Foundation: The First Crisis

 "And Sometimes emotions shout larger than logic..."

We're slimmed down to two plot threads in this penultimate episode- perhaps Gaal will appearat the climax, or more likely next season- but both the Cleon subplot and the Salvor Hardin one are full of revelations.

Things all come to a head with Brother FDawn, with plot and counter-plot. The implied suspicions of BrotherDusk force him to flee, but it turns out Azura was only manipulating him all along, for the benefit of her boyfriend, a random Cleon clone plotting to replace Brother Dawn as the cuckoo in the nest to destroy the Dynastry. And yet... even they are being manipulated by Dusk, who's been manipulating everyone.Wow.

It's an extraordinary sequence of events, and we end with Dawn waiting for the return of the absent Day, who will rule on his fate. And yet... Day's recent religious experiences, however empty and tinged with realpolitik, may perhaps have opened his mind to the concept of even clones needing to evolve and grow? We shall see.

More straightforward, and more faithful to the books, sort of, is the thread of Salvor on Terminus, where the Vault is the centre of everyone- Anacreon, Thespis, Terminus- converging, with the Huntress being suddenly out of the sapirit of the times.

Those of us who know the novels will not be surprised by the ending, but Hari Seldon makes quite the entrance. I'm still suspicious: psychohistory is about broad historical forces, yet there is a lot of "great man" history here, with individuals changing fate. But I can't deny that this is good telly.

Better Call Saul: Gloves Off

 "Just saying... you went a long way to not pull that trigger. Why?"

This is a fascinating episode. Yes, lots of plot happens. Yes, there are lots of characters from Breaking Bad doing rather cool cameos.But this is, at its core, a character study of both Jimmy and Mike, both of whose essences get a pretty thorough and pretty fascinating examination here.

Jimmy is lucky not to get fired. He may work for a snooty law firm. His bosses are right. We didn't keep them informed. Yes, hisb type of advert is successful. But Sandpiper isn't the firm's only case, and they have to be snooty because their upmarket clients are. Image matters, and that overrides day-to-day case needs. Jimmy, at heart a con man and salesman, an extrovert in a world of cautious introverts, is a fish out of water. We know he has no future here.

Does Kim? That's the question. She's the one who suffers here, unfairly. This is, quite simply, a dumping offence, yet Kim doesn't seem to dump Jimmy. She really, really likes him despite everything. And it's because of that, I suspect, that she's going to fall very far indeed.

The argument between Jimmy and Chuck, roles now reversed, is fascinating, deeply revealing in multiple ways, and superbly acted. Each has the measure of the other. Chuck is right that Jimmy is no lawyer, just a quick tongued shyster. Yet Jimmy sees Chuck's rigid hypocrisy too. I suspect neither of them will have a happy season.

But the excitement comes from Mike's strand of the plot. There's a tendency for episodes of Bettef Call Saul to revolve around clever plans, usually from Jimmy, with the fun being in seeing the plan play out. This time it's Mike's turn. Even better, it involves our old friend Tuco, with Raymond Cruz exqwuisitely menacing as ever.

And we end with the question posed by the quote. Yes, Mike is fiendishly clever, albeit fortunate that the police arrive exactly when the plot requires. But when Tuco gets out, Mike will be a target. Is he so determined not to kill? It's fascinating seeing the character get such depth, a deeply moral man who ends up as the Mike from Breaking Bad. The parallelk between his trajectory and that of Walter White can only be deliberate.

Shock Waves (1977)

 "Why, some say they're more afraid of the water than little old ladies are of the dark..."

This is, let us be clear, a B movie. It glories in being so. It is also, I think, the progenitor of the Nazi zombie genre. It is what it is, but in both categories this movie is actually bloody good. And Peter Cushing is simply superb, despite his limited screen time for a top billed star villain.

And I'm disappointed. I wanted a so-bad-it's-good bit of silliness thart would be fun to blog. Instead I get an excellent, tautly directed thriller that plays it straight and, wisely, relires on suspense, so much cheaper than spectacle.

it's a tautly plotted, quietly good film here. And... may I say something? We Birits, with our population of 60 million, have a fairly limited number of character actors, whom we love to spot in production after production. The USA, all things being equal with its much larger population of 300 million, will have six times as many character actors, but, alas, these actors will never achieve the relative fame that they would in relatively smaller countries.

Let us just say here that the entire cast is unusually magnificent, as is the direction, treating a B movie with respect. They deserve to be knoewn, if not as stars, as resprected character actors.

Incidentally, Nazi zombies emerging from the sea in the wake of a rotting ship... non-Doctor Who fans, please indulge me. But could Ian Briggs have seen this prior to writing The Curse of Fenric?

Carry On Teacher (1959)

 "They've taken the pea!"

My very, very slow marathon of the Carry On films continues with this fascinating third film. It's still the '50s, of course, and the format hasn't settled down to that we will soon come to expect. The film is good, but not great. Funny, but not quite hitting the potential that will soon be realised.

The plot is simple; the popular headmaster plans to lreave, so the kids set up a series of practical jokes during a school inspection to ensure he stays. Meanwhile, two comical romances between inspectors and teachers are pursued. That's it. The jokes are quite funny. The cast is superb, but constrained by a certain early tameness in the material.

More fascinating are the social mores on display here. 1959 was only eighteen yesrs before my birth, but it's a world away. The opening sketches evoke St Trinian's and the Bash Street Kids, a hintat the gulf in time that is to come.

The school is a Secondary Modern. Discipline is far stricter than would be thinkable today. Child psychiatry is caricatured and mocked. and yeah, the beating of children is an unbridgeable gulf. In 1959, it was routine correction of children. In 2023, it's kinky sex and decidedly adult. It's interesting to note that all but one of the teachers dislikes caning children, but they all reluctantly accept it as necessary. We can only shudder.

This is quite good. But, more than that, it's fascinating both as an early Carry On and as social history.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law- Whose Show Is This?

 "Bruce smashes buildings. I smash fourth walls and bad endings. And sometimes Matt Murdock."

Those who dislike postmodernism, self-referentialism, Jacques Derrida, Police Squad, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, and other jolly japes with the fourth wall, will not like this finale. Many, but by no means all, of said critics, will not be aware that violence to the fourth wall have been a fixture of the character of She-Hulk ever since those dim and distant days when John Byrne was on speaking terms with Marvel.

This finale, a splendid, sparkling, first class conclusion to a series which has generally been good but not necessarily great, is a masterpiece. It takes that absolutely traditional She-Hulk style and applies it to a different medium. Yes, it makes no sense that Jen would be in so much trouble for property damage. Yes, the online toxic baddies make no sense- although, to be fair, nor do real life right wing virgin keyboard warrior bros, many of whom have genitals almost as tiny as Andrew Tate's.

And then the contrived attempt at a climax- Abomination, Titania, Hulk, Todd Hulk... yeah, I love how Jen takes control and gives the creative team a piece of here mind. I love K.E.V.I.N. (a tribute to H.E.R.B.I.E. is probably in the mix) and the metatextual riffing on MCU storylines. This is unique television gold.

Also, the opening tribute to the '70s TV show is enough in itself to elevate this episode to greatness.

Foundation: The Missing Piece

 "I would not wish that emptiness on anyone..."

Again, we are moving away from the novels here-although there's some interesting use of the mythology here- what is the history of the Spacers here? Were they the first to leave Earth, with their robots? Did we have the fifty Spacer worlds? Time will tell. Certainly, Demerzel is the last sentient robot.

As we see in the A plot, with the middle Cleon taking the extreme pilgrimage- a true sacrifice for one who has never known physical discomfort- for clear politcal gain, there's a contrast between the Emperor and his positronic assistant. She, a robot, has a soul. He, ironically in more ways than one, does not. The whole theme is dealt with superbly, from Demerzel's tears at the murder she must perform, to the fact that she, a robot, saw a vision... and he did not.

Gaal eventually gets to escape Hari and will get home... in 138 years. But we get some exposition. The Second Foundation, still "Star's End", is on Seldon's native Helicon and is to remain secret even to Terminus... but we are told no more than this, just tantalised.

Salvor's victory over the Anacreonians is clever, if desperate. But the ancient ship Invictus is fascinationg. Before Spacers... or, perhaps, before the Spacer worlds had been rediscovered?- navigators were surgically wired to the ship. Wow.

It is, I suppose, too soon to judge how far we are moving from the novels. But I'm enjoying this.

Update

 Just to say that, for life reasons, I probably won’t post as much this week as usual, although I hope I’ll still do some blogging. All is fine, though, nothing bad, and things will be back to normal next week.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law- Ribbit and Rip It

 "Why do you pretend to be blind, man? Cos that is really problematic."

Before we get to you-know-who, because it's Jen's show... this is a superb screwball comedy and equally superb as a pre-finale. I love how the episode ends with, er, a bang, and Jen blatantly lampshades to us that there are a few minutes left to go, which will be followed by a twist. And oh, what a twist. Is Jen ruined? Do the haterswant not to kill her, but to doxx and troll her? Such is the age we live in.

But yeah, Daredevil, with that retro, pre-issue #7 costume. Charlie Cox being awesome. The simultaneous rivalry and flirting, with the inevitable conclusion. Jen finally finding the right man. And, er, Leapfrog being an utterly hilarious character, although I love the prickliness of Luke Jacobson.

It's all aboit the screwball comedy, though, and both leads nail it in both acting and charisma. Also, I know we've seen Matt on the big screen in the definitely proper MCU, but this is your actual Daredevil. Let'ds not let the guest star take over, though. It its own right this is a bloody good episode in a series which has impressed but not always dazzled.,

Foundation: Mysteries and Martyrs

 "The Empire must be protected from mistakes. Like me."

This is an extraprdinary episode, full of revelation and, as good dramas do, wrapping up all the copious exposition in character development and drama.

Hari, it seems, uploaded himself to an AI afterlife at the point of death. Raych knew everything and was in on it; his execution is truly tragic. And Gaal was supposed to lead the Foundation on Terminus... the "First" Foundation. Those of us who have read the novels realise the implications of this.

It's a great scene, with a furious clash between the two geniuses and a realisation that Gaal is... different. With precognitive instincts. This is huge. 

Meanwhile, we learn more of Brother Dawn's horrible gilded cage. It's not the colour blindness; there are other differences. And he must expend effort to hide them every waking second, or he will be killed and replaced with one of many spare Cleons, grown in a vat. It's the perfect metaphor for monarchy- a monarch cannot be an individual and is not free. They all live in gilded cages. They live lives of luxury, but all of them are slaves.

And then we have Salvor and her ever-decreasing number of friends- she mourned her father lastvepisode, now she loses Hugo too, who had such faith in her- as the Anacreonians force them to repair the legendary ghost ship Invictus, with its randomised jump drive. The concept is blilliant.

And then there's Brother Day, concerned by Demerzel's conflicted loyalties with her religion, and with a problem of religious politics to solve, of a type Seldon predicted. So he, the Emperor, resolves to undertake the most arduous pilgrimage possible...

This is superb, the best episode yet, however much it may diverge.

Foundation: Death and the Maiden

 "Hari said an entire galaxy can pivot around the actions of an individual."

Hmm. Not sure he did, love. Psychohistory sees only multitudes, not individuals. That's sort of the point. But never mind. The episode, and the series, are awesome regardless.

I mean, we actuallly meet some Spacers; this is indeed the wider Asimov universe. They are clearly enhanced, spacefaring humans. We get a flashback to Hari persuading Raych to kill him, as part of a pre-ordained plan. He being happy with Gaal would destroy the future- individuals again- so the plan is to split them up. The escape pod is meant for Him. Gaal was never meant to be involved. This makes sense.

We're also meant to see Salvor as destinred by the Great Plan. She gets a lot of development and a lot of heroism here. She kicks arse. She bonds with, and loses, her father. Yet Hugo not only loves her but has total faith in her.

And yet the tale of the three Cleons takes precedence. Brother Day fails to stop a very fascinating religious heresy which verges on treason in nhinting that cloning is decadent stasis that cannot evolve. Yet more fascinatring is that Eto Demerzel- an ageless robot- is an adherent of this religion, a fascinating character point.

And then there's Brother Dawn, who continues and makes explicit his romance with ther gardener. And.. he's the first colour blind Cleon. In contrast to the religious adherents, it seems that even clones eventually mutate. What does this mean?

This is utterly fascinating and deep. Faithful to Asimov not in a banal, literal sense but with real conceptual though. It's superb.

Better Call Saul: Amarillo

 "Beautiful penmanship, a lost art."

Here, I think, we see the beginnings of why Jimmy, despite his genuine talent, will never thrive at this big, swanky law firm.Not because iof snobbery, or Chuck trying to trip him up- his boss seems to side with him there- but it's the fact he's Slippin' Jimmy. He just is. He's riding for a fall. And the tragedy is that he's certainly going to bring Kim down with him. And she's given everything for him. It's a slow motion car crash. The trajectory is certain.

We begin with Slippin' Jimmy in the most hilariously Texan con ever... but it's solicitation, something for which he can be disbarred. It's a worrying omen, much though he gets away with it this time.

Inevitably, he doesn't. The TV commercial may be clever, it may be right, but- as the previous commercial shoews- it's a clash of cultures. Jimmy just doesn't fit in with the way things are done. And, as soon as we realise he's airing the commercial, events have only to play out.

The B plot is fascinating too, with some superb facial acting from Jonathan Banks. Mike has his morals. He's a good grandad, and an honourable man, but he's a criminal by necessity. And, as we see at the end, his ethics don't necessarily mean he won't kill. So is he a good man? The answer is, as it will be for any real, nuanced, human being, ambiguous.

This continues to be first class television drama.

Hamlet (1948)

 "This is thevtragedy of a man who could not make up his mind.

Said quote is the popular opinion of the play. It has truth to it. Yet, as always with Shakespeare, there is nuance.

This play is a deconstructioin of the late 16th century revenge tragedy. Hamlet is, yes, hesitant. He is inytrospective, introverted. Naturally he hesaitates. Right?

Yet the ghost of his father gives him clear information. we can't excuse his procrastination. And he is not the student, intoverted, poetic hero. His reaction to his father's ghost is not revenge but a crying-for-help version of suicidal thoughts- see that soliloquy- and misogyny. His treatment of ophelia, and his mother, is unforgivable.He is not a likeable charactor. Here, that is a brave and right decision by Sir Laurence Olivier, whise charisma ois beyond all.

Contrasted to Hamlet is Laertes, an extrovert, who just gets on with his revenge. Good on him. Hamlet loses our sympathy when he kills Polonius, perhaps. After failing to kill the unshriven Polonius in the church. One could construct an argument that he does, in fact, kill Claudius as soon as reason and circumstance permit. I mean, I did this play at both A Level and University. The question persists- does Hamlet procrastinate? There's an argument to say not. His father's ghost interrupts only to rebuke him for being nasty to his mother.

Olivier is superb here.The soliloquys are exquisite. The play, long and bloated though it is, remains a piece of art up there with the best. That Warwickshire boy could certainluy pack a sentence with meaning.

Julius Caesar (1970)

 "This was the noblest Romam of them all."

Obviously, I know this play. I also know the 1953 film with Marlon Brando, and with John Gielgud in a less exalted, but more electrifying part. I mean, is the superlative Sir John Gielgud... phoning it in? I do believe he is.

Not that this film is crap. It's just not the 1953 film, probably. I mean, I saw it probably twenty-five years ago, long before this blog. Memory is an imperfect intrument. But it- and Brando, especially- made a deep impression on me. Any subsequent Mark Antony has big boots to fill. And those big soliloquys must be approached with trepidation. An actor lives or dies by them.

So how does this compare? Well, the standard British characters actors are very RSC. Robert Vaughn impresses with Casca, giving a daring yet pleaasingly arch performance. Diana Rigg shines during her one big scene.

But what of Charlton Heston? Well, this was brave of him. He's no Brando, not even close, but he's good enough. His "Pardon me, thou bleeding piece of Earth" is so so, but his funerary speech for Caesar is fascinating. Not as passionate as many, but great facial acting and restraint, which really, really works.

The entire production is fascinating. We begin with a bird of prey, circling. The battle is visceral, as is the bloody murder. There is no honour in war here, only bloodshed. Shades of Vietnam, and Oh, What a Lovely War?, the 1970 zeitgeist. This is not the best version, being quite flat. But hey, it's Shakespeare.

