Batman: The Animated Series- Almost Got 'Im

 "Smaller words, please. Your losing Croc."

As an idea for an episode it feels trite, lazy, low effort. A bunch of Batman's foes- the Joker, Two Face, Poison Ivy, the Penguin and, er, Killer Croc all play poker and compete with stories (and flashbacks) about which of them came closest to killing Batman.

Except... it works, by subverting the very premise. Not only is an episode from the villains' POV a success in practice, it further fleshes out the villains' characters. The way they interact is fun. It's wryly acknowledged that Harvey Dent and Pamela Isley are exes. Everyone mocks Killer Croc for his limited intellect ("I threw a rock!"). Between the others, there's a kind of mutual respect... although the Joker is certainly the alpha male.

However, the twist at the end is delicious- it's all a trap. And, all the more intriguing, it's yet another riff on the fascinating pseudo-romance between Batman and Catwoman... however, they can't keep the "will they, won't they?" simmering forever.

Nevertheless, a strong episode.

Dexter: Waiting to Exhale

 "Just dropping somebody off..."

This is another good episode, although primarily it consists of wrapping up last episode's main plot about Dexter losing his mojo. But this time around he finally manages- eventually- to secure his victim, looking visibly relieved as he makes the kill. His dead brother appears to him, but Dexter seems to let go. He also finds a solution to where to drop the bodies- the good old Gulf Stream, launching those lovely little cadavers towards the vicinity of my own native island. How delightful.

Yet he still has problems. The bodies from his previous kills cannot be un-discovered, and an FBI prosecutor is on his case, played by the same actor who plays Wild Bill Hickock in Deadwood. This character seems competent, and decent... but, interestingly, he rebuffs Doakes' request for a secondment. Why, and where is this going?

And Doakes is still stalking Dexter. Surely Dexter is underplaying the risk of being discovered...?

Elsewhere, Deb is not coping well with her PTSD, understandably, and the police are being somewhat unreasonable, to put it mildly, in expecting anything else. She may earn a feather in her cap from some drug arrests, but that stems from some disturbing behaviour. At least Dexter, trying to be a good brother, is now willing to let her stay.

LaGuerta continues to slowly get the upper hand with the new Lieutenant, in a rather interesting little arc. But we conclude with a real bombshell... Rita has been a little off with Dexter all episode, processing her feelings about Paul. And, having found the shoe, she inevitably demands answers from Dexter. And.... things go in a very unexpected direction!!!

This season is starting off a little bit bonkers. And I'm here for it...

Clash of the Ninjas (1986)

 "The rebels have been sent to the organ grinder, you see? Ha ha!"

Yesterday was a bit deflating at disappointing, so a hilarious B-movie seemed a good idea. And this film is, let us make no bones about it, terrible. Hilarious, yes, but terrible. If you're the kind of person who enjoys so-bad-it's good type of cinema you may enjoy this... but I'll not be held responsible for that eighty-four minutes of your life. This blog accepts no liability for any displeasure incurred...

I've blogged a couple of Godfrey Ho's films and... well, this is another one! He made incredibly cheap Hong Kong films that, in the mid-'80s, tended to crowbar in references to the then-current ninja craze. Frequently he would buy the rights to films that had never been finished and splice them together into a whole which, as here, makes no sense whatsoever.

Where shall we start? I love the grand guignol of the premise- a Triad that kidnaps people and gruesomely operates on them to remove eyes and kidneys for onward sale. But, well...

I mean, naturalistic dialogue and decent characterisation? Ha! This is the crudest melodrama possible, and magnificently so. It's basically just set piece after set piece, with fight after fight. And ninjas, yeah? They're magic, they can apparently teleport, set stuff on fire and, er, make people explode. I mean, that ending...

Still, the baddie ninja is suitably moustache-twirling and I, for one, was entertained by this rubbish. If you must watch this, though, alcohol is highly recommended.

P.R.O.B.E: The Devil of Winterborne

 "I'm Gavin Purcell, not Dennis Wheatley!"

The first episode was good, if cheap. The second instalment is, I think, even better... if cheap. It is, as the above quote suggests, a very low budget riff on Dennis Wheatley devil worship cult stuff, is very cleverly written as the revelations unfold and (SPOILERS!) ends up having no apparent supernatural elements in the end.

It's not just the very well done plot, though. Mark Gatiss again gives us some superb dialogue. The ending is horrifying. Caroline John once again excels at a rather nuanced portrayal of the pipe smoking, older Liz Shaw... and is there a mild hint, as the two of them get a bit pissed on wine, that she and Patsy may be old flames? Are we also going to get Terry Molloy's semi-sceptical detective as a new regular?

