Batman: The Animated Series- Fire from Olympus

 "Now, at last, mighty Zeus is home..."

Maxie Zeus, it's fair to say, never really was a top tier Batman villain, and so I'd not be surprised if this turns out to be his only appearance in the Animated Series. Still, it's nice to see a villain of his stature make an appearance. Might there perhaps be some hope for Crazy Quilt?

This is nicely done, though. The backstory changed so that Maxie becomes a businessman turning to criminal dealings, and whose exposure to the legal consequences causes him to crack. There is depth in his "muse" Clio being heartbroken by what has happened to the man she once loved, and it's a nice touch that we get a brief moment of the real Maxie before he, er, orders her to be tied to the front of this episode's MacGuffin of a massive, massive gun before firing it.

The forties vibes are even stronger than usual here, with everyone suitably attired and the police having, yes, an airship. And, yet again, the plot moves forwards with admirable efficiency so as to fit within the twenty minute timeslot, with nicely efficient exposition between Batman and Jim Gordon who, well, seems awfully happy to disclose what must surely be secret information with his vigilante friend.

Overall. good stuff, and good use of a quirky but forgettable villain. Even if the writer doesn't quite get the distinction between the subjective and objective in the singular second person pronoun in early modern English- "... where thee belongs", indeed! 

Dexter: The Lion Sleeps Tonight

 "This is a deliberate insult against me and my people!"

Another superb episode, needless to say- with the theme embodied from the start. This is an episode about predators, literally in the sense of the utterly depraved proclivities of Dexter's victim of the week, but also in the sense of the predatory Dexter himself, whose freedom to do things (and murder people!) is so very limited by his stifling and unwanted friendship with Miguel.

Because Bail Organa Miguel is dangerous for Dexter. He's powerful, he knows Dexter has killed at least once, he;s a shrewd judge of character and he may end up putting two and two together. Worse, he's a gregarious extrovert and an over-sharer, a difficult person around whom to stay guarded. He can turn on a sixpence. And this situation can only get worse. Will Dexter eventually have to kill him, in defiance of the "code" of Harry, from which he seems to be drifting in any case? Or will the Chicky Hines conviction be Miguel's Achilles' heel?

Dexter continues to grapple with the prospect of fatherhood, with Deb as overjoyed as we might expect upon hearing the news. She's right that Dexter needs to step up- loved the slap!- but is she right about Dexter being a good dad? She has wise words about parenting though.

This is a typically subtle. character-based episode. But I can't help but see this as setting up potential causes of future chaos...

Fantastic Four #18

 "If there's going to be any shatterin' impacts around here, I'll do the shatterin'!"

It's such a relief to get back to Fantastic Four after a run of fairly inconsequential issues with, at this stage, frankly second string heroes and writers. And this is enormous fun from the start, as the FF watch themselves on the news by means of an enormous, 1960s era, black and white telly... which is immediately juxtaposed with the frankly bonkers futuristic tech hi-jinks of Reed and Sue using an actual ICBM(!) to quickly nip over to Hawaii for a spot of swimming. And yes, that was a highly satisfying sentence to write.

But, in deep space, the Skrulls are still around, and this time we meet their unnamed Emperor, no less. Is he concerned about his underlings stuck as cows on Earth in issue #2 in a frankly nightmarish bit of body horror? No, he is not. Instead, he's determined to (all together now) defeat the FF and conquer Earth, because that's just what alien baddies do. He's "emptied the Treasury" and treated his people "like slaves", so this clearly matters quite a bit to him.

And so we meet the Super-Skrull, who has all the powers our heroes possess, "and more"... not only that, but he also has the shape shifting powers of your average Skrull. And it's such fun to see him arrive in Times Square, calmly claim Earth for the Skrull Empire, and await the Fantastic Four as the Emperor watches from afar. And so the inevitable skirmishes occur... and the Super-Skrull very much wins the first round, the FF heading back to the Baxter Building with their metaphorical tails between their legs. Plot-wise, this is very standard stuff, but it's fun.

But, naturally, Reed comes up with a MacGuffin that saves the day by removing the Suer-Skrull's power supply from the "fifth quadrant where the Skrulls are, and, in a nice touch, it's Sue who, invisibly, gets to use it and defeat the bad guy, causing the watching Skrull Emperor to call his underling a "dolt", a word only ever used by baddies in superhero comics. 

At last, a comic that's genuinely a pleasure to read. 

Stargate SG-1: The Torment of Tantalus

 "He chose his ideas, his work, over me."

Wow. The run of great episodes continues. Even before the credits we get a truly exciting hook- footage from 1945, freshly declassified, which shows a man (in a deep sea diving suit!) entering the Stargate. It's immediately apparent that this is going to be an exciting arc episode. So it proves to be. And yet, even more so, it's a rather moving episode about people.

Wonderfully, we (and the gang) again meet Catherine from the film, as she explains to Daniel that the man who entered the Stargate was her fiance, Ernest. Immediately the tragedy rears its head. Catherine's father, no doubt meaning well, told her that Ernest had died. Yet now, in old age, she learns that her fiance, on the cusp of marrying her, chose to take such a huge risk.

And there's more reason to be excited, too. It seems this location, not on the cartouche, was close to Abydos but unknown to the Goa'uld. Could it, therefore, lead to alien tech, or tantalising info on who created the Stargates...? The latter will, of course, prove to be the case. We learn of four alien races, each with their own script, meeting in a kind of "United Nations of the Stars". Of a universal language based on the chemical elements.

And yet... the area they're in, a castle on the edge of a cliff, is close to destruction from the elements- rather convenient that they should find and ultimately rescue Ernest at the very last moment! It's all good fun, and I enjoyed the creativity of the various Heath Robinson creations Carter comes up with, the Dial Home Device being destroyed, to get them home. Naturally, it means sacrificing the wonderful device upon which Daniel sets so much store.

And yet... despite all the lore, this is ultimately a story about people, feelings, and wisdom. About a man spending fifty years utterly alone. About the need to forgive before it's too late, and take the happiness we can while we have the time, because it's always later than we think. And, yes, about the realisation that there are more important things than knowledge.

Utterly phenomenal. 

Batman: The Animated Series- His Silicon Soul

 "We humans are more resilient than you give us credit for."

Sequels are at their best when they're not just a cynical attempt to bring back something popular, but actually have something to say. Fortunately, this sequel to the Heart of Steel two-parter very much does. And it's a deeply, satisfyingly philosophical twenty minutes or so of television.

The plot is quite straightforward- burglars unwittingly revive a duplicate of Batman and, after some fun with the fact that the winged detective has a metal doppelganger, the duplicate sets out to bring back HARDAC and yet again replace all of humanity with AI. And, yes, this is an interesting episode to watch in October 2026, with stories of AI agents going rogue getting worryingly frequent for a kind of event for which the only acceptable level of frequency is "none at all.

Yet the plot is a mere excuse for the philosophical questions to play out. The Batman doppelganger is convinced by Rossum that it is not in fact the original Batman by the argument that its memories are vague, facts-based and devoid of emotional meaning. Yet... is not human memory imperfect, fallible and inconsistent, too? AI consciousness is one thing, but what actually is this concept we call "consciousness".

There's a lot to praise here. Rossum as a genuinely regretful man. Alfred's horrified realisation that the "Batman" in the Batcave is the duplicate. Right up there, though, is the highly appropriate ending, with the duplicate ultimately failing because it's too good a copy of Batman, unable to take a human life.

 Yes, there's the odd relative dud, but this is yet another high quality episode.

Legends: Old Kings

 "We can't afford false moustaches. But you can lend us a couple if you like."

The penultimate episode and, in a deliberately jarring jolt, Hakan announces to the whole alliance- Turk and Scouser, both Guy and Eddie included- that the Istanbul connection is gone and there's only one thing for it- go to Karachi and deal with the opium suppliers direct. The episode thus begins as it ends, with Customs struggling for some semblance of control as events speed up around them.

Yes, permission is given to go ahead with a potential two tonne drug bust, but Customs are  outmaneouvred not only by Hakan but also the Secret Service, all-knowing, omnipotent and absolutely nothing like the James Bond films, thank the Lord.

We get some good character scenes, though. Don and Bailey. Bailey and Eddie. Eddie realising what Guy is, and keeping quiet. Bailey versus Guy. And Kate connecting with Erin, who is dealing with how "London can be a confusing place when you're poor, but sound like you're rich."

