Friday 31 December 2010

Misfits: Episode Five

Sam: 'You're dumping me with a line from Spiderman?'

Sally spent most of tonight's episode trying to ingratiated herself with Simon. She took advantage of his loneliness, appealed to his sensitive nature, and in the end, gave him the attention he so desperately craved. He didn't stand a chance. It was a foregone conclusion that he'd fall for her. She even used her shygirl18 alias to dupe him into asking her out. Did she ever feel anything for him? Probably not—although, in hindsight, a few things did make me wonder.

Thursday 30 December 2010

Misfits: Episode Four

Nathan: 'Come on. Get in there, you beautiful bitch.'

Curtis saw an opportunity to turn his life around tonight. After an unexpected visit from Sam, he tried to use his powers to change the past, and predictably got more than he bargained for. Trying to alter time is a tricky business, and in the end it took him three attempts to get it right. Sadly, he killed virtually everyone in the process. Too many variables, see? Thankfully, Howard Overman resisted the urge to push the reset button. Well, almost. The misfits survived, but things are subtly changed in ways that Curtis should've, but didn't, foresee.

Tuesday 28 December 2010

Misfits: Episode Three

Kelly: 'If you laugh at me, I will kick the shit out of you.'

Alisha used her powers for unscrupulous sexual gain tonight. Not that she needed to, I dare say she could've pulled without them, but it certainly dispenses with the formalities of drinks and a kebab.

Sunday 26 December 2010

Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol

Doctor: 'Tonight, I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past.'

You've got to hand it to Steven Moffat—his first Christmas episode was an absolute blinder. It was exactly how a Christmas episode should be: it was different enough from a regular episode to justify its special status; it had regular companions (even if they were criminally underused); there was a strong Christmas theme; it had great celebrity guests; and there was an emotionally engaging narrative which both warmed and broke our hearts. In short, it was both Christmassy and special.

Thursday 23 December 2010

Misfits: Episode Two

Nathan: 'I'm not waiting around for Granny Fuck Me to make another appearance.'

In hindsight, it was probably a mistake to let the misfits loose at an OAP's tea-dance. None of them seemed particularly interested in dancing, in fact no one seemed to like pensioners at all; except of course Nathan, who ended up knobbing one of them. True, Ruth didn't look 82, but at least we now know that the misfits weren't the only ones affected by the storm.

Tuesday 21 December 2010

Misfits: Episode One

Simon: 'What if we're meant to be, like, Superheroes?'

Misfits is most often described as an English Heroes, and it's a comparison not entirely undeserved. Its main characters do have superpowers, but Misfits is undeniably grittier than its American cousin. It has the same inner city grimness that made Skins such compelling viewing back in 2007, but what really sets it apart is its black humour. It's an acquired taste, certainly—the language is sometimes coarse, with sexual chit chat bordering on the excruciating—but it's this meld of seemingly disparate ingredients which makes it unique. There's nothing else quite like it.

Monday 20 December 2010

Misfits: Episode Seven

Simon: 'I'm going to kill Jesus.'

This was the most messed-up nativity story I've ever seen. I can still see Nathan stamping on that afterbirth. Truly disgusting—and, of course, quite brilliant. No wonder E4 put out a gore warning before the episode aired, it was enough to traumatise anyone. Tonight's tale was something of a game changer as is saw the misfits trade in their existing powers for new ones. What they are we'll have to wait until next season to find out. I can't wait.

Friday 17 December 2010

Misfits: Episode Six

Simon: 'When do I turn into this superhero?'

I love it when a seemingly innocuous episode suddenly goes bosoms up. We were treated to all manner of drama tonight, although it was obvious how it would all end. Curtis' lactose intolerance, coupled with his ability to turn back time, was always going to be key, but there were some intriguing twists along the way, some fascinating reveals, and some genuinely moving character pieces. Plus, virtually everyone ended up either dead or incapacitated. Which is exactly what you want from a penultimate episode—particularly if you're a masochist.

Thursday 16 December 2010

Holiday Gift Guide: Doctor Who, Misfits and Sherlock


In the spirit of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, I'm including gift ideas for all three of my shows in one post. Sherlock represents the Spirit of Christmas Past (because of its Victorian origins), Misfits the Spirit of Christmas Present (because it's presently airing on E4), and Doctor Who the Spirit of Christmas Yet To Come (because the Christmas episode is yet to air).

