The Prisoner: Once Upon a Time

”Why don’t you resign?”

The Prisoner has never really cared much for realism; it’s full of surreal imagery and relies on it, being a programme about freedom and integrity in a world that’s always trying to gaslight you. But it’s never gone so far as in this penultimate episode, clearly no story of the week but part one of the finale, entirely studio bound (and, no doubt, cheap) and very much like a stage play, while making very few concessions to realism at all. This is “the” surreal episode of a programme that’s pretty bloody surreal to begin with. I’m not sure I fully understand it, but it’s brilliant.

Leo McKern is back as Number Two, reluctantly, and increasingly frustrated both by his return and by Number Six’s intransigence. And so begins a week of “degree absolute” where both are locked in a stage set for seven days and Number Two tries intense techniques to regress and brainwash Number Six with techniques seemingly based on Shakespeare’s “Seven Ages” speech from As You Like It. It’s weird but compelling viewing, and the school section is fascinating- this may have been broadcast in 1968, but both McGoohan and Number Six were born in 1928, so the school environment simulated here is that of the (public?) schools of the 1930s and ‘40s, where conformity is seemingly beaten into the traumatised children who presumably learn stoicism, emotional deadness and cynical smartarsery.

We end with the reversal of roles, Number Two dying simply because a countdown says so, and Number Six suddenly in charge and able to order about the butler and supervisor. I have absolutely no idea what’s going on, but that’s good; everything is on the level of metaphor and symbolism, the meaning of which are gloriously subjective. I love it.

iZombie: Bye, Zombies

"We are in the South now. You don't put stolen jewellery in a black man's pocket."

The penultimate episode. Nearly there.

Confession time; this is a heist episode (it's too close to the end for murders of the week), and the pop culture references centre around Mission Impossible and Ocean's 11, neither of which I happen to have seen. Still, I'll do my best.

So Ravi sent the tainted Utopium to a scientist at the CDC in the hop of a zombie cure... and the money-grabbing bastard has realised there's more money in palliatives rather than cures. This is why state health services should always be allowed to veto this kind of evil. Anyway, the point is we have a pretext for Liv, Ravi and- after some persuading- a Clive who is touchingly emotional, to carry out said heist in a clever, entertaining and ultimately successful fashion with the help of some appropriate brains from the restaurant of a grieving Don E. It's splendid stuff.

It's the penultimate episode, though, so other arc threads are gently nudged towards their respective conclusions. After all, we have racist extremists for both humankind and zombiekind respectively trying to start a war. The nuclear bomb of Damocles still metaphorically hangs over the city. But not all is bad; Ravi gets to rub in Blaine's face that Peyton is his girl ("That was genuine cockiness!") which is cool and, I think, just on the right side of not being misogynistic.

Blaine reminds us, however, that, despite being the witty villain we love to hate, he is in fact an absolute ***, making Peyton genuinely afraid as he kills one of the Freylich kids and threatens the rest. I predict he's going to die. We also get the most touching grave robbing scene ever as Liv and Major remind each other that they like each other and kiss. Awww. Except... this is near the end and anyone could die. Could they...? Would they...?

While the heist is successful the episode ends on a grim note; Major is alone, a fugitive, in a New Seattle where he's been usurped by Enzo and the extremists are merrily warmongering. And he has to get some Max Rager from Fillmore Graves...

What an episode. What a season. What a series. One more to go...

Starship Troopers (1997)

“Fresh meat to the grinder, eh?”

I saw this film once before, and loved it, twenty-odd years ago. But I only read Robert Heinlein’s original novel a couple of years ago, on the train, during my commute, where I do all my reading these days. And the novel is a different beast. It follows the story of Johnny Nico, yes, but doesn’t concern itself with just one war and is as much world-building as narrative. Most extraordinary, it seems to expound a worldview that is quite extraordinary, and which is assumed to be more playing with ideas than reflecting the supposedly libertarian views of its author.

These views are, to put it mildly, not remotely libertarian. I say that as a radical liberal, a devotee of Lilburne, Locke, John Stuart Mill, Keynes, Beveridge and Henry George. Personally I’m left of centre while avowedly not in any way socialist, seeing the need for the state to free people from poverty in terms of individual liberty; unlike right wing libertarians I don’t see this as a silly abstract opposition between the state and the private sector. I’m the kind of libertarian that would support, say, the state legislating to prevent private organisations from putting cameras in employee toilets. The point is, as a radical liberal I’m left of centre, very much unlike Heinlein, but although I prefer not to use the word “libertarian” (it has right-wing connotations these days), I certainly am one.

And, if the novel truly reflects Heinlein’s views, he most certainly was not one. The classroom scene in the film- expanded in the novel to “history and moral philosophy”- justifies its ideology that only soldiers or former soldiers deserve citizenship as being because voting is an exertion of power and this a violent act, and violence gets things done. I don’t agree, to put it mildly. I’m all in favour of the idea that freedom isn’t free, that free citizens must be prepared to fight and die for that freedom, as in 1939. But to make that freedom conditional would pervert such a noble gesture into cynical self-interest; we would be fighting for personal advancement, not to defend a freedom we would not have. Heinlein seems to support discipline and violence as ends unto themselves, whereas it is of course nonsense to fetishise then like this; discipline and force are morally neutral. It’s the ends they are used for that matter. And I firmly believe that a truly free society would fight better. We should be Athens, not Sparta. And yes; I’m aware that soldiers are free to leave at any time without their citizenship and that the society appears to be a true meritocracy. It still isn’t free.

Anyway, the film, which is awesome. Obviously, Hollywood can not possibly get away with espousing such views and the film wisely takes a more critical look. Paul Verhoeven is absolutely the right choice as director. The film is filled, from the start, with spoof military propaganda (and others, subtly expanding this world of psychic powers and summary rough justice) which satirises this kind of knee-jerk militarism. Yes, this kind of thing repeats the same trick from RoboCop but it is, I think, the right way to frame the film. It’s also the right decision, cinematically, to structure the film as more of a narrative focusing on Johnny, his friends, and the love rectangle with Carmen, poor Diz, and Zander. And the bugs look awesome in a way they would not have done a few years later with CGI development. I’m sure those expecting a straight ahead s I-do romp would be disappointed, but this is a film rightly focused on ideas and satirical humour as much as glorious violence and sex- it’s notable that military service is gender blind, society seems gender blind too, and that both sexes shower together.