Once we reach Karachi, though, things veer out of control as we're introduced to real life drug lord Afridi, and to the Khyber Pass with the Cure's "A Forest" as the perfect soundtrack.. and this truly is a different world, with both gangs in the clutches of a ruthless man with absolute power who, naturally, has a man casually killed in front of them, just to make a point, yet also discoursing in a learned way on the solid history of the Silk Road. Not only the Scousers but also the Turks (well, Kurds) are out of their depths... until things are salvaged at the last moment by Mylonas' wife, a not-so-real Afghan princess.

Kate gets some nice scenes, too, as she chases and catches the Liverpool copper who's working with Carter through sheer brass and cleverness. But we end, with only one episode to go, with Guy's physical safety hanging by a thread as the boat leaves. Legends has been bloody good throughout, but this instalment takes things up yet another notch. Excellent stuff.

Tales of Suspense #44

 "Cleopatra's beauty is almost worth it, but my work is in the twentieth century."

This story is, of course, bonkers. It's also yet another instalment that doesn't move the character forward. Yes, we've established that Stark is a wealthy playboy, the armour, the heart condition. But there are no other recurring side characters and villains are invariably one-offs- as here, where we have the "Mad Pharaoh", the fictional King Hatap, seemingly in reality just a failed rebel against Cleopatra, well into late Hellenic times.

We have some archaeological fun, along with the usual hijinks with heart trouble and transistors. But soon we have Hatap returned to life, having been in suspended animation for 2,000 years and, even more miraculously, speaking English, a language that didn't exist until many centuries after he was mummified.

And so we have this sorcerer take Stark and travel back in time and.. oh dear, let's try and overlook the historical inaccuracies, shall we? Romans in green, with chariots. Oh, and Stark now apparently speaks Ancient Greek, or Coptic, whatever Cleopatra is speaking, and gets to meet her, the lucky sod.

He soon saves the day and returns to 1963- and yes, Marvel Time adherents, the actual year is mentioned several times. But then, at the end, we have the twist: Tony Stark, in the last panel, sees a film at the cinema, a film which is clearly Cleopatra, with Elizabeth Taylor, an epic released that very year. Yep. This story is... a tie-in to a film currently in cinemas. I must admit that's rather cool.

But can we please have some recurring characters and identity for these Iron Man stories?

Stargate SG-1: Thor's Hammer

 "Teal'c, I think we got the answering machine."

This may not hit the heights of the last extraordinary episode- the friendliness of the Cimmerians is a little too trite and convenient, while events play out predictably. But this continues a streak of strong episodes and gives me something I'm growing to live for- the drip, drip, drip of lore as the series progresses. And I'm willing to forgive the moments of dated, '90s storytelling and conventions. Yes, we get a crap rubber monster... but, on the other hand, it's voiced by James Earl Jones.

Perhaps Daniel's theory based on ancient Norse myth is a little unconvincing and convenient, too... but this is a universe where Erich von Daniken and that lot were sort of right, and pagan "gods" were in fact ancient aliens. So let's just acknowledge the triteness of the plot and get into the exciting lore, shall we?

In Cimmeria (Robert E. Howard's grave stirs a little, the gang genuinely have some nice Viking friends with whom they would be wise to stay in touch, as well as the possibility of one day removing the Go'auld hosts from  who are Sha're and Skara. And it seems that, indeed, there are benevolent, powerful aliens who are hostile to the Go'auld and... well, is "Thor" a long dead powerful spacefarer, as the recorded message may suggest, or an actual sky god in the here and now, as Kendra's thunder suggests? I must sheepishly admit, though, that it feels weird seeing the god Thor in a non-Marvel context. Kudos for the mythologically accurate ginger hair though.

Then there's the mysterious Unas, the Go'auld's mythological first host. And, dammit, so much lore and backstory. I really hope all this gets properly followed up.

Dexter: Finding Freebo

 "Some people just shouldn't have kids, you know?"

Another strong episode here and, following last week's bombshell, there's a strong theme of having kids. Dexter and Rita have to decide whether to have a kid... although, of course, Rita ultimately decides to keep it, as was always going to happen or this plot point, like Chekhov's Gun, would not exist otherwise. 

Still, we get lots of fascinating musing from Dexter as he ponders the possibility of bringing another monster like himself into the world, and how we can never know the kind of little person we'll be bringing into the world. And the theme fits into the wider cast of characters, too- Bail Organa (ok, Miguel...) and his wife struggling to conceive; Angel's unbridled joy at Dexter's news showing how good and guileless he is beneath his flaws. A proper appearance from Harry for the first time in a while.

Yet the episode is also about Dexter's need to find and kill Freebo to protect himself, as well as to get the bad guy- and yes, still, his values are evolving and moving away from Harry's. He's calmly musing on the kind of monster he now wishes to be, and because he's the protagonist it's easy to forget what a monster he is, a trick the show constantly and cleverly exploits.

And Dexter's need to get Freebo, of course, puts him at odds with Deb, who has become single-mindedly focused on policing and needs this case to go right. There's other character stuff, too. The fact that Maria and Miguel have some kind of history, hinted at for now. The fact that Angel is struggling with the weight of his promotion... combined with his excessive drinking.

But that ending, with Miguel catching Dexter killing his brother's supposed killer "in self defence"... and actually being grateful. Deeply ironic, considering what actually happened. And Miguel is a character with real depths, not all of them yet explored. I'm excited to see where all this is going... 

Coraline (2009)

 "Giraffes don't just fall from the sky, Miriam."

Let's quickly deal with the elephant in the room: there's the controversy about Neil Gaiman, it's all rather unpleasant and I'll not be going into it here. Libel laws exist, my watching this film in the way I did (perfectly legally, I must emphasise) directed no money to the writer concerned, and a film is the creation of more than a writer alone.

There can be no denying, though, that this film happens to be a wonderful little Halloween treat. Much of it is charming. The use of a parallel world evokes Lewis Carroll as well as a much older faerie tradition. The animation is glorious, clever and creative while still doing its job of narrating an entertaining story. And yet...

What really makes this brilliant is how, despite its inevitable happy ending, it really leans into the darkness of fairy tales. The very concept of a parallel world, with an Other Mother and Other Father, that is much more fun that drab reality with vaguely neglectful, busy parents... but, as ever with faerie, with a terrible price. The very thought of having one's eyes replaced by buttons is... brr!

There's more, of course. Standout performances by (who else?) French and Saunders. The matter-of-fact treatment of a talking cat. The cleverness with which it all unfolds. But this is, above all, a perfect dark little fairytale for Halloween. 

Batman: The Animated Series- The Demon's Quest, Part 2

 "You must understand, beloved. I share my father's vision and seek the same ends, but I do not choose his means to those ends."

"I know." 

After an extraordinary first episode, this concluding instalment can't quite manage to live up to it, feeling very rushed in its twenty-three minutes of screen time. It's still impressive, though, leaving us with a strong impression of both Ra's Al-Ghul and Talia as characters. I hope we see them both again. Both David Warner and Helen Slater are very good indeed.

The cliffhanger resolution is obvious, with Batman saving Talia. But the lore is interesting- the Lazarus Pit can resurrect, but at the price of a temporary loss of sanity, and it can be fatal to those not in need of healing. And there are hints that it won't keep one alive forever, and that we are all ultimately mortal.

Batman still refuses Ra's' offer, however, so he and Robin are left to die as the place is evacuated for Ra's desert sanctuary. Fortunately, Batman and Robin survive, having the best plot armour in the business, but it's an entertaining section to watch, as is Batman's detective reasoning as he works out the location of said desert sanctuary.

There follows an amusing section in which Batman infiltrates a large group of camel riding minions only to be caught... wearing a mask beneath a mask. It's hilarious how Ra's removes the outer mask yet leaves the cowl intact, and then commits the ultimate baddie mistake by happily explaining all his plans to the Batman. So, well, he wants to end environmental devastation by killing half the human race. lovely.

Oh, and there's more lore- there are a number of Lazarus Pits, in various specific locations worldwide, which is tantalising. As is the ending, as the defeated Ra's falls into the pit calmly and with a smile. That final shot is hardly unexpected.

And yet, even more fascinating is the spark between Batman and Talia. But is he two timing Selina Kyle, with whom he also has a bit of a flirtationship? I'm sure we'll see... 

 

 

Legends: The War on Drugs

 "It's because of what happened to me that I know it hasn't happened to them."

For Guy, Kate and Bailey the stakes of the deadly game are getting higher and higher, with lots of guns, tension, and character moments, from the O'Connells being sprung from a prison van at the beginning to the shocking bloodshed at the end. And, this time, at the centre of it all is drug kingpin Carter, a man whose greed, ambition and need for control leads to horrific levels of violence, death... and, it's strongly hinted at, hubris. 

