That Geek Thing

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The Strain S02E05 “Quick And Painless” REVIEW

September 23, 2015

by thatmediathing with No Comment Reviews

The Strain S02E05 “Quick And Painless” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Watch, Wednesdays, 10pm

Writer: Liz Phang
Director: J Miles Dale

Essential Plot Points:

Eph shaves his head and – using forged papers – makes his way to Washington with the strigoi plague.
Oh, and he kills his double-crossing old boss on the way. As you do.
Dutch and Nora bargain for Fet’s freedom by showing Councilwoman Feraldo the quick method of identifying those who are worm-infested.
Dutch and Fet then help the police rid an apartment block of Feelers, or Spider-Kids as the police refer to them (we prefer that name).
Setrakian approaches a gang renowned for being able to procure things for money to help him search for the Occido Lumen.
Cardinal McNamara tells Palmer that he will soon have procured the Occido Lumen.
Zach is irritating.

Review:

So Eph is bald now. This might have been a good disguise if shaving all his locks hadn’t left with him a demeanour so shifty he may as well have had a big neon glowing sign over his head saying, “WANTED FUGITIVE”. Somehow he makes it to Washington, though only by killing his old boss when he throws him off a train. Considering how much Eph had been drinking all episode it’s a surprise he didn’t fall off the train himself.

Eph’s whole journey was a mind-numbing exercise in false tension. The writers had to make it look like the journey was fraught with danger, but the “peril” was as artificial as Piers Morgan’s sincerity. The result was a series of scenes that dragged pointlessly climaxing in a laughably banal fight scene between a drunk and a fat bloke.

Thankfully the audience was allowed off the train at regular intervals to enjoy some other action of the kind the show does a lot better. The first big set piece was an impressive fight between some cops and the Feelers – a superb piece of small-screen action/horror, and an excellent way to open the episode.

Fet was in fine fettle too; even in incarceration he appears to be enjoying himself with a game of poker, and once freed, he’s soon being employed by a grudgingly impressed cop to help him splat some Strigoi. In fact, Fet, Dutch and the Cop, Kawolski, make such a great team of vamp-busters, maybe Eph could stay in Washington and the show can concentrate on these three instead?

Elsewhere, both Setrakian and Palmer were closing in on the Big Book Of Vampire-Slaying Secrets, using wildly different partners to help achieve their aims. The aged Jewish hunter turned to a street gang while the boss of Stoneheart had God – or at least one of his reps – on his side: Cardinal MacNamara. It’s a fun juxtaposition, and rams home the show’s anti-establishments credentials: any business, political and, now, religious leader is corrupt as they come. Except Feraldo, who’s not corrupt so much as blinkered and a borderline dictator.

As for Coco coming onto Palmer with increasingly less subtlety… it’s so gross (and not because he’s old but because he’s slimy) it’s actually becoming hypnotic. Does the girl have some weird fetish for creepy old men? Their dance in front of burning apartment block – seemingly not much bothered if anyone’s in danger inside – is a wonderfully darkly comic moment.

You know, this show would be much better off without Eph and his Ephing son…

The Good:

The police versus “spider-kids” battle right at the start of the episode was excellent – tense, excitingly directed and featuring some brilliant special effects with the Feelers leaping about and scaling the walls.
Fet, Dutch and police officer Kawolski made a great team. The one-upmanship between Fet and Kawolski was especially amusing, with the dynamite-obsessed rat-catcher extolling the virtues of silver and Kawolski replying, “Why wouldn’t I just do this?” then shooting a strigoi in the head. “Fair point,” admited Fet.
The look on Palmer’s face when he realised he’d just made a very bad taste joke in front of Coco was a peach (“Saves us having to bother with our fireplace,” he said when they saw an apartment block in flames across the street).

Setrakian genuinely came across as being able to handle himself against a street gang – he’s actually pretty scary.
“Denial is a special privilege of the rich.” Great line.
Feraldo’s inability to euthanise her own nephew is an effective character moment.

The Bad:

Eph’s train journey was simply very dull until he bumped off Everett Barnes, which was so badly directed it was like a ’3os screwball comedy. We half-expected a, “Wa… a… waaaaaaaahhhhh!” on the soundtrack.
Nora is just a plot device in a lab coat at the moment, isn’t she?
Hang on… was that the “amazing entrance” for Quinlan at the end of the episode that Hogan and del Toro killed off Vaun to make possible? It’s not particularly impressive.
At the risk of sounding like our needle’s stuck in a groove, DEAR GOD CAN ZACH FIND ANOTHER EXPRESSION!? The only emotion that seems to be crossing his mind at the point below is, “What expression am I supposed to have right now?”

And The Random:

Setrakian offered Alfonzo Creem two watches. A Patek Philippe 2484 fetched $5,500 in a US auction last year, while the Patek Philippe split seconds chronograph reference 1563 – of which there are indeed only three known examples in the world – is valued at between $850,000 and $1.5 million.
The song Coco and Eldritch dance to is, “I’m glad I Waited For You” sung by Peggy Lee.
Hang on – did that Feeler really use its tongue to try to grab Officer Dempsey by his nuts? It’s not totally clear but that’s what it looks like. In which case The Strain has managed to slip onto TV one of the most queasily subversive images ever. It’s just not right…!

