My Review of Doctor Who's 5x09: "Cold Blood"

Written by Chris Chibnall
Directed by Ashley Way

The Doctor: “This ends here.”
Restac: “It only ends in our victory.”

After something of an underwhelming opening segment to this Silurian story, I have to admit that I’m probably going to fall in a small minority of viewers who won’t be citing this episode as one of their favourites from the first year of the Eleventh Doctor. It’s not a terrible episode and there’s a lot to get you talking but somehow, it didn’t blow me away either.

To focus on the negative bits first, let’s talk about Alaya. I was actually kind of hoping that she would survive the episode a bit longer than she actually did and like her sister, Restac, the urgency for a bloodbath made little sense. Didn’t she even consider for a second that perhaps her race wouldn’t be so victorious in battle?

She definitely didn’t given the way she was with both Tony and Ambrose in this episode. She wanted one of them to kill her and she pushed hard enough to achieve her goal. With Tony, Alaya played on his helplessness as he found himself more and more infected (but not killed) with her venom but it was Ambrose that sealed the deal.

Towards the end of this week, I had a feeling that Ambrose was going to be the one to kill Alaya. Alaya pointed out that she had the most to lose – Mo, Elliot and Tony and the nasty Silurian provoked Ambrose into killing her. I know it’s weird but I actually felt sorrier Ambrose than I expected to.

I knew that by killing Alaya, Ambrose had screwed the Doctor over but given how desperate she was, it should be noted that Ambrose didn’t intentionally try to kill Alaya. However it didn’t stop the desperate mum from having her own little plan up her sleeve when Rory felt compelled to bring Alaya’s body down to the Silurian dome when they given a means of visiting the city.

As for Restac, wasn’t she worse than Alaya? In another weird moment, I felt bad for her when she had to see her dead sister but the sympathy dissipated quickly when she went on the rampage to scupper the Doctor trying to broker a peace between the humans and Silurians by having Amy, Nasreen and Eldane speak openly of trying to find solutions for their difficulties.

Silurian politics was hardly riveting stuff and you could almost argue that Restac’s lust for war was a good way of injecting some needed action into proceedings but one of the best things about this show in spite of the violence that occurs is that the Doctor tries to come up with other options first.

He wasn’t making an unreasonable request by trying to broker peace and he was certainly generous given that he spent the first quarter of this episode being tied up, tortured and nearly executed for his troubles when he wasn’t being decontaminated for his trouble. Some people complained last week that the bondage Amy endured was worrying but I think the Doctor suffered more in this one.

At least Amy was able to use some thieving on her part to temporarily free herself and Mo, even if she almost ended up being executed during Restac’s military exchanges. I suppose having Eldane around was a way of showing us that not all Silurians want human extermination. Oddly enough, so was having Malohkeh as well. Sure he was happy to experiment on the Doctor but also cagey about Restac’s tactics and he did free Elliot from the cryo-chambers as well.

Ah, love some cryogenic chambers. You can store a lot of Silurians in them and funnily enough, Restac had a whole army that she woke up just to avenge her sister’s death. I bet the Doctor was more than glad on this day that he had Eldane on his side with the toxic fumigation solution to put the kibosh on Restac’s slaughter plan.

Except you can’t really go through a story without some casualties and losses and this episode gave us enough. Alaya’s death ignited a war but Restac was happy to kill Malohkeh as well to get her point across and both Tony and Nasreen were the only ones who decided not to come back to the surface, choosing to stay in their own thousand year stasis underground.

I should’ve found that touching but actually, I found it rather annoying. What if Tony can’t become cured by the Silurians and while I understand that Nasreen really had fallen for him, I actually think I would’ve preferred a noble death instead. Then again, if the Silurians happen to reappear in the next season, at least Tony and Nasreen can come back. That has to be something, right?