There's more, though. Thatcher is under threat by the men in the grey suits, Hezza is on the march, it's the Tory conference... and the safety of all three of our protagonists is potentially put at risk for the sake of party politics. Don is there to discuss with others (and us) the psychological well-being of Guy, Kate and Bailey... and he should know. Steve Coogan is, as ever, extraordinary.

Bailey slowly gains the trust of Eddie, who in turn, unsurprisingly, is losing faith in the volatile Carter. There is drama between different Turkish factions. And for Guy, in particular, life feels dangerous and precarious. And the legend is changing him, causing him to threaten his daughter's piano teacher. 

There's a lot going on, and it's all gripping stuff. And yet, with all good telly, character is at the heart of it all. 

Tales to Astonish #46

 "Peace! Quiet! How ghastly!"

Ah, a short one. Perfect as something to blog after a very, very long drive. 

I admit is: my heart sinks when I see an Ant-Man story- and see also Thor and Iron Man. There's potential there... well, perhaps less so with Ant-Man. But the stories are just clunky and silly and, while that has its amusing side, there's no real depth, characterisation or, indeed, effect on the slowly emerging Marvel Universe, to the extent that it yet exists.

This one is... well, weirdly packed with little bits of Greek etymology in the name of the readers' classical education. But yes, it's very, very silly. Of course, this isn't that Cyclops (but let's not jump the gun, we haven't quite met him yet!) yet, despite a bit of misdirection, it's not the character from The Odyssey either. No, it's a robot controlled by... aliens. Well, let's face it. It's the early '60s. It was either that or communists.

Our heroes dispose of the baddies fairly easily, convincing them that humans are just too powerful and scary to conquer, as you do. And yes, they do this while only ever addressing each other by their superhero names, even in private. It's perfectly fine but, well, skippable.

Two things worth mentioning, though. The city is referred to not by name but as "the city", with Marvel slowly transitioning from those DC-style fictional cities. And, when Ant-Man thinks that the Wasp may be killed, he thinks that "... without her, I... I can't picture my life." Is the love plot actually starting to move...?

Stargate SG-1: Brief Candle

 "It's a paradise."

"Yeah, sure, have an apple. What could happen?" 

From the blurb this looks as though it's going to be a standard bit of high concept '90s telly sci-fi. But it's so much more than that, genuinely deep and psychological, and utterly superb telly. Yes, sometimes an episode of television which takes its title from a well-known Shakespeare quote can be extraordinary rather than pretentious...!

The concept is deeply horrific. The Gou'auld once kidnapped a population from pre-Homeric Greece (the actual Argos?) and modified them by means of nanotechnology to have shortened lifespans of just one hundred days just to experiment with speeding up human evolution over the very long term. Cruelly, the people have no idea that longer lives can happen, and worship their alien exploiter as a god.

And yet, they love and cherish every day of their short lives. And so, as Jack ends up sleeping with a local lady (always unwise...) and having his own lifespan shortened, he learns the value of existence. These people do far more with one hundred days than either Napoleon or FDR.

Yes, it's a cop out at the end to have Jack's aging reversed, but this is '90s episodic sci-fi telly. And we do rather gloss over how these people learn to speak, cook, and exist in such a short span. But there are so many ideas in this clever little episode.

Monetising My Blog

This hasn't been an easy decision. I've had this blog for sixteen years plus, and until now I hadn't monetised it. I was worried about selling out, I suppose, or turning a fun, relaxing hobby into "work". But times have changed. There's a wedding to pay for, a cost of living situation, and it would be nice to put some money away for my daughter. There's a real person and a real life beneath this blog, and I'm giving it a try.

That said, I've no idea whether it'll make any real difference. If it doesn't, I'll change my mind. Either way, I'll still treat this blog as I've always done- as a hobby. Whatever happens, it won't have any effect on the content. 

I hope my readers understand. Well, bots aside!

Batman: The Animated Series- The Demon's Quest, Part 1

 "The master gave you no permission to leave."

"I didn't ask for any."

At long last the Animated Series, having already teased us with Talia, finally gives us its Ra's Al Ghul, and what a Ra's Al Ghul. This episode, adapted by Denny O'Neil himself from his 1971 original in Batman #232, is a tour de force. It matters not that we know from the beginning that Al Ghul is behind everything, the whole thing is just so compelling. And David Warner... what a performance.

I love how Al Ghul works out Batman's identity, an obvious method to one with his resources, and the whole treasure hunt through India, Malaysia and the Himalayas on which he leads Batman. Batman, of course, knows exactly what's going on, but is surprised to see himself being offered the chance to be a dying Al Ghul's successor... yet he rudely refuses, causing great offence. Unsurprisingly, as the offer includes a declaration of Talia's love for him.

But it seems that Al Ghul is dying... but Talia insists on getting him to the Lazarus Pit, which revitalises him. Yet, if this exists, why did he say he was dying and make the offer to Batman? And why does he seem to have gone bonkers and lifted Talia above himself?

I'm sure we'll find out. But wow. What an episode. 

ParaNorman (2012)

 "What do you think you're doing firing at civilians? That's for the police to do!"

I don't recall having even heard of this nice little animated film before this weekend, so I assume it doesn't loom all that large in popular culture. If so, that's a shame as I rather liked it. 

I'll confess I haven't seen Coraline, and this film (and its animation) is very much in the same vein. I'm hugely impressed by the fact that this, a twenty-first century animated film, is stop motion rather than CGI. That's a huge point in its favour. So is the fact that the cast is comprised of a mix of unknowns and character actors rather than huge stars.

This is a nice little spooky tale based on the curse of a girl wrongly hanged as a witch three centuries ago (although I'm not sure Puritans in Massachusetts would still be wearing clothes like that as late as 1712, even with the rather sensible American disdain for wigs?), and yes, there is a certain amount of sentiment and moralising, about parenting and how we ought to be more accepting of people who are "weird".

But the film is genuinely funny, both in terms of verbal wit and having fun playing with the tropes, and there are some gleeful little satirical one liners in there. It's only a fairly short film at ninety minutes, and an underappreciated little gem.

Legends: This Is Liverpool

 "That's called importing drugs. It's sort of the opposite of what we do."

Things get even more dramatic and dangerous this week for our underpaid Customs officers working on a shoestring and risking our lives, showing the real costs. Yet we also see why they're doing it. A young Tommy, ironically the son of one of the kingpins himself, finds himself hooked on heroin through a perfectly ordinary and natural set of circumstances, and we slowly see his decline and death. it's harrowing, and it happens to the very father who... orchestrates the shocking ending.

Guy is getting deeper and deeper into his "legend"... and thereby connecting well with Don, who well knows the appeal and the costs. And he's under pressure to show what he can do by actually importing large quantities of heroin which, well, he can't do. But, in a delightful sequence, Don solves the problem in arranging a deliberately botched raid by armed police in Felixtowe. I also love the sequence in which he desperately gets some customs officers to back off. Steve Coogan absolutely steals every scene he's in.

Kate and Bailey also have some excitement, getting locked in while sneaking around but getting away with it through sheer desperate cleverness. But the moment of sheer drama is Shaun's cover being blown, and he and his family subsequently escaping a fiery death by the skin of their teeth. It's utterly gripping, and really sells the risks of undercover work... yet, earlier in the episode, Shaun confesses just how much he's loving it.

Still utterly gripping, even if much of the episode is necessarily setting things up. 

Dexter: Our Father

 "God created pudding. Then He rested."

New season, and it's fascinating to see how they handle it. Because, well, from Dexter's perspective, there are no dangling plot threads or problems. Life is fine. In fact, the opening episode even leans into that, making it very clear that Rita is really, really into him, and the kids are starting to see him as a real father figure. Even Deb has given up "men, booze and cigarettes", although she soon quite sensibly changes her mind about the middle option. One can go too far, after all.

But then something happens... things get chaotic, and Dexter accidentally kills someone he hadn't intended to, someone who is perhaps no angel, as we soon find, but being a junkie wouldn't make him deserving of death according to Dexter's code. And yet Dexter seems not too bothered by this, and is pondering changes to the code. He seems to be distancing himself from the memory of Harry...? It'll be interesting to see where this goes.

Oh, and said accidental victim has ties to a very influential local family, one of whom is Bail Organa. And Princess Leia's dad seems to have real "permanent new character" energy.

What else? Angel is getting promoted, but is also drinking a lot. This is clearly a character arc. There's that internal affairs lady, too, and her suspicions around a new character that have Deb very curious. And, yeah, we have a dentist's surgery that's shot very interestingly, with lots of glaring white and not going for realism. It'll be interesting to see where that sort of thing goes, too.

A promising start. 

The Whisper Man (2026)

 "If you're lonely, sad and blue, the Whisper Man will come for you...