Of course, the real reason I'm grouping them together, is that I didn't quite grasp the concept of 'one show at a time'. Which makes the above explanation nothing more than a ruse designed to hide my shame. I made a mistake, okay? I just hope nobody noticed.

Doctor Who:

—For those who don't already own it, Russell T. Davies' 'The Writers Tale: The Final Chapter' is a must have for any discerning Doctor Who fan. It's a collection of emails between Davies and journalist Benjamin Cook, documenting the writing process, script development, and ups and downs of being Showrunner. Davies is surprisingly candid about his achievements. He's sometimes immodest, occasionally self-deprecating, but you can always count on him to be honest.

—Not a fan of Matt Smith? Whilst you sit there, wallowing in your own disgustingness, you could always kick it old school and bust out one of Big Finish's audio adventures. Is your favourite Doctor still Colin Baker? Did you stop watching when Peter Davison hung up his cricketing box for good? Fear not, because both Doctors are still out there having adventures. New stories. Old companions. It's like they never went away. Let's hope they all team up for a 50th anniversary special, eh? It'll likely be dire, but imagine the fun we'll have.

—For those of us hit hard by the recession (i.e. the known universe), how about making some Doctor Who gifts yourself? You've heard the axiom about home-made gifts showing the most love, right? Well, it's not true—it means you're cheap. But since cheap is the new charitable, you might fancy taking a gander at the numerous Doctor Who craft ideas out there. There are patterns galore on the internet for crocheted Cybermen, macramé Daleks, and cloth Adipose. Yes, a few are embarrassing, but some you could conceivably give as a gift without it seeming like a slap in the face. You may even have fun—which let's face it, is what it's all about.

Misfits:

—Yes, I know I've only just started reviewing it, but the series boxed sets are so cheap at the moment, you'd have to be a right Scrooge to deprive your nearest and dearest of E4's latest foul mouthed sci-fi offering. Beware you don't accidentally buy The Misfits, starring Clark Gable. It's a good film, but nobody has superpowers, and nobody craps in anyone's bed.

Sherlock:

—Sherlock was the unexpected hit of 2009. The concept seemed dreadful, but it was so brilliantly realised and acted, that it totally worked. For those of you only recently acquainted with Holmes, there's a massive back catalogue of previous adaptations to choose from. The Ronald Howard (no, not the ginger one from Happy Days) boxed set is as rough as a roofer's glove, and should be avoided at all costs, but the Jeremy Brett boxed set is as cheap as chips and as good as any adaptation you're likely to see.

—The original Conan Doyle Stories are also bafflingly cheap. In fact, if you have a eReader, 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' is completely free. Even hard copies (that's books to you and me) of the full canon are just a few quid. A small price to pay for classic story telling.

—The BBC's audio adaptations (featuring Clive Merrison), are also worth a look (and listen). Merrison and Co. managed to record every story in the canon (and some that aren't). Ideal fodder for those cold winter evenings—when the powers of evil are exalted.

That's me done. Have a good one, folks!

Misfits - Episode Five

Nathan: 'Why's a gorilla wearing a gorilla costume?'

Maybe because Bruno's a monkey, with the ability to change into a human? Yeah, I know, technically he was a gorilla, but let's not go there. They sold us a double bluff tonight and I fell for it hook, line and sinker. The most obvious candidate for Nathan's mysterious killer was either Jessica or Bruno: Bruno because he clearly had anger issues (evidenced by the hearty banging he gave Kelly in the store cupboard); Jessica because, let's face it, she was just too adorable. Her interest in Simon was such an obvious set-up that she just had to be evil. Except she wasn't. She was an innocent, just like Simon.

Wednesday 15 December 2010

Christmas Gift Ideas

In the spirit of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, I'm including gift ideas for all three of my shows in one post. Sherlock represents the Spirit of Christmas Past (because of its Victorian origins), Misfits the Spirit of Christmas Present (because it's presently airing on E4), and Doctor Who the Spirit of Christmas Yet To Come (because the Christmas episode is yet to air).

Of course, the real reason I'm grouping them together, is that I didn't quite grasp the concept of "one show at a time." Which makes the above explanation nothing more than a ruse designed to hide my shame. I made a mistake, okay? I just hope nobody noticed.

Wait! I'm saying this in my head, right?

Tuesday 14 December 2010

Misfits: Episode Four

Ollie: 'Has anyone got one of these weird powers?'

Ollie didn't last long. No sooner had we learned of his ability to teleport (and marvelled at his cool sandals), and he was dead. I half expected Curtis to turn back time and save him, but not this time. Which is a pity because I liked Ollie. It's just a shame he was never anything more than an organ donor. Still, at least Nikki got her new heart. Unfortunately, she's also inherited Ollie's terrible superpower: the ability to teleport just a few feet. I guess you take the rough with the smooth.

Sunday 12 December 2010

Misfits: Episode Three

Superhoodie: 'It's going to be all right. I should know. I'm from the future.'

Tonight's was an event filled episode. Nathan turned gay and fell in love with Simon; Curtis got stabbed with a knife made from ink; Simon almost choked to death; Kelly fell in love with Vince the tattoo artist; and Alisha fell in love with Superhoodie. So much shit was happening, it was hard to keep track. Alisha and Curtis' relationship also looks to be on the rocks. Presumably, this will free Curtis up to start seeing Nikki. Which means Curtis' flash-forward could come true sooner than we thought.

Saturday 11 December 2010

Misfits - Episode Two

Nathan: 'I see dead people.'

This episode started off slowly. Nathan's back-story, whilst not entirely surprising, offered an intriguing glimpse into his personal life. Greeting your Father with a punch in the face is pretty dysfunctional, and getting one back is downright abusive. Where this episode really caught fire (pun intended) was at the club. Curtis' altered power gifted us a fascinating peek into the future. How far into the future is anyone’s guess, but if that last minute reveal was anything to go by, it could be sooner than we think.

Misfits - Episode One

Kelly: 'Ah, you fucker!'

Tasteful dialogue with which to start a season, eh? This episode pretty much followed on from the season one finale: with Kelly mourning Nathan's death, Nathan indulging in a spot of onanism (whilst lying in his own shit), and Simon with a dead probation worker in the deep freeze. Only, now there's a new hero in town, and he seems to know all about the misfits. Who is Superhoodie? Does he have superpowers? Questions they'll hopefully address as the season progresses.

Thursday 11 November 2010

Let Me In

Let Me In is a 2010 remake of the 2008 Swedish cult classic, Let The Right One In. The film revolves around Abby and Owen, two twelve year olds, living in Los Alamos, New Mexico. As you might have guessed from the title, this is a vampire flick -- but it's definitely not your standard vampire fare. Whereas a traditional vampire movie typically has its vampire protagonist fighting against its own murderous nature to win the heart of its human companion, Let Me In contains no such clichés. Rather than being the story of good triumphing over evil through the rediscovery of what it is to be human, this is a story of survival, adolescent torment, and the things we do for love.

Tuesday 10 August 2010

Sherlock: The Great Game

Moriarty: “Twelve hours to solve my puzzle, Sherlock. Or I'm going to be so naughty.”

If last week's episode had a weakness, it was the puzzling absence of some of the show's major characters. Lestrade was inexplicably AWOL, Moriarty was reduced to a faceless cameo, and even Mycroft was conspicuous by his absence. So it was only fitting that tonight's episode attempt to redress the balance by bringing them all together in one story. Well, in reality it was five stories—but tonight saw Holmes' unique talents stretched to the limit. And, finally, we got to see Moriarty step out of the shadows and face his arch-nemesis.

Thursday 5 August 2010

Sherlock: The Blind Banker

Watson: “Me, Sherlock. In court. On Tuesday. They're giving me an ASBO.”

Tonight's episode was a loose adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Dancing Men'—and when I say 'loose' I mean pants falling down, baring your arse loose. If Steven Moffat hadn't mentioned it on Twitter, I probably wouldn't have noticed. The only similarity I picked up on was that both stories have a secret code as their central theme. In 'The Dancing Men' it was a code based upon a system of hand-drawn stick men, in 'The Blind Banker' it was a system of graffiti style Hangzhou numerals. Apart from that, and a couple of possible references to 'The Sign of Four' and 'The Valley of Fear,' I caught nothing.

Wednesday 28 July 2010

Sherlock: A Study in Pink

Sherlock: 'The game, Mrs Hudson, is on!'

