wants to whom he wants. He's a perpetual Peter Pan who's never grown up and doesn't plan to. Why should he, when his extended childhood is just too much fun? He's never even held an actual job in his life, as he admitted in this week's episode - he's never had a boss, his admission rather blowing his attorney's mind.  Oh, if you haven't seen this week's episode, then possible spoilers ahead.

Let's show him in action now:

He's irreverent, irresponsible, and wickedly funny.  Sexy as all get out too.  I think he must have a clause in his contract (David Duchovny, that is, the actual actor that plays the character) that he gets a partial nude scene in every episode.  Not that I'm complaining, mind you, it works for me. This week was with her attorney. We got to meet her boss this week, and he insisted on taking Hank to the golf course. Watching Hank in a yellow golf shirt was priceless - and what he did on that course will have you rolling and wiping your eyes. (Not giving everything away, don't worry).

But even the biggest bad boy has to face the consequences of his actions. Life can't be too easy for them, and Hank is no exception. If  you've been following the show from the beginning, you know that he hooked up with a girl at one of his book signings, took her to bed, and while they were fucking, she punched him - twice. Imagine his surprise to later find out she was only sixteen.  She did seem a lot older and she never said a word. Not only that but her dad was, at the time, engaged to Hank's ex.  Damn touchy situation. Naturally he didn't confess to what happened, but perhaps he should have, cause the truth has a way of coming out, and the longer delayed it is in that coming, the uglier it gets. But before it does, Hank polishes his dormant writing skills and actually pens a novel - a thinly veiled autobiographical novel of the cathartic type about what happened, which he titles Fucking and Punching. The young lady in question, whose name is Mia and is played by Madeline Zima (who also appears in the last season of Heroes as Clare's roommate), spots the manuscript and steals it, and then has the temerity to find an agent (Hank's agent Charlie Runkle's ex-assistant, but that's a whole other story there) and have it published under her name, to great literary acclaim. Shit happens and the truth does come out, but with a price - Hank, who has reconnected with his lady love, loses her and his daughter too.  And oh, he gets arrested for statutory.

Other actions bring other consequences. His relationship with his daughter Becca is an emotional rollercoaster. Becca is a damned emo Goth girl who looks like she could happily hang out with Lydia Dietz of Beetlejuice. At times she is more mature than her father, but at other times I just want to punch her, especially for that doom and gloom attitude of hers. Negativity breeds negativity, sweetie! Just saying!  Hank's ex, Karen, is actually a gorgeous woman, and very cool. She does put up with a lot from him, and he does put her through hell.  He doesn't seem able to be faithful. He needs to learn to keep it in his shorts. But that's part of his bad boy charm, right? And how he does charm the ladies, he really does.

His agent, Charlie, is cute too - not quite as charming, but he has his own sweet personality (although he has moments when he is a major tool himself). Let's look at Charlie.

He's adorable! In the first season, he got fired from the agency he worked for - they caught him on camera too many times whacking off in his office. Later he has a dom/sub relationship with his assistant (the one who later represents Mia) and at one point he falls in love with a porn star of the film he produces - Vagina Town. He goes to work at another agency where his boss, superbly played by Kathleen Turner, demands he service her!  Charlie is a bad boy too, just not in the same league as Hank - and with more and worse consequences.

Bad boys - how we love them. But if  you don't give them consequences, they become one dimensional and boring. No one is perfect. No one is all bad either. A touch of humanity goes a long way.

Who are your favorite bad boys and why?  Tell me, I'd love to hear!