R.E.M.- Automatic for the People

I first discovered R.E.M. via this album, and I know that immediately marks me out, potentially, as a fashion conscious wanker. Let me, then, assure you that i was genuinely seventeen, exploring music, and pointed towards this by no less than Kurt Cobain.

With any band that makes it big, there's a critical consensus on the best album. For R.E.M., it's this. It's uncool to say this is their best album, but... it is. I challenge you to name any filler within this album, single or no.

No? Well then. This is an album where the deep cuts are Ignoreland and Try Not to Breathe, not singles only by mere chance. Like every damned song on the album.

The album, while awrsome throughout, steps up a gear, incredibly, with the ending duopoly of Nightswimming and Find the River. Two sublime examples of songwriting.

This album, more so even than its excellent predecessor, exalted R.E.M. from the unfderground to the mainstream. I'm not so sure that was a good thing. Yet the band deserves success. Such was the tension of ethics back then. Yet R.E.M. will never belong to them. Always to us. They are real.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law- The Retreat

 "Spanish is a language, not a nationality, so..."

"You've never heard of Spain?"

In fact, Spanish is a nationality but not a language, which I think you'll find is called Castilian. God, even I know that was bloody pedantic,

Anyway, this episode is enormou fun, with the plot contriving to get Jen to Emil Blponsky's ranch of New Age nonsense, where he and a bunch of hilariously realised crap baddies from the comics (yes, Man-Bull, Porcupine and El Aguila are now in theb MCU...) somehow help Jen get over being dumped.

Yet there's more to it, I think. The script doesn't side with Blonsky and his twaddle, but mocks it. Jen has every right to be angry at the Wrecker, and the others are wrong to de-legitimise the anger of a woman assaulted by a man. 

The early scenes are heartbreaking. Jen and Josh start their relationship with a dating montage, only for Jen to wake up alone and be on tenterhooks for the next text, as we all have been with a new partner. The reveal at the end is shocking- all Josh ever wanted was to steal Jen's secrets, all on behalf of those online haters whom Jen casually dismisses as "losers".

Things are clearly about to go very, very wrong. And this continues to be highly entertaining telly.

Foundation: Upon Awakening

 "I was not afraid of the dark..."

We are, it must be said, diverting a little from Asimov here, not that we haven't already. Yet this is a path not at all trodden by the books, although of course the nature of television drama makes this necessary from time to time.

So we have Terminus in very serious trouble and seemingly in the procerss of being destroyed by Anacreonians, coded very much as terrorists, who blame Seldon for what happened to them. We have the imperial military being rigidly incompetent behind the bluster. Yet we have Salvor Hardin, creative and clever, thinking. We know she's going to save them all.

But, most of all, the story focuses on Gaal, freshly awoken from stasis after thirty-four years. The flashback to her upbringing on a world where catacysmic climate change gave rise to extreme religioius reaction against all learning, and how she was inspired to reject such idiocy at the cost of parental rejection. The metaphor of a black hole, and the event horizon from which there is no escape, works well here.

Gaal is brought up to speed. She sees she is suspected of taking part in Hari's murder. She sees Raych's execution, and how Hari's murderer's dying words are to trust in the plan. What is going on? For Gaal, who shows how bloody clever she is herself by working out where she is, there's the fear of going to Helicon, Hari's home, as his suspected murderer. And yet... is Hari seemingly right there? What? This is clever, intriguing telly, much though I hope it know's what it's doing with this.

Better Call Saul: Cobbler

 "It looks like a school bus for six year old pimps."

This episode, fascinatingly, takes place in two different worlds, one of high flying lawyerly professionalism and one of criminality. Yet, as we see in the person of Jimmy, the two worlds are of course linked.

We know, of course, that Jimmy isn't going to make it as a high flying lawyer; this is a prequel, after all. But it's fun, for now, to see him doing well. Even Chuck turning up for a couple of hours. He even has the love of a good woman in Kim, who right now is very keen on him indeed. He's living the dream. But that's the thing with dreams: you wake up.