As for Rory’s death – this was something I had known about for long enough. The spoiler junkie in me had that foreknowledge and while Arthur Darvill has been terrific in these last episodes, I didn’t actually get all that choked up about Rory dying. Maybe I’m in denial because emotionally, it’s actually the worst thing to befall a new series companion.

First of all, Rory got shot by Restac while he saved the Doctor’s life and to add insult to injury, he gets sucked into the bloody crack that had to appear in this one. If the Doctor hadn’t let his curiosity sated him that much, Rory might have still be alive and of course, that’s not the only bad thing about it.

Amy forgetting that she had Rory in her life at all is just cruel. Karen Gillan really pulled it out of the ball park as Amy was clearly struggling to try and remember Rory while battling with her grief and now she’s unaware that he even existed in the first place. If this is really the end of Rory, then it makes Donna’s memory wiping look tame by comparison. Although the engagement ring box on the floor as well, that has to be a trigger for Amy.

As for the crack itself, the Doctor had clearly had enough. He mentioned that the Weeping Angels and Prisoner Zero had known more about it than he did and it drove him to doing something reckless. For all he knew, he could’ve gotten sucked into the crack himself and then everyone would’ve been blown to smithereens.

However the whole reveal of the TARDIS door bit with the police warning was interesting. I know the finale has been spoiling that the Doctor is going to suffer one hell of a fall and we’ve already seen the TARDIS become a towering inferno at the start of the year but what on Earth is going to happen to cause that kind of damage? Whatever this Pandorica is, it certainly looks like it’s going to be lethal for everyone all round.

Also in “Cold Blood”

This episode took a narrating route with Eldane discussing the failed broker between the humans and the Silurians. Not as effective as Rassilon’s in “The End Of Time Part 1”.

Ambrose (to Rory): “What are you, you and the Doctor? Why is this happening to us? What did we ever do?”

At the end of this episode, Amy only saw her future self but almost swore that someone else was there too. Perhaps there’s hope for Rory yet.

The Doctor: “Wait, wait, we all want the same thing here.”
Restac: “I do not negotiate with apes. I'm going to send a clear message to those on the surface.”

Alaya (to Ambrose): “I knew it would be you. The one with the most to lose, the weakest."

The Doctor mentioned one of his previous encounters with the Silurians to Restac and Malohkeh.

Amy: “Okay, sorry. As rescues go, it didn’t live up to it’s potential.”
The Doctor: “I’m glad you’re okay.”

The Doctor (to everyone): “There are fixed points through time where things must always stay the way they are. This is not one of them, this is an opportunity.”

This episode marked the first time since 2007 that scheduling for the series hasn’t been interrupted for the Eurovision. Thank frak for that.

Elliot: “Where are we?”
Mo: “Well, I’ve got to be honest with you son. We’re in the centre of the Earth and there are lizard men.”

Malohkeh: “What are you doing?”
Restac: “Protecting our race against the apes.”
Malohkeh: “You can’t do this.”
Restac: “You are a good scientist, Malohkeh but this is war.”

Interesting stuff with this week’s Confidential episode showing the Doctor Who tour that Matt Smith and Karen Gillan made to their home towns.

Rory: “I can’t die here.”
Amy: “Don’t say that.”
Rory: “You’re so beautiful. I’m sorry.”
Amy: “Doctor, help him!”

The Doctor: “Are you okay?”
Amy: “I thought I saw someone else there for a second.”

I liked the use of new material when showing us some flashbacks into Amy and Rory’s history.

“Cold Blood” is stronger than it’s previous episode and a lot of it works brilliantly – Rory’s death, Amy’s memories of him fading, the Doctor realising how much worse things with the crack will get and even some of the Silurian stuff (the city itself is beautiful) but it’s still not as satisfying as I’d hoped it would be.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

My Review of Brothers And Sisters 4x20: "If You Bake It He Will Come"

Written by Marjorie David And Cliff Olin
Directed by Bethany Rooney

Justin: “Sorry to ruin your birthday, Kevin.”
Kevin: “Nothing ruined. Best birthday ever.”