The other standout performance is, of course, from Peter Davison, whose character we are kept guessing about until close to the end. His "confession" is truly chilling and shows how bloody good Davison can be when given the chance to play a baddie... although in this case, of course, things are not quite what they may seem...

There's some nice indications of evolving social attitudes here, as well as towards mental health with the character of Georgie, although admittedly this is outsider drama from the younger generation. Overall, though, this is a highly impressive second instalment. 

Twin Peaks: On the Wings of Love

 "Will you please ask the lady with the log to speak up?"

We may begin the episode with Jones (aided by some kind of lip-applied hallucinogenic?) trying to kill Harry... but sure enough, as predicted, he's superficially over Josie's death and back in action, as predicted. Plus Gordon Cole is back, Cooper is suddenly reinstated in the FBI, and suddenly things are moving extremely fast as the series enters the final stretch.

We have more obvious hints that Coop and Annie, a delightfully eccentric character, are to be romantically linked. Gordon Cole and Shelly... well, we'll see how that goes. A deaf character being able to hear the woman with whom he's besotted is possible only in a series with the relationship to realism that Twin Peaks has, to put it mildly.

Earle has links to that shady air force UFO group that Major Briggs is part of. He discusses Shelley with Audrey in another disguise. He's always one step ahead. Meanwhile, Ben is his old plotting self, plotting new things. Audrey and Wheeler really need to get a room. Ben and Donna's mum are old flames. And, of course, there's the revelations at the Owl Cave, with Earle, again, several steps ahead...

Things are speeding up and getting more exciting as we approach the end...

Batman: The Animated Series- Terror in the Sky

 "Who wants to live with a monster?"

These episodes are twenty minutes long, not a long time. So, by now quite a way into the first season, with the Animated Series no longer being new, we've seen which types of storytelling works for such short episodes. And this episode may well be the poster child for the type of episode based on a twist.

I suppose some may have guessed the twist- that this new Man-Bat figure was not in fact Kirk Langstron and- after all, we had an early clue / bit of misdirection that it had to be either Langstrom or Francine- but the most ironic candidate possible. But I certainly didn't, and found the episode to be hugely satisfying in terms both of plot and character. There's a bit of romance, a bit of intrigue, a bit of old fashioned Dark Knight Detective stuff from the Batman.

All this, and lots of great visuals in the snow, peril with a plane, and a heartwarming final scene. Great stuff.

Squid Game: 222

 "Do you still have faith in people...?"

This episode so so clever, so full of mind games, drama, agony, from start to finish. It's utterly gripping, and one can almost forgive the cartoonishness and scenery chewing of the "VIPs", which is rather out of place. But everything else is so damn good that all is forgiven.

The game continues from last episodes, and it's an edge-of-one's-seat bloodbath, with players now openly killing each other for advantage in an example of rather poor behaviour from most concerned, with the exception of Ji-hun... and the admirable Jun-hee realises her situation is hopeless and sacrifices herself, nobly, for her baby...

And so we're left with nine men and a baby, with most of the men being nasty pieces of work, made to vote to continue by means of mind games, and plotting to kill Jun-ho and the baby... until Jun-ho is subjected to mind games in turn by the Front Man... who reveals himself to a shocked Ji-hun as Jun-ho's brother. Oh, and more mind games cause No-eul to return to the island.

But it all comes to a head as Captain Park realises he's discovered, all hell breaks loose, and Jun-ho makes a final desperate search for the island. This season may be a little uneven, but when it's good... it's very, very good. The drama, the tension, the mind games... it's almost as evil as a real reality show!

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

It's strange to think that when this film was released, in 1920, it was the first cinematic version to the best of my knowledge, or at least the first full length one. And, as such, it had a problem to navigate: Robert Louis Stevenson's original novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, is possibly the most spoiled novel of all time, through no fault of its own. Yes, the fact that Jekyll and Hyde are one and the same is the twist at the end... and the novel's very success has ruined that twist for all subsequent generations.

So how to handle this? By 1920 the twist was known to everyone, so the telling of the story is changed. We're introduced to Dr. Jekyll as a paragon of virtue, but Jekyll is in turn introduced to the vices of, er, the music hall(!) but his prospective father-in-law. Tempted to indulge these vices, he invents a serum to change himself into Hyde as a means by which he can do so. Unlike later adaptations, Hyde and Jekyll are not distinct personalities- although I think, unlike in the novella, there is a difference- but Hyde is merely a means for the "virtuous" Jekyll to knowingly indulge his vices. The film therefore, despite its changes, preserves from the book the concept that this is a tragedy, one springing from moral flaw's that are fundamentally Jekyll's.

I confess I was driven to frown at the changing of the setting from Edinburgh to London; the original novel is very redolent of the capital. I also frowned at some intertitles early on that mocked the vowels of the Cockney accent- "accentism" is not cool. But it can't be denied that this is a profoundly thoughtful and inspired adaptation, closer to its source than most or perhaps all of its successors.

Antigone (1986 TV Film)

 "When the state becomes one man, it ceases to be a state."

And so we come to the third and final iteration of Don Taylor's translations of Sophocles' Theban plays, made for the BBC in 1986. I was vaguely aware of Antigone by reputation, but this is the first time I've experienced the play. It packs quite a punch, to put it mildly.

The production retains the form of classical Athenian theatre, as with its predecessors, hence the slightly odd sight of the Chorus, with a number of very familiar British character actors speaking in unison. The costuming works well, evoking a dictatorship in the modern age, appropriately for the autocratic hubris of Creon who, this being classical Greek theatre, awaits his certain nemesis.

As with other plays, the visually dramatic moments (especially the deaths) happen offstage, with most of the drama consisting of an utterly enthralling dialogue of ideas. The premise is well-known- Antigone insists on giving her brother a proper burial despite Creon's newly enacted law making this a capital offence. And Creon is allowed to make some valid points- Antigone's brother was not only fighting against Thebes but wanted to destroy it and enslave its inhabitants, so Creon is entitled to feel aggrieved.

Yet his arrogance, his sheer insistence on his absolute power, is devastating and way over the top: at one point he tells the soldier who reports the illicit burial to either find the culprit or be tortured to death, which is a bit harsh! And the way he speaks to his son again shows such tyrannical hubris.

 In the cosmology in play here, the laws of the gods may not be overridden by the laws of men (yes, men- the dialogue makes the inevitable misogyny very, very clear!), and the arrogant Creon is doomed. His final downfall is almost as terrible as that of Oedipus.

The staging is, yes, a little flat, but that's the nature of the beast. Above all, the play is carried by extraordinary performances from Juliet Stevenson and John Shrapnel, who truly excel in a production that is devastatingly effective.

Batman: The Animated Series- Day of the Samurai

 "Sayonara, Batman!"

I wasn't expecting a sequel to Night of the Ninja, to put it mildly. But this follow-up, set in Japan, with Bruce interacting with a present day Sensei Yoru, nicely deepens the world-building, which The Animated Series tends to be very good at. I like the subtle hints that the Sensei may know Bruce's secret... and, let's face it, the fact that Batman is openly operating in Japan during Bruce's visit is a dead giveaway. Secret identities are a dead giveaway.

It's a nice little tale, based on the concept of an ancient, forbidden martial art that includes a fatal touch. Naturally, of course, the only copy of this secret is hidden in a mountain cave and the Sensei is the last person who knows the secret, conveniently enough. But the story works well, right up to the dramatic final conflict beneath an erupting volcano, and the clever revelation as to how Batman survives.

It's unusual to see an episode set in Japan... but this really works.

Twin Peaks: Wounds and Scars

 "I guess the world's just caught up to us..."

Inevitably, Harry is deeply affected by Josie's death in a way we've never seen him before. But he gets his moment of reflection (and catharsis) with Coop, and I assume he'll be back to normal next time.

Soooo much happens, though. The Log Lady reveals that, when she was seven and in the forest, she had a similar experience to Cooper and the Major, receiving a tattoo on her leg. Cooper and Pete struggle with the stalemate game against Earle... it's impossible to play so as no pieces are taken, so people will die. Earle, meanwhile, is angry at the stalemate game, and the fact that Cooper is clearly being helped... so he delivers his own move in a particularly creepy and scary manner. This is brilliant stuff.

So is the sparring between Ben Horne and Catherine, towards the end, just before the inevitable farce (the scene involves Dick, after all) with the pine marten. Like most episodes, there are lots of plotlines moving forwards, there are the guest celebrity appearances we've come to see of late (Heather Graham appears as Norma's sister) and there are a selection of entertaining set pieces. And, as ever, it's utterly compelling. Five episodes to go, and I've absolutely no idea how this will end.

Leo as bullied butler figure, though.... brr!

Dexter: It's Alive!

 "Don't forget, tell the universe what you need..."

So Angel, after recovering from his stabbing, is into all this cosmic ordering nonsense that Noel Edmonds (not an individual I'd expected to be mentioning in relation to Dexter!) was into at probably the same time. Oh dear. But he also feels totally comfortable around Dexter at all times, as does everyone... except, of course, Doakes who, let us recall, is right and will not be hornswoggled. Some kind of clash is coming.

And, indeed, being watched by Doakes is doing far more than cramping Dexter's style- it's limiting his opportunities to kill. So is the fact that Deb, unable to sleep in a house alone, is staying with him. And, in not killing, he's losing his mojo somewhat. In bed, at work, pertaining to... donuts. And, forebodingly (I'm not sure whether that was a word, but it is now!) his only "successful" killing is of a macabre, blind, voodoo serial killer (not a phrase I particularly expected to type) who.... curses him. And, whether by this or not, he's cursed.

Because his next attempted killing goes wrong in every way, just as in other areas of his life. And, worse, the sacks of body parts of his victims have been found. And, after Paul dies in prison, Rita now has cause to start to question the nature of the man she's with. Still have no sympathy for Paul though. The worst person in this show, and that's saying something.

There's more, though. Maria LaGuerta and the new lieutenant... connecting? Then there's Deb clearly not coping as well, deep down, with her experiences last season as might be apparent on the surface. as we see a few times, and will no doubt see more and more….

This is a VERY exciting start to a very interesting second season. They’ve adapted the novel, so where to go next…?

P.R.O.B.E: The Zero Imperative

 "This is a hospital, Miss Shaw. Not Scooby-Doo."

It says a lot about me was that tonight's viewing was a choice between a 1980s BBC TV production of Sophocles' Antigone and this, a straight-to-video Doctor Who spin-off from the wilderness years. My geek side just won out against my pretentious git side... this time!

Thing is, though, this may not be Sophocles but it's a very impressive script from a young Mark Gatiss, a tale of dark, otherworldly forces, possession and family tragedy that is perfectly paced, well characterised and unfolds in a deeply satisfying way, with revelation after revelation. Bill Baggs' direction, too, is impressive, using stylistic camerawork to cover what must have been a tiny budget.

The dialogue is great, as is Caroline John as Liz Shaw, now running her own outfit investigating supernatural weirdness in contrast to "another acronymic organisation from my salad days"- love the pipe.

Nevertheless... although Jon Pertwee, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy (especially towards the end) are all great, I tend to feel that the inclusion of so many former Doctors (although I love Sylv's "Trust me, I'm a Doctor") perhaps undermines Caroline John in what's supposed to be a starring role. Still, that isn't the script's fault, and the overall impression is of a compelling thriller that, very wisely, leads with mood and character as opposed to anything too expensive-looking....

The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling

 

I found this novel to be... fine. Admittedly the ending is very well done indeed, but I'm nit inclined to use any superlatives. It was good, that's all. Which is... not how I was expecting to feel after reading a novel which is not only one of the most famous works of alternate history ever written but also an absolute pioneer of the Steampunk here.

Might this, though, be an example of the "Citizen Kane problem"? Said film pioneered so much in the way of cinematic technique yet, in a world where such technique has long been commonplace, the film looks unremarkable? Could this be the case here?

There is a plot, yes, or rather a few broadly linked narratives. Yet the plot is merely a pretext for the real point- the worldbuilding. I cannot comment on its riffing of Benjamin Disraeli's "Sibyl", but I can certainly be impressed and, indeed, dazzled by the cleverness and complexity of the alternate history that is built here. We have Babbage, Byron, Keats, Ada Lovelace as sort of Victorian versions of Steve Jobs and Woj.

Victorian mores, too, social and sexual, are well sketched, alongside a convincingly Victorian kind of radicalism.

In 2025, though, a world beginning to fear the possible consequences of AI, the ending of the novel is enough to make one shudder. We can, perhaps, be grateful that Charles Babbage did not in reality build his Difference Engine.

Squid Game: It's Not Your Fault

 "Everyone here is a player..."

Before I get on to the episode, I have a bone to pick with Netflix as a hard of hearing person who prefers to watch in Korean with English subtitles: the VIPs speak English, and there are no subtitles available unless you're watching it dubbed. Not cool, Netflix.

However, this gripe aside, this is a powerful and moving episode, as those in-between games often are. Plot threads are advanced- suspicions increase surrounding Captain Park; Jun-ho locates the island where he was shot; No-eul arranges her exit; Min-su gets his satisfying revenge against his tormentor in drug withdrawal. 

But the real meat of this episode is the character stuff between Jun-Hee, Mrs Jang and Ji-hun. Mrs Jang, fresh from killing her son, focuses on looking after Jun-lee and the baby, helping the new mother and begging everyone, fruitlessly, not to vote for the games to continue. Then there's her deep and fascinating conversation with Ji-hun, begging him to look after the baby (which the baby's father is notably disinclined to do). And then, shockingly, after she confides her guilt about her son, she dies by suicide. And Ji-hun decides to look after Jun-lee and the baby, giving him a sense of purpose and bringing him out of depression.

Meanwhile we have the VIPs, rather over-the-top in manner and utterly, gleefully amoral, as a kind of Greek chorus. It is they who suggest the baby be considered a player, having to take part in the game... which is particularly evil. Ji-hun is positively heroic... but another player, right at the end, most certainly is not.

This episode may not quite match the last one, but it's bloody good.

Batman: The Animated Series- Moon of the Wolf

 "Thinking of acquiring a new pet, Master Bruce?"

This episode- a straightforward tale with a one-off villain, doesn't seem to be well-regarded. Perhaps that's understandable: fans don't want one-off villains, they want the rogues' gallery. Plus this episode, quite noticeably, gives most of the screen time to the guest characters and relatively little to the Batman, although we get more development of Batman's relations with Alfred, Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock.

And yet... I rather like this clever little script from Len Wein, about a werewolf on the surface but, in reality, about someone who gains fame and fortune from using drugs to achieve success at sport, only to end up controlled and used by the provider of the drug. The ending is very nicely done- it's left open whether or not Milo will ever face justice, there being very little evidence, while Anthony Romulus (nice bit of nominative determinism there) is ruined. One thinks of the likes of Florence Griffiths-Joyner...

This episode has a real subtext and is about something. And art, even if it doesn't claim to be great art, should be appreciated for such things.

Dexter: Born Free

"You know, hypothermia can easily sneak up on you."

"So can hypochondria..."

Despite a couple of plot holes that, I confess, had to be pointed out to me, this is an excellent, clever and nuanced season finale, providing real closure and pointing towards next season.

Dexter has to try and save Deb from... well, I'll still call him Rudy... while avoiding the suspicions of Doakes, as Rita resists the attempts of Paul to turn her against Dexter, seemingly unsuccessfully. Yet at the end, she finds the shoe, which is a very blatant "to be continued".

Doakes, though... the more I watch Dexter, the clearer it becomes how clever the set-up of the show is, how it makes the viewer complicit, and how essential Doakes is to that. Because the show is pretty much in Dexter's POV, every episode starting with a monologue, and his monologue continuing throughout. Yet Dexter is a monster, not someone we should be rooting for. Doakes is the character that exists to occasionally remind us of that, and have us internally rebuke ourselves. Because, while Doakes may function as an antagonist... he's right, in all that he says and does. Indeed, the one exception, his shooting of a member of the Tonton Macoute, is motivated by a social conscience, quite the contrast with Dexter. It looks as though the animosity with Doakes will really be ramped up next season...

There's also a twist in the LaGuerta storyline. She's been demoted, but there are hints that the new Lieutenant may not be entirely on the Captain's side. Another thread for next season.

But... damn, it all wraps up so neatly, in terms of both Rudy and Dexter's past. Rudy being Dexter's brother was a twist I really didn't see coming, and adds depth to the parallels between them. There are clever twists- Deb saving Dexter from suspicion, and Dexter's bait-and-switch trap for Rudy. Above all, perhaps, the way the visuals of the flashbacks are done. The final monologue, and Dexter's daydreaming. This finale may not be perfect, but it delivers, and satisfies.

Black Flag- Damaged (1981)

This is a very odd debut album for Black Flag. Oh, of course, it's an excellent collection of songs, despite the occasional tiresome exhortation to teetotalism with songs such as "TV Party" (banger though it may be) and "Six Pack"- I, for one, will most certainly be enjoying a bottle of red tonight, and I'd urge you to do the same. And Henry Rollins too...

But yes, a good number of classics on here- "Gimme Gimme Gimme" leading the pack. And yet... by this point, we'd heard many of them before, with earlier singers, and most of these songs had been around a while- 1981 really was awfully late for Black Flag's first album, showcasing a style that they'd sort of already moved beyond by this point.

Then there's Henry Rollins. Not the most technically brilliant singer (Freddie Mercury he is not, to state the bleeding obvious), but this is punk, and he's a magnificent, charismatic frontman- the fact that he's bloody good at stand-up says a lot. He's great. But... many of these songs weren't written for a singer of his style, and it shows.

Still, despite those caveats, this just IS a great collection of songs. Much as this album would've been better if it had been recorded a little earlier, it's undeniably a classic.

Update

 Don't worry, things will get back to normal! The delay is that I had a bit of blood spurt from my artery a couple of weeks ago and I'm waiting for the scar to heal enough that I can comfortably write without worrying about reopening the damn thing- and, when I'm blogging films or telly, I write it all down by pen. Hopefully not too long now...