• Read our previous reviews of The Strain

Video Announcement: Asian Kung-Fu Generation London Date

September 23, 2015

by thatmediathing with No Comment Music News

Renowned Japanese alternative rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation have announce date for a short’n’sweet European tour – with one date in London – to promote their new studio album, Wonder Future. All tickets are available on www.b7klan.com.

fear_the_walking_dead_s01e04_not_fade_away_main

Fear The Walking Dead S01E04 “Not Fade Away” REVIEW

September 21, 2015

by thatmediathing with No Comment Reviews

Fear The Walking Dead S01E04 “Not Fade Away” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on AMC
Writer: Meaghan Oppenheimer
Director: Kari Skogland

Essential Plot Points:

The story jumps nine days into the future, with the neighbourhood now under curfew, fenced off and one of 12 local safe zones. The army has arrived in force and is preparing to take back LA.
Travis has become a willing neighbourhood “mayor”, and point of contact for the slightly erratic Lt Moyers. Madison and the family are resolutely unhappy about this.
And, in fact, everything else. The Salazars hunker down and wait for treatment, while their daughter starts a relationship with Reynolds, one of the soldiers.
Nick claims to be doing well with rehab but is actually stealing morphine from an ailing neighbour.
Alicia can’t stand to be in the house and spends her time at the other (now very dead) neighbour’s house tattooing Matt’s symbol onto her arm.
Chris spends his time on the roof, recording self-righteous YouTube videos no one will ever see, which is a relief. Until he sees lights in a house out past the fences…
Travis, because he’s an idiot, ignores Chris. Madison, because she’s an idiot, does not. She cuts a hole in the fence and goes out to try and find out if it really is a survivor. She finds bodies, not only zombies but apparently healthy people, all of them executed…
Back at Camp Lovely, Liza is approached by Doctor Beth Exner, the military doctor. Exner gently points out how Griselda has been telling white lies to help her patients feel better and asks her to come aboard with the relief effort.
Elsewhere, Travis is strong-armed into helping talk down a friend who’s refusing to be screened. He does so, but, later, the man goes missing. Travis is told by Moyers that he’s been taken away because his fragile mental health was a danger. Moyers seems remarkably unconcerned that no one told the man’s family first…
As the episode ends, Madison is warned by Daniel that things could turn bad, fast. He turns out to be right as his wife and Nick are both taken away by the army. Liza, desperate to help, goes with them leaving a horrified Chris behind and Madison convinced she was responsible. A horrified Travis stumbles onto the roof and sees the light that Chris saw. As he watches, rifle fire illuminates the building and the light vanishes…

Review:

It’s a “good news, bad news” kind of week on Fear The Walking Dead so let’s go with the good news straight out of the gate. While the arrival of the army is almost certainly a very bad thing for the characters it’s a great thing for the show. The slight time jump and retooling helps everything immensely, giving all the characters a new framework to push against and giving the show a sense of progress it most certainly lacked last week.

The opening scene is a good example of that, as Travis goes for his morning jog round the com pound. Yes, using “Perfect Day” over scenes of imminently doomed relaxation is a bit of a cliché but it works very well here. You get a sense of the neighbourhood as a soap bubble of normality, ready to pop at any moment. The way each character relates to that says a lot about them, and it’s interesting to see the show not only return to some of its familiar tropes but question them. Alicia yelling at Travis and Madison for having a stupid, pointless argument is a nice touch. Chris defaulting back to obsessing over whatever crusade his camera is pointed at is another.

Everything seems normal, but everyone can tell it’s only superficial. That creates huge amounts of tension that the episode feeds off, and gives some surprising characters some interesting stuff to do.

Liza finds herself at the centre of the show’s new big dilemma; to help or hinder the military. Her part in the final scene is genuinely great and you can see her anguish at having to leave her son with no notice. It’s nicely played, even though the reactions to it, which we will get to, are not.

However, the breakout stars this week are Daniel Salazar and Alicia. Ruben Blades has always been great but his final speech here is chilling. It also neatly sidesteps the terror I had last week of his family being involved in a stereotypical cartel. Here, in one scene, we find out they’re survivors of tremendous political uprest. It’s a great scene and it repositions Daniel as less of an adversary and more of a possible Hershel figure for the series’ future.

And there’s Alicia. Alycia Debnam-Carey hasn’t been given a lot to do so far this season but this episode hands her some quiet, important character stuff. Her self-inflicted tattoo is surprisingly poignant and the fact she’s all but moved out, and no one’s noticed, shows just how wrapped up everyone else is in their business. It’s a smart, brave beat in the script and I’d like to see Alicia get more to do. Debnam-Carey’s up to the task and, unlike Chris and Nick, the character isn’t utterly unbearable.

Elsewhere there’s a lot to enjoy too, especially Jamie McShane’s wonderful turn as Lt Moyers and some really nice direction from Skogland. Oppenheimer’s script is also the tidiest the show has had so far, beginning and ending with the same image to show both how enclosed the family are and how badly things have changed. It’s really smart, fun stuff and a sign of the show firing on all cylinders.

Well…most cylinders.

I’ve talked a lot in the last couple of weeks about how Madison has the show’s most interesting arc. An authority figure confronted with the realities of what’s going on, she’s shifted gear effortlessly into frequently the smartest person on the show. She’s made some smart choices, looked after her people and is well on the way to being the sort of survivor Rick Grimes would nod wordlessly at. Which, as we know, is Rick speak for, “Well done, you’re an asset to the team.”

This episode? She’s an idiot.

One of the difficult things to remember about both Fear and the parent show is they’re set in a universe where zombie stories don’t exist. That’s why no one calls them zombies and why they’re such a terrifying and unfamiliar threat. As a result, you have to cut the characters at least some slack.

Unless, for example, they decide to go out into the city which they know is infested with things trying to kill them armed with… Actually nothing. She doesn’t even take the boltcutters she used to open the fence.

Because, oh yes, Madison snips a hole in the fence that’s the only thing between her family and certain death.

The sheer level of stupidity she shows here goes over and above the zombie ignorance (zombignorance? Zignorance? Yeah let’s go with that) you’d expect. She’s just a straight up cretin, and it’s nothing short of miraculous a horde of walkers didn’t follow her back. She didn’t even make it to the building Chris saw, turning the entire expedition into a vandalism nature trail with added dead people.

Amazingly, while that entire expedition is the stupidest thing she does this episode, it’s not an isolated case. Her final line of the episode, after Nick and Mrs Salazar have been taken away is to look at Travis and snarl: “Liza did this.”

Yes, that’s right. The show’s smartest character has just decided that her sociopathic drug addict son who she knows was stealing medicine from a neighbour was taken away because her husband’s ex doesn’t like him.