It’s amazing that in four seasons we’ve only had five episodes, including this one to feature a birthday. Kitty got them with “Patriarchy” and “Home Front”, Nora in “Something Ida This Way Comes” and Rebecca in “Separation Anxiety” and now it’s time for Kevin to also celebrate his brother neat typical Walker fashion.

Being at loggerheads with Nora gets the arguing part out of the equation as this manages to be a birthday that doesn’t have a public blowout unlike the other parties that I’ve previously highlighted but it doesn’t mean that it’s entirely an argument free zone either as Nora finds herself facing some harsh truths.

The episode has the nifty title of “If You Bake It, He Will Come” because Nora believes that holding a party for Kevin will still prop him into acknowledging her again and for once, I actually don’t hold that against. Granted I wasn’t exactly annoyed with everyone else relaying the message that Kevin wasn’t going to show up either.

However in terms of relaying the message, Sarah probably went at it a bit too harshly for my liking though. Yes, she wanted Nora to face up to the reality that Kevin was mad at her but she also projecting a lot of her own crap on Nora’s lap at the same time, so that kind of defeated the rant and made it too much about Sarah’s own headspace than her brother’s. Anyone think the same or is it just me?

Of course Nora didn’t take this too well but miraculously didn’t go into a hissy fit over it either. Okay, she did barricade herself upstairs for a bit but apart from that, she didn’t let Sarah’s rant crush her spirit and continued with the preparations for the actual party itself, even if it was sinking into her that Kevin might not show up for his own birthday bash.

As for Kevin, I was a little worried with the showdown that he was setting himself up for with Dennis York along with Justin and Tommy but that actually went pretty smoothly by comparison when you think about it. Dennis was being especially nasty towards him (which really confirmed what Nora said about him in the previous episode) and played on the fact that William thought he was weak.

Luckily, Kevin didn’t falter and even tried to negotiate a deal with York to learn more about Narrow Lake. Except the complicated bit from this whole meeting is that neither of them won really. Dennis knew they were up to their eyes with debt in Ojai and that Rebecca’s intervention was only a temporary fix and the Walker boys reminded the arrogant prat that he had nothing to use as leverage against them. Not exactly the most hopeful of results, eh?

Also much as I hate to admit it but I think Rebecca really is going to regret transferring two million dollars into Ojai once the company actually does go into ruin. There’s not even a hope of a silver lining this time, it actually does look like Ojai is about to become out of business once and for all.

Holly pretty much lost the plot when she realised what Rebecca had done with her inheritance and even accused Sarah of actually encouraging Rebecca to squander the cash. I was even surprised when it turned out that Sarah had nothing to do with Rebecca’s decision in this, given how much she was struggling to find money herself.

I know many fans don’t generally care about touching family scenes with Rebecca and Holly and I’ll admit that there’s a hit and miss rate to them as well but I did like some of their moments because at this point in this show, even I am beginning to accept them as a part of the Walkers right about now.

Holly’s practically arguing less with Sarah and Nora and she even seems to have managed to forgiven Tommy after his collective screw ups from last year and it’s not like her gloomy attitude towards Ojai’s future is overreacting either. I really don’t see a solution in time for the Walkers this time with Ojai, even if they do manage to crack open what Narrow Lake is specifically.

As for something a bit more interesting, that conversation between Nora and Kevin. Maybe it was much to assume that it would take longer for Kevin to forgive his mother but I loved the moment where Nora told him that she had always known he was gay. I know it might sound patronising in a way but I can actually buy that Nora would have that level of astuteness with her kids, so it’s believable and it made for a lovely scene between them.

And then there’s also the fact that Michelle is half-pregnant, which can only mean that parenthood will be imminent for both Kevin and Scotty. One of them is going to have snag employment soon but overall, it was nice for them to get some hope on that bit though like with Kitty getting the all clear the week before, this was kind of seen coming a mile off as well.