This is a well-made, genuinely gripping film with no slow moments, yet one which is careful to present Heinlein’s ideas without endorsing them. An absolute triumph.

The Prisoner: The Girl Who Was Death

"My name... is death!"

Well... at least the game of cat and mouse and the sequence with all the booby traps was entertaining. I loved the cyanide candles. In fact, I also used the cricket ball bomb which blows up the Colonel, complete with magnificent facial hair, just short of his century- a delightful touch, and I love that this detail appears on the headline! I also love Number Six’s response to being poisoned- drinking magnificent quantities of alcohol and making himself sick.

The set pieces are great. But that’s all this episode is- a collection of set pieces. The conceit at the end- Number Six is just reading a bedtime story to some children in a flimsy plot by Number Two to get him to let his guard down- feels very token, and this leaves the episode looking very superficial, very filler, very running-out-of-ideas. You can see why McGoohan decided to end it after just two more episodes.

Perhaps I’m being harsh; on an action/adventure level the episode works splendidly, and I’m sure it was a favourite of younger viewers. But this just isn’t what I expect of The Prisoner. I suppose you could just about manage to squint and find some kind of tenuous subtext about fear of female sexuality, but the episode isn’t really about anything.

The Prisoner: Living in Harmony

“Welcome to Harmony, stranger...”

Argh. I want to like this episode, I really do. It tries to do something brave and left field, and I'm glad they went through with it, but the novelty wears off halfway through.

They do it properly, though. No usual titles and immediate immersion in the American West, at least as far as that’s possible with locations that are very obviously in Blighty. The American accents are ok and, in many cases, genuine, and we can forgive Patrick McGoohan- and, indeed, any slip in verisimilitude as the whole thing is a simulation. At first the novelty is riveting as the same story is played out but in a different context- our hero resigns as sheriff for unknown reasons, finds himself in a new town that he can never leave, and finds the place to be ruled by a powerful figure with a propensity for dirty tricks and show trials.

Thing is, the novelty wears off halfway through and the plot- fairly standard Western stuff but slow paced, begins to look rather dull. And the resolution- Number Six is still in the Village and this is just an induced shared hallucination-  is predictable.

There are positives other than the concept itself- the Kid is creepy in a very #MeToo sort of way, and gives a sense of surrealism with those pink clothes and that top hat. But I’m afraid I see this episode as a brave experiment that doesn’t quite come off.

O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000)

“I slaughtered this horse last Tuesday. I'm afraid she's startin' to turn."

I've blogged close to 600 films but, to my shame, nothing by the Coen Brothers until now. Yes, I know. And I’m suitably rebuked by how extraordinarily wonderful this film is. It manages to work both as a magnificent piece of art and as splendidly entertaining drama.

So yes, the sepia-tinged cinematography is impressive, and yes, the influence of The Odyssey is obvious- Big Dan is a hostile one-eyed giant, there are literal sirens, there may not be literal transmogrification but Delmarvis convinced that Pete has been turned into a frog, and of course (Ulysses)- who arrogantly refuses help, especially from (the) God(s), is desperate to get back home before a suitor marries his wife.

But the film is really a splendid mix of picaresque encounters and ongoing character development which shows the grim, Depression-era state of Mississippi in all its deeply racist, superstitious and corrupt barbarism. This depressing setting is leavened by lots and lots of wonderful humour, hiding a pessimistic message under its sugar; the evil, Ku Klux Klan cultist politician is the reformer, and his downfall leads to the corrupt incumbent cynically using the Soggy Bottom Boys to continue his cronyism, pardoning then at a stroke but not necessarily improving the lives of his constituents. But that evil secret society is still there and still lynching, prison conditions are abhorrently barbaric, with convicts breaking rocks pointlessly all day while the black ones are called “boy”, and desperate poverty pervades everything.

But against that is music, which makes life worth living, and so we have one of the greatest soundtracks in cinematic history. It is everywhere, giving much-needed colour to everyone’s lives. And so this film, about deeply desperate and suffering lives, which offers little hope, manages to be uplifting in spite of it all. A truly great film.

Terminator Salvation (2009)

“If you’re listening to this, you are the resistance.”

This is it, then: the moment the Terminator franchise leaps headlong over a large carnivorous fish of the genus carcharhinus.

So what’s so awful about it? After all, it’s inoressive the way they briefly manage to get a T-800 looking like Arbus for a few seconds later on, and there’s a nice little fourth-wall breaking moment later on where Marcus uses a song as terminator bait, and it’s You Could Be Mine by Guns ‘n’ Roses, straight from the T2 soundtrack. Indeed, the first scene, with Marcus signing away his body in return for a kiss an hour before his judicial killing,  is dramatic and interesting.

And yet the film is a crashing disappointment, a generic action film with no time travel and bland CGI terminators that look like nothing special. Even the various air, sea and giant terminators don’t manage to excite; it’s all just a soup of bland CGI dullness.

There’s a glimmer on interest in the decision to set the film in 2018(!), Much earlier than the usual 2029 (although the year Skynet assumes control, after all the times-windy ness of earlier films, is kept wisely vague) so we get a John Connor who is not yet in charge and a young Kyle Reese, played charismatically by the sadly late Anton Yelchin. Trouble is, the part of John Connor absolutely requires a charismatic actor... and they cast Christian Bloody Bale.

Annoyingly, this is a film you probably need to see if you’re a Terminator completist. It won’t be much fun, though. Full, full, full.

iZombie: Killer Queen

”Jenkins, find me all the Chers."

It's the pen-penultimate episode of iZombie, ever, and by Jove this is bloody good. So much happens, it all drives along the arc splendidly, the characters are a joy- yet this week's murder mystery, this time centring around drag queens, is as splendid as ever, and drag queen brain Liv is naturally enormous fun; the episode finds time for this even though it has so much to do. I'll miss this programme.

But we begin with Liv and Ravi finding out what Martin is up to, a massive blow for her; at this point, it seems as though Liv's dad is going to be the Big Bad. But Ravi now has some original boat party Utopium, a possible source for a cure- and news of the recent murder of a cured zombie proves a cure is out there. We get a splendid little comic sub-plot, too, as Ravi and Major, that great double act, get to be heroes and rescue all Blaine’s Freylich kids. I suspect this will be the last fun sub-plot before the finale so possibly, gulp, ever.

