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Original Air Date: Friday February 3, 2012
Season 7, Episode 13

After an excruciatingly long 2 weeks without any new episodes of Supernatural, we are gifted a “monster-of-the-week” storyline, with sprinkles of the emotional trauma the boys feel over the loss of Bobby.

If You Wannabe My Lover

As Sam tries to overlook Dean’s excessive drinking, he has them on the trail of a peculiar new case. Four men in one area have been brutally hacked to death during the last two weeks. In all cases the attractive men in their 30’s have had their hands and feet chopped off while still alive, and the marking of an ancient symbol carved into their chest with a knife. All men have been thrown through walls. Sam and Dean pose as F.B.I. detectives and begin to investigate.

The boys head to the morgue where one of the victims is being examined and they question the coroner. He tells them that the perpetrator’s DNA is of unknown origin. The coroner then introduces them to the lead detective, Charlene Penn. Sam decides to go to their motel room to see what he can find out on the internet. Dean decides to “meet the locals” and see what he can dig up at a local bar called The Cobalt Room. While at this bar, Dean meets an attractive woman named Lydia who believes Dean’s cover that he is an investment banker. They quickly wind up at her house and engage in a lust-fueled frenzy of wild sex. Simultaneously, while Dean is chomping at his sexual bits, another victim named Jerry gets chopped to bits, and Sam and Dean proceed to investigate the next morning. On the scene of the latest crime, Jerry’s neighbor informs Sam that a few days prior to the murder Jerry had a one-night fling and his wife left him.

Girl Power

Dean constantly takes a few swigs from Bobby’s old flask that he holds onto, but he realizes that he left it at Lydia’s house. Dean calls Lydia to see if she has the flask, but says she hasn’t seen it and seems completely disinterested in talking to Dean at all. We then see that she looks to be 9 months pregnant. A far cry from the non-pregnant body she had only hours ago. Without the knowledge that Bobby used to possess, the boys swing by a local college’s anthropology department. They meet Professor Morrison and convince him with bribes to look into what the symbol carved into the victims’ chests mean.

Being completely ignored by a woman is a first for Dean, so he shows up the next day at Lydia’s house looking for Bobby’s flask. Little did Dean know that only hours prior to his arrival, she gave birth to a baby girl named Emma. The midwives and witnesses that were present during the birth appear to be an all-female tribe that have complete control and authority over all of the women in the tribe. Lydia tells Dean that she found his flask and invites him in while she retrieves it. Dean sees that there is about a 6 month old baby in the room that wasn’t there just a few days ago. When Lydia comes back with the flask, he overhears the baby having a fully intelligent conversation with Lydia. Dean tells Lydia goodbye, but then stakes her out in his car. A short time later, one of the tribal leaders arrives and waits for Emma to get her suitcase and leave her mom. This time “baby” Emma looks to be about 5 years old. Dean then takes off completely perplexed.

Dean meets Sam at the local college to hear Professor Morrison’s findings. He reveals that it is associated with the Greek Pantheon and the goddess Harmonia. The ancient myth has to do with the Amazon women that have their own tribe and only need men to mate every two years. Dean about craps his pants when he realizes that he may have fathered a child. The guys head to Bobby’s old place to search for something that will illuminate how to kill an Amazon. While they are there, Dean is stunned that a paper had just moved. He picks up the paper and gives it to Sam  to take to Professor Morrison for analysis since it is in ancient Greek language. Dean is ordered to stay safe in the motel since they are now putting together that he may be the next victim.

Morrison describes that the Amazon women have a rite of passage into the tribe and that is for the daughter to kill her own father. Sam is alarmed and rushes out to tell Dean. He is stopped by Det. Charlene Penn. She attacks Sam and reveals that she is an Amazon woman. Sam ends up shooting her enough for him to escape unharmed.

Back at the motel, Dean hears a knock at his door, expecting it to be Lydia. He cautiously opens the door and sees a 16 year old girl that introduces herself as Emma. She announces that he is her dad. He lets her come in, and just as soon as he turns his back on her, she tries to pull a knife on him. Luckily Sam arrives just in time to shoot Emma dead. Dean is visibly upset due to the guilt that Emma was his child.