This film is, I suppose, a harbinger of the future- no big screen release, straight on to Netflix. Yet we no longer live in a world where I could differentiate on this blog between films and feature length one-off TV dramas. Yes, this had no cinema release, but the cast, the production values... I can't say that this isn't a film. It's something I'll have to let go. Just like people pronouncing "h" as "haitch", as I was taught never to do. Language changes, and so does the way we consume culture.

This is bloody good, though. A well-executed thriller based on an apparent copycat killer taking the same methodology of an old serial killer from the '80s, with a clever plot and lots of excitement. It reminds me a little of Se7en, Zodiac, even Saw,  but thankfully more in the sense of story than gore, which is quite rightly not dwelt upon here.

The characterisation is very much worthy of the impressive cast, who most certainly do not disappoint, with Michael Keaton particularly impressive. And, importantly, this film is about something, at its heart being about family, the importance of relationships, and indeed of kindness and forgiveness between the generations, accepting that we are all fallible human beings.

Highly recommended. This film fulfils all the requirements of a good serial killer crime thriller yet it works on more than a surface level.

SPECTRE (2015)

"Information is all, is it not?"" 

Ok, perhaps this isn't quite as good as its predecessor, but that's a very high bar, and this is nevertheless a fine Bond film. And a highly satisfying payoff to all the long-running plot threads that have been playing out since Casino Royale. Needless to say... spoilers!

It's a huge thrill to see Bond, gone just rogue enough, chasing all the pre-existing clues to an organisation that was always going to be SPECTRE, and an end of level boss, played superbly as always by Christoph Waltz, who was always going to be Ernst Stavro Blofeld. The backstory is nice, though, with "Blofeld" being Bond;s childhood stepbrother who regards him as a "cuckoo". The fact that his mother's maiden name happens to be Blofeld does, admittedly, feel a little forced... but, dammit, rule of cool.

The set pieces are awesome, right from the start with the Day of the Dead in Mexico City, right through Bond's infiltration of the mysterious organisation's headquarters in Rome through to the final showdown with "Blofeld". Andrew Scott's secondary, bureaucratic baddie ("C"... yes, I get the allusion!) is fun. And there is, of course, a very real subtext to it all with us all merrily handing over our personal data to those evil, MAGA-loving tech bros. In the real world, sadly, there's no 007 to save us from our fate.

The ending is, with the very obvious difference that Madeleine gets to live, somewhat redolent of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, with Bond falling in love and choosing love over the job. But, of course, there's one more film of this era to go. If it's anywhere near as good as this, I can't wait.

Game of Thrones: The Mad King (Dominic Cooke, 2026)

The play is still (just!) on at the RSC in Stratford, and playgoers are being asked to keep schtum about the plot, the staging and all things potentially spoilerific, albeit not for very much longer. This, of course, presents an interesting challenge when writing a blog post about it, but it's the sort of challenge that I'm minded to accept, so here goes...

My very lovely fiancee and I, courtesy of her very generous dad, found ourselves in the best seats imaginable when watching the play last night. Whilst I'll say nothing of the details, the staging is creative and brilliant. The script and story, too, are superb, very Game of Thrones. The story, as one might guess, deals with the late reign of Aerys II Targaryen, but more than that I won't say, except that both the plot and the characterisation are deeply satisfying. The worldbuilding is, of course, also satisfying, but at its core this is a very human play that is absolutely about human emotions, relationships, choices and free will. 

One spoiler-free way to praise the play is to say that, yes, the cast is large, but it doesn't feel that way at all.  

Journey into Mystery #95

 "Great Scott! I'm seeing things!"

Another fairly throwaway Thor story here, courtesy of the pen of Robert Bernstein; this is a title that badly needs to be lifted out of its early rut. Nice start, though, with Odin summoning Thor to use his power over thunderstorms to deal with a drought in Asgard, something that would have been useful here in the English Midlands in recent weeks.

Sadly, we then proceed to move on to a rather generic little romp with our mad scientist du jour, one Professor Zaxton, a one off villain. Indeed, we know from the moment he sees Don Blake turn into Thor that he won't survive this issue. And so we get a simple little tale of a duplicating ray that creates doubles which, for some reason, have the opposite personality of the original. Neatly, though, Thor is able to defeat his evil duplicate, with its two hammers, because the duplicate is not worthy, which is a clever resolution.

Still... Don Blake is a physician. Could he really invent a super intelligent and invincible robot thingy? And there's a lot of exposition by thought bubble here. Still, I've read worse. 

Stargate SG-1: The Nox

 "The young do not always do as they are told..."

A rather interesting and different episode, this. A world on which there lives a mysterious race called the Nox who at first appear to be strange, primitive, helpless yet also with wondrous abilities such as healing and invisibility. Throughout the episode we slowly discover that they are not what they seem, that their pacifism arises from wisdom and confidence, and that the Go'auld are no threat to them. 

Indeed, we end with a reveal to the gang that, invisibly, the Nox in fact possess hidden yet impossibly advanced technology. To paraphrase Arthur C. Clarke, any suffociently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. This episode is a rather successful example of the trope that arises from that, and one of the stronger episodes thus far.

It also develops the lore and season arc rather nicely. The US government are now starting to have doubts about the Stargate project due to the poor results in terms of advanced alien tech. Plus we get to see Go'uald again... and Apophis! It is, admittedly, something of a coincidence that they're all on the planet at the same time. Still, a rather strong episode, with Armin Shimerman in it to boot.

Personal Update

 Let's just say it's been a very busy, eventful couple of weeks, but blogging will be back to normal as of tomorrow. There's been a lot of life stuff.

 And... well, I'm now engaged to be married to a very lovely lady, and I couldn't be happier. This just goes to show that there is still life, and there is still love, after divorce. Anyone who is reading this who's going through a horrible divorce right now... one day, it'll be over, you'll know where you stand, you can start to rebuild.

Never give up on love. 

Update

 I realise I've not been posting much this month, but you can rest assured that's for a reason (basically, childcare), it's nothing bad, and things should return to normal after the weekend.

Batman: The Animated Series- Blind as a Bat

 "Your aim appears to be a little off today, Batman..."

This is a fairly basic, run of the mill episode, the gimmick being that Batman has to deal with a plot by the Penguin while temporarily blinded, with the added warning that Lesley Thompkins has sternly warned him that he'll go blind if he doesn't rest.

We know how it'll end from the beginning, of course; the final scene, where he opens his eyes, has no real suspense. But it's a decent enough way to spend twenty minutes, even if not exactly earth shattering. yet again, it's nice to see so many recurring characters- Lesley Thompkins, Hamilton Hill- making this Gothan City feel real and textured. And there's a nice little hint of Bruce Wayne feeling uneasy about Waynetech manufacturing military technology.

There are some nice little moments, such as when there's initially no response to the Batsignal. I'm enjoying the typical overconfidence of the Penguin in the Animated Series. Ultimately, though, this episode isn't going to particularly stand out.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

This isn't the first time I've read this novel but, well, I was a pre-teen back in the early '90s, and I'm in my late forties now. This, shall we say, was a very different experience.

This is, I suppose, the main text, if not quite the first,
to properly introduce and popularise the legends of the vampire to late Victorian society, both in this country and across the West. And it does this very well indeed; the Count is a superb villain, odd though it is that we see so much of him in the opening chapters, with poor Jonathan Harker trapped in his castle, yet thereafter he is spoken of more often than he is seen, with the character of Van Helsing there throughout to impress upon him his many, many powers. Indeed, Dracula's powers are immense, far beyond those we usually associate with vampires, and his nightly presence feels ever-present. His slow, horrible killing of Lucy is deeply effective, and gives us a real sense of threat for the back half of the novel.

And then there's the scene where he has Mina imbibe his own blood, damning her by ensuring she will become like him, unless he dies soon. And that chilling sentence "This is not the first time, or the second, that your veins have appeased my thirst!" Brrr...

And yet, despite the novel working well in terms of structure and effective horror- some say the bits with Lucy slowly being drained to death drag, but I certainly don't- the novel has little deeper to offer. Yes, we can comment on how the novel reveals the anxieties of its time, but that is incidental, and largely unintentional. The characters are all very much stock types, with no real depth. The prose may sing at times, but for an epistolary novel this gives us very little in terms of real interiority. These characters have no real depth, they are characters in a grand guignol. And the speech patterns of Van Helsing, in particular, become annoying very quickly.

A mixed bag of a novel, then. But it's a fascinating artifact in the history of the vampire trope, and an entertaining read. 

Legends: Alliance

 "You're allowed to enjoy it, Guy."

