angelophile: (Colonel Nicholson - Oh Bugger)


I've been thinking about how to talk about this episode without giving spoilers away all day (I've already put my foot in it once) and concluded it's nigh on impossible.

I will say that plotwise, it dragged a little, apart from the dramatic climax, as it was mostly an episode where all the loose ends and reveals from earlier episodes were gathered together.

I will also say that it delivered some of the strongest and most chilling character pieces on television, demonstrating the true banality of evil. Not since Conspiracy has there been a piece of television as compelling and harrowing. Deborah Findlay and Nicholas Briggs (normally the voice of the Daleks), joined Nicholas Farrell, Peter Capaldi and Susan Brown in a set piece that was truly horrifying but also frighteningly logical. Never has the phrase "That's what school league tables are for" been more shocking.

In fact the episode was clearly focused on giving chills rather than thrills and the sudden change in pace was strength as well as weakness. Effectively an episode about government, it could never expect to be action packed. But this was writing of a maturity that almost seemed at odds with what had gone before (although not entirely with Torchwood as a series, after it's far more mature second series).

And the ending... Oh boy. Even if you saw it coming, it still got you right in the gut.

angelophile: (Doctor Who - Malcolm)




Last night saw the return of Captain Reacharoundâ„¢* and the rest of the Torchwood crew, promoted from BBC2 to mainstream BBC1 and chopped from an entire season to a short "five nights in one week" format. So, I guess it's Torchwood week this week. I shall celebrate by standing on a rooftop in a long coat and/or indulging in some ill-advised sodomy with work colleagues maybe.

So, Day One. Actually, this is the second episode of Torchwood called Day One. Does that make this Day Two? And if so, what will tonight's episode be called? Oh my goodness, confusion.

Read more... )

angelophile: (Doctor Who - Pft.)




Managed to catch Planet of the Dead earlier. I'll avoid saying too much outside the cut, beyond that it had glimpses of both the best and worst of Russell T. Davis' writing.

For everyone else, spoilerific comments under the cut. )

angelophile: (Romano - I don't like people)




And so, it ends. Fifteen years after it first hit television screens, the final episode of ER has aired. It'd be an exaggeration to claim they saved the best for last, but what they did was end on a high with guest stars Thandie Newton, Alexis Bledel and Ernest Borgnine getting in on the act. In the US ratings went up to 16m for the final episode after tailing off. And despite being overshadowed by fresh but bland shows like Grey's Anatomy, ER picked up more Emmy nominations - 122 - than any other drama in American TV history, was watched in 195 countries and subtitled in 22 languages. An impressive run.

What the last episode did was show the real strength of the medical drama - balancing multiple storylines with the skill of a trained juggler. Ernest Borgnine played a man whose wife was dying after 72 years together. In another storyline a teenage girl is brought into the ER in a coma after being involved in a drinking game with her friends - a game encouraged by the parents. In another a man who has lived 20 years with AIDs discovers he has cancer, while a woman pregnant with twins encounters serious complications after being in a car accident.

Read more... )

angelophile: (Emma Frost - Cheesecake)


I got completely distracted by episodes of ER, movies, being down the gym regularly, deadline and a bunch of other stuff and so got completely behind with episodes of Wolverine and the X-men. Especially since the show's been showing almost daily in the UK and episodes suddenly snowballed.

However, I used to get the occasional comment on my blow-by-blow review things, though, so I've played catchup over the last week and watched a few episodes. So, under the cut, find reviews of episodes 15 - 19 going from my memory of them.



Read more... )

angelophile: (Cup of tea)


I've been downloading the last season of ER and, yes, my obsession continues. What I'm amazed by is how many of the past cast they've persuaded to return.

In addition to the earlier episode featuring Anthony Edwards, Abraham Benrubi, Laura Innes and Paul McCrane they've had a bunch of other past cast members returning.

Of course, Noah Wyle is confirmed to be returning along with Eriq La Salle. Shane West already popped up, and I'm dancing with joy at the return, however brief, of Alex Kingston as Elizabeth Corday. Julia Margoyles and George Clooney are reputedly lined up to both appear later on according to Entertainment Tonight. But it's this week's episode with the return of David Morgenstern, played by William H. Macy I'm also really excited about.