Quotable Quotes:

Dean to Sam: “I have been eating at the buffet of strange all afternoon.”

Dean to Sam: “This morning Emma was a baby. By sunset she’s Hannah Montana….early years.”

Dean to Sam: “Yeah- news flash, pal…you’re just as screwed up as I am. Just…bigger.”
Sam to Dean: “What?”
Dean to Sam: “I don’t know.”

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Love Supernatural?  Come join the discussion in our Supernatural Group on DarkMediaCity, a free social network for those who like it Dark.  Whether it be literature or film, music or art, horror or sci-fi, paranormal romance or paranormal investigation, we’ve got something for you.  www.DarkMediaCity.com

Promotional photographs courtesy of Warner Brothers and The CW

Since that time, DC has left the universe of Watchmen alone; the fans have always set it apart, and Moore himself has insisted on its singularity.

However, just this week, The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski about his involvement in DC’s comic book mini-series, Before Watchmen, which will serve as a prequel to the original work.

“Anyone who sets foot into the Watchmen universe and isn’t just a little nervous should be given a few days of electroshock therapy,” Straczynski told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’ve always considered Watchmen to be one of the best graphic novels ever written, and when it came out back in 1986 I was as blown away as everyone else. Just masterful.”

He continued, “The thing is, though, writers are always being asked to play in amazing universes created by other people, and you can’t let that scare you.  If Darren Aronofsky can plan for a Noah’s Ark movie, Steven Spielberg can consider tackling the story of Moses, and Mel Gibson can do another Bible movie, I think it’s safe to say that the Watchmen universe is fair game, provided that you approach the work with clean hands and good intent.”

Before Watchmen is slated to begin telling brand new backstories about its well-known characters, such as Night-Owl and Doctor Manhattan, this summer.

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]

Photograph courtesy of DC Comics

The Vampire Diaries | 03×13 – Bringing Out the Dead
Original Air Date: February 2^nd–2012

Overview: Klaus hosts a dinner party with Damon, Stefan and Elijah when an unexpected guest arrives; Sheriff Forbes shares upsetting news with Alaric and Elena about a weapon used in a murder. Caroline’s father struggles with the idea of living forever as the one thing he despises most in the world…

[Visit DarkMedia.com for the full recap]

The Secret Circle | 01×13 Medallion
Original Air Date: February 2^nd–2012

Overview: Cassie receives a warning about the return of the witch hunters, and asks for the Circle’s help. Later, her true feelings for Adam and Jake surface at a birthday party; and Faye and Melissa take their powers to a frightening new level.

Favourite Quote:  “I accept how you are, I just don’t accept you are willing to be defined by dark magic.  I think you are much more than that.”  –Adam

Likes:

•  The witty teasing between Jake and Faye after running into each other on the street
• Ethan and Diana team up to throw Adam a surprise birthday party but it’s blown before it gets into planning — when Adam’s shows up
• Cassie and Jake working together to understand the powers of the medallion, and Jake tackles Cassie to get her to move, and Adam walks in to find them on the floor together
• They go to Lucy to find out more about the medallion; that it needs to be unlocked and could be used for good — to protect the circle
• Delissa – love it, new ship and super duo of Diana and Melissa but then never take things seriously when ‘devil’s spirit’ is involved
• Ethan getting all emotional during Adam’s birthday toast, which gets an awkward silence until Diana gives her toast — really giving an insight to their friendship and relationship
• Cassie and Adam’s interaction at the birthday party (but really could do without the jealousy), and giving her back the medallion
• Lucy stabbing Dawn after being invited into Dawn’s house – didn’t see that coming
• Cassie remembering how to use the medallion in order to stop it from taking away the Circle’s magic. And using it, along with finding out her father really is still alive
• Charles using the crystal on Dawn to bring her back to life
• All the cookies falling out of the cupboard and putting a smile on Adam’s face
• Lucy getting her throat cut by one of the witch hunters for her ‘failure’

