Saturday, 11 April 2015

AtoZChallenge2015 - J is for Jareth, Jasmine

Fictional Deities and Demons - AtoZ 2015
Hello and welcome to day 10 of the AtoZChallenge 2015.

Jareth

Now I know Jareth is not technically a god or a demon, but he is the Goblin King and he definitely has godlike powers.

Jareth is from the Jim Henson film Labyrinth and it is still very close to my heart. He is played by David Bowie at his most gorgeous :). I remember when the film first came out in 1986, it was so amazing with all the animatronics. It probably looks dated to modern eyes with all the CGI we have now, but it's a wonderful film.

Now Jareth takes children and turns them in to goblins, but he only takes those he is asked to take. Sarah, a young girl who is fed up of her new baby brother, Toby, has been reading about the Goblin King and asks the goblins to come and take him away, not realising they will actually do it.

Jareth then spends the film using his ability to be anyway and see anything in his crystal balls to stop Sarah from crossing the Labyrinth and reaching the castle beyond the goblin city to find Toby. Of course Sarah manages to capture the hearts of several in the Labyrinth, who help her and, as it turns out she captured Jareth's as well.
Jareth: "I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave."
Jareth can also fly, transforming into a barn owl to move silently through the sky and bend time, as he proves to Sarah to make the point that life is not fair.

Sources: Wikipedia | My Blu-ray copy of the movie

Jasmine

Jasmine is the big bad from the fourth season of Angel, Joss Whedon's TV show. She is a goddess, also know as The Blessed Devourer and The Beastmaster, and for much of the season was played by Charisma Carpenter since she was possessing Cordeila Chase.

However, when she gained her own body she was played by the brilliant Gina Torres as seen to the left.

Jasmine wanted to bring about peace on earth. Sounds like a fantastic goal, except she had a rather unfortunate idea of how to bring it about. In her utopia all humans are virtually mindless slaves subject to her will. She also has the small issue of needing to feed on humanity to maintain her form.

She has good motives, but terrible execution and only her true name can defeat her.

Sources: Buffy and Angel Wiki | Wikipedia

Were you around when Labyrinth first came out? What did you think of it? Are you a Buffy and Angel fan?
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51 comments:

  1. Anything and Everything Paranormal Blog10 April 2015 at 11:00

    Buffy and Angel fan for sure. Jasmine was indeed a villain.

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  2. Jeremy [Retro]11 April 2015 at 00:29

    Labyrinth... what a treat of puppets, people and possibilities to have your kid brother added to the goblin king's list..

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake11 April 2015 at 09:21

      I've never had a kid brother, but I think this might be useful to those who have ;)

      Delete
  3. Anonymous11 April 2015 at 00:54

    I have a friend who loves The Labyrinth. I have to admit, I have yet to watch it.

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake11 April 2015 at 09:22

      You haven't seen Labyrinth???!!! Oh, you have missed a treat :)

      Delete
  4. ErraticElle11 April 2015 at 05:00

    Oh my goodness...Jareth. I really need to watch The Labyrinth again. Last time I saw it I was about 12 and it scared the pants off of me. I think I could probably handle it a little bit better now that I'm a titch older. Elle @ Erratic Project Junkie

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake11 April 2015 at 09:24

      Yeah - although in the same vein, my husband still hates The Dark Crystal because the Skesis freaked him out. :) I find the older I get the more I appreciate David Bowie's tight pants too ;)

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  5. Unknown11 April 2015 at 08:37

    I'm with the others, I need to watch Labyrinth now! I was a very large Buffy fan, so i'm tripping out a little that the shows have their own "Wiki!"

    You can find me here:
    ClarabelleRant

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake11 April 2015 at 09:24

      So many shows have their own wiki these days - it was most useful when researching the AtoZ :)

      Delete
  6. Alex Hurst11 April 2015 at 08:59

    Jareth is awesome. I only watched that movie for the first time recently, and I'm so glad I did! :) It was great. I never picked up Angel, but only because I didn't like the main character. That actress looks really familiar, though....

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake11 April 2015 at 09:27

      I remember when Labyrinth first came out - it's what fueled my fascination with animatronics :) Gina Torres has been in many things, including Firefly. She is brilliant.

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  7. Hilary Melton-Butcher11 April 2015 at 09:34

    Hi Natasha .. I've never come across the David Bowie film .. and Jareth - I was abroad ... but at some stage I might just get the film ... love the name Jasmine - but again haven't come the tv show ... cheers Hilary

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake11 April 2015 at 09:41

      Labyrinth is a great movie - lots of fun and David Bowie in tight breeches so win/win ;)

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  8. A Tarkabarka Hölgy11 April 2015 at 13:17

    Yay for both Gina Torres and David Bowie :D And I really should watch Labyrinth at some point... I don't think they played it in Hungary when I was a child. We had The Princess and the Kobolds instead... XD

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
    MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary

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  9. Stephanie Faris11 April 2015 at 13:35

    I've never seen Labyrinth, but Jennifer Connelly was mesmerizing in the scenes I've seen. David Bowie? Not so much... He's a better singer than actor! I've never thought of him in a "handsome" context, I think because he was always being a little over-the-top on MTV, which is where I mostly saw him.

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake11 April 2015 at 15:58

      I think David Bowie may be the definition of OTT :)

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  10. C.D. Gallant-King11 April 2015 at 13:43

    Labyrinth was a brilliant film, one of my favourites, and most of the special effects hold up extremely well. That's the nice thing about practical effects like puppets and animatronics, when they look real, they look real, doesn't matter if it was 30 years ago or yesterday. Bad CGI on the other hand...