There is nothing good here. It shoots for the same human drama of the previous episodes but instead lands on soapy nonsense, rendering a major ethical dilemma down to a clash between Travis’ girlfriend and his ex. It belittles the situation, it belittles Eliza and it all but collapses Madison as a character. You can see that the show is trying for moral ambiguity but it misses by a mile, instead landing squarely in the sort of fake drama nonsense the rest of the episode has been trying to convince you it isn’t. It’s such a shame, and, after last week, the start of a worrying pattern. If next week’s episode falls apart in the last few minutes we’ll know the show has a problem. Right now, all we know is this; the Army are trouble and Madison is an idiot. Let’s see which one of those changes next week. Let’s hope both.

The Good:

The entire supporting cast. Seriously, we meet four new characters and they’re all really interesting. Moyers’s jovial belligerence is the most fun, but Doctor Exner, who clearly knows just how bad things are, comes a close second.

Also top marks to the show for the scene where Travis talks down Doug. Having two male characters talk about their emotions like that is the sort of smart writing this show excels at and needs much, much more of. “Everything will be okay. That’s all you have to tell them.” “Will they know I’m lying?” When this show’s dialogue is on form, it’s phenomenal. This exchange says so much about the fragile bubble of civility they’re all living in.

“Don’t be a hero.” “No chance of that.” Likewise this exchange between Madison and Nick is just lovely. There’s a snap to the dialogue here the show’s not quite had before and it works beautifully.
“Relax, count your blessings. Be nice, so I don’t have to shoot you.” Moyers’s charming, slightly harangued and clearly not quite right. This line, funny on delivery, becomes much less so by the end of the episode.
Nick, under the bed, siphoning the morphine, is one of the show’s most repulsive images yet. Scarier than any walker.
Madison finally losing it with Nick works all the better because there’s no screaming. She’s just had enough. It’s a great moment for both characters which Madison in particular desperately needs this episode.

The Bad:

Madison being an idiot.
Madison deciding she’s on a daytime soap called End Of Days Of Our Lives.
“Another one burned last night. Better than TV.” Oh shut up, Chris. Your YouTube channel, that you will never access again by the way, has three subscribers. Two of them are your sockpuppets. The third is the MySpace guy.
The implication Ofelia is only making out with Reynolds for drugs for her mum: on the one hand, it’s smart survival tactics; on the other it’s an unnecessarily skeevy character beat.
We’re now four episodes in and Travis is just starting to maybe think he should perhaps think about considering changing his world view. Any time you’re ready, big guy. Please be ready soon.

The Random:

Shot of the episode is actually two. The first is at the top, as Travis runs round the hamster wheel the neighbourhood has become.

The second is towards the end of the episode as Travis finds Doug’s car and sees the city, still there, now isolated and deadly, through the fence. It’s a clever way of echoing the circular structure of the episode and one of the show’s most haunting images to date.

The music at the top of the episode is of course “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed.
The music at the bottom of the episode is the splendidly titled “I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness” by The Owl.
Guest Star-o-Rama! First off, Jamie McShane who’s so much fun here as the increasingly sinister Lt Moyers; he’s had long runs in Southland and Sons Of Anarchy, appeared as Agent Johnson in Thor and most recently was a part of Netflix’s dark family drama, Bloodline.
Next up, Shawn Hatosy who has been a serial guest star on shows like Felicity, CSI and Numb3rs. He’s also another Southland alumni, where he played Detective Sammy Bryant and was a big part of Amazon’s recent detective show, Bosch. He’s also this week’s entry in “Actors Who Were In Cult Movies We Love”, given that he played Stan in the magnificent The Faculty.
Sandrine Holt is great this week as Doctor Exner. She’s also got the best genre qualifications of any of this week’s guest cast. She was a regular in the US versions of The Returned and on a season of House Of Cards. She’s also appeared in The L Word and 24: Day 5 as well as Starship Troopers 2: Hero Of The Federation, Underworld: Awakening and Terminator: Genisys.
Finally, John Stewart (no, not that one), gives Holt a run for her money. He’s great, and deeply sympathetic, as Doug this week. He’s also done good work in Horns, 2012, Supernatural (twice! As different people! Or maybe twins…) and Walking Tall.

Review by: Alasdair Stuart

• Read our other Fear The Walking Dead reviews

Fear The Walking Dead S01E04 "Not Fade Away" REVIEW

September 21, 2015

by thatmediathing with No Comment Reviews

Fear The Walking Dead S01E04 “Not Fade Away” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on AMC
Writer: Meaghan Oppenheimer
Director: Kari Skogland

Essential Plot Points:

The story jumps nine days into the future, with the neighbourhood now under curfew, fenced off and one of 12 local safe zones. The army has arrived in force and is preparing to take back LA.
Travis has become a willing neighbourhood “mayor”, and point of contact for the slightly erratic Lt Moyers. Madison and the family are resolutely unhappy about this.
And, in fact, everything else. The Salazars hunker down and wait for treatment, while their daughter starts a relationship with Reynolds, one of the soldiers.
Nick claims to be doing well with rehab but is actually stealing morphine from an ailing neighbour.
Alicia can’t stand to be in the house and spends her time at the other (now very dead) neighbour’s house tattooing Matt’s symbol onto her arm.
Chris spends his time on the roof, recording self-righteous YouTube videos no one will ever see, which is a relief. Until he sees lights in a house out past the fences…
Travis, because he’s an idiot, ignores Chris. Madison, because she’s an idiot, does not. She cuts a hole in the fence and goes out to try and find out if it really is a survivor. She finds bodies, not only zombies but apparently healthy people, all of them executed…
Back at Camp Lovely, Liza is approached by Doctor Beth Exner, the military doctor. Exner gently points out how Griselda has been telling white lies to help her patients feel better and asks her to come aboard with the relief effort.
Elsewhere, Travis is strong-armed into helping talk down a friend who’s refusing to be screened. He does so, but, later, the man goes missing. Travis is told by Moyers that he’s been taken away because his fragile mental health was a danger. Moyers seems remarkably unconcerned that no one told the man’s family first…
As the episode ends, Madison is warned by Daniel that things could turn bad, fast. He turns out to be right as his wife and Nick are both taken away by the army. Liza, desperate to help, goes with them leaving a horrified Chris behind and Madison convinced she was responsible. A horrified Travis stumbles onto the roof and sees the light that Chris saw. As he watches, rifle fire illuminates the building and the light vanishes…

Review:

Well…most cylinders.

