Reviews – Page 23 – Simon’s Incoherent Blog

The Walking Dead: Season 6, Episode 13 – The Same Boat

“You’re not the good guys. You ought to know that.”

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(SPOILER WARNING!)

After a Western ep and a war movie ep, two things the show does repeatedly, this week’s out of format The Walking Dead took on a new genre. This was a taut, claustrophobic hostage thriller, told almost in real time, and with only two of the regular cast present for most of it. If you were wanting gut-ripping Walker action, or firefights with the latest group of psychos, you were out of luck. But if you wanted an intriguing, character-driven story, you came to the right place. Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 6, Episode 13 – The Same Boat”

The Walking Dead: Season 6, Episode 12 – Not Tomorrow Yet

“We know exactly what this is. We don’t shy from it. We live. We have to kill them all.”

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(SPOILER WARNING!)

There’s an old military maxim, coined in the 19^th century, that no plan survives contact with the enemy. Switching gear from Western to war movie again, this week’s ep of The Walking Dead was a textbook demonstration of that, as we followed Rick and his meticulous planning to lead the gang to Savior HQ, with the ultimate objective of killing them all in their sleep. Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 6, Episode 12 – Not Tomorrow Yet”

The Walking Dead: Season 6, Episode 11 – Knots Untie

“Your world’s about to get a whole lot bigger.”

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(SPOILER WARNING!)

I frequently bang on on this blog about how The Walking Dead tends to appropriate the tropes of both war movies and Westerns (outside of its obvious genre of post-apocalyptic horror). It was at it again this week, and like a couple of weeks ago, the most obvious source of inspiration was The Magnificent Seven. Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 6, Episode 11 – Knots Untie”

The Walking Dead:Season 6, Episode 10 – The Next World

“There’s still people out there, and they’re still people. We should bring em in.”

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(SPOILER WARNING!)

With the first half of season six having covered a tumultuous three days or so of peril, last week’s mid-season opener provided a capstone, and this week saw The Walking Dead’s heroes getting to relax for a while, and take stock. While Angela Kang’s script was a fairly conventional A Plot/B Plot mix, this actually felt like an out of format episode, for one simple reason – the gang were actually happy. Continue reading “The Walking Dead:Season 6, Episode 10 – The Next World”

The Walking Dead: Season 6, Episode 9 – No Way Out

“No-one gets to clock out today. And hell – this is a story they’re going to tell.”

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(SPOILER WARNING!)

As I caught up on the return of The Walking Dead after my usual sojourn to LA this year, it occurred to me that I never did get round to writing a review of last year’s mid-season finale. Not that there was anything wrong with it, particularly; there were some tense set pieces, and some good character action. But basically, it was the third act of every zombie movie ever made – the inevitable bit where the hordes of hungry undead break into our heroes’ sanctuary, and carnage ensues. Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 6, Episode 9 – No Way Out”

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride

“ ‘They are not all successes, Watson,’ said he. ‘But there are some pretty little problems among them. Here’s the record of the Tarleton murders, and the case of Vamberry, the wine merchant, and the adventure of the old Russian woman, and the singular affair of the aluminium crutch, as well as a full account of Ricoletti of the club-foot, and his abominable wife….’ “ – From the journals of Dr John H Watson MD, The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual

(SPOILER WARNING!)

It’s not quite a festive tradition as entrenched as the Doctor Who Christmas special, but it’s becoming a pattern that, every couple of years or so, Steven Moffat will deign to present us with a new episode of the sporadic Sherlock on New Year’s Day. Last time this happened, it felt for me like the series’ first major misstep, as Moffat tried to have his cake and eat it by spending half the episode playing with the fans’ anticipated explanations for Sherlock’s survival then never actually explaining it. As if to smirkingly revel further in that sleight of hand, a glancing reference to it here seemed to give a true explanation, but who knows? Continue reading “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride”

Doctor Who: Series 9, Episode 12 – Hell Bent

“Nothing’s sad till it’s over. Then everything is.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

After last week’s exemplary step into experimental drama, I have to say I wasn’t overly surprised to find this week’s series finale of Doctor Who was very much back to business as usual for Steven Moffat. As ever,we had a script brimming over with fantastic ideas, many of which were never properly developed. As ever, we had a tricksy, non-linear narrative which gradually gave up the answers. As ever, there were fan-pleasing references everywhere. And as ever, the death of a major character turned out not to be so permanent after all. Continue reading “Doctor Who: Series 9, Episode 12 – Hell Bent”

Doctor Who: Series 9, Episode 11 – Heaven Sent

“How many seconds in eternity?”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Well, that was a thing of dark beauty. It was a bold move to have an episode that was, to all intents and purposes, a one man show; but with Steven Moffat’s writing, Rachel Talalay’s direction and, above all, Peter Capaldi’s acting, Heaven Sent turned out to be one of the strongest episodes this year. Continue reading “Doctor Who: Series 9, Episode 11 – Heaven Sent”

The Walking Dead: Season 6, Episode 7 – Heads Up

“Dying is simple. It all just stops, you’re dead. The people around you dying – that’s the hard part.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Ok, I’ll admit it – last week I missed that we’ve already got on to Day Two of this year’s Walking Dead. In my defence, I think the night happened while Daryl was unconscious, so we only saw snapshots of it in those brief moments he woke up. So, six and a half episodes in, and we’re now on the season’s second day. That’s not quite 24-level real time, but it’s close. Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 6, Episode 7 – Heads Up”

Doctor Who: Series 9, Episode 10 – Face the Raven

“There’s no nice way to say you’re going to die.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

And finally, all those series-long hints paid off this week. Clara Oswald is dead. Or is she? In one sense, it’s an audacious thing to do for Steven Moffat; this is the first time a companion has actually died since Adric in 1982. And definitely the first time a companion has left by dying since the show’s revival. Continue reading “Doctor Who: Series 9, Episode 10 – Face the Raven”