Dislikes:

• Adam being upset about Cassie and Jake going to dig up her father’s grave to see if he’s really dead – can’t play the protective boyfriend when you aren’t
• Faye and her new found ‘devil’s spirit’ to liven up the party – really? Drugs? Next you’ll be saying that they are herbal and medicinal
• Dawn showing up to Lucy’s hotel room after Jake and Cassie, to confront the past again a bit and about the crystals
• The medallion goes missing from the hiding stop in the fireplace mantel
• Melissa all out of it and Faye well just being Faye at the party – remember kids drugs are bad
• Charles talking to Ethan and slipping something into his drink – for a bartender he doesn’t remember rule one: never leave your drink unattended even for a moment
• Callum showing up to the party with more ‘supplies’ and stirring the pot a little with Jake
• The silence from Jake when Cassie asked if he’s ever murdered a witch
• Cassie admitting that Adam was right about Jake
• Charles stealing the crystal from Ethan
• Lucy working with the witch hunters in order to take the magic from the circle
• Melissa meeting up with Callum for more ‘devil’s spirit’ while Jake and Faye rekindle and old flame

WTF:

• A woman who was the girl telling Cassie to get out of the boat house in Jake’s memory is now remembering her and came to find her – that’s something new

Next Episode:  February 9^th –2012 (Valentine)

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Love The Secret Circle?  Come join the discussion in our Secret Circle Group on DarkMediaCity, a free social network for those who like it Dark.  Whether it be literature or film, music or art, horror or sci-fi, paranormal romance or paranormal investigation, we’ve got something for you.  www.DarkMediaCity.com

Original Air Date on SyFy: Monday January 30, 2012
Season 1 Episode 3

Last week ended with some sexual healing that Dyson administers to Bo, and that is right where we open up this week. Bo wakes up from an exhaustive night of fornicating, completely relieved that Dyson is still alive. She admits to the weary Dyson that no lover has ever survived the strokes from her heavy petting. He laughs it off, but seems rather proud of his mission accomplished. Ever the kleptomaniac. Kenzi tries to steal a glance at Dyson’s manly goods when she sees him in the morning. After Dyson takes off, Kenzi encourages Bo to consider dating Dyson. Without too much hesitation, Bo agrees to approach Dyson about this. Bo then finds a pamphlet on their table titled, “Bo’s Private Investigation Services.” Clearly not amused, Bo is apprehensive about Kenzi’s idea to start up a private investigation business for cases considered unbelievable or too mysterious for local police. Bo decides to give a shot after Kenzi tells her that they already have a bite.

Spooky Files

Bo and Kenzi meet up with their client, a mother of a missing 18 year old college girl named Gina. She tells them that the college campus police refuse to investigate the disappearance of her daughter, and that the local police won’t take action soon enough. She clues them in about how Gina was pledging to become a Kappa sorority sister. Briefed with these details, Bo makes her way to Dyson’s police station and digs for information about Locksley College. Dyson is able to pull a “secret” file about an incident that occurred ten years ago on campus. A student had been completely hollowed out all organs and muscle tissue without a single incision. Bo charms Dyson into making arrangements for her to work as campus security and to make certain Kenzi goes undercover as a student.

Pretty in Pink

Bo presents Kenzi with a pink and preppy wardrobe that any college sorority sister would gush over. Completely appalled by the clothing, Kenzi conforms and sets forth to be accepted by the Kappa sorority. She is welcomed in with warm and fuzzy hugs. Kenzi moves into Gina’s room, but is unable to find any helpful clues to the whereabouts of Gina. The only thing she is able to find out is that Locksley College dean, Peretti, is a former Kappa house sister. She shares this tidbit of information with Bo upon returning from a wild Kappa house party.

Charm School

Bo takes on the duties of an official campus security officer. She is taken under the wing of security officer Wayne who tells her that reports of missing students are generally dismissed due to the drop-outs and weekend benders. He also discloses that Dean Peretti discourages these reports because it scares off large donations to the school because of bad publicity. Bo decides to pay Dean Peretti a personal visit. She informs Dean Peretti that she fully intends to start a voluntary investigation into finding Gina. Dean Peretti vehemently objects this idea, and Bo is force to use her charm to withdraw information from her. As Bo caresses her, Peretti divulges that an eyewitness saw Gina running from something in the nearby campus forest the night she went missing. Bo goes for a walk into the wooded area adjacent to the campus and finds Gina’s necklace near a huge hole. She gathers some old maps of the college campus and is amazed to find that there are several tunnels and caves that run directly underneath it.

Bo touches base with Dyson and shares that she intends to search underground later that evening. Dyson is concerned and requests that she call him at 8pm that night to let him know that she is safe. As Bo wanders into the forest that night to find the tunnels, Wayne catches up to her and tazes her. Kenzi happens to be on the phone with Bo when she is tased and quickly seeks out help from Dyson. The two of them head to the forest and Dyson transforms into a wolf in front of Kenzi.

Bo wakes up in an underground lair with a huge pond of bright green water. Wayne fesses up to kidnapping several students since 1942 when he came across this lair. He has been feeding an Underfae that lives in this underground pond with students, and reaps the rewards by drinking the liquid the Fae stews in because it keeps him young. The chained up Underfae emerges from the water and goes after Gina who is just on the other side of the pond from Bo. Bo fights the Underfae called a Kappa, but nearly gets choked to death until Dyson comes to her rescue.  Gina is reunited with her grateful mother and Bo and Kenzi pat each other on the back.

Careless Whispers

Dyson had been approached by Trick earlier that day to discourage him from “getting feelings” for Bo. It would seem that Trick may know more about Bo’s past and may have an idea what kind of issues they all might have if any of them become attached to Bo. Loyal to a fault, Dyson decides to abide.

Bo gets the gumption to locate Dyson at The Dal and talk to him about pursuing an actual relationship with each other. She finds him there in a back room making out with one of the waitresses. Dyson runs after a distraught Bo, and sadly tells her that he is basically not interested in a relationship. Although heart-broken, Bo holds her head up high and leaves. Dyson is visibly heart-broken himself.

Quotable Quotes

Kenzi to Bo:  “In my defense, truth is for pussies.”

Kenzi to Bo:  “For preppies, those girls can hang. Turns out ‘Girls Night In’ was code for ‘Drink until you lips fall off and you start over-sharing’ I think I touched a boob.”

Kenzi to Bo:  “Oh by the way, I totally saw his wolf junk! High five!”

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Love Lost Girl?  Come join the discussion in our Lost Girl Group on DarkMediaCity, a free social network for those who like it Dark.  Whether it be literature or film, music or art, horror or sci-fi, paranormal romance or paranormal investigation, we’ve got something for you.  www.DarkMediaCity.com

[Promotional photographs courtesy of Showcase and SyFy]

Monica Kuebler isn’t merely a woman who wears many hats; she’s a force to be reckoned with.  Besides being the Managing Editor for Rue Morgue magazine and running her very own micro-press, Burning Effigy Press, she’s a journalist and an author in her own right.

In a time when the voices of women are becoming more and more prevalent–and significant–within the horror community, Monica’s incredible work ethic and dedication serves not only as an inspiration to women in the industry, but to anyone with dreams of making a living doing what they love.

DarkMedia had the privilege of sitting down with Monica to talk about the secret to her success, how her work as an editor has influenced her own writing, and her latest work-in-progress — the young adult vampire serial, BLEEDER.

I know you get this question all the time, but as Managing Editor for Rue Morgue, along with running Burning Effigy Press, and then writing fiction on top of that, how do you find the time to do it all? Are there any secrets to your success you’d like to share with the rest of us?

I’m a bit of a workaholic, so that definitely helps. But a lot of it comes down to regimenting my time and making sacrifices in regards to my social life and leisure activities. I get up every day between 5 and 6 a.m. and then work for about three or four hours before heading in to the office. I commit a minimum of one hour every day to writing/editing my fiction, of course since kicking off BLEEDER at the top of the year I now find myself spending a great deal more time on those two things than ever before. To help myself stay on track, I give myself firm deadlines, and rewards if I meet them. But in the end, what it really comes down to, is when you are doing something you love, you want to invest your time and energy and creativity in it. And you get a great deal of personal fulfillment out of that.