This episode? She’s an idiot.

Because, oh yes, Madison snips a hole in the fence that’s the only thing between her family and certain death.

The Good:

The entire supporting cast. Seriously, we meet four new characters and they’re all really interesting. Moyers’s jovial belligerence is the most fun, but Doctor Exner, who clearly knows just how bad things are, comes a close second.

Also top marks to the show for the scene where Travis talks down Doug. Having two male characters talk about their emotions like that is the sort of smart writing this show excels at and needs much, much more of. “Everything will be okay. That’s all you have to tell them.” “Will they know I’m lying?” When this show’s dialogue is on form, it’s phenomenal. This exchange says so much about the fragile bubble of civility they’re all living in.

“Don’t be a hero.” “No chance of that.” Likewise this exchange between Madison and Nick is just lovely. There’s a snap to the dialogue here the show’s not quite had before and it works beautifully.
“Relax, count your blessings. Be nice, so I don’t have to shoot you.” Moyers’s charming, slightly harangued and clearly not quite right. This line, funny on delivery, becomes much less so by the end of the episode.
Nick, under the bed, siphoning the morphine, is one of the show’s most repulsive images yet. Scarier than any walker.
Madison finally losing it with Nick works all the better because there’s no screaming. She’s just had enough. It’s a great moment for both characters which Madison in particular desperately needs this episode.

The Bad:

Madison being an idiot.
Madison deciding she’s on a daytime soap called End Of Days Of Our Lives.
“Another one burned last night. Better than TV.” Oh shut up, Chris. Your YouTube channel, that you will never access again by the way, has three subscribers. Two of them are your sockpuppets. The third is the MySpace guy.
The implication Ofelia is only making out with Reynolds for drugs for her mum: on the one hand, it’s smart survival tactics; on the other it’s an unnecessarily skeevy character beat.
We’re now four episodes in and Travis is just starting to maybe think he should perhaps think about considering changing his world view. Any time you’re ready, big guy. Please be ready soon.

The Random:

Shot of the episode is actually two. The first is at the top, as Travis runs round the hamster wheel the neighbourhood has become.

The second is towards the end of the episode as Travis finds Doug’s car and sees the city, still there, now isolated and deadly, through the fence. It’s a clever way of echoing the circular structure of the episode and one of the show’s most haunting images to date.

The music at the top of the episode is of course “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed.
The music at the bottom of the episode is the splendidly titled “I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness” by The Owl.
Guest Star-o-Rama! First off, Jamie McShane who’s so much fun here as the increasingly sinister Lt Moyers; he’s had long runs in Southland and Sons Of Anarchy, appeared as Agent Johnson in Thor and most recently was a part of Netflix’s dark family drama, Bloodline.
Next up, Shawn Hatosy who has been a serial guest star on shows like Felicity, CSI and Numb3rs. He’s also another Southland alumni, where he played Detective Sammy Bryant and was a big part of Amazon’s recent detective show, Bosch. He’s also this week’s entry in “Actors Who Were In Cult Movies We Love”, given that he played Stan in the magnificent The Faculty.
Sandrine Holt is great this week as Doctor Exner. She’s also got the best genre qualifications of any of this week’s guest cast. She was a regular in the US versions of The Returned and on a season of House Of Cards. She’s also appeared in The L Word and 24: Day 5 as well as Starship Troopers 2: Hero Of The Federation, Underworld: Awakening and Terminator: Genisys.
Finally, John Stewart (no, not that one), gives Holt a run for her money. He’s great, and deeply sympathetic, as Doug this week. He’s also done good work in Horns, 2012, Supernatural (twice! As different people! Or maybe twins…) and Walking Tall.

Review by: Alasdair Stuart

• Read our other Fear The Walking Dead reviews

Doctor Who S09E01 "The Magician’s Apprentice" Review

September 19, 2015

by thatmediathing with No Comment Reviews

Doctor Who S09E01 “The Magician’s Apprentice” Review

Airing in the UK on BBC One, Saturdays

Writer: Steven Moffat
Director: Hettie MacDonald

Essential Plot Points:

On a planet ravaged by war, the Doctor is about to rescue a little boy from certain death in a “handmine” field, until he learns the boy’s name – Davros.
In the future a dying Davros sends a serpentine henchman on a search through time and space for the Doctor.
Missy receives a Confession Dial, the Doctor’s “last will and testament”, which will only reveal its contents when the Doctor dies. She turns to Clara and UNIT on present-day Earth to help her locate the Doctor.
They find him at the end of a three week party in medieval Britain to mark his imminent demise.
But so does the snake man, Colony Sarff, who takes the Doctor, Clara and Missy back to… Skaro! Somehow it has survived the Time War.
The Daleks kill Clara and Missy, then destroy the TARDIS, apparently making the Doctor reconsider his choice of action back when he met young Davros.

Review:

“Let’s kill Davros!” is what the episode should really be called, except that would have been a bloody great spoiler. “The Magician’s Apprentice” is, at heart, just that hoary old SF chestnut, “If you could go back in time and kill Hitler as a child, would you?” The Daleks have always been the show’s metaphor for the Nazis, a parallel never more explicit than in the Tom Baker story in which Davros was introduced. So even though the teaser delivers a real whammy when the little boy that the Doctor is about to save reveals that his name is Davros, you’re already thinking, “I can see where this is going,” as the opening credits roll.

