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.