As per the quote... Guy's wife knows him well. He needs the excitement, the risk, all of it. And, as we hear more of Mylonas's background this episode, perhaps the two of them are more similar than either would admit- both adrenaline junkies.

Turning to Kate and Bailey, we have quite the contrast. Kate is game to take risks, Bailey more cautious, causing tension... until an everyday instance of police racism makes Kate realise what Bailey has to live with, and why he has to be cautious. Meanwhile we meet Scouser Shaun, another bored VAT man, who is sent straight undercover, all because he cares deeply about his local community.

And so our protagonists are nicely developed as characters as we explore the world into which they've been dropped, a world of constant risk, calculation, adrenaline, with occasional betrayal and murder, with twists and turns that lead Kate and Bailey to witness the forging of a new alliance between Hakan's Turks and Carter's Scousers. It's all superbly sculpted plot-wise, yet it really gets us to know the protagonists.

Even more worrying, one of the Turks seems to suspect Guy, and a white van is watching his wife and daughter at their house. The levels of risk are off the charts... but this is Customs, far wilder and riskier than the police or the spooks. This is simply gripping stuff. The drug smuggling montage at the start alone is magnificent television.

I'm loving this. 

Fantastic Four #17

 "Forgive me for interrupting you by sending my pseudo-image here. But I am still human enough to wish to gloat over your hapless plight!"

I love the exciting cover to this one, promising so much action. But not as much as I love the declaration that "Marvel Comics Group ushers in the Marvel age of comics". Fantastic Four may not be as good as Amazing Spider-Man, but it's easily the second best title at this point.

It's absolute bonkers, though.

We begin by saying farewell to last issue's guest star, Ant-Man. After all, his appearance in this more popular title is a clear sign that sales of Tales to Astonish must be flagging. No wonder the Thing is seen reading an issue as a subtle hint to the readers. 

Doom, though, is still at large... and he wants power, namely as a member of President Kennedy's cabinet, which is utterly bizarre. Latveria is not yet a thing, and I don't think there's yet any suggestion that he's anything other than American. Still, nice oblique visual hints of Camelot are nice, with JFK and "Caroline's bedtime".

It's probably best not to think about the plot too much, with Doom kidnapping Alicia as leverage but then utterly failing to use her as such when the FF attack his base in, er, a cloud floating above New York. Yep. Bonkers. 

But we end with such fun little set pieces, and the issue has so much overall charm, that I can't help but love it. Especially as we end with Doom jumping out of the plane, ostensibly to his, er, doom, but wevknow damn well that's not going to happen... 

 

Stargate SG-1: Cold Lazarus

 "Your world is a strange place..."

Concept-wise, this is pretty simple- the gang explore a world and find some crystals, some of the crystals disguise themselves as Jack. So, early on in this series, this seems to be another example of an episode in which the point is not so much exploring the Stargate but rather with a threat which they bring back to Earth with them.

Except there's more. This episode deepens the series not so much by exploring the lore as exploring character, as the crystal entity is introduced to Jack's tragic backstory- the fact that he carelessly left his gun around, that his son thereby accidentally used the gun to tragically shoot himself, leading to devastation and the collapse of the marriage.

This episode uses the conceit of the crystal entity to explore this, as we meet Sara, Jack's ex-wife, and the two reconcile against the odds, with it looking as though they may even get back together. It's well-handled, well acted, and it's clever how Sara interprets the entity's clueless statements and questions as being deeper than they are.

And yet... it may hit differently in the USA, with its extremely permissive gun laws but, to me, there can be no forgiving what Jack did. You can't have guns in a domestic setting, and leaving it lying around for kids to find is utterly beyond the pale. Yet Sara is not angry at him...?

Still, the episode is well done, and there are consequences perhaps for Jack's personal life but also in that the team now all know of his dark past. As ever, it's fascinating in these early episodes seeing the series explore what it wants to be. 

Enola Holmes 3 (2026)

 "There are two paths you can take, Enola. Yours, or the path others choose for you."

This sequel, with the same ensemble cast and the same writer in oft-rumoured future Doctor Who showrunner Jack Thorne, is exactly what we might expect, from the rollicking adventure to the nicely plotted mystery to the in media res beginning. This is, of course, no bad thing. This film is bloody good, giving us exactly what we expect and exactly what we want as far as the characters are concerned, with a satisfying whodunit to provide the mystery.

Yes, the film is full of anachronistic social attitudes to things like colonialism, gender roles, marriage and social class, especially with regards to a happy ending that could never fly in the actual 1880s. But this, again, is no bad thing. There are films where one can legitimately be demanding in terms of historical accuracy, yes indeed. This is not one of them. A family friendly romp should not concern itself with (SPOILERS!) the impossibility of a peer disclaiming his peerage eighty years before Tony Benn, or the even greater impossibility of the concluding ceremony being accepted as any kind of marriage at the time. Such things do not matter- a modern audience, with modern (and much more enlightened) values, must be entertained.

This film is, quite simply, fun. The cast is magnificent, the feminine contingent especially. Sharon Duncan-Brewster is extraordinary as a Moriarty with a surprising amount of depth. Helena Bonham Carter is, well, Helena Bonham Carter. And Millie Bobby Brown, with her charisma and her delicious fourth wall moments, carries the whole thing. Little Miss Llamastrangler (who called the film "peak") give this film our thorough endorsement.

Update

I know- July has been a blog-lite month so far, for life reasons. That doesn't mean it'll ever come to a complete halt, and things will get back to normal. The next week and a bit will also likely be quite blog-lite, again for life reasons. But I should be back full force from Monday 27th July onwards.

Batman: The Animated Series- Shadow of the Bat, Part 2

 "I hate wet shoes!"

A solid conclusion here, with the newly coined Batgirl earning her spurs and, in the end, the grudging respect of both Batman and Robin, after a few false starts. It's also nicely plotted, with Gil Mason and Two-Face plotting together to rule the law and the underworld respectively. I had to laugh, of course, at the sight of Jim Gordon not recognising his own daughter in that mask, but heigh-ho.

I suppose the plot was rushed a little, what with our baddies changing their plans to spring and then kill the Commissioner, a decision clearly based on the fact that the story needed to be wrapped up quick. But still, this is a solid debut for Barbara Gordon's alter ego. It gets points too for a solid set piece with Batman and Robin trying not to drown, especially as we're only really seen so much of the two of them together in the series thus far.

What's this about Harvey Bullock keeping Thorne's involvement to himself, though...? 

Legends: Could You Offer More?

 "Lunch money? What are you, twelve?"

1990. It was a very different time, the early years of rave culture, and Thatcher (just!) hanging on. But it was also a time of massively increasing availability of heroin. And so we have the hard-hitting opening, with two young people, from very different class backgrounds but both with their lives ahead of them, have those very lives snuffed out.

There is, of course, a lot of cynicism in how the government of the day reacted- Alex Jennings has an excellent cameo as rightly forgotten Home Secretary David Waddington driving home this very point. Thatcher, at a low ebb, needed a success. But there's no doubting the moral urgency of snuffing out the heroin trade.

The way this is to be done, however, is on a shoestring. Ordinary civil servants from Her Majesty's Customs and Excise are to go undercover, with only a little training, no extra resources and no extra pay... which is, wow. And so we have our triumvirate who have what it takes- Bailey the VAT man (yay, he says cryptically!); Kate the vice officer, and Guy from Customs- a real person who wrote the book on which all this is based. They are the only three who make it through the rigorous selection process, which is enormous fun to behold.

It's a joy, as ever, to experience the sheer charisma of Steve Coogan as Don Clarke, the world-weary yet wise man in charge, the person who anchors all this. And, soon, we see our brave trio into action, and very real danger.

This is going to be fun. Loving the character of Mylonas...

Fantastic Four #16

 "The fools! They live in peace! They are contented and happy! But I'll soon put a stop to that!"

This issue is, obviously, bonkers. I mean, a tiny sub-atomic kingdom? An incredibly credulous society that Doom easily conquers due to their naivete? And, yes, a cover that proclaims a "special surprise guest star at the same time as announcing blatantly that it's Ant-Man.

Fascinating, is it not, that all Marvel crossovers so far have involved the Fantastic Four, who have interacted with the Hulk, Spider-Man and now Ant-Man. Will we get any crossovers not involving the FF any time soon? Still, I fear for Ant-Man. The Hulk's title was cancelled soon after he appeared in Fantastic Four #12. Can Ant-Man's tenure in Tales to Astonish be coming to an end? It would be such a terrible shame...! 

And, awkwardly, this issue is really rather good, and shows the FF, who finally seem to be morphing into explorers rather than crime fighters, to be better in stories involving shrinking than a certain Henry Pym. Ouch. I suppose he can console himself with the fact that Sue apparently fancies him... after earlier declaring that they "can't ever be sure that he really exists". First Hulk, now Ant-Man... the FF seem to be perennial sceptics when it comes to the existence of other super powered individuals.