But Moffat pulls it off, not just because he knows that he’s doing “Let’s Kill Davros” but because he knows most of the audience will know that’s what he’s doing as well. The result is an elaborate exercises in smoke and mirrors, where the smoke is smoking and the mirrors come from the craziest funhouse in galaxy.

So we have Missy turning up as psychotic and loopy as ever. Her escape from death is seemingly accepted by everyone as “one of those thing that the Master does” until Clara actually tackles the Doctor about it and it suddenly becomes a plot point. Missy mixes things up by claiming that she is clearly more important to the Doctor than Clara is because the Doctor sent his last will and testament to the her, not his puppy dog, so yah boo sucks to you. Clara does not look amused. (Hey – we just did an Easter egg!). Missy may be grating at times but overall her edgy relationship with Clara is fun to watch, and deliciously unpredictable.

We also have a patented Moffat location-hopping sequence, with Colony Sarff tracking the Doctor across time and space. These sequences must cost a bomb to make – even given that Neill Gorton clearly just sends along any old monsters he has hanging round his workshop to populate them – but they help give the show an epic feel, and they’re always loaded with fan pleasing-continuity nods (see below). Plus, Sarff is front-loaded with gimmicks – the way he moves like a Dalek and has nest-of-vipers nature – and Doctor Who always loves a villain with a good gimmick.

Then we get the Doctor giving medieval Britain the delights of heavy metal and Bill and Ted vernacular. Capaldi looks like he’s having a whale of a time and his enthusiasm is infectious. And, just for the hell of it, we have aeroplanes frozen in time, UNIT, a trip abroad and random references to Jane Austen’s sexuality. If, by the end of 50 minutes, the central story may have seemed a little thin, there was, at least something fun or intriguing or emotionally engaging going on in each scene.

And when the Doctor finally meets Davros, his old arch enemy (boy did that rub with Missy), throws his whole “have I the right?” speech from “Genesis Of The Daleks” right back in his face. This is Hitler looking you in the eye and saying, “Go on, I dare you.” Quite what Davros’s endgame is here remains unclear, but the undercurrents going on between these two old nemeses are electrifying.

Interestingly, young Davros looks downwards for much of the time he’s on screen, his head drooping in a reflection of his older, dying self. It’s a lovely character touch, presumably suggested by director Hettie MacDonald, who, for the most part, does a solid job with some tight pacing, gorgeous lighting and nurturing some great performances out of the secondary characters. (There’s a blessed absence of bit-parters who look like they haven’t got a clue what their lines mean that often blight Who.) She also produces simply stunning transition from the the destruction of the TARDIS to the Doctor’s face then back to Skaro. However she struggles to make the Daleks look dynamic which is a shame after “Into The Dalek” showed how it could be done.

“The Magician’s Apprentice” isn’t perfect, but it has the feel of a show trying something a little different in terms of pace and tone. Occasionally the traditional New Who grand gestures and broad strokes seem at odd with a talkier, slower, slightly more dour approach as if the show is trying to be all things to all fans, but it’s a promising start to a new series for a show that thrives on reinvention.

The Good:

Brilliant teaser – looks amazing and has that perfect WTF? moment when the little boy reveals his name.
Brilliant cliffhanger. You can imagine that Moffat must have been toying with the idea of the Doctor saying “Exterminate” while holding a Dalek gun at an episode’s end for a while. It’s an almost irresistible image.
The idea of Davros throwing the (fourth) Doctor’s own words back in his face (it’s great to know he archives all his old CCTV footage) is a great conceit.
“Your chances of survival are about one in a thousand. So here’s what you do. You forget about the a thousand and concentrate on the one.”
“I try never to understand. It’s called an open mind.”
“Jane Austen… amazing writer, brilliant comic observer, and – strictly amongst ourselves – a phenomenal kisser.”
The reveal of Skaro – stunning.
The Doctor almost playing a rock version of the Doctor Who theme.
Missy proving she’s still bad in the most extreme way.
Handmines – brilliant.
“I approve of your new face Doctor. I like it… so much more like mine.”

The Bad:

Some of the aircraft shadows looked really iffy.
Missy – great at times – can occasionally be just a little too much. Her speech to the Daleks could have been a chance to dial the theatrics down and deliver something more chilling; instead she’s a bit pantomime dame.
The ’60s style Dalek city interior is all well and good on an homage level – and, yes, Daleks wouldn’t be big in interior decoration – but it still looked suspiciously like an excuse to keep that main Dalek set cheap.
The Doctor’s puns at his party weren’t any funnier 900 years later.
Clara’s methodology for locating the Doctor is bobbins.
The Doctor’s begging at the end felt a little overegged. Capaldi was excellent throughout but even seemed to struggle to sell this bit.

And The Random:

Kelly Hunter reprised her role as the Shadow Architect from “The Stolen Earth”.
So Davros is the “Dark Lord” of Skaro now? Has he been watching his Lord Of The Rings box-sets thinking, “Now there’s a guy I like!”
Old monster cameos included Ood and Judoon, but we think we also spotted the silhouette of Blowfish from Torchwood right at the back of Maldovarium’s bar as well.
When UNIT scientist Jac (Jaye Griffiths of Bugs fame) is listing various sightings of the Doctor she mentions, “three possible versions of Atlantis”. A well known continuity error from the classic series is that it gave three possible reasons for the destruction of Atlantis: in “The Underwater Menace” (1967), “The Daemons” (1971) and “The Time Monster”(1972).
The Doctor mentions during his party (to which all of him is invited) that, “I spent all day yesterday in a bow tie. The day before in a long scarf.” Which may explain why he also appears to be wearing the second Doctor’s trousers.
Soundbites from previous Davros episodes include, “If you had created a virus in your laboratory…” and the “Do I have the right…?” speech from the fourth Doctor story “Genesis Of The Daleks” (1975); “I’m not here as your prisoner, Davros, but your executioner,” from the fifth Doctor story “Resurrection Of The Daleks” (1984); “Unlimited power! Unlimited Rice pudding!” from the seventh Doctor story “Remembrance Of The Daleks” (1988); and, “Everything we saw, everything we lost…” from the tenth Doctor story “The Stolen Earth” (2008). There is also a clip of the sixth Doctor (from “Revelation Of The Daleks”, 1985) on the monitors but it’s difficult to work out if any associated quote goes with it – feel free to let us know if your hearing is better than ours!
Casual throwaway references to “the Cloister Wars” and “Suicide Moons” are so enticing, expect Big Finish to announce audio series based on them…
“Since he was a little girl.” Hornets’ nest well and truly stirred.
Right, so how does a Confession Dial know when somebody who travels through has died? Is there some kind of Gallifreyan Meantime?
The Doctor’s party is held in 1138AD which must surely be a reference to George Lucas’s film THX 1138 (which Lucas references all the time himself in subsequent projects).