    I watched it recently on Blu-Ray for the first time and it BLEW MY MIND. After having only seen it on VHS for an entire lifetime, I had NO IDEA the entire f*cking labyrinth was covered in GLITTER. The whole gawddang thing sparkles like a vampire in Twilight. You can't see it on the tape version, but in high def it's BLINDING.

    And you forgot Jareth's two most important powers: dancing and crotch bulge.

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake11 April 2015 at 16:02

      I bought it on blu-ray recently - now I have to go watch it to see the glitter! I've only had the DVD before. How could I forget those two special powers? I must be slipping ;)

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  11. Sara C. Snider11 April 2015 at 14:06

    I love Labyrinth! Have you seen Mirrormask? It was produced by the Jim Henson Company and written my Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. I mention it because I recall it being made out of a desire the capture some of the awesomeness of Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. And now I want to watch all of these movies again. :)

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake11 April 2015 at 16:05

      No I haven't - I shall have to go look it up. I do too :D

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  12. Susan Gourley/Kelley11 April 2015 at 14:19

    Labyrinth is a creepy and really, really fun movie. Haven't seen it for a while. Gina Torres is great in everything she does.

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  13. Chrys Fey11 April 2015 at 15:29

    How can you not have David Bowie as Jareth from the Labyrinth. Epic!

    I only watched a few episodes of Angel...

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake11 April 2015 at 16:06

      I liked the first season of Angel, but then it started to go downhill for me, however I can respect a good baddie :)

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  14. Samantha Bryant11 April 2015 at 15:52

    Ah! Two of my favorites! I'm continuing to enjoy this series!

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  15. Jolie du Pre11 April 2015 at 16:45

    Interesting! Never heard of these.

    Precious Monsters

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  16. S. L. Hennessy11 April 2015 at 17:25

    Joss Whedon writes the best women, doesn't he? And LOVE Jareth.

    Good luck with the 2015 A to Z Challenge!
    A to Z Co-Host S. L. Hennessy
    http://pensuasion.blogspot.com

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  17. Lisa11 April 2015 at 17:59

    So loved both of these, Labyrinth and the Angel episodes with Gina Torres, and I LOVE her in Firefly and Serenity. My kids watched Labyrinth I don't know how many times growing up, and my daughter (24) said she just watched it again a few months ago. Great J choices! Lisa, co-host AtoZ 2015, @ http://www.lisabuiecollard.com

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake13 April 2015 at 09:28

      Firefly is just a masterpiece :) I remember Labyrinth coming out in the cinemas - didn't get to see it until later, but I remember all the hype :)

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  18. Shilpa Garg11 April 2015 at 18:15

    Have not seen Labyrinth. After reading your post, I read more about it on Wikipedia and I am keen to check it out now. Sounds very interesting!

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  19. JazzFeathers11 April 2015 at 19:50

    I still love Lanyrinth so much. When it came out, I was mad about David Bowie (I still like him a lot), and I was mad I couldn't go to the theatre and see the film. I saw it on tv when i came out and it imediately became one of my favourite films :-)

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake13 April 2015 at 09:30

      It is such a brilliant concept and execution - I have always loved it :)

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  20. Shell Flower11 April 2015 at 20:54

    Labyrinth is such an awesome move. I can't believe there are people who haven't seen it, but hey, I haven't seen Angel, so that would seem weird to others, I guess. David Bowie rocks! Now I want to watch Angel. Loving your theme!

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  21. Stephen Tremp11 April 2015 at 21:36

    I remember that. Its been a long while. I'll have to see if this is on Netflix.

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  22. betty12 April 2015 at 00:20

    Labyrinth sounds like a cute plot; hadn't seen it or really heard of it before. Not a Buffy or Angel fan, not sure if I might have been one but hubby seems to control the remote at our house, LOL, and if he didn't watch something more than likely I wouldn't either (which is okay, I'm not much of a TV watcher)

    betty

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake13 April 2015 at 09:32

      Labyrinth is worth checking out if you ever catch it:)

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  23. Nick Wilford12 April 2015 at 13:29

    I've seen Labyrinth a lot, since my stepdaughter is a massive Bowie fan from her dad, and had the DVD, which my 6-year-old has now inherited and it's one of her faves. I would call it a camp classic, especially the songs!

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  24. djinnia12 April 2015 at 14:22

    OMG! Labyrinth is one of my favorite movies of all time! I seriously still have a crush on the Goblin King. I even went so far as to research him to see if he was actually part of a pantheon. Sigh.

    I don't think I made it to fourth season of Angel. But I loved her in other things.

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake13 April 2015 at 09:34

      Me too, me too! :) He's so awesome he really should be.
      Yep, Gina Torres is brilliant :)

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  25. Kern Windwraith13 April 2015 at 02:13

    I love Labyrinth. David Bowie made a perfect Goblin King (don't you just love saying "Goblin King"?). The Man Who Fell to Earth is another of my favourite Bowie films. He's pretty awesome in all his many incarnations, whether as an actor or a singer.

    And Gina Torres is the bomb!

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    1. Tasha Duncan-Drake13 April 2015 at 09:35

      It does roll off the tongue ;) I have only ever seen The Man Who Fell To Earth once and I really don't remember it much - I should rewatch it.

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  26. Melissa Barker-Simpson13 April 2015 at 12:18

    I loved the Goblin King and Jasmine was a grade A bitch! Great choices for today :-)

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