But things soon get intense as Martin’s conspiracy leads to four “sisters” Liv helps out of Seattle turn out to be sleeper agents setting up shop in a Nevada brothel to infect people- and Enzo shows more hardline tendencies. So much so, in fact, that he exposes the operation by killing a hostage and allows Liv to learn the truth. This all feels real and character-led, complex though the plot is, a sign of good writing. The same can be said for the desperate Skype call between Liv and her dad- ultimately leading leading to Enzo shooting him dead. Yes; he’s the Big Bad. And he has the most outrageous French accent since Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

And that’s not all- Blaine finds out Don E is still running brains for Major and, even worse for him, Darcy suddenly dies in her wedding dress shortly before the wedding. Ouch. That was a superb bit of telly.

The Prisoner: Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling

"For once I am dictating!"

Well, I can’t like them all. I know nothing of Prisoner fandom; is this episode disliked?

This episode stretches the format to breaking point. There’s no dialogue at the start, the Village appears only at the beginning and end, and Number Six is played by Nigel Stock in what must be a claim to fame; Patrick McGoohan hardly appears. Even more strikingly, the episode is centred around Number Six’s life in London, where his flat is suddenly his again, and he meets his fiancée and his boss/prospective father-in-law. Number Six is “wearing” a different body, yes, and disbelieved, but revealing so much about his life at home removes much of the mystery and would have been best left alone.

The conceit, of course, is the decidedly fantastic one of swapping minds between bodies, and there’s a nice twist at the end. It’s fascinating that Professor Seltzmann is played by eighty-one year old Hugo Schuster, who was born in Aachen in 1886, in Bismarck’s Germany and a subject of Wilhelm I, first kaiser of a united Germany. This sort of thing reminds you that the seemingly distant past was perhaps not so very long ago.

The episode lacks sparkle, though, and feels like filler to get them up to seventeen episodes. The format, outside the village without being based on a cruel twist, simply doesn’t work for the programme. And it’s McGoohan-lite. An eminently skippable episode. Please let there be no more like this

Moon (2009)

"I want to go home..."

Well, it's the fiftieth anniversary of the Moon landing so I'm blogging this splendid film- what else?

It’s a wonderful film, of course. Bowie’s lad done good; it can’t be easy being the offspring of a genius, and Duncan Jones did well to eschew music, where expectations would have been impossible, in favour of another art form. He chose directing and, whatever happens in his career from now on (his career since 2009 seems to have been variable), he has this splendid achievement to his name.

Sam Rockwell is also superb and, indeed, has to be; he’s the only actor to have more than a cameo here, amusing and disorienting though it is to see Matt Berry as his boss. But the other character is the ship computer, Gerry, whom I shall try not to compare to HAL- oops- and who is creepily voiced by a pre-scandal Kevin Spacey. Gerty is creepy; not least because of those smileys.

These are all just surface things, though; what makes this film sing is its ideas and themes, of corporate ethics in a world where private corporations mine Helium-3 from the Lunar surface, yes, but mainly about- how shall I put it- themes of self and consciousness. This is serious science fiction with a twist, a Tharg’s Future Shock, if you will, or an rxtended episode of Black Mirror. And it’s wonderful.

A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

“You’ll get rich here, or you’ll be killed.”

I saw this film on DVD many years ago as a twentysomething, and remembered very little about it. I know, though that this and Sergio Leone in particular are supposed to be highly regarded, this is said to be a prime example of the spaghetti western and of Clint Eastwood’s loner type character. Also, I’ve only seen a couple of proper Westerns at this point (High Noon and The Man Who Killed Liberty Valance). So I’m not saying anything here with any deep knowledge of the genre.

I can say that the Spanish locations look convincing as the American West and the setting, just into Mexican territory, means the film can just about get away with the fact that Eastwood is the only(!) American actor. And yes, the film works very well on a basic level- Eastwood convinces as the mysterious but intelligent loner, cynical but not without morals deep down, who cleverly plays the two criminal families that are destroying a town against each other to eliminate them both. Plus the whole thing is well shot.

Except... the other Westerns I’ve seen were about something, about moral dilemmas and doing the right thing where it isn’t clear or easy and where there may be no reward. They were about character, in both senses of the word. They had depth, and worked as drama. This is... well, it’s a good action film but an action film is what it is. Do Westerns not necessarily have that depth I’ve seen before? Are spaghetti westerns different and a bit more superficial? Is Clint Eastwood known for this kind of more superficial Western? I’m sure I’ll slowly find out.

Incidentally, this is pure coincidence but the previous film I saw was Back to the Future, Part II, which had a clip from the climax. But surely, if Biff Tannen changed history in 1955, the butterfly effect would mean the same film in 1964 would never quite appear?

Back to the Future: Part II (1989)

" I know you just sent me back to the future, but I'm back. I'm back from the future."

"Great Scott!"

I’ve blogged a shocking 590 films, not including this one. That’s a lot. And I find, the more films I blog, the more I feel have to ration out those handful of absolute favourite films ever for fear of having none of them left to blog. But it’s getting a bit ridiculous that I still haven’t re-watched and blogged this, one of my favourite films of all time, so here it is. One day I may even get around to Part III.

Back to the Future was an excellent film to start with, but this is one of those rare cases where a sequel can outshine it’s predecessor. Re-watching this after a while just confirms how awesome it is- after the first film’s fairly simple time travel plot it’s incredible to see how cleverly this film makes a plot about time paradoxes that is actually rather complicated when you think about it, and makes it palatable for a mainstream blockbuster audience with oodles of charm. Even the reprise at the beginning manages to subtly smooth over the recasting of Jennifer and a rather less famous George.

As ever, Michael J. Fox is superb as Marty but it’s that splendid physical comedy performance as Doc by the great Christopher Lloyd that gives the film it’s charismatic heart. Doc doesn’t half talk a load of cobblers about the consequences of time travel that he couldn’t possibly be sure about but you just don’t care because Doc is so captivating. I laughed out loud this time at the “reveal” of his rejuvenation where he removes his rubber mask... and looks exactly the same. So let us not pry to closely at the fact he already looks pretty old in 1955 (Christopher Lloyd was 46 when they made the first film) and so must be pretty old by now. Let us raise an amused eyebrow as he says, having seen the alternate 1985, that he wants to fix everything, abandon time travel and turn to that other great mystery- women. On that note, let us merely raise an eyebrow as he, Mary and Jennifer are in that flying DeLorean in 2015, he gives Marty a glance, and renders Jennifer unconscious to stop her female prattling. A feminist he is not. This scene had me agog. Oh, and let us not pry too closely into his arbitrary ethics if time travel in which it’s ok to prevent Marty’s son going to prison but not ok to prevent Marty becoming “a loser”.