Guardians Of The Gallery: X-Men, Superhero Owls, Luchador Pikachu & More

September 19, 2015

by thatmediathing with No Comment News

Some of the best, funniest and weirdest pics & vids that’ve been doing the rounds on the ’net this week

••• X-Men playing cards that Gambit would be proud to use. By Mark Eastwood.

••• Photographer Jorge Pérez has been chronicling the the lives of Stormtroopers on their downtime. There are loads more like this here. We love ’em.

••• These are a hoot! (Sorry… we’re so, so sorry for that pun. So sorry we’re using Doctor Hoot quotes… okay, we’ll stop now.) Krakow-based artist Magdalena Ruta has recreated superheroes and other cult characters as owls. See more on his website here.

••• Jamie Lee Curtis pays tribute to her mum’s most notorious screen moment.

Just recreated, with help from the amazing crew, a shot by shot of my mother’s famous shower scene from Hitchcock’s PSYCHO for @screamqueensfox #screamqueens Ryan Murphy and co. wrote it into a special episode and it felt right! Honoring the Royal legend that is/was/will always be, Janet Leigh. Thought all fans of the genre would love it! #honorthymother 📷@joaquin_sedillo show debuts in a week on FOX 8pm 2hour premiere!!!!

A photo posted by Jamie Lee Curtis (@curtisleejamie) on Sep 15, 2015 at 9:54am PDT

••• Right, if you think is little clip is hilariously accurate…

Source <a class=”youtube-link” href=”https://youtu.be/-3TUe-Q3-XY”>https://youtu.be/-3TUe-Q3-XY</a>

…Then check out the full-length version. These Russians are on fire this week!

••• Japanese school brightens up its stairways. More at ComicBookResources.

••• Pikachu goes Luchador! There’s not a lot else to say…

Meet Joe Golem, The New Hero From The Creator Of Hellboy

September 17, 2015

by thatmediathing with No Comment Comics News News

The Hollywood Reporter has debuted some artwork by comic book writer/artist Mike Mignola showcasing the star of his new series: Joe Golem. The artwork is intended for publication as a variant cover for the first issue of Joe Golem: Occult Detective series, and while the finished version of the artwork will be a collaboration with Mignola’s regular colourist Dave Stewart this image is the kine art just at it left Mignola’s drawing board.

Joe Golem, a pulp detective in an alternate 20th century where parts of Manhattan have been flooded, first appeared in the 2013 prose novel Joe Golem And The Drowning City by Mignola and Christopher Golden. However, Mignola will sadly not be providing the interior art for the forthcoming five-issue comic book series that launches in November. That honour goes to Patric Reynolds with Stewart providing the colours.

The Strain S02E04 “The Silver Angel” REVIEW

September 16, 2015

by thatmediathing with No Comment Reviews

The Strain S02E04 “The Silver Angel” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Watch, Wednesdays, 10pm

Writer: Regina Corrado
Directors: J Miles Dale, Guillermo del Toro (Luchador film sequence)

Essential Plot Points:

Eph and Nora release their vampire plague and it works. The Master orders the infected strigoi to kill themselves to stop its spread.
Fet bombs a subway tunnel to stop vampire getting into Red Hook and gets arrested for it.
Setrakian and Dutch visit Fitzwilliam and try to convince him to side with them. He refuses.
Eldritch double-crosses a bunch of bankers who then become vampire food.
In flashback, Eichorst offers Eldritch eternal life.
Zach is irritating.

Review:

Okay – so a Mexican wrestling-themed B-movie horror black and white pastiche/homage? Yeah, that’s an entertainingly offbeat way to kick off the episode. Except, blimey it goes on a bit. Over four minutes. That’s a tenth of the episode. It’s okay for a while but not a good enough gag to warrant that amount of screen time, even if it is directed by Guillermo del Toro himself (you get the feeling no one else was brave enough to tell him it needed editing down), and especially when it’s introducing a new character who, by the end of the episode, you still don’t have a clue why the hell you should be interested in him.

Angel may develop into a great character, but if you’re going to introduce a new key player in such an elaborate fashion, the audience at least deserves to be given some clue as to why he’s important. Instead all we know after 40 minutes is that he’s a grumpy dishwasher.

It’s similar to Fitzwilliam’s reintroduction last week. At least this week we learn a little more about why he’s still in the show, though Dutch’s reason to seek him out seems bizarrely random, plucked from the thinnest of air. Equally random is Gus’s choice not just to have his first ever Indian meal but to go back to the same Indian restaurant after his encounter with his possessed mum. Things seem to happen in this episode purely because the writers need them to happen – Gus must meet Angel for some undisclosed plot mechanic – and they can’t be arsed to come up with a decent reason.

And the less said about the schmaltz-fest between Eph and his son the better. Zach in the same scene as a baseball bat…? The tension and temptation truly does bring out the Grand Theft Auto in even the gentlest of souls.

The flashback is fun – especially young Setrakian going on a strigoi-killing spree – but once again has little to add to the overall mythology. Eichorst offers Eldritch eternal life? Yeah, we’d figured that.

