“Sometimes we have to kill them. I know that. But sometimes we don’t.”
(SPOILER WARNING!)
Has The Walking Dead gone too far? It’s always been a show that’s gone to some very dark places, but last night’s ep was probably the darkest of all; so unremittingly grim and bleak in its worldview, and showing us possibly the nastiest conceivable consequences of the post-apocalypse world. It was not easy viewing.
Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 4, Episode 14–The Grove”
"Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive survive. TERMINUS.”
(SPOILER WARNING!)
Well, so much for catching up with the blogging!
I could make all sorts of excuses. I’ve been busy at work (I haven’t). My social life is a hectic whirl (it isn’t). I’ve been ill (well, a little bit, but not terribly).
Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 4, Episodes 11, 12 & 13–Claimed / Still / Alone”
“You were wrong. I’m still here.”
(SPOILER WARNING!)
Hello again, faithful readers (all several of you)! As usual this time of year, my reviews have been delayed by a sojourn to sunny Los Angeles, and the Gallifrey One Doctor Who convention. Consequently, I’ve missed covering two eps of The Walking Dead since it returned from its mid-season break, so I figured I’d do them both in one bumper post – with this week’s to follow tomorrow – jetlag permitting!
Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 4, Episodes 9 & 10 – After / Inmates”
“I’ve had to do with fifty murderers in my career, but the worst of them never gave me the repulsion which I have for this fellow. And yet I can’t get out of doing business with him — indeed, he is here at my invitation.” – from the journals of Dr John H Watson, MD, The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton
(SPOILER WARNING!)
And so, another all too brief season of Sherlock comes to an end, with an episode that should please more of the fans than the previous two (though I’m, sure some will never be satisfied). If you didn’t like the previous two stories’ lurch towards ‘soap opera’ character drama in place of crime plots, the balance of this ep will probably have made you happier – and in retrospect, it has become clear that the previous two were all about building up to this one.
“I love you, Mary, as truly as ever a man loved a woman. Because this treasure, these riches, sealed my lips. Now that they are gone I can tell you how I love you. That is why I said, ‘Thank God.’” – from the journals of Dr John H Watson, MD, The Sign of the Four
(SPOILER WARNING!)
I must confess, I was a trifle surprised last Thursday to find myself being a little negative about the return of Sherlock. Previously, to many people (including me), it’s been a show that needs little criticism, more polished and better thought through than Steven Moffat’s other series du jour, Doctor Who. Imagine my surprise, then, looking online, to discover that my criticisms of it were mild indeed compared to the vitriolic dissatisfaction of many, including plenty who described themselves as formerly having been unalloyed fans of the show.
“‘Holmes!’ I cried. ‘Is it really you? Can it indeed be that you are alive?’” – from the journals of Dr John H Watson, MD, The Adventure of the Empty House
(SPOILER WARNING!)
It has been, as was noted several times in the script for this episode, just about two years since we last saw an episode of Sherlock (give or take a fortnight). In that time, the stars and writers of the show have hardly been idle. Benedict Cumberbatch has been seemingly everywhere, most notably as the villain in Big Hollywood Movie Star Trek Into Darkness, while Martin Freeman has had two lengthy epics released in which he plays Tolkien’s famous hobbit Bilbo Baggins (with a third due this year). Mark Gatiss has busied himself with MR James adaptations and a series on European horror movies, while Steven Moffat has been busy with something called Doctor Who.
“Everyone gets stuck somewhere eventually, Clara. And everything ends.”
And so, Christmas Day 2013 saw the final end for Doctor number Eleven – or is it Twelve, or even Thirteen? That was one of the major questions Steven Moffat’s typically labyrinthine but mostly satisfying story had to address; along with the various unresolved plot threads that seemed to have been left hanging since he began his tenure as showrunner. He also had to retire the now-beloved Eleventh Doctor and introduce a new star .And on top of all that, he had to make it a Christmas episode, traditionally lighter and frothier than most.
“I need the prison, that’s all. I got people I need to keep alive. No one needs to die.”
(SPOILER WARNING!)
Well, that was upsetting on several different levels. Real drama, with characters we care about in mortal danger, and given the show’s usual style, no guarantee who would get out alive. As the ‘mid-season finale’, this episode packed a punch that was bigger than the actual finale of the otherwise excellent third season. Mostly because it felt like it actually was the finale to the third season, the climax that never really came to the story of the rivalry between Rick and the Governor, and their two communities.
Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 4, Episode 8–Too Far Gone”
“You seem different now. Changed. Are you?”
(SPOILER WARNING!)
It was another Governor-centric episode of The Walking Dead this week, as we followed the ongoing adventures of our favourite baddie and the show continued to tease us as to whether he was a reformed character. More action-packed than last week, it seemed a little more conventional as an episode, though as ever David Morrissey’s performance as the charismatic villain/antihero made up for a lot of shortcomings.
Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 4, episode 7–Dead Weight”
“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be – be one.” – Marcus Aurelius
(SPOILER WARNING!)
Tricky things, anniversary shows. Although this was celebrating 50 years, technically there’s only been two previous attempts – The Three Doctors and The Five Doctors (no, I’m not counting Dimensions in Time). They have to be crowd-pleasers, they have to encompass the show’s ever-growing mythology, and yet they also have to be accessible to viewers who don’t necessarily have the extensive knowledge of the show’s past that us fanboys have. The Three Doctors works rather well in that regard, while The Five Doctors doesn’t. But what about Day of the Doctor?
Simon’s Incoherent Blog 