Never mind any of that. This film is wonderful, especially the farce at the end where the first film is happening in parallel, and they realised the importance of getting James Tolkan back as Mr Strickland. The parallel 1985 is horrible, a brilliant creation. And the 2015 is extremely amusing from the vantage point of now- the Jaws and Cafe 80s jokes are the same now as they were then but I was amused to spot a phone booth of all things. I love the antique shop. And I was highly amused to see that Marty Senior gets fired by... fax. Yes, well. It’s also interesting to see Biff watching that scene from the Clint Eastwood western...

If you don’t love this film, you’re wrong. That is all.

Inhumans: And Finally- Black Bolt

"If I can't have Attilan, no one will!"

Oh.

Well, that was disappointing, and it's not only the season finale but the last episode ever, What went wrong?

The Whole point about the Inhumans is their society on Attilan. No one is interested in stuff going on about Hawaii. Hawaii may look nice, but it's the real world, not exciting and weird like Attilan. yes, I know that good writing and nuanced characters could have made Hawaii exciting and interesting, but we didn't get any of that, did we?

No; we get Attilan literally destroyed by Maximus' hubris and incompetence, and 1,700 Inhumans are now refugees in America, which is a really great place for immigrants at the moment. (Oh, and Black Bolt- you have fewer subjects than my old upper school had pupils, and you call yourself a king? The Grand Duke of Luxembourg and the princes of Monaco and Liechtenstein would like a word.)

This means that any second series, which thankfully will not now happen, would have focused on the Inhumans' adjustment to life on Earth, and the agenda of their mysterious benefactor who Louise's previously sceptical boss has suddenly found. Yawn. Also unresolved are Gorgon's resurrection, the fact that the guilt-ridden Karnak is in trouble over that, the fact that Black Bolt ruled over a state with a slave class for years which makes him a problematic hero, and Crystal's pining for Dave.

But it seems this is it. The evacuation. Louise not even getting to see Attilan after all she's done for that bitch Medusa, although why Medusa doesn't find her in a prison cell after all the laws she's broken I have no idea. The tiresome showdown between Black Bolt on Attilan, leaving Maxie king of nobody in a bunker with apparently infinite supplies. Maximus' responses to everything Black Bolt signs always including a crude bt of exposition as to what he supposedly said. Anson Mount, predictably, getting one climactic line. Meh.

Is that it? Can we sop now? This series had such promise at the start. What happened? Such a terrible shame.

The Prisoner: A Change of Mind

"Unmutual!"

Wow. This is actually quite a harrowing episode that goes to some very dark and totalitarian places, exploring the nature of tyranny to an extent rarely seen even in The Prisoner. It's almost a common cliche that British science fiction of the post-war, Cold War era deals with themes of totalitarianism, freedom and tyranny, reflecting a nation relieved to have escaped Hitler's clutches and looking nervously over to the Eastern Bloc.

Things are very dark from the start. Number Six is using his private makeshift gym again, until a couple of thugs rough him up a bit for having the effrontery to expect privacy. Things then escalate as he is made to confess before a "committee" which has no interest in protestations of innocence; this is a Stalin-type show trial and the confession of Number Six's bearded predecessor is deeply distressing to observe. Even the absurd surrealism of the committee's appearance is sinister in the same way as the Nazis' goose-stepping; yes, it's silly. But you're too terrified to laugh, which makes the silliness something quite different. And, as though things were not awful enough, a woman is being "treated" for obvious depression in this context. Then we get the sinister "social group", evoking Mao's contemporary Cultural Revolution as dissenters are verbally denounced, although I'd like to think that the rare casting of an actor of Chinese origin here is not stereotyping.

Things get even more horrifying as we turn to the medicalisation of dissent in the hospital- something which, at the time, would very much evoke the USSR of Brezhnev, with its treatment of dissent as psychiatric illness. But then we seem to observe Number Six being lobotomised- something which even Brezhnev saw as beyond the pale. Of course the series has to continue after this, so the lobotomy turns out to have been a charade and the reset button remains available for pressing. But this in no way lessens the horror.

Yes, Number Six sort of turns the tables at the end. But even here he finds the mob mentality a depressingly small-minded one. An extraordinary and outstanding piece of television, which disturbed me far more than any horror film I've ever seen.

Atypical: Season 2, Episode 2- Penguin Cam and Chill

"You don’t live here any more, lady.”

After last week’s dramatic events we have an episode about everyone learning the ground rules for their new situation, literally. Elsa is staying with a friend and finding it hard not to keep turning up at the family home unprompted, or with an impromptu cooked meal-on the one hand a vibe grate Ute, on the second hand a desperate one, and on the, um, third hand an implicit statement that she doesn’t think Doug can cope. It’s almost heartbreaking how excited she gets when Doug asks to meet, but of course it’s all about establishing ground rules. Neither of them are comfortable in this scene, and both actors are superb.

Casey is finding her new private school bewildering, with no friends, snooty classmates, toilets hidden for fear of admitting that posh kids have bodily functions, hard lessons, and Kafkaesque food rules. She begins to understand a bit when she meets Nate, boyfriend of her tormentor and possible future love triangle material, who points out that his girlfriend is in fact jealous of her athletic talent.

Finally, poor Sam is confused by the ambiguity when Paige returns insisting that their relationship be “casual”. He insists on being told the ground rules but, as soon as Paige needs his emotional support, that goes out of the window. And because he hasn’t needed her support with what’s been going on lately, that’s not a relationship based on equal feelings. So he’s dumped. And, like many things this season, handling it rather well.

Another immaculately constructed episode. I’m enjoying this more and more.

The Prisoner: It's Your Funeral

"I can think of better ways to die..."

"And better causes to die for."