There are some great moments of black humour and gallows humour that save the episode, most involving Fet. The early scenes with Eph, Nora and Fet releasing their test vampire into the wild, then becoming exasperated when he doesn’t act as predicted is a wonderful lightness of touch the show could benefit from employing more often. Fet’s later monologue about about why heroes are stupid to walk away from explosions in films is another amusing highlight. He’s absent for the episode’s blackest moment of humour, though, when Eph and Nora watch the strigoi throwing themselves from a roof. It’s a ghoulishly perverse titbits like this that remind you what this show can be like at its best.

The Good:

Fet: “They say one out of every four people are mentally unstable.” Nora: “Luckily there’s only three of us.” Fet: “Not unless you include my invisible friend Donny.”
In fact, Fet gets some great scenes and lines throughout the episode.
Gus’s chat with the Master, who’s using Gus’s mother as a vassal, is creepily effective.
The strigoi committing harakiri to prevent the spread of the plague.
Young Setrakian versus the vampires in the vaults of the nunnery is really well directed.

The Bad:

Too many random scenes that don’t seem to be going anywhere, and random decisions based on who knows what?
The weekly dreary Zach subplot is more odious than ever.
The opening black and white horror movie homage goes on way too long.
The way Eldritch deals with the bankers feels like a completely wasted opportunity – a whole plot strand dealt with in two scenes.
Oh God, not another episode ending with Eh’s wife inching oh so slowly ever closer to tracking down her son.

And the Random:

Guillermo del Toro directed the opening “Luchador/horror B-movie” sequence. The faux-film’s main credits listed slightly skewed versions of the main movers and shakers on The Strain: Carlos Cuse (Carlton Cuse); Carlos Jogan (Chuck Hogan and Gustavo Delatro (Guillermo del Toro).
Oh look, a not so subtle hint that Gus (rather unbelievably) is a Luchador fan.

Angel is a typical male – he puts the film Angel Contra El Vampiro Maldito back in a sleeve for the film El Señor de la Tiniebla (The Lord Of Darkness).
One of the missing posters is for a girl named Shirin. There’s a Shirin Rashid who works on the show as second assistant art director. Wanna bet that’s her in the photo on the poster?

• Read our other reviews of The Strain

Doctor Who “The Magician’s Apprentice”: 21 Spoiler-Free Teasers

September 16, 2015

by thatmediathing with No Comment Reviews

Here, for your delight and delectation, are some teasers for the debut episode of new Doctor Who’s ninth series, “The Magician’s Apprentice” which airs this Saturday on BBC 1. There’s nothing here that gives away any specifics that haven’t already been referenced in official trailers and promo images. Because that would ruin your fun…

It doesn’t feel like the first episode of a two-parter; it feels like the first episode of a season-long arc (note: we don’t know this is the case, that’s just how it feels).
There are a lot of cameos, of all varieties.
One line makes reference to a continuity problem from the classic series.
The Doctor’s words are thrown back in his face.
Someone seems to have spent have become a Star Wars fan in his old age, giving himsith a new title.
The stripey-faced guy we’ve seen in preview photos and trailers has a number of gimmicks.
There’s some footage from previous stories – not flashbacks though. Somebody’s been keeping records.
The Doctor and Missy seem to be in a competition to see who can make the most noise, though the Doctor needs amplification.
The Doctor makes two very impressive entrances.
Missy says something a certain section of fandom will be hoping is a lie.
There’s a pleasingly familiar space station.
Somebody has a Bride Of Frankenstein wig.
There’s a wonderful homage to ’60s Who sci-fi design.
Something the needs explaining is referred to but not explained.
There are a lot of locations.
It opens with a brilliantly chilling pre-credit teaser. Chilling for multiple reasons.
There are some terrible puns; not all of them are deliberate. One is reminiscent of David Cronenberg’s visual “hand-gun” gag in Videodrome… but it’s not a hand gun.
The Doctor is on his knees at one point.
The Next Week teaser has been moved to after the end credits.
The 12th Doctor’s theme gets a number of new workouts.
There are a few familiar tunes.

• Make Your Own Sonic Screwdriver, The DIY Prop Shop Way
• Doctor Who: New “The Magician’s Apprentice” Pics
• Doctor Who Series 9: Every Episode Title Revealed
• Doctor Who Ad In Time Square NY – So Cool

fear_the_walking_dead_s01e03_the_dog_main

Fear The Walking Dead S01E03 “The Dog” REVIEW

September 14, 2015

by thatmediathing with No Comment Reviews

Fear The Walking Dead S01E03 “The Dog” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on AMC
Writer: Jack LoGiudice
Director: Adam Davidson

Essential Plot Points:

The rioters start setting fires so Travis, Liza, Chris and the Salazars have to flee.
Mrs Salazar is badly injured when a water cannon knocks scaffolding onto her leg. The nearest hospital is overrun so Travis takes her to Madison’s house.
Back at Casa Clark, Madison, Alicia and Nick pass the time waiting trying very hard not to think about what’s happening.
The power goes out, city wide.
A neighbour’s dog, covered in blood, appears at the back door. Alicia and co let it in and it immediately starts barking, warning them a zombie is heading for the front door.
Madison and her kids go next door to retrieve the shotgun Nick once tried to steal. Because Nick is the best son ever.
They watch the zombie attack and kill the dog. And then Travis arrives home.
Rushing to save him, they forget the shells and discover Madison’s neighbour is now a zombie. Given how close they were, Madison is crushed (metaphorically, not under scaffolding).
Travis frantically tries to reason with the zombie. Daniel shoots it in the face. Twice.
Travis is far less okay with this, and most of what Daniel’s doing, than basically everyone else in the house.
They pass an uneasy night waiting to leave at sun up.
Madison and Travis debate whether or not to kill their neighbour. To Daniel’s disgust, Travis talks Madison down and they leave.
On the way out of the city, Madison sees her neighbour’s husband return home. She rushes back but he’s saved by soldiers who swarm the neighbourhood.
The day is saved. Hurrah?