It makes me happy that the past cast have such a fondness for the show that they'd return in guest appearances and that the writers are playing on the announcement that it's a final season to treat long time viewers and give a real sense of closure to the long running show. Rather than with so many shows ended before their time, everything just rushed to a conclusion.

I can't wait to see what other treats they have in store. A William H. Macy guest slot was completely out of the blue.

angelophile: (Gorillaz - 's cool)


I'm a little behind watching Sniktbub and the X-men, for reasons already mentioned, so I'm playing catch up a bit. This episode aired last Sunday and there's another from today I haven't seen yet. But I have a spare half hour, so let's play catch up.

The usual spoilerish comments under the cut. )

angelophile: (Empowered BOO YAH!)



"So, Domino, when did you last see your nipples?"


Hooray! It seems that YTZ in Canada is continuing to show new episodes of Wolvy and the X-men after all, as well as them starting from the top on another channel. Which means a brand new episode this week to watch and ramble about.

So! To it!

Stream of consciousness spoilers and review under the cut. )

angelophile: (Juno - Kraken)




I'm in trouble this year.

In the past I've done my Year In Review thing come December and rant about comics, TV, movies and music released throughout the year.

The trouble is, this year, well, my TV viewing's dwindled to a few shows, I've hardly bought any DVDs of recent releases and I've not seen a single movie in the last 12 months apparently. I could have sworn I had, but going through this year's releases, apparently not. And, hey, guess what? Yeah, I haven't bought a single album either. I bought some books, but only one or two and the majority of my purchases was old stuff.

But! Never let it be said that I'm backward in coming forward. So I'll give this a stab.

The categories:
BEST MOVIE
BEST TV SERIES
BEST NOVEL
BEST ONGOING COMIC SERIES
BEST LIMITED SERIES/CROSSOVER
BEST COMIC WRITER
VILLAIN OF THE YEAR


Read more... )

angelophile: (Cyclops - ARGGHHH!)


And straight to it this week. A good way to relax after another energy sapping deadline. As usual, spoilers under the cut and stream of consciousness reviewing. If either bothers you, don't click.



In which Scott tries even harder to make himself look like a novelty condom. )

angelophile: (Juno - Hmmm 2)


Just finished reading Terry Pratchett's latest and I'm glad I did choose to pick it up. After a few years of ground treading since Small Gods, his latest novel is an excellent read, something a lot more thought provoking than his recent souffles. Pratchett's own condition has clearly affected his writing and tone as well as those stories he wants to tell and he's chosen his material a lot more carefully than he has done over recent years. It's a novel he should be proud of.

However, that said, has anyone read the book and can comment on a question I have?

Which lies beneath the cut. )

angelophile: (X-men Devolution)




And the second episode of the week, in an attempt to play catch up.

Spoilery steam of consciousness review of episode 11 under the cut. )

angelophile: (Xavier - Right On!)


I missed a week as I was away for a few days, so I'm trying to catch up today on my reviews.

Spoilery steam of consciousness review of episode 10 under the cut. )

angelophile: (Kitty - ZOMG)




So, last week I treated myself to the DVD of Dead Set. A recent Channel 4 miniseries based on the brilliant central premise: what if there was a zombie apocalypse while Big Brother was airing, leaving the Big Brother house as the last refuge for the survivors?

Cue a cast of reality TV archetypes struggling to survive - there's the pretentious aging liberal, the nu-lad, reveling in his swaggering stupidity, the bitchy cross dresser, the bolshy ladette, the brainless redhead, the savvy everyman. Tossed into the works is the oafish, bullish producer and the production-company gofer and her well meaning, but intellectually challenged boyfriend.

Now, there's a few things that immediately impressed me about this series - firstly, that they used the actual Big Brother setting, including the presenters, former contestants, music, production style, everything, rather than inventing a "look alike" for the purpose of the show. Considering the level of satire running through the series, that was considerably impressive - kudos has to go for the show's production team for joining in with the joke and letting themselves be satirized so bitingly, and especially Davina McCall, apparently relishing the chance to have her throat ripped out as part of the fun. I suspect that the UK team must have pushed it through the licensing group with the same "it's just a harmless zombie horror" attitude that the writers have publicly taken. But, in reality, there was plenty of black comedy and digs at Big Brother's expense.

