pj1228

So, I managed to get through season 3 of Interview with the Vampire aka The Vampire Lestat.

SPOILER ALERT

I really don't know what they wanted to accomplish with that. Most of the time I had no clue what was going on and who all those people were. I've read the book ages ago, so my memory of that wasn't any help. Maybe I should read it again or try the German dubbed version. I found the dialogue was often difficult to understand because the underlying music was too loud. I constantly had to adapt the volume with my remote because I didn't want to disturb my neighbours.

Maybe watching frame by frame would yield more details. I'm aware they wanted to show Lestat's perspective who was high on drug-laced blood, particularly in the first episodes. But the result was just painful to watch. I had the impression they put too much emphasis on the songs (most of which were really good) and didn't care about the rest.

The first two seasons were full of atmosphere, this season was completely ripped of that.
I would have spared myself the rest of the season if the main character wasn't so damn good to look at. The acting was good - no complaints there. It's the writing and the execution that was at fault.

In the previous seasons, the character of Daniel Malloy (the interviewer) was one of my favourites. This season, he was simply plain annoying.

Overall, this season felt like a waste of potential. It could have been so much better if they had stuck with the atmosphere of the previous seasons.

There were two FK-related instances, which made me smile though: One episode was set in Toronto. And Lestat hovering above the stage reminded me very much of Nick's gig with the Greatful Dead.

Did anyone else watch it?

Prompts for FKFicFest came out two weeks ago. Check them out.

How is everyone doing?

I haven't written anything yet, but my mind is busy plotting.
Only problem: I picked two prompts and haven't decided yet, which one to prioritise.

Happy New Year everyone!

In 2025 I completed and posted only two stories. That needs to improve this year!

1. Too Old and Powerful is the story I wrote for FKFicFest using the prompt “Found among the second-hand books”. Nick finds a translation of the Abarat. Will he be able to take the cure this time?
Gen, PG13, 8,600 words

2. Blood and Fear is the third part of my ongoing series A New Family, in which Myra and Lacroix start a relationship.
Adult, Lacroix/Myra, 15,239 words


Progress on works in progress:

1. A casefic involving Lacroix. Current status: Still 2,500 words (but I worked out most of the plot in my mind).

2. A sequel to A Shared Void (Lacroix/Natalie). Current status: Progressed from 750 to 970 words.

3. New: Part casefic, part relationship story, in which Janette is forced to move on. Current status: 400 words.

4. A Nick/Janette story with a 15th century flashback to my hometown. Current status: still 1000 words (no progress since 2019).

5. A casefic involving Janette. Current status: still 1000 words (no progress since 2020).

6. The 5th installment of the Relationship series. Current status: still 4 words (just the title - LOL)

I've finished the third installment of the series A New Family, that explores a post-Last Knight relationship between Lacroix and Myra Schanke. Blood and Fear is set about three months after the previous story. Myra and Jenny visit Lacroix in Rome.

I highly recommend reading the two prior stories first or you will be thoroughly confused.

For those who missed Nick in the previous part, he does appear in this one more prominently.

Take a look and let me know what you think.

fkficfest released 12 new Forever Knight stories. I enjoyed them all. It was interesting to see how different people approached 5 different prompts. Despite the differences in preferences that the fandom entails, it was amazing how sometimes stories addressed the same issues.
We got new insights into the bond related vampires share. New cures were explored. Lacroix had quite a bit of cleaning up to do. Crimes needed to be solved. Friendships were put to the test.

My own contribution was a case-fic called Too Old and Powerful, in which Nick gets another chance at a cure.

I saw Nosferatu this week in the movie theatre and thought I'd share my thoughts about it here.

Nosferatu is a remake of the first ever vampire movie, the 1922 silent movie directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (who happened to be born in the same town as I). The silent movie is quite scary for its time, achieving chilly effects by use of shadows and a lovely music score. The new version used similar effects. And if you know the old movie by heart, you recognise similar camera angles.

The story is basically Bram Stoker's Dracula, but since Murnau didn't get the rights to film the novel, he exchanged the names. So we have Count Orlok instead of Dracula. As a nice nod towards Murnau and the producer of the 1922 version Albin Grau, in the new movie, the young man who travels to Transsylvania was called Friedrich and the Professor (the van Helsing equivalent) was called Albin.

The latter was played by Willem Defoe who happened to play the vampire in a funny movie called "Shadow of the Vampire", which tells the ficticious story of filming the 1922 movie Nosferatu. In that movie, the actor Max Schreck who was hired to play Count Orlok is a real vampire and chaos ensues on the set. It's funny to watch. F.W. Murnau is played by John Malkovitch and the producer Albin Grau is played by my favourite German actor Udo Kier.

So back to the new Nosferatu movie, it's a classic horror movie that adequately serves to produce shivers running down your back. The atmosphere and music score are great. Count Orlok is not a handsome vampire though. Personally, I prefer the seductive type that Bela Lugosi established.

I missed the 30th anniversary of my first viewing of a Forever Knight episode. So here's the belated appreciation post.

My first episode was 1966, which aired in Germany on June 27, 1994. At that time I was impressed how that part of German history was handled in a North American TV series. After that episode, I went on vacation, so I recorded the remaining three episodes of the first season and found myself watching them over and over again. Finally the second season aired in Germany. And then they repeated the first season, so that I finally got to see the pilot.

I didn't know there was a third season until I bought the CD in 1996. Then I got access to the internet and could read the plot summaries of season 3. My, was I upset about Schanke. Eventually I met someone who could provide me with tapes from the third season. Internet access also meant that I could download gorgeous pictures. Remember those times when it took 20 min to download a single pic? And internet access opened this wide array of fanfiction. I read everything that was on the lists. On a side note, that really got me fluent in spoken English. In 2003 I started writing myself.

These last 30 years have been a wonderful journey. I met amazing people, travelled to interesting places and broadened my horizon. Thus FK really enriched my life and still continues to do so. :)

Here's some fun with Ger and two other cast members from London Assurance.
Enjoy!

So I watched the second season of Interview with the Vampire. They had split the book in half. First season ended with Louis and Claudia embarking towards Europe after leaving Lestat for dead (they thought). While the first season was interesting and well done, it was rather gory, which made it hard to watch. And I know several people gave up because of that. Apparently the makers took the criticism to heart. Season 2 doesn't have these gory scenes. Once you get through the first episode, things get very interesting from episode 2 on.
There were some really good plot twists, but also some lengths. Although, if you know the book, there are some surprises.

My personal highlight was Ben Daniels as Santiago. He was sooooo bloody brilliant, that he alone is worth watching the show.

I've decided to reread the book since it's been many years since I did that.

fkficfest is currently in the writing phase. I've finished a draft, but I'm not yet completely happy with it. Anyone out there who wants to take a look and tell me what, if anything, is missing?

The story is 4,800 words long, PG-13 and gen. I could provide a word document or upload on google drive.

Thanks!