This is a fun little romp, ending with the Thing literally batting away the invasion fleet of the Lizard Men of Tok, which is not a sentence I ever imagined myself typing. I'm enjoying Fantastic Four... and, oh goody, the next title in the Order is the next issue.

Batman: The Animated Series- Shadow of the Bat, Part 1

 "This place gives me the willies..."

Yes, I know- thirteen straight days without a blog post, something that hasn't happened in a loooong time. In my defence, I'm still adjusting to life after recovering from my surgery with everything being all busy again with fatherhood, my relationship and my career back to being full time again- all good things, but I have less free time than I did before February. I'm adjusting, but I'll get there. Plus there's been the heatwave, a lot of stuff to do, and, er, a YouTube "watch later" list that I'm slowly getting under control.

Anyway, it's back to Batman: The Animated Series. It may have left Netflix but it's now on Amazon Prime so I pick up right where I left off, and this is certainly a strong start to the new season. Functionally, this is the episode where Barbara Gordon becomes Batgirl. It is, I think, the first time Bruce uses his "Matches" Malone disguise, something I remember from the comics back in the day. 

It puts all the world building that's been going on to good use in this tale of someone framing Jim Gordon for corruption. The story depends strongly on the supporting cast of both cops and mob bosses, giving Gotham a real sense of place. The animated series is properly established by now and uses all that world building to powerful effect, also giving us some tantalising clues about Jim Gordon's framing. And the ending, with Two-Face revealed and Barbara (with some help from her teddy bear!) debuting her proper Batgirl costume.

Most of all, though, I love how noir this is, from the first class animation to the plot to the mood. This is what peak Batman looks like. 

Strange Tales #111

 "Bah, you are a weakling! Why would you help men when you can rule them?"

A rather odd issue this time round. The Doctor Strange story is a rather perfunctory introduction for Baron Mordo while the Human Torch story, despite its silly premise ( I mean, Asbestos Man? Come on! It's heath and safety gone mad.) is... actually rather good.

Yes, this week's baddy is yet another embittered scientific genius who craves worldly riches and is thus tempted by crime... albeit after some almost Marxist muses on how his employer, and not he, profits from his genius labours. And so he goads the Torch into battle from an "old castle", for such things apparently exist in the United States, which he can somehow afford on his meagre salary. And so he publicly disgraces the Torch, before impressing some gangsters (including a "king of the underworld" who will never be heard from again) into joining him in crime.

Wonderfully, it's Sue, armed with a truly magnificent beehive, who is the brains of the operation here, suggesting a successful strategy to her literally hot headed little brother- use flame not on Asbestos Man himself, but the environment outside him. Brilliant.

Meanwhile... well, Baron Mordo comes across in his first appearance as just a generic former pupil of the "Master", as he's still known, who now uses magic for greed and power, ending up in a bizarre astral fight with Dr, Strange. It's a very early story, and not many pages, but Strange wins with a trick and... is that it? Hopefully, things will get more substantial in time. 

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

I've now read both this and Persuasion, Jane Austen's first and last works, a rather pleasing statistic for me. And it's an interesting contrast to the more mature work in that, regardless of publication date, Austen wrote this in 1799, when she was a mere 25.

This may be less mature, I suppose, but that's a relative term. The novel certainly feels lighter in tone, and written by someone who's had fewer hard knocks. But the wit, and the social commentary, are absolutely there. Austen's prose is always a delight, much though I may suspect, not having read any Georgian Gothic novels of the kind that this novel is to a large extent riffing off, that there just might be rather a lot of allusions I'm not getting.

The novel is a joy to read, with our naive heroine Catherine slowly learning that real life is both tamer and in some ways more socially perilous than the lurid tropes of the Gothic novel.And the final revelations are devilishly clever, revealing that the plot has been rather cleverer than we may have thought all along.

 It's fascinating to see Austen discuss the modes and manners of the minor landed gentry in the 1790s, a slightly earlier time period. Indeed, this book makes the 18th century, which felt so distant in Tristram Shandy, feel rather close. There's even an extraordinary moment where the splendidly pedantic Henry disparages the modern habit of using the word "nice" to mean "pleasant" rather than "exact". Quite right too.

Update

Bear with me- I've been mad busy this week with work and life admin, and this weekend I'll be in full-on dad mode. I might blog something tomorrow or Sunday, we'll see, but back to normal from Monday! I'll be all caught up with comments then, too.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026)

 "The old protect the young and the young protect the old. This is the Way."

This is the first film I've seen at the pictures in a long time... and the first ever with a certain very lovely lady. First time in Banbury, too, with rather lush reclining chairs and an entirely adequate quantity of jalapenos. And it was damn good.

The vibes about this film seemed rather negative, and I understand that essentially it's a truncated version of what was to be a further season on Disney Plus. You can sort of see that from the film, but that's in no way a bad thing. Because the film is a triumph, fun set piece after fun set pieces punctuated with cute, funny moments from Grogu. And that's exactly what we want. 

The first half or so of the film is enormous fun, feeling very much like a film noir or something like a Raymond Chandler novel, except with aliens and spaceships, and we're introduced to Rotta the Hutt, who is a fantastic character whom we absolutely must see again in some form.

Then we move into the slower, more tense, second half of the film which acts as a sort of coming of age for Grogu while keeping all of the cute baby Yoda goodness. The ending is damn satisfying. If this is the last time we'll be seeing these two eponymous characters, this is the perfect way to end it. 

 

Stargate SG-1: The First Commandment

 "We're off to see the wizard!"

A decent episode this time, based on a concept that was bound to come up at some point- an officer on one of the Stargate teams setting himself up as a god to the hunter-gatherer peoples of one of the worlds. And this plays out decently enough in its Man Who Would Be King sort of way, complete with the inevitable comeuppance for the captain concerned. And there's a little extra drama from the fact that this is Carter's ex.

Beyond this, though, there's more subtle world-building. The Go'auld usually terraform planets. The people on this world know of the Jaffa from legend, although they hadn't seen one before. It's all nicely Erik von Daniken, with the local legends giving clues to the Go'auld tech that can save their people... preferably without working the poor people to death to build a "temple".

At this point the SG-1 gang is bonding nicely, with mutual respect. They're a team... although no one simply just does what the Colonel O'Brien says! This is all very '90s, but the show is developing nicely in these early episodes.

Children of the Stones: Full Circle

 "I think you have an exaggerated sense of your own importance..."

And so it ends... rather suddenly, but entertainingly. I'm not sure I understand what was going on, what with all this exposition about black holes, transmission, ley lines, Hendricks as some kind of sin eater, and the locals turning to stone, perhaps hinting at the origins of stone circles? Then there's Dai being alive again, Matt's theory about a "time trap" and Hendricks appearing anew at the end.

And Adam and Matt- a teenager- are exhibiting genius level of behaviour here in their father-and-son clever clogs display. They have throughout, but this episode really pushes it, with both of them being experts on all things from black holes to atomic clocks. But there's heart, too, as we feel the emotions with Adam and Margaret parting.

I'm not sure this episode quite sticks the landing- it's atmospheric, but bewilderingly confusing. Did they write themselves into a corner? Still, overall the series is all I was expecting from this well-known classic programme from the year of my birth. It's very, very 1970s in so many fascinating ways.

Fantastic Four #15

 "Good grief! Another power-mad genius for us to contend with!"

The quote above says it all- the Mad Thinker is not exactly the greatest villain of all time, just being another arrogant clever villain, this time the conceit being that he plans things to the second, until Reed defeats him with the "x-factor", or an unpredicted event which the Thinker somehow failed to foresee for reasons that aren't entirely clear... but at least Mr Lumpkin gets another mention! 

Still, it's a surprise that the Thinker becomes such a fixture for the FF, being so dull, and nowhere near as cool as his Awesome Android, overpowered though it seems here. There are some cool moments though, such as our first real experience of Ben's rivalry with the Yancy Street Gang, and Reed again using that gun thingy from issue #1 to summon the team- I think a fixture of these early days? It's also nice to see a bit of wry irony in Stan's captions, describing the Thing as "as lovable and shy as ever".

Interestingly, even as late as this issue the FF are as much crimefighters as they are explorers, with the Thinker seen very much as a gangland figure. It'll be interesting to see that change. Overall, though, a decent enough issue but nothing special. The FF need a far bigger canvas than this sort of stuff. 

 

Update

I'm back from holiday. No actual blog post tonight as I'm knackered after the long drive, but the blog will go back to normal from tomorrow.