Central to the theme was the mirroring of George Romero's zombie movies where consumerism was satirized. Dead Set takes the same attitude to reality television and balances the dark satire without ever going too camp or obvious with it. When one of the characters advances the theory that the walking dead are attracted to the Big Brother house in death as they were in life because it was like a church to them, a place they worshiped, it prompts the solid response "Or maybe they're attracted to bollocks." Or, when receiving the news that the world as they know it has ended, one contestant's immediate reaction "Does this mean we're not on telly any more?"

Otherwise the zombie apocalypse is a mash up of various other zombie movies. The flesh eating monsters are closer to the fast movie plague victims of 28 Days Later (prompting comment from Shaun of the Dead's Simon Pegg). It's all horrifically gory, too. No holds barred, flesh ripping grotesque.

There's a few problems - to extend the format to one-nightly episodes, the story seems stretched and instead of a movie-length feature, there's an awful lot of padding between the good bits.

This ties into another disappointment, in that the satire of the Big Brother experience is somewhat negated when the central characters leave the house a number of times. It's during the opening chapters, when the creepy claustrophobia is kicking in and towards the end, where the in-fighting and alliances of the house come to a bloody head that, the premise works at its best.

But there's plenty of good - the central heroine is played by Ray Winstone's daughter Jaime, and is as good in the quiet, vulnerable moments as when she's caving in a zombie's skull with a fire extinguisher. The supporting cast acquit themselves admirably, especially Andy Nyman as the horrifically foul mouthed and generally foul producer with a god complex, who chews the scenery and shits it out in a scene stealing role.

And then there's lovely Davina, transformed into a slavering, crazed monster and given not one, but two horrifically gory death sequences which had me repulsed and roaring by equal measure. "This is Davina - I'm coming to get you!" has never been more chilling.

And the satire is, if you'll pardon the pun, biting.

angelophile: (Emma Scott - My hero)


And once more with the weekly review of Sniktbub and the X-men. On the ball this week, since the torrent showed the day the episode did and I've found time to work it into my hectic schedule.

As usual, written as I watch the episode, so spoilers lie beneath the cut.

Read more... )

angelophile: (Emma - Flaunt it)


Review time again. I seem to be doing a lot of this kind of stuff and not many other updates at the moment. Mostly because I've been staggering from one deadline to the next (3 in the space of one month) and just when I thought things had settled, stuff gets moved around. So, I haven't exactly found time to do much beside work.

So, no exciting developments. Just been reading and watching TV and movies a lot, thus the sudden influx of reviews.

Which leads me on to the point of this post - to review the latest episode of Wolverine and the X-men.

As usual, I'll be typing my thoughts up as I watch the episode, so it's stream of consciousness stuff with spoilers beneath the cut.

Read more... )

angelophile: (Pete Wisdom - Backing Britain)


This icon comes Paul Cornell approved. Huzzah!

And now onto the weekly Wolverine and the X-men review. It's pretty much the only show I'm bothering with regularly, at the moment, so I think I'll keep these up. A little late this week as the download didn't show up until I got busy with RL. More on that later.

For now, on with the review. Spoilers lurk beneath the cut.

Read more... )

angelophile: (Pixie - Safety first)


As usual, written whilst watching the episode, so spoilers lie beneath the cut.

Read more... )

angelophile: (illyana - I'm horny)




Another episode of Wolverine and the X-men airs. Thoughts under the cut. The episode promises to focus on a character who I'm on record as not caring for one jot, so let's see if the episode turns me around.

Read more... )

angelophile: (Xavier Brain Hurts)


Spoilerific comments and breakdown of the episode under the cut. Written as I watched it, so be warry. i haven't held back on spoilers this time.

Read more... )

angelophile: (Kitty Rogue Dancing)




Apparently the first parts of this show aired while I was away, so I'm playing catchup some. Just watching the first three episodes now and filling in thoughts as I go through. I'll I'd better put them behind a cut, so I don't have to worry about spoilers, but I'll try not to give anyway too many major plot points.

Read more... )

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