Review:

There’s a moment really early on in the episode which may be immensely significant. Chris, who you’ll be pleased to know is still utterly unbearable, is looking out of the Salazar’s window at the riot. A man in a hoodie stops and turns to face him. He’s clearly not human, moves with purpose instead of shambling and doesn’t growl like most zombies. It’s a weird moment, and it may just be an unusually dressed zombie but he just feels…significant. Here he is:

Whether this is a massive clue to the cause of the outbreak, or just an undead hoodie enthusiast remains to be seen. Isn’t he spooky though?

Anyway, mysterious hooded gentleman aside this episode neatly combines everything the show does very well with everything it does very badly. There’s some typically great direction from Adam Davidson, Jack LoGiudice’s script is packed full of pitch-black humour and there are some really great performances.

So let’s talk about Davidson first. He’s approaching the series in a way that feels almost documentarian and it’s really paying off. The riot and subsequent hospital battle could have felt cheap. But, under Davidson’s direction they feels like what they are; an encroaching new reality, the world changing one block at a time with the characters as a very reluctant point of view for the audience. Davidson’s direction has been so good for these three episodes I’m honestly a little nervous both about and for the other directors. They have a lot to live up to.

Then there’s this.

The moment the city blacks out is chilling and a really smart way of unifying the two halves of the story. The collapse is accelerating and there’s a huge sense of urgency as the characters rush to try and reunite.

That urgency, and a huge amount of fatalism, is what makes the script work. LoGiudice brings the best out of what’s been, to date, a pretty ghastly cast of characters. Madison in particular continues to improve and the emotional arc she has here is one that fans of everyone’s favourite horrifically traumatised Southern cop will find very familiar. Madison’s hardening, even as Travis is starting to lose his edge, and it’ll be interesting to see how the dynamic shifts. Madison is the one who wants Chris to learn how to use guns; Madison is the one who tries to euthanise her neighbour; and Madison is the one who risks everything to try and save her neighbour’s husband. She’s not making uniformly good choices but she is making consistent and interesting ones. Plus the scene where she asks Liza to kill her if she turns is a masterclass in minimalist writing with maximum impact. It’s a moment of kinship, establishing dominance and a cry for help all at once. Brilliantly done.

Elsewhere in the cast, Cliff Curtis continues to be one of the best character actors on the planet. The show’s most surreal moment comes when he wheels his bin down to the curb and sees another neighbour do the same. This moment of suburban acknowledgement becomes an uneasy faceoff, made all the more interesting by the fact we know Travis’s bin has a zombie in it. That collision of the mundane and horrific is where the show’s at its best and there’s a lot of it here. In fact, even the moments that could be viewed as stupid are at least put in context. Travis, Madison and Liza’s families are very bad at this because they’ve never had to survive a zombie apocalypse before and for now, that’s letting the show go for some effective scares. That being said:

I doubt I’d wander through this particular garden in a hurry.

Unfortunately, the episode’s pacing destroys a lot of this good will. Most of the above happens in the first half hour and there’s a 10 minute dead spot that follows it where the characters literally sit around and wait for the next bit of the plot. It’s a really odd choice, and sets up a false sense of expectation. The first half is so good you’re waiting for it to escalate and instead you get Chris being taught how to use a shotgun and Nick being a horrible human being.

Again.

Even the, admittedly game-changing, ending feels weird and forced. The show’s changed gear seismically this episode but it’s done so like a tank instead of a sports car. Hopefully the second half of the season will transition more smoothly.

The Good:

An actual white rioter! On screen! Possibly more than one but this guy’s photogenic.

An actual white zombie!

Ruben Blades. The script’s giving him a really fine line to walk but he’s doing a great job. The scenes he has with Travis in particular are great.
Cliff Curtis. Like Blades, one of the best character actors of his generation. Like Blades, being given difficult material. Like Blades, nailing it.

fear_the_walking_dead_s01e03_the_dog_not_okay_face — Travis’s “I’m not okay with this!” face

Kim Dickens. Aside from the weirdly-paced, and oddly emotionless, ending of this episode, Dickens is rapidly becoming the show’s MVP. She’s got the strongest, most Rick-like character arc so far and she commands the screen just as much as Blades and Curtis.
The LA blackout. A simple, incredibly chilling shot.

The Bad:

The 10-minute rest break the episode takes for no particular reason. This is a six episode season and it’s managed, so far, to do a great job of keeping pacy without seeming forced. This, good character moments aside, was the first sequence that felt aggressively dull.
Nick and Chris. It’s not actually Frank Dillane or Lorenzo James Henrie’s respective faults, they’re just playing deeply unlikable characters. There’s hope for Nick but Chris is becoming a whining, shrill liability. Worse still, his likely character arc is looking dangerously predictable and, worse, dull.
The Salazar family. Not because they’re bad people, they’re not. But the references to what they’ve been through in the past seem to hint strongly at connections to the drug cartels or organised crime. We desperately hope that isn’t the case. If it is, combined with the show’s hilariously ill-advised black zombies, then it’s starting to look less like an oversight and more like lazy, deliberate stereotyping.
“The cavalry’s here. Things are gonna get better.” Travis Manuwa, Graduate of the Albert Square School of Optimism in the Face of Horrific Imminent Death.

And The Random:

Shot of the week has to be this. Madison debating if she can “save” her neighbour, Travis talking her down and the hand between them. Another perfect metaphor for the show and another great shot from Davidson. He’ll be missed.

Think I’m an enormous fanboy over the direction of this and the last two episodes? Here’s Vox talking about why it’s so smart and the show’s similarities to Battlestar Galactica: http://www.vox.com/2015/9/14/9321977/fear-the-walking-dead-episode-3-recap.
There’s a long, lingering shot of a plane presumably on its way to landing at LAX. As the shot seems somewhat pointless otherwise we can’t help wondering if it’s supposed to the plane on which the forthcoming, one-off, online “Zombies On A Plane” story will be set (see here if you don’t know what we’re on about).

Review by: Alasdair Stuart

• Read our other Fear The Walking Dead reviews