Update

 This is just to say that I'll be on holiday over half term, and will post little, if at all, until 30th May at the earliest. But I'll be back full force after that! 

Tales of Suspense #43

 "Follow me, puny surface man!"

This may, in some ways, be an utterly unremarkable issue. There's still no real supporting cast. The antagonist. Queen Kala of the Netherworld, may not quite be a one-off but she's hardly a major recurring villain. And Tony Stark basically gets out of his quandary by tricking Kala into giving him a laboratory, privacy, and unlimited resources so he can sneakily make a new Iron Man suit- in short, a retread of the origin story.

Plus , again, we have little attention being given to overall continuity, showing that, still, despite the crossovers there's no real conception of a consistent shared universe. The "Netherlanders" (Secretly Dutch? They're certainly below sea level,) are yet another underground civilisation, and they're descended from Atlanteans. So, yeah, I'm sure Mole Man, Tyrannus and indeed the Sub-Mariner might have something to say about that.

Yet, despite its flaws and contemporary quirks (Tony exploits the misogyny of Kala's right hand man! She kindly shows him around before carrying out her plan! Bringing to the surface turns her, conveniently, into an "old hag" so invading the surface wouldn't be viable. Even more conveniently, the effect is reversible!), this is very fun and engaging. But at this point we really, really need a supporting cast and some solid recurring baddies. 

The Witches (1966)

 "I see. What we admit, we believe. And what we believe, I suppose, could destroy us."

This is a most odd example of a peak period Hammer horror film. It totally eschews the usual tropes and fun- and even the usual familiar faces. Instead we get a typical subtly bleak script from Nigel Kneale and a quiet little supernatural thriller, riffing on both voodoo and witchcraft, heavily based on a highly impressive final ever film role for actual Hollywood star Joan Fontaine.

There's much to commend, too. Fontaine is superb, odd though it is to see her share a screen with both Betty Spencer and Reginald Perrin. The misdirection and final twist are well done, and the deep psychological horror of being trapped in a mental institution appears to good effect. It all takes place in a dreamlike mid-'60s Cornwall which adds deliciously to the atmosphere.

Still, it's a bit slow, and the voodoo elements do rather feel crowbarred in, effective though they are at times. The constant flashbacks to the African artifacts are also very awkward. The film is hardly without its flaws, and is certainly far from Kneale's finest work. And the direction is... well, workmanlike. Still, a decent film if perhaps no more than that.

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht, at the Swan, Stratford upon Avon

 "If we could learn to look instead of gawking

We'd see the horror in the heart of farce 

If only we could act instead of talking

We wouldn't always end up on our arse..." 

The perfect first play for my lovely partner and I to see together, no...? 

This play, currently running at Stratford, is a triumph. Using Stephen Sharkey's translation, it really brings to us the power of Brecht's play, genuinely funny until it really, really isn't, which is, if course, the point- farce that turns to horror. Hitler, like a certain orange man with tiny hands, was considered a joke by most of us, an act of complacency. Farage, too, is an absurd little man. So is "Tommy Robinson". And, of course, as the great Anthony Burgess said, the jackboot is intrinsically absurd, as though it's daring you to laugh... and that's the point. For you don't dare.

Neither Hitler nor Trump had a sense of humour, always a sigh... 

Gatiss is, of course, superb in terms of both the line delivery and the physicality of his performance. He oozes a terrible charisma and, to his credit, plays his interpretation of the character of Ui as written by Brecht, resisting the temptation to do an impression of Hitler, Trump, or anyone else.

The staging, too, is a triumph. Above the stage is a movable area occupied by Placebo, who provide a truly amazing soundtrack, and this is used effectively in order to allow for fast and creative scenery changes. The use of space here is truly inspired.

Beyond Gatiss, the cast impresses deeply, Mawaan Rizwan in particular. This is a fun yet horrifying production that speaks to our own times more than, perhaps, the play ever has. I implore anyone who is able to do so to see this while you still can. 

Update

This is just to say that I may be able to blog something tomorrow night, but it's likely I won't be back to a normal-ish blogging schedule until Monday or Tuesday next week. Nothing to worry about- just my personal life being busy in a good way, combined with being pretty much back to normal work-wise.

May is going to be a busy month, but this blog isn't going anywhere! 

Tales to Astonish #45

"Wonder what this wire is for? Oh well, it doesn't matter."

So, you know how the Ant-Man stories seemed to be on an upswing, what with the new writer, the addition of the Wasp, and trying to make Henry Pym a bit less bland as a character? Well... said upswing may have run its course. This is turgid stuff.

Yes, Egghead is back- a villain whose only real traits are cleverness and arrogance, and he's suspiciously similar to the Wizard in both respects. He just, well... goes into a bit of a sulk after last time, but eventually decides on revenge, conveniently picking up a couple of very generic henchmen. And then proceeds to set a very generic trap, using the Wasp as bait, heavily relying on the assumption that Janet will go to his lecture on wasps, without Henry.

Oh, and Ant-Man and the Wasp literally have a race- his catapult (still a thing!) versus her wings. Yes, really. Also, the word "flickers" appears, never a wise word to use in a comic book. We end with the baddies using, and I can't believe I'm typing this, water pistols filled with "liquid gas". And, right at the end, Ant-Man scolds the Wasp, calling her "young lady", while her thought bubble reminds us that she's still supposed to be in love with him.

I think, by now, it's clear that these Ant-Man stories are not working, 

Children of the Stones: Squaring the Circle

 "There's no way out until the stones release us..."

This penultimate episode is the most gripping yet, from start to finish. Margaret and Sandra are now "happy", and the tension is superb as Adam and Matt gradually realise this. They're now alone in an increasingly claustrophobic village. It feels as though there's nothing they can do.

The attempt to leave the village fails, of course, in beautifully surreal scenes which are a triumph of trippy and imaginative direction. And they wake in Hendricks' house, as "guests", seemingly with no escape as villagers surround the house. 

Iain Cuthbertson is magnificent here, both urbane and sinister as, at last, he verbally spars with our father and son protagonists in his avuncular way. Yet, once again, it's the mood that lingers in the mind. I begin to wonder whether what's going on will be given some kind of explanation, or whether it may in fact be better if it isn't.

I have no idea how this can possibly end. But it truly is one of the greats of children's television.

Dexter: The British Invasion

 "Confusion requires fire trucks?"

Wow. So this is how it ends. Such magnificent, exciting chaos. Yet it all feels earned in terms of the characters. And, in hindsight, Lila's bit of self-arson a few episodes back was something of a harbinger for how this would end. For Doakes, and almost for Dexter...

I sort of knew that Doakes had to die- he knew too much. What else could the writers possibly have done with him? But so early in the episode, so dramatically, and Lila reacting to the truth about Dexter by doubling down on him being her soulmate... wow. She's an extraordinary character.

And her reaction, wanting Dexter even more and intensifying her pursuit, is extraordinary- as is Dexter's realisation of what she's like- just like him, emotionally empty. Her past, interestingly, is still a mystery, but was her "addiction" to a substance at all?

But then there's her unhinged revenge side, trying to kill not only Dexter but the kids. She misses a trick, I suppose, in not just exposing Dexter to Rita and to the world, but as a climax it really works. As does Dexter's killing her, finally able to do so in accordance with his "principles".

There's other character development with Deb, too... her heart, inevitably, is broken. But she's even closer to Dexter, the two of them being, bizarrely, paragons of a healthy sibling relationship. And all is seemingly back to the status quo...

Except LaGuerta, who knows something is off. As Doakes did exactly a season ago...

Wow. Just wow. 

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind

 I read this way back in the '90s and, although I remembered very little, I do recall enjoying it. I also watched (and blogged) the film adaptation about ten years ago. I remember very little of that either, but apparently my past self didn't think too much of it, deeming the novel "unfilmable".

And... well, it is. It heavily leans into the dimensions of the olfactory, a dimension denied to film, a medium that appeals solely to the eyes and ears. And the charm of the novel lies in its depictions of the human side of pre-revolutionary France, described with a deeply enjoyable wit- and that the wit come across despite this being a novel in translation is a credit to both the author and the translator.

The novel was a great favourite of songwriting genius Kurt Cobain, of course, a big reason for me initially reading it back in the day. He was fascinated by Jean-Baptiste himself, and his disdain and hatred for his fellow humans. I wasn't really; Grenouille is interesting for his olfactory abilities but I wasn't drawn to him as a character. But the character of Grenouille isn't what makes this novel enjoyable- it's the wit, the irony, the well-drawn minor characters.

This is a good novel, not a great one, perhaps just a tiny bit over-praised for its literary qualities. But it's a thoroughly readable book and perfect for reading on the train while commuting.

Stargate SG-1: The Broca Divide

 "You referred to me as Lucy!"

It's fascinating seeing these early episodes and seeing what the format's going to be. This is, of course, an American network show from 1997, so there are twenty-odd episodes a season. So not every episode can be part of the arc where we learn more about the Stargates, the Goa'uld, and all that lovely lore stuff. We're going to get episodes of the week, like the last one. And like this.

This episode is entertaining, yes. but it can be summed up pretty simply- the team explore a new world, which is interesting, with areas of permanent day and permanent night. The culture seems to be descended from that of the ancient Minoans. And... there's this plague that turns people into wild, unhinged hominids which infects most of the team, until a cure is found. That's pretty much it.

Yet, more importantly, it further develops the relations between the characters. It establishes yet again that not every episode (perhaps not most?) will involve the Go'auld. And it's established- from the president, no less (Clinton, presumably), that the team are in fact expected to study the cultures they find. It's a good episode, but perhaps more important for the subtle things it establishes about how this show is going to be.

And yeah, I didn't expect to see General Major Briggs like that... 

Dexter: Left Turn Ahead

 "Harry gazed into the eyes of his creation and saw evil, pure and simple..." 

Wow. Yet again we have an extraordinary clever, gleefully chaotic and masterfully character-based episode... and next up is the finale. And I'm told by my very lovely partner that future seasons get even better. I'm still rather cross about those well done steaks, though. Well done steaks are an abomination. That character flaw of Dexter's is right up there with the serial killing.

So much of this is about the perverse but very real rapport between Dexter and Doakes who- as ever- is right about everything. Dexter's confidence is low after realising that his father killed himself because of what he'd made Dexter, and so he's lacking in confidence and, for him, very much losing control. And, incredibly, Doakes persuades him to get his affairs in order and turn himself in. it's extraordinary how liberated Dexter seems with the freedom he has to be honest with his honourable archenemy.

And then, at the end, Deb inadvertently persuades him otherwise, having slowly got her mojo back after last season's trauma, persuading him to just ride through it. It all feels earned and absolutely true to character for everyone. Ironically, a lot of this is due to Dexter actually being a bloody good brother.

In other news, Mike from Breaking Bad shows up, and things are going well between Deb and Lundy. Too well. I'm convinced that tragedy is round the corner.

And then there's Lila. Ah, Lila. Framing poor Angel in a despicable attempt to get Dexter back, and he can clearly see the parallels in what he himself is doing to Doakes. But she's dangerous, volatile, and Deb's confidence after realising her immigration status is misplaced. That final scene, with Lila poised to learn everything from Doakes, makes me want to see the finale. So job done.

Extraordinary episode. Aren't they all? 

Journey into Mystery #94

 "Out of my way, you flunky!"

Oh dear. This may well be the most terrible issue I've read in the Order so far. It's clear that Robert Bernstein isn't working out as the writer, and the title needs a major revamp at this point. It's a promising concept but has consistently failed to catch fire.

I mean, we begin with NASA firing a rocket into space which is powered by... a nuke. Yep, that would be the sort of rocket which tends to blow up on launch from time to time. Then again... Project Orion was actively being considered at around this time, so let's not blame the script for this, at least.

But the whole scene of the rocket losing control is just another excuse for Loki (still trapped on Asgard by the gods) to concoct an absurd escape plan which consists of having Thor get a bang on the head, giving him a contrived personality change which turns out to make him vehemently pro-Loki for no clear reason. Then again, of course it's absolutely possible to control how someone's personality changes by varying where and how you hit them on the head, right?

So Thor frees Loki, and rebels against a thankfully rather forgiving Odin, and it's fascinating just how undefined the All-Father's powers are at this early stage. We then move to an orgy of destruction, with several famous world landmarks being destroyed. But then the United Nations requests that Odin accede to Loki's inevitable blackmail... and it seems the delegates all accept the gods as being literally, well, gods, which... well!

And then we have a literal deus ex machina, we press a big red reset button, and that's it. The whole thing might as well have not happened. And, throughout the whole story, we only got a few panels with Thor as Thor.

Utterly, utterly awful. 

Children of the Stones- Charmed Circle

 "Perceptive and formidable..."

An extraordinary gripping episode, this, with a pleasingly earned bit of exposition and the sinister Mr. Hendricks, portrayed to perfection by the splendid Iain Cuthbertson, moving very much to the foreground with his presence a constant. We get to see more of his extraordinary home at the centre of the circle... and it's a nice surprise to see good old John Woodnutt as his butler. 

Hendricks' creepy gaslighting about Dai's death is hugely effective, compounded by the disappearance of the body. But our intrepid foursome make some fascinating discoveries- the people in the painting seem to exactly number the population of the village. Discrepancies between painting and chart suggest one of the stones may move. And the amulet (with a jolt of static electricity) puts young Matthew in a bit of a trance, following which things get delightfully weird.

Which is handy because, with the four of them being the only villagers who are not "happy", Hendricks has only them to convert. And, with Margaret and Sandra invited to dinner, Matt gets to watch their extraordinarily gripping conversion from afar, with white light pouring down as their faces change. The whole setting looks amazing, and the acting really succeeds in building up the tension.

This is good, creepy, atmospheric, old-fashioned plot-driven telly. Every episode just gets better and better. 

Strange Tales #110

The Human Torch vs. The Wizard and Paste Pot Pete

"Wait a minute! I'm a partner- not a servant, you know!"

The team-up we were all waiting for, right? I mean, the Wizard is sort of ok, a generic super genius undone by his own arrogance... but Paste Pot Pete, with his literal paste pot? How on Earth did he get to be more than a one-off baddie?

I like how the story leans into his rubbishness, though. He's the supplicant, the one who springs the Wizard from prison and asks to join forces, something the Wizard would certainly never have reciprocated. And, naturally, Pete spends pretty much the whole story resenting the fact that he's being bossed around.

The actual plot is very perfunctory, though, not helped by the fact it doesn't actually start until page five of thirteen, with loads of space taken up with flashbacks of previous stories and the Torch training and, er, doing homework.

Oh, and the Wizard announcing that he and Pete will just operate from his massive house because "The police would never dream I'd go there"? I think you'll find that's "always", not "never", 

Dr. Strange, Master of Black Magic

"I am the symbol of evil! The evil he has done!"

For a very brief five page story introducing Doctor Strange (at last), this is both very good and utterly fascinating. We're introduced to Doctor Strange, with as yet no origin, but just told that he practises what is rather interestingly called "black" magic. We see an unnamed Wong in one panel and briefly meet the Ancient One, here called the "Master". We learn that the "Master" doesn't expect to live long, and that Strange is his successor. We briefly meet Nightmare, and see the Nightmare Dimension. And, as far as lore goes, that's pretty much it. Strange is an alluringly mysterious figure who keeps his magical cards to his chest.

Indeed, with the excellent, creepy art of Steve Ditko, Strange has the touch of the sinister about him. This looks and feels as close to a horror comic as the Comics Code will allow in 1963, a refreshing change. The writing, too, is a huge step up from the Human Torch stuff, with cool concepts and a twist at the end, even if the client being bad is already becoming a bit of a Marvel trope.

But a Nightmare Dimension! Strange entering another person's dreams! This is awesome stuff. 

Gen V: Trojan

 "Thanks for the level up, asshole."

Wow. That's how you do a finale. Just ramping up the tension, with Godolkin's murderously Darwinian student auditions also functioning as a way for him to level up his powers so he can finally control Marie, leading to a truly thrilling climax with Marie and her friends vs. Godolkin, showing the power of the collective over the individual... although the way everyone sneaked into there was, yeah...

There's a lot of good character stuff too, though. Emma and Marie bonding over how damaged they both are from past trauma. Marie apologising and healing Cate, showing absolute trust. Jordan forgiving Marie, and dumping her, in one breath. Doug (whose experience with "Cipher" has been truly existential horror) bonding with Polarity over admiration for his late son. Godolkin's joy at being able to eat, drink, have sex and just feel again. Sage's vulnerability when asking him to live with her. Polarity's extraordinary growth as a character.

Godolkin is, of course, a monster. Yet, fascinatingly, his ultimate target is indeed Homelander, whose far right, MAGA-tinged, mentally unstable nonsense he sees as "mediocre"- a reminder that, by and large, those with far right views are not exactly ubermensch.

And the ending, with Starlight, A-Train and the gang joining the resistance just in time for the concluding season of The Boys? Uplifting and magnificent. Here's hoping they all appear, and we haven't seen the last of them.

And yes, The Boys will be replacing Gen V for the blog in this "slot".