But one thing that was sort of jarring about this episode was the jokey but serious manner in which the characters lamented their misfortune during Kevin’s party. Saul’s getting no action at all that he’s wondering why he bothered coming out in the first place and Sarah’s moaning that Luc is being deported back again before he can come back to her.

If there’s a sore point to this episode, it’s the Sarah and Luc segment. Their relationship still needs a lot of work because I’m still not getting behind it. Luc’s still being touted shamelessly as the love of Sarah’s life and yet apart from his rugged looks; I’m not sure why I should care. And given that he’s coming back, I think Sarah can suck it up a little.

Also in “If You Bake It, He Will Come”

Kevin turned 39 in this episode, making him born in 1971 and also making him an Aries as well.

Scotty: “You’re 39.”
Kevin: “I know. I have a whole year to prepare for complete decrepitude.”

What the hell was Robert’s mysterious job that he didn’t manage to get? Thanks for the last episodes mentioning it but not telling us what it was, writers.

Holly: “I’m trying to protect my family.”
Tommy: “This is a family business and we’re all family now.”
Sarah: “Rebecca’s obviously got faith in this company. How come you don’t?”

Nora (re Kevin): “I love my son, no matter what he feels about me right now and as long as I live, he can count on me to do that – love him in anyway I can.”
Scotty: “God, I wish I had a mother like you.”

Justin shouldn’t be wearing a white coat just yet given that he’s still only a first year, though he did look good in it.

Tommy: “If these walls could talk.”
Dennis: “If they could talk, he would’ve followed me to prison. Tell me why we’re here.”

Kevin: “Guess I missed the party.”
Nora: “I understand. Do you want me to get the scotch or will that be enough?”
Kevin: “We’ll see how it goes.”

Standout music: Alexi Murdoch’s “It’s Only Fear” during Kevin and Nora’s kitchen conversation.

Kevin: “I didn’t know myself. Do you know why I hit Aaron that night? Because he tried to kiss me and I wanted to kiss him back and I was so scared of what I was feeling, I didn’t want anyone to know.”
Nora: “I knew. I always knew you were gay, I was waiting for you to find out.”

Chronology: I’m gonna assume around April 2010, given when this episode in question aired.

“If You Bake It, He Will Come” is a satisfying birthday episode for Kevin, though the past ones have been stronger but at least the dramatic stuff was earned and besides Sarah/Luc, this episode was incredibly fun to watch.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

My Review of Brothers And Sisters 4x19: "Time After Time Part 2"

Written by Monica Owusa-Breen And Alison Schapker
Directed by Ken Olin

Kevin: “I’m gay and I needed you to know that.”
Aaron: “I know you’re gay. Why did you think I tried to kiss you?”

Because you could smell a future hot guy from a mile off? Nope, because like Kevin back then, Aaron was also grappling with his sexuality and more open to kissing the first guy he sensed that there might have been an attraction that was mutual. Unfortunately without meaning to, Kevin effectively altered Aaron’s life in the worst way possible.

There were two clichés that believably could’ve been taken when Kevin actually plucked up the courage to go and see Aaron. The first one would’ve been an embittered Aaron who would not be receptive to any attempts of an apology from Kevin and truthfully, I don’t think I could’ve blamed or resented that kind of Aaron.

But the writers went for the second option – the one who moved on. 25 years is a long time for anyone to hold a grudge and Aaron seemed like he might have had some obvious anger towards Kevin but had worked past it and managed to still build a life for himself. This was the Aaron that was presented to us here.

This was the Aaron who wondered why it took Kevin so long to seek him out and the Aaron that listened as Kevin apologised and admitted that he was gay. Aaron didn’t have to give Kevin any comfort or absolution (and I’m not sure if I would’ve myself if I had been Aaron’s position) but it didn’t stop from doing so. Aaron has moved on and pretty much suggested that Kevin did the same.

As a result, I can’t see Aaron popping up any time soon but Kevin didn’t entirely heed Aaron’s advice either. