Andor: Sagrona Teema

 "I feel... undervalued."

The "A" story here, of many plot threads, is the one featuring Cassian himself, and a lot of action, as he uses both manipulation and opportunism to finally escape with the TIE fighter, free... but very, very late.

But the other story threads are, interestingly, far deeper, with the more action-based "A" plot freeing the other threads to be a lot more about world building and subtext. So, yes, everyone is worried about what the Imperial audit will uncover... but the way this develops, at least initially, is with a seemingly jovial Imperial lieutenant trying it on with Bix, being "nice" about it but expecting to get his own way sexually. Brr!

Dedra resents her new job with the Ghorman project, but she's told it's a real opportunity... although, in this context, an opportunity is a double edged sword. And she's also plotting things with Syril, who is as intense as ever- Kyle Soller is excellent here.

Then there's the wedding, and Mon Mothma slowly realising that Tay, falling apart after his divorce, is coming back to the well for more money, and likely won't ever stop. Even worse than that, though, is Perrin's speech at his daughter's arranged marriage, which is bleak as Hell. Forget love, expect discord, find happiness where you can...

As ever with Andor, it's not simple and you have to pay attention. There's a lot going on. But this is a very bleakly real world of compromise and suffering under a background of real tyranny. And it's utterly gripping.

Better Call Saul: Breaking Bad

 "It's a simple up and down motion, like you're used to..."

Yes, I know: we get THAT scene with cameos from admittedly slightly older looking Bryan Cranston And Aaron Paul, as we see further details of Saul's first meeting with them. And their appearance matters. Because "Gene's" identity is now starting to dissolve into Saul and, ultimately, Slippin' Jimmy. Because Jimmy could never stand his dull, monochrome, Nebraska life, especially after last episode's heist shenanigans. He has to scam. It's who and what he is. And he will, inevitably, ultimately get caught and, I'm sure, face his downfall. The person who is "breaking bad" is him, not our guest star. And yes, there's a parallel between the two that's made very obvious here.

The beginning is fascinating as Saul, in the present day, has a call with Francesca. Yet she's living a very straight life, first being seen showing disdain to some druggie tenants and very much having the upper hand with Jimmy.

And then there's the mention of Kim, whom he's lost forever, hardening his heart. The past is gone. So he relives it, with the biggest scams yet, with massive and life-destroying identity thefts. And all this is contrasted by little vignettes from the Breaking Bad days, as Saul makes what we in hindsight know to be bad decision after bad decision.

And the bad decisions continue until what, surely, has to be the moment where hubris finds the genesis of its nemesis- the latest mark has cancer, Jimmy's accomplices have cold feet, but he decides to steam ahead. It's morally reprehensible of him. Almost as if the writers want us to remember just how much of a terrible person he is as he faces his downfall...

Truly gripping stuff.

Doctor Who: The Well

 "It's not appropriate to call me 'Babes'!"

This episode was, of course, absolutely brilliant, if not quite up there with its prequel, and I suspect that it will be rather well-received by fandom. I should emphasise that I thought it was brilliant. yet, despite that, it also felt like a variation on things we've seen before, and I mean that in more than the sense that this is a follow-on from Midnight- although, yes, there certainly are an awful lot of references to stuff that happened many years ago in the current era. Fine for people like me but might this put off newer viewers? Every now and then, yes, but this often? This is something that RTD used to carefully avoid explicitly doing the first time around, after all. 

This in many ways feels like an old-fashioned Troughton base under siege, albeit with it being the deputy and not the base commander who takes a dislike to the Doctor. The antagonist- something that hides behind you and can only be seen out of the corner of your eye, that kills anyone behind it, and will go behind your back if you kill its host- is sublimely creepy and clever. Yet the combination of the concept and the episode's look gives off vibes that are more The Satan Pit than Midnight. And, while a bloody good bit of telly, it falls into a pre-existing story type, it feels to me. Are we, er... going back to the well a bit too often...?

Ahem. Sorry...

There's so much to like, though, right from the start with Belinda's fear that something has happened to earth, and her parents. And here we have the Doctor, again, making rash promises about things being fine that he may not be able to keep- perhaps setting up a future clash? And I love the pre-titles bit: the two of them land, are given helmets, and... out of the airlock and into space.

I also like Rose Ayling-Ellis as Alice and, while some of the social commentary this season has been a bit too unsubtle and ineffective here, I think the emphasis here on how "Signing still makes some people paranoid" is justified. Interesting, too, how these people have never heard of Earth, or of humans- we're clearly meant to wonder if this means that Earth ceased to exist in May 2025. But surely, 500,000 years from now, if humanity has colonised the Galaxy, would Earth be seen as any more than one of many, many inhabited worlds, its place as the cradle of humanity forgotten?

It's interesting how the Doctor perhaps learns what the entity is, but we don't. But the ending is clever, satisfying and nicely tragic. Although that Mrs Flood... blimey, she gets everywhere. But, well, I liked this episode a lot. But I liked it for reasons that perhaps feel a bit too familiar?

Murder, My Sweet (1944)

 "I felt pretty good... like an amputated leg."

I really ought to see far more classic film noirs. All the ones I've seen so far have been uniformly excellent, and this one is no exception.

I have, of course, read the Raymond Chandler novel, along with several others of his, but it's been decades. His novels and the films based on them (The Big Sleep may be a little better than this, purely because of its leads, but let this stand on its own) tend to blur into each other with their similar plots based on femme fatales, men with guns, world weariness, interlinked multiple clients for Philip Marlowe, poetic narration, and doing the right thing, disguised as cynicism, in a harsh yet redeemable world.

This film, with its truly exquisite and mournfully witty script, catches that mood to perfection, and the cast may not quite be top tier but they do their jobs well. What impresses most, though, are the little directorial touches as Marlowe is knocked unconscious with that "black pool" effect.

Telling the story as a flashback works very well, not least because it allows for the possibility of narration, without which any Philip Marlowe story could scarcely be imagined. And the end, with Marlowe knowing damn well that Anne is following him, is a delight.

I've no idea whether this film is rated particularly highly for its genre- the relatively low wattage cast might in fact imply otherwise- but I'm distinctly impressed.

Andor: One Year Later

"If I die tonight, was it worth it?"

Before I praise this episode, a bit of a whinge: yet again, a streaming service has debuted a much-anticipated new season by dropping THREE episodes at once. Can we not do that, please? Many of us do have lives, and there's a certain pressure to watch the episodes quickly to avoid spoilers. it's a genuinely inconsifderate thing to do. So don't do it again, Disney Plus. Oh, and Amazon, I'm looking at you too. For this, in relation to The Boys, and also Jeff Bezos' recent behaviour in inserting his tongue up Trump's malodorous derriere. Because how one chooses to respond to the jackboot of fascism is very much Andor's threme, is it not? (The Boys too, come to think of it...).

Anyway, we begin right on theme, with Cassian on a mission to steal a new model of TIE fighter- or perhaps TIE fighters themselves are new? Either way, we first see Cassian through the eyes of his accomplice, already a legend of the Rebellion after just a year. She's in awe of him, but some wonderful, world-building dialogue shows us, as ever, the scrifice of resistance. She can never go back after this, even if she survives, and her sacrifice will never be rewarded.

Elsewhere, an imperial census promises trouble for Bix and the others. Mon Mothma's daughter's arranged marriage proceeds as there is much intrigue. Tay Korma- now separated from his wife- wants to discuss matters with Mon, which seems ominous. Luthen is there, waiting anxiously for news from Cassian but clearly up to something. So much going on... as we see, in a long scene that seems to be a single shot. The costumes and decor, too, very much seem to evoke the late Roman Republic, which is a very obvious historical paralle.

And then there's the top secret Imperial plot, known only to a small group convened by the Emperor himself, to undermine the planet Ghorman and claim it for the empire. Not for its spider farms producing fine twirl, no: for its minerals. And they care not that it seems very likely to destabilise the planrt itself. Such is totalitarian. Indeed, our gimpse into the methods of the "Ministry of Enlightenment" is chilling.

And this is where Dedra is now ensconced.

Much of the episode, nevertheless, concerns Cassian, and best laid plans gone agley. Yet it's not the action and excitement that makes this such bloody good telly. It's the themes. Fascism and resistance. For those the other side of the Atlantic- and also many this side- this is a timely thing.

Better Call Saul: Nippy

 "You want in the game?"

So this is an excellent heist episode. Perfectly executed, scripted, shot. The suspense is exquisite, as is the characterisation. Plus there's a hilarious scene showing how to masterfully join in a conversation about sports for those of us who find such things a total mystery.  

But... yeah, the elephant in the room.

It's quite a while, of course, before it dawns that the entire episode is going to be in monochrome, in Omaha, in the "present", and to star "Gene"... or is it Saul? Or is it Jimmy? The episode deliberately and deliberately blurs the lines. The scheme is so very Slippin' Jimmy, but with the scale of a Saul Goodman. And in the final, desperate distraction, "Gene" refers to his dead brother and the absence of his wife. Too many identities. 

No wonder he is drawn to those awful Saul Goodman clothes at the end. Oh, his scheme may have worked with the "mutually assured destruction". Jeffie may have money, now, but "Gene" will ensure he goes to jail if he spills the beans. "Gene" is safe, from that quarter, at least.

And yet... we end the episode full of foreboding. The very fact that this episode exists makes it clear that the finale will include closure in the "present" too. The story of "Gene" is coming to some sort of resolution, and I think it's strongly foreshadowed that his own inability to give up Saul Goodman will lead to his final comeuppance... one perhaps less soul destroying than the humdrum, monochrome existence which he now endures.

Batman: The Animated Series- Eternal Youth

 "Oh my.They even speak in unison."

This may not be a stand-out episode, but it's a solid one nevertheless, further establishing Poison Ivy's modus operandi as an eco terrorist who punishes those who despoil nature... and, frankly, while her methods are of course extreme, and not to mention lacking any semblance of due process, I'm certainly in favour of a much harder line on those who slash and burn rainforests.

Of course, this is a rather fun Alfred episode, and I love his dynamic with Maggie: I'd certainly be disappointed if we don't see her again. But the philosphical discussion between Batman and Pamela Isley is excellent too. And yes, turning people into trees is bonkers, so is that massive great big tree that quickly sprouts at the end, but I'm absolutely here for such things.

There are a couple of niggles, not least the highly convenient way the process is "not yet irreversible", which is both clumsy from a plot perspective and implausible, but overall this is nothing special, perhaps, but solid. Poison Ivy is by nowa well-established character.

Theatre of Death (1967)

"But I didn't scream..."

I was expecting this to be a rollicking Hammer-style horror B Movie, with all the fun that implies. After all, it's a Grand Guignol-themed and horror-coded film in which Christopher Lee receives top billing. Instead... well, this is a deadly serious and rather clever Grand Guignol whodunit with a rather clever and impressive plot full of twists and turns. The direction is surprisingly ambitious with lots of hand held camerawork, and both Julian Glover and Christopher Lee really shine.

Lee, despite his billing, is not the star here. But he's a compelling, fascinating character, a genius. Philippe Darvas is the greatest of all duirectors of Grand Guignol, yet he's also a deeply controlling human being who can be as cruel as he is charismatic. Glover is the true leading man and carries the film throughout, with the two female leads being relative unknowns.

It is, perhaps, mildly disappointing that the film is set in Paris yet visually it doesn't feel like it. Yet the film is carried by the two main performances, the direction, and the devilishly clever plot, in which clues arew laid throughout and paid off satisfyingly, one by one, as the film reaches its climax.

This film may, I suspect, displease many as it isn't the type of film it appears to be. On its own terms, though, I found it most enjoyable and in no way deserving of the obscurity into which it seems to have fallen.

Doctor Who: Lux

 "You're Scooby Doo!"

"Honey, I'm Velma..."

I suppose you could, at points, criticise this episode for bits of plot sleight of hand- for example, why does Lux manifest himself in that particular time and place? What's the cause? Is Lux's defeat perhaps a little too neat. Also, there will be those who say that the whole Pantheon thing is tired and, although they can only do episodes with a new "god" so many times before coming to the big conclusion, at this point I think it's basically fine. I like the Pantheon. It's fun.

And yes, there will be those who criticise the meta stuff, the most violence done to the fourth wall in Doctor Who since The Mind Robber. But let us not jump ahead. 

The opening sequence is of course superb, quickly giving us impressions of time and place: what could be more early '50s America than a monochrome cinema newsreel about the atom bomb followed by a cartoon? It's the atomic age, it's Miami... and suddenly Mr Ring-a-Ding starts addressing the audience and comes out of the screen. Brilliant.

The relationship between the Doctor and Belinda develops nicely, too. She's still very firm about getting home but much more open to being "one of his adventures" after her experiences here. And RTD squares this plot circle rather well here, with a machine that needs them to visit several places so the Doctor can "triangulate" in order to get to May 2025.

This is Miami, Florida, in 1952: the story has to address the appalling reality of segregation, but this is well handled, with a subtlety much more effective and hard hitting than would have been the case otherwise. And this is also used as a character moment. So, indeed, is the deliciously fourth-wall breaking moment where the increasingly sinister Mr Ring-a-Ding turns the Doctor and Belinda into cartoons... and they manage to become live action again by acquiring character "depth" so as not to be two-dimensional. Clever.

Of course, the fact that they still find themselves within a frame of film is a whole other level of metatextual because, of course, this is television. if we handwave away the fact that everything is digital nowadays, then... well, non-diegetically the characters always have been trapped in a frame of film and always will be.

And then... Doctor Who fans, who've been following the season and insist that the Doctor and Belinda are TV characters. I love this, and no only for the cheerful acknowledgement that fandom will never, ever rate any other story above Blink. Because this is actually quite philosophical, and evokes an ancient Chinese point about dreams- "Was I Chuang Tzu dreaming I was a butterfly, or am I now really a butterfly dreaming that I am Chuang Tzu?"

The decision that, actually, the Doctor and Belinda are real and the fans are not certainly seems arbitrary, but I'm assuming that all this metatextual stuff is going somewhere. After all, we've seen it before, both with Mrs Flood, whose comments here are certainly interesting, and in The Devil's Chord ("There's always a twist at the end") which is, of course, another Pantheon episode. All very interesting Is Mrs Flood also of the pantheon, "goddess" of reality, or stories?  But I also like the human touch shown here, the real yet humble pathos as the fans imagine they're about to vanish out of existence. It's nice to see them again at the end... although no, RTD, this does not make up for the cat last week.

Overall, then, this episode is crazy and brilliant and right up my street with all the meta stuff, with great production values and superb characterisation. But there's a caveat, of course: this needs to be going somewhere and the payoff has to be worthwhile. I suspect the finale will be more meta still...

Update

 Just to say that updates will be sporadic to non-existent from now to Monday. This is just because of life stuff, nothing to worry about. After Easter I’ll be blogging as normal. 

Better Call Saul: Fun and Games

 "What you talk about is not justice. What you talk of is revenge. It never ends."

Thus speaks Nacho's grieving dad, and he speaks for decency. In a world where all the main characters- including Jimmy, Mike and now Kim-  are tainted by association with a morally reprehensible cartel, that destroys lives and exploits the hopeless, he speaks the truth. And a truth at the core of the show: Chuck and Howard, arrogant though they could be, were right. Because the law, despite its flaws, is everything. The alternative, as has been known ever since Aeschylus' Oresteia, is a never ending cycle of revenge.

And ironically this arises from Mike, with his code of ethics, trying to do the right thing. But there is ethics and there is ethics. This episode seems, for most of its length, to be about tidying up loose ends from last episode's momentous events. But it's so much more.

We see Gus defend himself, successfully, to Don Eladio from the accusations of Hector. It seems he's won, and is now master of all he surveys. Yet only now do we get a glimpse intoa different Gus, a wine snob, a sophisticate... and, secretly. I'm sure, from the probable bigotry of the cartel, gay. Of course he is. It never crossed my mind before, but of course he is. And it's fascinating that we see this further layer of the character now.

But we also see the consequences ogf Howard's humiliation and death. HHM is destroyed, the names of Hamlin and McGill both now discredited: Jimmy destroys all he touches. And yet, in an excruciating scene with Howard's wake, it is Kim who cruelly gaslights his widow.

But then... wow. It hits hard. Kim loves Jimmy (he thinks he loves her, I'm sure, but is he capable of feeling the real thing?), but she leaves him, as they're morally bad for each other. And she's no longer a lawyer. This is her penance, her redemptive sacrifice, her quest for atonement.

And these are things that Jimmy will never understand.

No.

Not Jimmy. Saul. All ties to Jimmy's past are now gone. We end the episede with the Saul we know from Breaking Bad. Wow. Things are moving fast. Television has seldom been better than this.

Doctor Who: The Robot Revolution

 "Apparently I'm the Queen of Outer Space. If you could tell the police..."

Well, that was rather good, I thought. One of the better season openers of recent years, certainly head and shoulders over Space Babies. It's a solid concept, a satisfying plot, a good introduction to new companion Belinda Chandra... and it's actually about something. Even better, while social commentary in Doctor Who can sometimes err on the unsubtle side, this time the balance is nicely judged.

So... yeah, fairly long blog post coming up. I'm in the mood. And it's Doctor Who, always the core of this blog, however much it's grown. 

So we begin seventeen years ago, with teenage Belinda and her boyfriend, with Belinda being given a certificatre naming a star after her, a cheerfully blatant example of Chekhov's gun. It's a cute little scene, with Alan's adorable nervousness about kissing her, so much s that we ignore the fact that Belinda blatantly looks Varada Sethu's actual age. But it's a nice, innocent start... or so it seems.

And then we move to Belinda's life in the present day, as a nurse, with all the overwork and dedication and stress and being lovely that is implied by that. We briefly see that, as well as the fact that she lives in straintened circumstances with housemates. Little does she know that things are about to get worse, and she's going to be desperate to get back to this life.

This is Doctor Who, so naturally a spaceship lands and some mech type robots kidnap her to be "queen" of the planet named after her, which is a hilatriously brilliant Doctor Who idea... and feels very Moffat in an RTD script.

Interesting that she knows Mrs Flood, though: Ruby must be a neighbour too, and they may even know each other too. That's as much of a coincidence as the stuff the Doctor later pontificates about regarding her 51st century descendent. But she really is in a rather entertaining pickle. And it's very admirable indeed how RTD manages to make the exposition itself highly entertaining- at first it seems these people welcome their new robot overlords, but all this stuff about every ninth word is clever and highly entertaining. And yes, if you feel like questioning why words should matter to a machine instead of syllables and, indeed, you feel that this makes no sense... ah, actually that's a clue, and after the reveal at the end it makes perfect sense. Nicely done.

Also nicely done is a little subversion of the trope of aliens that look exactly like humans- with Belinda being a nurse we learn that these people's internal organs are very slightly different from ours. And then there's the timey-wimey stuff, with the two star certificates from different time zones and the Doctor lightly lampshading that the two objects must never, ever touch, or else. Yes, Chekhov has a fair few firearms in this story, but I'm fine with that.

I'm also fine with the Doctor's emotions- Ncuti Gatwa's tears show us just how much the loss of Sasha 55 (his partner?) meant to him. He's such a bloody good actor, best since Capaldi and possibly even Eccleston.

And then... Belinda betrays them all, shock horror. Except she does it in order to sacrifice herself in order to save all these people, whom she's only just met and who haven't, on the whole, been particulartly nice to her. This tells us a fair bit about her- she's brave, selfless, a good person, but not one for just blindly doing what she's told. 

And so we have the reveal... it's not AI, it's Alan, and the "planet of the incels". This is brilliantly done, with Alan's coercive control of Belinda given a much bigger canvas in the shape of an entire planet. It's clever. Mind you, I hate planet-wide robot tyranny as much as anyone, but could we still just send that imbecile Andrew Tate into space anyway? Please?

And then the really clever bit. I'll confess I'm a bit worried aboiut Belinda being "important"- why do companions always have to come complete with a pre-existing mystery these days?- but it's delightful how the Doctor isbeing his usual self with a new companion but Belinda calls him out on his behaviour, including scanning her DNA without permission, as crossing a line into being controlling. This is brilliant, reminding us that all pf us, even the "good guys", need to watch ourselves for this kind of behaviour.

So we have Earth of 2025 repelling the TARDIS, meaning that Belinda who, like Ian and Barbara all those decades ago, just wants to go home, is unable to do so. I like her. She has depth, and doesn't just defer to the Doctor.

So yes, not really sure we need that much mystery, but this episode is an excellent start to the season. Let's keep this level of quality, if we can...

Groundhog Day (1993)

 "Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today."

This film is probably the chief reason we Brits know what a groundhog is- it's the first time I've had cause to see one on screen that I've noticed. And, of course, it's probably the only reason most of ushave heard of the institution of Groundhog Day. Actually, I'm curious... do you chaps do St Swithin's Day, the summer equivalent...? 

This film, though, is surprisingly excellent and surprisingly deep. It's a comedy, I suppose, shot and co-written by the late Harold Ramis, and it certainly has a great many witty lines. And yet it's more than that, and only superficially reprresents that Hollywood comedy cliche that flawed comic protaginists need to redeem themselves in a heartwarming way. This film is far too good to be reduced to that tired old cliche.

So yes: Phil is a total git of a weatherman, arrogant entitled, snobbish, simultaneously thinking that country people are "hicks" and that education for culture's sake, such as the poetry of Baudelaire, is a"waste" compared to humdrum vocational dullness. And only reliving one day again and again, enough times to learn French, the piano, ice sculpting and the art of seducing one Rita- does he gradually go through phases of apathy, deep depression, and eventual catharsis, realising that a life well lived is one of altruism.

It sounds trite. But it isn't. The film wrestles with some deep philosophical questions- ethics, existentialism, all sorts- yet is not didactic, and insists on no one philosphical lens, which shows admirable restraint.

Fundamentally, though, this film has a brilliant script, the two stars are superb and it works both as comedy and as a concept. A true classic.

Twin Peaks: Demons

 "I find the adherence to fantasy troubling and unreasaonable."

Just when you think Twin Peaks can't get any more delightfully bonkers, it does. I mean, a guest role by David Lynch himself playing Agent Cooper's boss (how very meta) complete with comedy hearing aids...? Yes please.

Lots happens, of course, but it'sall so delightfully weird mixed with real feeling. Harold Smith generally is devastated at Donna's betrayal and what that says about human nature. The scenes between a recovering Audrey, who knows everything, and her slimy father are enormous fun. Yet again we have mutual respect between Cooper and Harry, despite their being pretty much total opposites. And we have the mutual blackmail between Josie and Ben, very nicely done, and Harry's desperate confession of love before Josie seemingly moves to Hong Kong. It's weird, but the characters feel real, even if the events quite pointedly don't.

Then there's the taunting of Leo, who deserves all he gets, and Ben's business dealings- he's essentially a properly moustache-twirling villain at this point. But things only get to maximum weirdness at the end, when the One Armed Man reveals that vhe has an inhabiting spirit called "Mike"... and "Bob" is another such spirit who can onky be seen by "the gifted and the damned".

Brr. That's creepy as hell. And gripping. Twin Peaks is now making what seems to be a more overt shift towards the fantastic. I love it.

Batman: The Animated Series- Dreams in Darkness

 "Why won't you believe me...?"

I know: the premise is pretty much a cliche- the central protagonist, straitjacketed, in a padded cell and surrounded by disbelieving psychiatristswho think said psychiatrist is mad. It seems almost a tradition that every television serial has to feature an episode like that, always commencing in media res, with the protagonist already in said cell.

Yet it works particularly well here. Partly it'ds doewn to the meticulous plotting. Partly it's because of the fact that the Batman backstory alreadsy featyures Arkham Asylum, which gets a little more depth here, and partly because, at long last, we finally get a bloody good Scarecrow story, one in which the villain comes across well, and in which his nightmarish visage has a genuinely chilling effect, given the cleverly evoked sense of unreality that pervades throughout.

Still, that's quite a few Scarecrow episodes now. Batman hallucinates his rogues gallery, although several of them, not least Penguin, haven't really appeared much as of this point. This aside, though, we have a pretty much flawless episode.

Twin Peaks: The Orchid's Curse

 "I'm a whole damn town!"

Pretty much a bog standard episode here, with plot threads progressing and mysteries unfolding amidst a cornucopia of suspense, humour and pathos, but this is Twin Peaks and that's no bad thing. 

There's so much going on, The Judge does some pre-hearing stuff, granting Leland bail and deciding not to try Leo on account of his being a vegetable. There's some slapstic about installing the hoist for Leo as Shelley and Bobby make out, as no doubt they'll take pleasure in doing in front of Leo. Lucy is away for a bit. Andy's sperm count is suddenly back up... but is an abortion on the cards? 

But there are two particular areas of focus here. There's Donna and Maddy with their attempts to steal Laura's secret diary from Harold, despite the fact that Donna like him, weird though he is. There's this delightfully symbolic and highly sexual scene between the two of them with the orchids... "Too much moisture is an invitation to disease"? Well, that sentence is doing a lot of work, to put it mildly. But that ending... ouch.

Then there's Harry and Agent Cooper on theor weird but seemingly successful mission to rescue Audrey. During which we see some owls... are they what they seem? Why is the Judge emphasising the local forest to Agent Cooper? Who is Diane? We asak the questions but, well, the answers are not really the point, are they?

Better Call Saul: Point and Shoot

 "He is NOT coming back.

And I thought last episode was superlative... soon I'll have no superlatives left. This is simply an extaordinary piece of television- directed, of course, by Vince Gilligan personally.

This is a tale of two levels of existence- that of the cartel, which is full of a huge scale and huge dangers, empire building and ten dimensional chess by powerful warlords. And then we have the level of Jimmy and, especially, Kim, who will nly ever be helpless and highly vulnerable pawns in this world. Hence the opening shot, which turns out to be a flash forward to Mike's faking of Howard's "suicide" but where the symbolism is obvious- a mere shoe is helpless against the relentless force of the tide.

Lalo's orders to Jimmy and, after Jimmy insists, Kim, are brutal. Someone like this, a civilian who is unused to violence, forced to be an assassin.  In this world, Kim and Jimmy (but "Saul" perhaps less so?) will never have any agency. They are pawns in the denoument of the epic clash between Lalo and Gus, ultimately won by the cleverer of the two, as we knew it would, having seen Breaking Bad.

And we end with Mike, the show's grown up, fixing things and authoritatively laying down the law to Jimmy and Kim, making clear his disdain for their childish games with Howard, another victim of Jimmy's behaviour.

And then both Howard and Lalo are buried in the meth lab. They are of the past... what of the future?