From your “Children’s Horror Literature” feature in Rue Morgue to your YA serial BLEEDER and upcoming trilogy THE COLD ONES, you’ve made it clear that bringing excellent genre fiction to young readers is a passion of yours. Can you tell us a little about how you began to write it and why?

While I’ve always been avid cheerleader of those who choose to write genre stories for teens (because back when I was teen those were the stories I yearned for most), I wasn’t always aware that it was my calling too.

For many years, I thought I was destined to write straight-up horror for adults, but I was never able to finish to anything. When I really started asking myself why that was, I noticed something striking about my work: I always cast teenagers as my main characters and the narratives always had something of a coming-of-age feel to them, albeit with monsters, horrifying situations and gore. At that point, it dawned on me that perhaps I was approaching everything all wrong. And, in fact, what I really wanted write were the kinds of stories that I wished had existed when I was a kid.

So I started reading a ton of YA genre books and sitting in on every teen lit panel I could at writers’ conventions. What I learned from that was that while YA novels are booming right now, there are still not a whole lot of people telling tales that can be genuinely classified as horror, and even less female writers doing so. Monsters are popular, sure, but in pages of books that have more in common with the urban fantasy and paranormal romance subgenres than with tried-and-true fright fiction.

While I have absolutely no problem with Twilight and its ilk – I strongly believe that there is room for all kinds of stories in this world and people should read what they like – I want to write about honest-to-goodness monsters.

How would you compare article writing and interviews to writing fiction? Which would you say is more difficult, or leaves you more vulnerable? Do you prefer one over the other?

Fiction is definitely more difficult and I think it also leaves you a great deal more vulnerable than journalistic work. Journalism (whether it be feature articles or reviews) is very structured and purposed. Your job is to convey information or an opinion in a clear, concise and compelling manner, but ultimately you are telling someone else’s story, reporting on something that already exists, so there’s only so much room for freewheeling creativity, whereas with fiction it’s all about that. Your idea is the story, you are no longer merely relaying, you are birthing and shaping. You are the sole captain at the helm. Creativity is everything here, and good stories should elicit some form of emotional response from readers. That can be intimidating and scary as hell, because what you’re putting out there is all you. I actually don’t prefer one type of writing over the other, because it’s a little like comparing apples and oranges, and both are rewarding for very different reasons.

For the editors out there who are also writers themselves, it’s interesting to see how one affects the other. How would you say your work as an editor has influenced your writing, or vice versa?

My beta readers tell me that the chapters I send them are the cleanest drafts they’ve ever seen from anyone, so I guess that’s something, but in truth it’s hard to take off the editor hat and put on the writer one sometimes. I have to be careful not to get caught in the trap of over-editing, and never moving forward with the story as a result. But as a positive, I’m constantly giving writers notes on their work, so I tend to be hyper vigilant about grammar, style and phrasing. I also love being edited, which is probably a direct result of being an editor myself. I absolutely adore it when Claire, my editor on BLEEDER, challenges me to take my narrative to the next level or calls me out on stuff that’s wonky. Some writers find the editing process difficult because they are sensitive about having their work picked apart, but I see it as an opportunity to really bring out the best in a story and I embrace it wholeheartedly.

While horror has historically been such a male-dominated scene, we’ve recently seen an encouraging surge of more and more women coming up in the ranks, in all aspects of the genre. As a woman in horror, how do you think the atmosphere has changed over the last several years? Is it more welcoming to women now than it was before?

I think it’s becoming ever more acceptable for women to go into untraditional fields (from science and computing to genre writing/filmmaking). There’s also been a lot of celebration of geek culture lately, making it that much easier to be female and a die-hard genre fan. But that said, I’ve worked in the horror biz for almost a decade now and I can honestly say that I have never found it anything less than totally welcoming to me as a woman. If there’s a boys’ club going on somewhere, I haven’t been affected by it, but then again I was a tomboy growing up and before working in horror I worked in another male-dominated industry, so perhaps I’ve built up a certain immunity to it.