Well, here’s yet another very good episode in a run of what have been particularly good ones- at least in the order I’m watching. It takes a while to work out what’s going on- acting Number Two trying to discredit Number Six as a Cassandra so he can carry out a plot from on high to assassinate the actual Number Two at the moment of his retirement (is the motive really just to avoid paying a pension?!), and it’s she slow reveal of what’s happening that makes the episode so enjoyable. It leads to some questions, though. Who are all these Number Twos? How many of those we’ve met so far have been “acting”? How long is a Number Two’s term? Why have we never seen the actual Number Two before? Were all the others just “acting”?

A big highlight of this episode is Derren Nesbitt’s excellently mannered performance as the acting Number Two- and, for us Doctor Who fans, this is a veritable Marco Polo reunion with both Mark Eden and Kublai Khan himself, Martin Miller. Not only that but there’s a minor role for Wanda Ventham. Not many episodes have such a cast as this.

We also get to see the bizarre, crash-helmeted, trampoline-based sport that is Kosho, which briefly appeared last episode- I think this is completely made up. In any other series I’d describe it as utterly surreal but, well...

Yes, I suppose the resolution is predictable, but I love the stoic fatalism of the outgoing Number Two, who survives but probably not for long. This is a superbly weird piece of telly.

The Prisoner: Hammer into Anvil

”Each man has his breaking point, you know...”

This is possibly the finest episode yet. A simple plot- Number Six is outraged at the sadistic new Number Two for goading a poor young woman to suicide and slowly destroys him through psychological manipulation- is simple.  But the slow unwinding of Number Two as he descends into paranoia and ruin is masterfully done.

This episode  is, perhaps, a different kind of surreal, all instigated this time by Number Six, listening to the same Georges Bizet record multiple times and making notes, and hiding blank sheets of paper.. McGoohan is brilliant, of course, but so is Patrick Cargill as a confidently sadistic Number Two, an assured and capable man who quotes Goethe and Cervantes in their original German and Castilian yet gradually ends up an absolute wreck.

The episode works because it consists entirely of the unwinding of Number Six’s plan, and the mystery of what he’s up to. It’s the Day of the Jackal of The Prisoner, and it’s a triumph. This is far from a typical episode (does such a thing exist?) but it may be the best yet.

Valkyrie (2008)

“We have to show the world that not all of us are like him.”

This is an extremely exciting, entertaining and dramatic film full of tension and suspense as (in spite of inevitably knowing that the plot doesn’t succeed) we follow through the workings of the plot to assassinate Hitler in July 1944 by Count Claus Von Stauffenberg, Ludwig Beck and various other members of the German (in many cases Prussian) conservative establishment who feel that Hitler and Nazism have gone too far.

And the result is gripping. This is a film that had me on the edge of the seat. In a sense it could hardly have been otherwise, as the historical events are pretty bloody cinematic in the first place. But the whole thing is well executed. Yes, Tom Cruise is pretty wooden, but there’s a magnificent cast of mainly British character actors, with Bill Nighy standing out in particular, but we also get Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard in a straight role, Danny Webb, Ian McNiece, Tom Hollander and more. As a Hollywood war film with loads of suspense the film certainly succeeds.

And yet... does the film not whitewash Von Stauffenberg, Beck and the other members of the plot? Historians seem to disagree on Von Stauffenberg’s views- was he an anti-Semite but one who felt that the Holocsust was going too far? He was certainly no liberal, or democrat; he believed in German dominance over Poland; and he wanted a Germany with its 1914 borders plus Germany and the Sudetenland. This is, perhaps, the best we could have expected given where the Overton window was in Nazi Germany, but it’s a shame these shades of grey were washed over and the plotters were portrayed simply as heroes. They deserve respect and remembrance for what they did, but they fought for Nazi Germany. I think I shall let Roger Bartlett from The Great Escape have the last word here:

“Look, sir, you talk about the High Command and the Luftwaffe, and then you talk about the Gestapo and the SS. To me, they're the same! We're fighting the bloody lot! There's only one way to put it, sir: they are the common enemies of everyone who believes in freedom. If the High Command didn't approve of Hitler, then why didn't they throw him out?”

The July 1944 plot was too little, too late.

Atypical: Season 2, Episode 1- Juiced!

"I never met anyone who committed adultery before..."

This episode sees the fallout from last season’s finale as Elsa confesses her adultery to a furious Doug, who leaves for a while- hence the 2004 flashback, reminding us he hasn’t always had the moral high ground. Elsa tried hard to be a good mother and keep things together but she’s falling apart, and Casey is furious with her. When Doug returns a couple of days later it’s him who bonds with a highly strung Casey- and rather harshly throws a meek Elsa out of the house. This is nothing if not dramatic, and removes Doug’s halo somewhat. Is the rest of the season going to show Doug trying to manage as pretty much a single parent while Elsa is all alone?

There’s a hole in the family, and the metaphor with Sam’s hole in Antarctica is very cleverly handled all the way through until Sam realised what has happened after an upset Casey blurts it out- and actually copes rather well, considering, especially as Paige is away in Maine and their relationship is currently ambiguous after the, ahem, magical experience in the igloo. But he copes well, as Julia says when he naughtily meets her as a one-off for what should really be the last time. Hopefully he will find a decent new counsellor with, er, acceptable eyebrows...

Incidentally, Paige has a “mee-maw” as in Young Sheldon, and Sam goes past a “Denton University”. I Googled this, and apparently they all live in the Dallas area of Texas, which is not what I expected. Wherever they are, this is a strong start.

iZombie: Night and the Zombie City

"This is so noir!"

This episode is exactly as per the quote- Liv is on Sam Spade brain, the whole thing is shot and lit like a film noir, and fourth wall-breaking is apace anywhere you care to look. Ravi.in particular, knows exactly what genre he's in.

And yet, at heart, this episode shows perfectly just how much iZombie has perfected its formula just as it's about to end. Again we have an episode with a solid murder mystery plus related genre; great characterisation; and of course the ever-present arc plot. Here we have Liv learning her father is Beanpole Bob, inventor of Utopium, and thus creator of all zombies. Peyton comes to terms with no longer being mayor and returns to drinking magnificently. And, gloriously, Hi Zombie does actually seem to (just) prevent Seattle from getting nuked, meaning she didn't sacrifice her job for nothing.