The Strange Case of the End of Civilisation as We Know It

 "The unexpected but accurate bisecting of the Belgian foreign minister; the Royal College of Needlework massacre; the strange affair of the seven boiled bishops; and the man-eating poodle of Lambeth Palace enigma?"

This is, shall we say, somewhat obscure. A one-off ITV comedy thing, co-scripted by and starring John Cleese, and with his signature absurdist verbal humour all over it. It's not available anywhere officially, as far as I know, and will certainly never be seen on television again- it was 1977, and there's a little light racism on show here. But let's just say that YouTube happens to exist, shall we?

But damn, this is funny. Don't get me wrong, it's uneven, and it would be absurd to expect the plot to make sense. But there are some delightfully clever touches and, despite the fact it all looks extremely cheap, the performances are excellent. Atrthur Lowe steals the show as the most bumbling Watson ever, but Connie Booth is also hilarious as Mrs Hudson. And Denholm Elliott is, of course, his usual superb self.

It's also illuminating as to the world of 1977- the Chinese delegate to the Police of five continents meeting has Mao's Little Red Book; there's a hilarious spoof of both Henry Kissinger and Gerald Ford; and there's a rather funny scene with a very 1970s computer. Oh, and there's a nicely casual skewering of all sorts of pop culture detectives.

This is not, by any means, one of the best things John Cleese has ever done. Some bits are funnier than others. But this is just so much fun to watch.

Batman: The Animated Series- Mad as a Hatter

 "Gotta do what Mr Hat says!"

Yet another strong episode this time around as another member of the Batman's traditional rogues gallery is introduced in animated form. And, as with Mr Freeze and Clayface, this is done with considerable nuance and sensitivity. Not only that, but it's a nice little guest starring role for Roddy McDowall... and indeed for Kimmy Robertson, Lucy in Twin Peaks!

As ever when I discuss incels, I must emphasise that there's nothing inherently bad or creepy about lonely men who find it difficult to approach or attract women, whether from shyness or something else. Such men are perfectly capable of being decent, of not choosing the path of bigotry and poisonous Andrew Tate- style ungentlemanly behaviour. 

Jervis Tetch, though, is not one of those decent men: he is, in modern parlance, an incel. Yes, his beloved Alice has friend zoned him, but she has the right to her own free choice. None of us has the right to demand the attentions of another, let alone the creepy mind control that Tetch employs, even after earlier deciding that it would be wrong. And Alice's boyfriend, Billy, may be a "jock", but he gives every sign of being a decent sort. Men and boys like Tetch- and alas, there are many of them- need to seek better role models and start behaving like gentlemen. Because, bound up with misogynistic assumptions though it is, the concept of a "gentleman" is perhaps not something to be discarded in this imperfect world.

This is a short but nuanced treatment of a theme that is, if anythung, even more relevant today. Plus it has loads of Lewis Carroll references. What's not to love?

Twin Peaks: Laura's Secret Diary

 "He never exercises. He never washes his car. And he doesn't even own a sports coat!"

By Twin Peaks standards, this is a fairly par episode, despite the fascinatingly surreal opening. And yet there's so much happening.

Oh, there's plot. Harold Smith openly tells Donna about Laura's secret diary... and Donna confides in love rival Maddy of all people. Ben Horne persuades Agent Cooper to handle the ransom for poor Audrey, luring him to his death. We meet a delightfully eccentric judge. Josie is up to something with her cousin from Hong Kong. And then there's Hank abd the bizarre fight at the end.

But there's also pathos. Leland feeling such unbearable grief that he killed Jacques Renault, who wasn't even Laura's killer. There's weirdness, with Audrey's only scene being shot very trippily, with Jean shooting his colleague suddenly. Jean is quite the character, to put it mildly.

Yet what lingers in the mind is the humour, the subtlety of it. Lucy's love troubles with Andy and Dick, our twoabsurd comedy characters, are quietly hilarious. And then there's the little sub-plot of the secret restaurant critic. 

I very much suspect we're not exactly going to see all the threads drawn together. But I'm still loving this.