Sherlock is a reboot of the Sherlock Holmes franchise and is the brain child of Doctor Who head-writer Steven Moffat and The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss. It's also set in modern day London. Sounds awful? That's what I thought. In fact, I was completely prepared to hate this programme. How can anything good come of moving an iconic 19th century detective to the 21st century? Is the character of Sherlock Holmes even relevant these days? More importantly, can his unique brand of deductive reasoning cut the mustard in this modern age of GPS, computers and forensics?

Wednesday 30 June 2010

Doctor Who: The Big Bang (2)

Amy: 'Okay, kid. This is where it gets complicated.'

Good grief, she wasn't kidding. This was an episode which broke all the rules. There was no clashing of alien hardware, no Doctor v arch-nemesis fight to the death—all we got is one fossilised Dalek, and even it looked fit to drop. But what this episode failed to deliver in terms of dazzling, high-octane spectacle, it more than made up for in brain scrambling complexity. We went back and forth through time more times tonight than we've done all season. We were also treated to a wedding, two Amy Ponds, the return of Aunt Sharon, and dancing so freakishly disturbing that it should never have been shown before the water shed.

Monday 21 June 2010

Doctor Who: The Pandorica Opens (1)

Unknown voice: 'Silence will fall.'

This was a massive episode. Not only were the stakes enormous and the cliff-hanger whopping, we were treated to perhaps the biggest assembly of Doctor Who baddies the show has ever seen. Not just fifth season villains, either—we got to see Autons, Cybermen, Sycorax, Daleks, Judoon, Sontarans, and a whole host of other nasties too numerous to mention (except I do mention them later). It was like fanfic times 10 to the power of 23 (I did the math). I also totally had several nerdgasma.

Tuesday 15 June 2010

Doctor Who: The Lodger

Craig: 'Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit weird?'
Doctor: 'They never really stop.'

A brilliant beginning, an embarrassing middle, and a disappointing ending. But enough about the England game—what about Doctor Who? (Boom tish!) Tonight's episode was a serviceable, if companion-lite, story about the joys of normal life, the intricacies of making an omelette, and how not to blow up the solar system. At times, it felt a little light on plot—but it was so full of humour that I didn't give a monkey's.

Tuesday 8 June 2010

Doctor Who: Vincent and the Doctor

Van Gogh: 'I know how it will end... and it will not end well.'

I really didn't think I'd like this one. I'm not usually a fan of historical episodes. Despite being vaguely enjoyable, there's a sameness about them which irks me. The historical figures are often portrayed as caricatures, which is fine for comedic purposes, but it's hard to get emotionally involved when the characters don't feel like real people. You smile at the familiar references, you chuckle at the Doctor somehow being responsible for their most famous works or sayings, but ultimately, it all feels a little contrived. Well, not tonight. 'Vincent and the Doctor' was an absolute gem. It was funny, charming, exciting—yet had a poignancy and depth we seldom get to see in Doctor Who.

Monday 31 May 2010

Doctor Who: Cold Blood (2)

Doctor: 'Yes, squeaky bum time.'

Virtually every TV paper this week gave tonight's episode a lukewarm reception. Some even went as far as saying that it was a disappointment after last week's 'suspenseful opener'. I respectfully disagree. Firstly, I didn't think last week's episode was particularly suspenseful, and secondly, I don't think tonight's episode suffered by way of comparison. Okay, so it wasn't marvellous—but there was more than enough content to keep me entertained, and plenty of mystery to keep me wondering.

Monday 24 May 2010

Doctor Who: The Hungry Earth (1)

Amy: 'Oh please, have you always been this disgusting?'
Doctor: 'No, it's recent.'

To some degree, this whole episode felt like an homage to the Pertwee era. The return of the Silurians was the most obvious tip of that hat, but there was also the TARDIS landing in the wrong place, at the wrong time (as was the norm in Worzel's day); the mining plot, which shared many story elements with 1970's episode 'Inferno' (i.e. a team of science boffins, drilling through the earth's crust, attempting to mine its rare resources... etc); and the idea of brokering a peace between the Silurians and mankind was an idea first explored in the imaginatively named 'Doctor Who and the Silurians'. I guess, after 47 years, it's only natural that a show's going to repeat itself.

Tuesday 18 May 2010

Doctor Who: Amy's Choice

Doctor: 'Look at you both, five years later and you haven't changed a bit. Apart from age... and size.'

I read an interesting thing on a Doctor Who forum last week. Someone made the comment 'The difference between a good episode of Doctor Who and a bad one is how much people want to talk about it afterwards'. There's probably some truth to that. When an episode's bad, many see it as a call to arms. Some find ripping into the writers/actors/production team a satisfying and cathartic way of expressing their displeasure. Others choose the more traditional route of identifying an episode's faults, and then proposing a potential fix. Whichever method you choose, the point is, dissatisfaction and confusion increase discussion exponentially.

Tuesday 11 May 2010

Doctor Who: The Vampires of Venice

Rory: 'You know what's dangerous about you? It's not that you make people take risks, it's that you make them want to impress you.'

It's been four years since Toby Whithouse last wrote an episode of Doctor Who. I know he's been busy with No Angels and Being Human, but after the unmitigated success of 'School Reunion' (one of my favourite episodes, ever), it's been a long and frustrating wait. After the debacle that was 'Victory of the Daleks' my expectations this week were low. So far this season, the only episode not penned by Moffat, turned out to be an absolute turkey. Thankfully, Whithouse's script was streets ahead of Gatiss' dreck: the story was solid, the vampires were frightening, and the humour was bang on the money. Even Rory made me chuckle. I take back what I said about him being the new Mickey. He's so not! Well... not so much.

Tuesday 4 May 2010

Doctor Who: Flesh and Stone (2)

Doctor: 'I wish I'd known you better.'
Octavian: 'I think, Sir, you know me at my best.'

Doctor Who's really tapping into its fantasy roots this season. In 'The Eleventh Hour' the Doctor commented that Amy's name sounded like something out of a fairy tale. Couple that with Amy's gingerbread house, the Raggedy Man, the Byzantium's forest-like interior, and Amy walking through it like some kind of modern day Little Red Riding Hood, and the imagery was really quite striking. Is the Pandorica a fairy tale, too? How much do you want to bet that it isn't?

Monday 26 April 2010

Doctor Who: The Time of Angels (1)

Amy: 'She's Mrs Doctor from the future, isn't she? Is she gonna be your wife one day?'

What a difference seven days makes, not to mention a change of writer. Tonight's story was a marked improvement over last week's: there were mysteries galore, dialogue to die for, and the characters actually felt real again. In short, nothing jarred, and all the main leads sparkled. After the blip that was 'Victory of the Daleks', Doctor Who feels well and truly back on track.

Tuesday 20 April 2010

Doctor Who: Victory of the Daleks

Doctor: 'All right, it's a Jammy Dodger, but I was promised tea.'

Cliché prohibits me from saying 'they're baaaack'—but they are. The Daleks have been mercifully scarce of late: a brief cameo here, some scrap parts turning up there, but no full appearance since 'Journey's End'. So, did you miss them?

*Tumble-weed rolls by*

Monday 12 April 2010

Doctor Who: The Beast Below

Doctor: 'Right then. This isn't going to be big on dignity.'

Aaron Asadi, writing for SciFiNow, made an interesting comment earlier in the week. He stopped short of saying that Doctor Who had become Americanised, but did proffer the opinion that Russell T. Davies always wrote with one eye firmly on the USA. According to Asadi, this manifested itself in 'a tendency to map Who’s journey about classic American TV tropes: will-they-won’t-they romance; high-octane action; handsome heroes' and 'humourless sacrifice'. Now, whether you agree with him or not (and I sympathise to some degree), since its resurrection, Doctor Who has been a different show. A better show, some would argue—having a broader appeal, almost certainly—but at what cost? Has Doctor Who lost some of its Britishness?

Saturday 3 April 2010

Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour

Doctor: 'Who da man? Oh, I'm never saying that again.'

Season premières are unforgiving creatures. There's often too much to convey in too little time, and this episode had a particularly difficult brief as it had the unenviable task of introducing us to not only a new Doctor, but also a new companion, and a brand new, super-sized TARDIS. So well done to the man (or woman) whose idea it was to grant us an extra 20 minutes of air time. It helped the story no end.

Saturday 2 January 2010

Doctor Who: The End of Time (2)

Doctor: “I don't want to go.”

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this episode. A humongous battle between the Doctor and the Time Lords, perhaps? An alliance between the Doctor and The Master, eventually culminating in the defeat of Rassilon? What I wasn't expecting was the Doctor dying such an intimate, low-key death. In the end it wasn't the Master or Rassilon who destroyed the Doctor, it was Wilf. And of course, despite the absolute certainty of irreparable radiation damage, the Doctor went to his aid.