We also, sweetly, have Don E proposing to Darcy (she's going to die soon, right?) - and learn that a zombie cure exists, which Liv and Clive just miss out on. We end with Liv and Ravi searching Martin's house, finding drug labs, notes possibly on the tainted Utopium- and cages full of Max Ragered Romeros. I genuinely have no idea where this is going in the last three episodes ever(!) but I'm loving iZombie more than ever.

A Star Is Born (2018)

"Will you sign my boobs?"

Oh my. It's romantic comedy starring Lady Gaga and Rocket raccoon. And it's actually rather good.

Before I say much... yes, I know I have a policy of not blogging remakes before originals, but this isn't a genre I follow more than casually, so I'll make an exception here. I may eventually blog the 1937 original, I may not; I have no idea. The musicals are unlikely but, again, who knows. Suffice to say I'm aware this is a remake, and previous versions have focused on movie stardom rather than music aside from the one with Kris Kristofferson, whose acting I like but whose music I cannot stand.

Suffice to say, it works. Cooper- I understand the whole thing is his vision- is extraordinary, jarring though it is to see a man but two years older than me playing a man in personal and career decline; and lady Gaga can really, really act- and she can sing, of course, and is a rather talented individual who could achieve remarkable things if only she gets the courage to utterly disown the evil, satanic world of chart pop.

I like that this is a romance between real soulmates united by a mutual love of the songwriting process- the downtrodden dreamer Ally and Jack, the kind of country music megastar who feels perfectly comfortable surrounded by drag artists in a gay bar. Our lovers have real chemistry and their relationship seems to evolve naturally. And I like the way the world of chart pop is shown to be as evil as it is, ruining artists with autotuned stupidity and trying to control their image.Rez, as our Simon Cowell-esque evil, uncultured svengali, is the villain of the piece, going sadly uncultured. And Jack's final suicide is at once tastefully shot and utterly devastating.  A rather good film.

Inhumans: Havoc in the Hidden Land

"Think about what kind of ruler you want to be."

Well, there was me thinking that once we left all the Earth stuff behind and got everyone back to Attilan things would improve. Well, not really. This is clearly meant to be the exciting penultimate episode, setting up the final battle between Black Bolt and Maximus (I'm betting Anson Mount get a line next episode) while establishing both that Maximus wants to undergo a second terrigenesis to acquire some powers and also that this is traditionally seen as a Bad Thing To Do- hence the secondary cliffhanger of second terrigenesis having resurrected Gorgon, in some form or other.

Yes it doesn't quite come off. Crystal is now suddenly pining for Hawaii and her beloved Dave, but ths has hardly been earned. We, and surely she, hardly know Dave. Triton is back but, again, we hardly know him. And then there's Medusa and Black Bolt arguing over whether to be vengeful or merciful with Maximus- but surely this is no choice at all? As Aeschylus established thousands of years ago the way to break the cycle of revenge and vendettas is a justice system. Surely Attilan has laws? If Black Bolt is just an arbitrary ruler then he's not the good guy.

It all goes as expected, with a parley and Maximus double crossing everyone. Good though Iwan Rheon is at twirling his non-existent moustache, this episode isn't really about anything and by this stage we've long come to leaen not to expect much in characterisation. Inhumans looks set to end not with a bang but with a whimper.

Good Omens: The Very Last Day of the Rest of Their Lives

“Just imagine how awful it might have been if we'd been at all competent."

It's the end, then. oh, I'm aware of what's been said in the media; Gaiman hasn't ruled out a second season, and he and Terry Pratchett even had at least some discussion way back when about a novel. But really; there are obviously no particular plans to continue and it all seems pretty much well-wrapped up to me.

It's a splendid finale, too. Oh, I realise it ends about halfway through with Newt breaking all the world's military computers with his superhuman klutziness while Adam firmly insists that a CGI Benedict Cumberbatch is not his father, in a bizarre reversal of The Empire Strikes Back, and we proceed to spend the rest of the episode in an indulgent celebration of Crowley and Aziraphale's six thousand year friendship. And why the bloody hell not? It's all highly entertaining, and the swap between the two of them to survive their respective punishments is, er, devilishly clever. Never mind that Mrs Llamastrangler guessed what they'd done, or that they're lucky that their respective punishments were indeed holy water and hellfire respectively. I'm far too entertained by this to be churlish about plot holes.

Even better, we get Agnes' new prophecies, and shipping of Sergeant Shadwell with Madame Tracey, as soon as he's checked she has an acceptable number of nipples. But best of all are our two friends, those magnificent actors Messrs Sheen and Tennant, and a superb adaptation of a splendid novel after three bloody decades. Wonderful.

Good Omens: The Doomsday Option

"Your car is on fire!"

Mrs Llamastrangler and I are somewhat distressed that there’s only one episode left to go, and a second series is unlikely given the sad, untimely death of the wonderful Sir Terry Pratchett. This is, if anything, the least good episode so far, much of which can be put down to its being Part Five. It’s still bloody brilliant.

We begin with Crowley at the bookshop, distressed that someone has apparently killed the man he now calls “my best friend” (although I love how Aziraphale, now partly played by Miranda Richardson whole role is suddenly no longer a bit part, has such a very English reaction to realising this), spends the whole episode in a state of furious, heroic, utterly David Tennant determination such that it’s tempting to call Crowley the central heroic protagonist of the entire series- I mean, he gets through the impassable hellfire that is the M25 in a burning car to get to Tadfield, where the delightfully British reaction of the local man whom he stops for directions and is too polite to point out that his car is on fire is one of the funniest scenes so far.

Interestingly, there’s far less piss-taking of the American military in the US airbase than there is in the novel, but everyone is gravitating towards there- the Four Horsemen, Anathema and the now-deflowered Newt, and of course Adam- who, having not been properly raised as an Antichrist, is sounding a little more sane. But there’s still time to mention Crowley’s intense dislike of the 14th century, something I was beginning to expect would remain only in the novel. And there is, of course, the ultimate nuclear cliffhanger...

It’s an energetic, fast-paced, apocalyptic penultimate episode. I suspect the finale will be anything but.

Atypical: Season 1, Episode 8- The Silencing Properties of Snow

“I just got a hand job in an igloo!”

So we teach the dramatic end of this magnificent season, a meditation about love, where Sam’s quirks  stop just being funny and start to hurt people- and where Elsa starts to experience consequences.