What would you say the horror community’s greatest strengths are? What about its greatest weaknesses?

The horror community’s greatest strength is just that: the community. I have never been involved in a genre that has been so committed to championing and supporting its own. There’s a real feeling of “we’re all fans and we’re all in this together.”

Its greatest weakness is the sheer amount of crap that gets created and released each year – I also believe that’s a big part of what keeps horror ghettoized in the eyes of the mainstream, but horror fans are the ultimate fans and many will gobble up almost everything the genre pumps out, regardless of quality, just because they’re that hungry for everything weird and scary.

Who, or what, inspires you? As an author, what have your greatest influences been?

Great stories by other writers and filmmakers. Crazy stuff I read about in the news (I’m an unrepentant information junkie). My nightmares. Personal pain, heartbreak and struggles. And just the act of living itself – being and dreaming. There’s inspiration everywhere if you are not afraid to slow down and look for it.

People who make a living doing what they love are such an inspiration to everyone. What would your best advice be to someone who’s trying to make a career out of a talent? What’s the best, or worst, advice someone ever gave you?

Best advice: Persevere, work hard, and try not to be a jerk. Of course, I’m only human and haven’t always been as gracious as I would have liked to have been in difficult situations, but the idea is that you never know where you are going to end up and who you might have the opportunity to work with in the future. Your reputation will proceed you, so having a good one is important and should definitely be nurtured. Other than that, be prepared to make the time investment needed to break in and understand that sometimes working your dream job means making sacrifices in other areas of your life, whether that be in regards to free time, financial security or whatnot. Still, there is no greater reward than getting to do what you love for a living.

What projects are you currently working on, and what can we look forward to seeing from you in the future?

Well, of course, there’s BLEEDER, my serial YA vampire novel that you can read at bleederbook.com. That’ll take us into the summer. But I’m also hard at work putting the finishing touches on THE COLD ONES, the first book in a YA horror trilogy that’s set in the same universe as BLEEDER but doesn’t involve vampires. For that series, I have devised a monster of my own creation, but fans of BLEEDER definitely have something to look forward to there as well, as Mildred plays a rather large role in third book. That was part of the reason why I wanted to write BLEEDER, to tell her origin story.

What’s the best way to support BLEEDER, and all the other fantastic work that you do?

The best way to support BLEEDER is to help get the word about the serial out to readers. Like its pages on Facebook and Google+, tell your YA-lovin’ friends and teenagers about it, and check out and comment on the individual chapters on Wattpad, Scribd, Goodreads and Authonomy.com. If you prefer grown-up horror, snag a copy of Rue Morgue magazine and if you like what we’re doing, subscribe! Also be sure to check out www.burningeffigy.com, my own horror fiction imprint where I curate a line of terrifying and groundbreaking genre tales that are undeniably aimed at more mature readers. Regardless of your tastes, there’s probably something in the cauldron over there that’ll appeal to whatever your particular morbid fascination is.

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Monica Kuebler is currently featured on  DarkMediaCity, a free social network for those who like it Dark.  Whether it be literature or film, music or art, horror or sci-fi, paranormal romance or paranormal investigation, we’ve got something for you.  www.DarkMediaCity.com

She can also be found on her website and on Twitter @monicaskuebler.

(All interviews are the exclusive property of DarkMedia, and may not be reproduced or shared without permission, excepting links to the interview.)

Episode: “All Out of Blood”
Original Air Date: Monday January 30, 2012
Season 2, Episode 3

This week’s episode dives deeply into the depths of the inhuman urges that motivate the darkest human desires. Aidan struggles with an unrelenting hunger to feed on ‘live’ blood, Sally sees an opportunity to possess something sacred, and Josh and Nora try to resist the innate instinct of the wolf within them.

[Visit DarkMedia.com for the full recap]

[Visit DarkMedia.com for the full article]

Resurrection.