by Maria Ingmire

In 2010, the hottest show on HBO wasn't The Game of Thrones. Back then the most popular show on HBO was True Blood, a show that addressed the social and political issues of the day under the guise of supernatural storylines.  I had been reading the Charlaine Harris books for years, and even though the series veered away from Harris’s plots, I was still hooked. The gorgeous cast probably helped a lot. That year, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Sam Trammell, Michelle Forbes and Nelsan Ellis made their first appearances at Dragon Con. They were even better looking in person, if that was possible. 

At a fully packed True Blood panel, I got in line to ask a question during the cast Q and A session.  Someone conveniently posted videos of the whole panel. 

Later that weekend, my best friend Will and I had a photo op with the True Blood cast members. Group hug! 

As I was moving away, I looked at Kristin and said, “Sorry I made you cry at the panel, Kristin.” She suddenly recognized me from the panel, and smiled. “Oh, that’s okay. Thanks for the question!” 

by Lindsey

Your two goals are to keep your bunnies alive and collect carrots. When all carrots have been collected, the game ends and you'll find out which carrot is the "magic" carrot. You need at least one bunny left alive and at least one carrot to have a chance of winning. 

We had one player who had 90% of the carrot cards and still lost at the end (which was great). The game has a very twisted sense of humor that adults definitely love and I imagine older kids would enjoy too. The original game includes two deck of cards, but there are another nine expansion decks (which can drastically change game play). 

The game is fairly fast paced and very tongue-in-cheek. The maker says it "captures the essence of the dungeon experience...with none of that stupid roleplaying stuff."  Simple, fun, and full of wonderful treachery! 

by Maria Ingmire

You probably wouldn’t know his face, but you’ve seen a lot of his work in films like Hellboy and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, or in the episode “Hush” from Buffy. In 2013, I met Doug Jones, the brilliant character actor who often performs under heavy makeup and prosthetics. In person, he has a grace and charm he doesn’t often get to display on camera.

“I don’t want to bother you, but would you mind if I took a photo of you from the side as you speak with fans?” I asked. 

“Well, why not take a photo WITH me? Yes, I think that’s better, right?” He stood up and we asked one of the other fans there to take the picture.

As I was being bear-hugged by Doug, I said, “You know, I’m still not over your performance in Pan’s Labyrinth.” 

“Nor should you ever be, darling.” He squeezed me and did a couple of poses that had me cracking up the whole time. “Nor should you ever be.” 

by Lindsey

#10 - Neo:  After being killed in the Matrix, Neo’s love brings him back to life and he realizes he is the chosen one to defeat the machines.  Admit it, you thought it was cool the first time you saw it.

#9 - Agent Mulder:   In a major plot twist for  the 90s, Fox Mulder mysteriously comes back from the dead---AFTER HIS FUNERAL.

#8 - Sam & Dean Winchester:  As Supernatural fans know, the Winchester brothers have died in dozens and dozens of ways.  The show even pokes fun of itself for the number of resurrections they’ve had.  Honestly, the boys have died more times than everyone on this list combined.

#7 - Aslan:  Kids everywhere cried when the beloved Lion died in The Chronicles of Narnia.  It was incredibly magical seeing the mice chew away his ropes and have the great beast come back to life in front of Lucy.  

#6 - Rory Williams:  In arguably the most romantic way possible, Rory died for the love of his life Amy on the cult series Doctor Who.  Rory was killed and brought back to life on such a regular dramatic basis, fangirls everywhere now have impossibly high standards for acts of true love. 

#5 - Spock:  In one of the original sci fi death scenes to shake nerds everywhere,  Doctor Spock sacrifices himself for his crew and dies from radiation poisoning.  Later in the series, the classic and slightly plausible cloning process brings our favorite trekkie back to life.

#4 - Buffy Summers:  Buffy died twice on the cult Whedon series and her second resurrection had lasting consequences for the other characters.  Who doesn’t enjoy seeing spirits rise from the grave to kick ass?

#3 - Agent Coulson:  In the epic Avengers movies Agent Coulson is killed in the line of duty, uniting the team to save the world yet again.  Then, in possibly the best modern spin off tv series,   Agent Coulson is brought back to life in a process we are still not 100% clear on.  TAHITI PLOT TWIST!

#2 - Harry Potter:  This character death will go down in literary and movie history as the ultimate battle between good and evil.  Harry offers himself as a sacrifice to save the lives of his friends and others against the Dark Lord Voldemort.  In an amazing turn of magical events (which I may or may not have written about on numerous occasions) Harry comes back to life to defeat evil once and for all.

#1 - Gandalf the Grey:  This Tolkien classic should not be a surprise at number one.  The wizard Gandalf sacrifices his own life killing the Balrog to save the lives of his companions.  You know you cried a little when he shouted, “You shall not pass!”.  Of course Gandalf resurrects as the even more powerful  White Wizard and defeats evil in a glorious battle for Middle Earth.

Got a resurrection you'd like us to add to this list?  Sound off in the comments!

by Lindsey

So, next time you are curling up for a night in with your DVR or BYOB-ing for a watch party with friends, keep these selections in mind - and cheers!

Have suggestions for more shows to pair? Sound off in the comments!