Sam, being Sam, tells Paige he doesn’t love her and immediately dumps her while in a restaurant with her entire family, a terrible thing to do to someone, and understandably she’s heartbroken and angry- you can hardly blame her for the angry demonstration on the family lawn. That he manages to partly atone for this is more because of her saintliness than anything else, and it’s right that she doesn’t fully take him back as her boyfriend. He’s very lucky to get, er, what happens in the igloo.

What he does to Julia in confronting her at home and declaring his love, with chocolate strawberries, is if anything worse, especially as the gift immediately reveals to her that Sam cost her her fiancé. Yes, she yells at him and causes an incident on the bus but no, she is not in anyway unjustified or unprofessional. Sam trespassed into her house and violated her privacy, with potentially life ruining consequences. Her right to that privacy is absolute. Doug is wrong to assign any blame to her. The conclusion for her is inconclusive, too; will she accept her fiancé ‘s crass new proposal?

Casey, at least, gets over her avoidance of Evan and the two of them finish in a good place- but she’s still damaged by knowledge of Elsa’s affair, something that isn’t her responsibility. Elsa gets over the affair, deleting Nick from her phone and forgiving Doug for leaving fifteen years ago- and then Doug catches a little lie. And, in the final scene, finds out in the most hilarious way possible which is so very Casey. This is brilliant, brilliant telly.

I would say I can’t wait until the next season. But I can, of course, watch it at any time...

The Prisoner: Checkmate

"It 's not allowed- the cult of the individual!"

A weird but very interesting episode this time, with subtle exploration of themes of totalitarian control through some sharp and nuanced dialogue and a very Brezhnev-like exploration of how dissent can be medicalised as a mental condition.

Yes, we get the visual spectacle early on of a chess game played with real people, but this is just done to introduce chess as a metaphor and introduce us to the likeable “queen” who, sadly, is fated to be used as a pawn-.and to show us a rebellious rook (never referred to as anyone else) who commits the crime of independent thought. It’s interesting, though, that this is followed by Number Six having an interesting and opaque conversation with one of the players, played by no less a figure than George Coulouris, who explains ways of distinguishing prisoners from staff.

The medical scenes are disturbing, with the rook’s individualism being punished by Pavlovian electric shocks and the psychiatrist, a Freudian quack, recommending to the new Number Two (a coasting Peter Wyngarde) that Number Six should be forced to have a “leucotomy”, better known as a lobotomy; in 1967 no longer quite flavour of the month but still legal to perform on a patient without their consent in the UK. Even Brezhnev’s Soviet Union had no truck with this barbarity.

Also cruel, though, is the way the queen is conditioned into unrequited love for Number Six. And the end is clever; Number Six is betrayed by his own accomplices who are in the end unable to accept him as a fellow prisoner because of his air of authority. This may not be the most high concept of episodes but it’s quietly one of the cleverer scripts.

Atypical: Season 1, Episode 7: I Lost My Poor Meatball

”What about you, Elsa? You been doing any self care lately?”

It’s amazing that so much can be crammed into thirty-one minutes, but that’s a testament to how much the show and the characters have been patiently developed over the last six episodes. So the central thread of Paige telling Sam she loves him and him trying to work out what love is and that he feels it for her is both evocative in itself and interplay’s effectively with other threads- when Sam asks his parents how they first realised they loved each other he’s oblivious to the awkwardness, the question of whether they do indeed still love each other, whether they do do equally, or whether they ever did.

And the rug is cleverly pulled from under us- just as Sam thinks he’s worked out, in his own way, that he thinks he loves Paige, he meets Julia and realises he loves her. As Zahid says, you just know.

The contrast here is Elsa. Does she love Doug? She certainly doesn’t love Nick. Her convenient no-strings arrangement suffers mission creep as Nic’s friend has died and this time he wants emotional
and not just physical support. And Elsa can’t do this; she has enough emotional labour in her life and just wants some consequence-free sex. Given her life, one can understand- and I will emphasise, again, we should be careful not to demonise her for being unable to cope with her life and the huge expectations on her with expectations on her as the traditionally caring gender. But that’s not to say the affair is ok. Neither is just using Nick for free sex like this; he’s understandably upset at being exploited as she ends the affair as soon as strings become attached. It’s nice to see a tiresome gender stereotype being reversed; our culture sees men as being pure libido and women wanting sex only as something deeper. This is nonsense.

As for Casey- she gets her scholarship, in spite of everything! But her happiness is somewhat ruined by seeing her mother kissing Nick, ironically as she leaves him. This puts a horrible burden on her and ruins the loss of her virginity. I suspect we’re in for an eventful but unpredictable finale.

Atypical: Season 1, Episode 6- The D-Train to Bone Town

“Just always assume I mean sex...”

Fascinating episode again as, shockingly, we reach the season’s three quarter point. The relationship between Sam and Paige is still lovely, and Paige is still a saint. There’s a school dance coming up, a big thing America and indeed, these days, here, and all that stimulation doesn’t sit at all well with Sam’s autism. There’s lots of humour here, yes- a needed counterbalance to what goes on elsewhere - but Paige is showing such consideration here.

Less considerate is Elsa, but we’ve already been through how simplistic it would be to demonise her, given what her life is like, for her affair with Nick- and for relaxing every once in a while with a bit of weed. It’s just unfortunate that she should happen to let slip Casey’s possible scholarship to the mother of her daughter’s best friend, leading to lots of upsetting ostracism and bullying from Casey’s friends who are angry that she’s abandoning the relay team. But, as Elsa rightly tells her, it’s ok to be selfish sometimes, especially if you don’t put yourself first very often.

Meanwhile Julia’s boyfriend has left her, unable to deal with all the constant suspicion emanating from that chocolate strawberry, and she’s both single and bonding with Doug in a situation which seems innocent now but may take on another context when Doug finds out about Elsa’s affair, which I predict will happen next episode so the finale can deal with the aftermath. Let’s see if I’m right.

Oh, and Julia’s pregnant. Wow. This is all bloody good.

The Dark Crystal (1982)

“Prophets don't know everything."

This is a decidedly odd film, and it’s easy to forget that. A heroic fantasy set on another world with an extremely detailed backstory and completely made-up races, no human characters and no concession to the modern world; so far, so early ‘80s fantasy film boom, perhaps. But this film is 100% literal muppets.