His career is doomed. His relationship with Kim is doomed. The only question is how.There's no suspense here and the brilliance partly lies in the fact that the script is well aware of this, with subtle little metatextual moments. Kim's present for Jimmy, a cup entitlred "world's second best lawyer"? And the cup, ahem, not fitting as he tries to slot it into the cupholder? Yeah. Not exactly the world's most subtle metaphor. But the script is winking at us.

The other plot this week concerns the rather inept and comical Mr Wormald, in way over his head, and Mike, who exhibits the patience of a saint but ends up solving Wormald's considerable self-inflicted problems rather neatly, prefiguring his future work for Gus, in a way that is hugely entertaining to watch.

And then Mike calls Jimmy to help, which he does, cleverly, humiliating Wormald into the bargain, which is quite fair. And... yeah. I have no doubt that is a real fetish. Rule 34. No, I'm not Googling. But why does Jimmy get involved? He now has no reason to. This indicates, perhaps, a compulsion for the legally murky that may destroy him. 

The last scene with Kim is brilliant. Kim is appalled at the risks Jimmy is taking. They are self destructive. And this is a superb character moment. Jimmy is surprised that Kim, so impressed with the cons last week, is appalled now. But she's right. They're doomed. He's doom. And no amount of cake, however much untouched by human buttock, can alter that.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

 "Youtr brother is with the ancestors"

This is an interesting film, centred on Letitia Wright as Shura, yet full of thoughful subtext, full of lots of glorious Agfrican cultural imagery. Yet... it's average.

Sadly, Chadwick Boseman- a man my age-is dead. That usual Marvel spiel at the start makes a fitting tribute here, being entirely dedicated to him, is wonderful to see. And is more than just avtribute. Because this is a film defined by his absence.

Black Panther was one of the MCU's finest films at the time, and even more in hindsight. It's brilliantly Afrofuturist message and visuals have percolated into society and had a hugely positive effect within this world we live in, in which American police officers, supposed to protect the public, seem to routinely torture and murder young black peope, and where far too many black people in the west live in disproportionate levels of poverty and, indeed, imprisonment. The social legacy of slavery is real. And that's before we get into the legacy of colonialism in Africa as well as elsewhere. Black Panther is at once escapism from this depressing reality and a message of hope.

Yet Chadwick Boseman, an actor of huge charisma, is no longer with us, and cannot just be replaced. Recasting would, of course, have been repugnant. So this film, wisely, reflects this reality, being entirely about grieving and loss amongst an overwhelmingly black and female cast. Shuri takes on the mantle of Black Panther- and of queen- only with reluctance and after much grieving for T'Challa.

Wakanda faces a more hostile world without the respected T'Challa, with other powers openly jealous of Vibranium and quick to scapegoat the African nation for hostile acts with a highly suspicious eagerness. There's also a new power in the world, also with Vibranium, as the MCU finally introduces us to Marvel's oldest protagonist- Namor the Sub-Mariner, a bit less of a dick here than he is in the comics. Wisely, Namor's underwater kingdom is not called Atlantis but rather "Talokan", and is given a rather less silly origin with its roots in Meso-American culture and colonialism- thematic unity- rather than the Hyborean Age and the Great Cataclysm. It's great to see Namor at last, and Attuma too. 

The film perhaps lacks the sheer excellence of its predecessor, perhaps understandably. But for a film so bloody long I found this thoroughly enjoyable.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law- Just Jen

 "Yes, itr's a self-contained wedding episode."

Another short little sitcom episode ensues with more fourth wall-breaking, this time by playing with the tropes of mid-seasdon wedding episodes. So Jen-powerful and successful- is a bridesmaid at a wedding where none of that matters, she's not one of the queen bees and is expected to act as a servant, and her achievements mean mothing besides the mere fact of her singledom. Ouch

Ginger and Mallory get a nice little sub-plot with Mr Immortal, who is no Great Lakes Avenger here but someone who just temporarily dies to avoid conflict, leading to some rather amusing relationship problems, and all because he can't avoid conflict.

Jen, of course, is stuck in a trap from Titania but, once green, is easily able to defeat her. She seems to have found a nice man too. All seems to be going well. But Bruce is missing. And on the Internet there are rumours that there are those who wish her ill.

This is not, perhaps, the greatest episode but nevertheless it makes for entertaining viewing. We now seem to be moving into the endgame with a season arc becoming prominent...