So we have a crystal that shattered a thousand years ago and altered nature- nothing grows and there are no children for the evil Skeksis- whose puppets are awesome- or the nice but incredibly lazy mystics- who look like, well, muppets- who set around doing sod all as their Gelfling neighbours are exterminates and Podlings neighbours enslaved, in spite of allegedly having magic. Clearly they’re very rubbish wizards.

Not rubbish, though, are our Gelfling heroes, muppets who speak without moving their mouths: a boy called Jen  and a winged girl called Kira who, as the last of their kind, are morally obliged to do lots and lots of 18 rated stuff after the film ends.

The film is s rather good example of the early ‘80s fashion for fantasy films, but what really impresses are the sets and the many, many different types of muppet creature. Add this to a cast of decent character actors who don’t usually get to star, and some solid world building leading to a fantasy myth type plot that all looks Joseph Campbell, and we have a film that very much deserves its cult status.

The Prisoner: Dance of the Dead

“Questions are a burden to others. Answers are a prison for oneself.”

A bit of a downturn in quality this episode; it isn’t bad, far from it, but seems a little incoherent. Certainly this is less high concept than any previous episode, there being no particular big idea at its centre.

The basic concept is, if anything, a bit ho-hum; Number Six finds a body on the beach and a radio with it, to which he listens a bit. He is caught, tried and condemned but gets away on a technicality. That’s it. Oh, and the body is made to look like him so he can be thought dead.

So there’s not much here to hang the episode on. What saves it are the details- Mary Morris as the only female Number Two, or at least the only one present throughout. A nice surreal little cameo by Aubrey Morris, and indeed the whole spectacle of the fancy dress trial, conducted as in Revolutionary France. There’s the fascinating girl who watches Number Six throughout, a true believer in the “rules” no one gets to see and a good little authoritarian drone, yet fascinated as well and repulsed by Number Six’s rebellious ways. There’s also interesting dialogue from Number Two suggesting that Number Six is somehow important; others are expendable, but he is not, and it is important to truly win him over rather than use the torture they use on his unfortunate friend Dutton.

Not the greatest episode, then, but nicely surreal and with a real sense of the Kafkaesque.

The Prisoner: Many Happy Returns

”Where is this?”

Seven episodes in and I’m still fascinated in what plots can be got out of such a seemingly limited premise. This episode centres around a conceit which could be done only once; Number Six genuinely escapes-  but his own curiosity in locating the Village leads him to return in the conceptually cleverest way possible.

It’s a weird, and simple, premise- Number Six wakes up alone in the Village. No people, no Rover; nothing to prevent his escape. So escape he does, as simple as that, and we go through the motions of seeing him build a raft, stow away on a gun running vessel, make his way to an obviously real London, and speak to the rather nice lady who now lives in his flat and drives his car. So, he’s free, and that’s seemingly it- although he seems to have no close personal friends or relatives. And he certainly seems to be well-trained in the James Bond stuff. National Service, probably.

But Number Six is curious, and wants to find where the Village is. So, with help from his former establishment employers (was he a spy?) he traces its location- just outside the entrance to the Med, apparently; is this official? And, as a final act of hubris, he flies over it, only to be forcibly ejected back into the Village where he finds the same nice lady, who has prepared a birthday cake and a terrible pun. It’s all rather clever. This is another good one, even though it’s nearly 22 minutes until anybody speaks. And there’s no Number Two, no regular cast aside from Patrick McGoohan himself. Most unusual.

The Prisoner: The General

“Nothing’s impossible in this place.”

Another intriguing episode this time, with yet another very ‘60s and very British view of freedom and repression- the conceit is that the “Professor”, with the aid of the “General” is able to create subliminal educational courses which can deliver a three year degree in three minutes. This is, of course, an obvious means of brainwashing, as we see. And the “education” it imparts is of doubtful value- learning by rote set phrases about the Treaty of Adrianople does not impart any real understanding, as Number Six immediately sees.

Number Six is aided, however, by Number Twelve, whose rebel sympathies are  never actually exposed, and it’s ambiguous whether he gets away with helping Number Six. He is played, of course, by a shockingly young John Castle, whom I know well from I, Clavdivs and RoboCop 3. It’s also odd to see Colin Gordon back as Number Two but with no suggestion that Number Six has met this particular Number Two before. Will this keep on happening as previous actors return?

The conclusion to all this is fascinating; the “General” turns out to be a very ‘60s advanced computer, covering a whole wall and with spoils everywhere. And we end with a very ‘60s viewpoint of computers meaning control and repression, of computers as calculating decision makers rather than toys for entertainment, of man needing to make his own decisions. If only they could look ahead...

House of Cards: Episode 4

“DADDY...!”

I’m blogging rather more series than I usually would as the wife and I have started y and Good Omens while I’m also blogging The Prisoner and Inhumans. Time to finish at least one series off.

So, this is the final episode, if we ignore the sequel and, indeed, the American remake which I haven’t seen. It concludes, interestingly, very differently from the novel, with Urquhart successfully reaching the top of the greasiest pole in politics, and we have the fun of seeing him first take out his minor rivals for the leadership and then Woolton (a cassette tape of his affair with Penny- easy) and Samuels (lefty positions in his university day, including, shock horror, “pro-gay sentiments”) in quick succession.

There’s a lot more to it that that, of course. Urquhart’s announcement that he’s standing is swiftly followed by a tastefully shot sex scene in which Mattie shouts “Daddy!”, and he continues to manipulate her throughout, making her all contrite as he tells her off for apparently endangering herself with her investigations. This sort of thing could look like harmless kink in snatcher context but it isn’t- this is disturbing manipulation and gaslighting of a woman with real feelings to exploit, and Urquhart’s monologue to camera on father’s and daughters (I note he has no kids) is incredibly disturbing.

Also dealt on, rightly, is his cunning murder of Roger, full of deft manipulation, and I’m glad Roger’s moving Death is dwelt upon. He was a man of promise, once. Then cocaine happened. And his death leaves poor a Penny absolutely devastated, especially as she’s just dumped him.

But what lingers is his cold-blooded murder of Mattie, mere seconds as she’s told him “I love you, Daddy”. These four episodes are a perfect portrait of a psychopath, one with all the charm such people tend to possess. And Westminster is, I suspect, full of such personalities to this day.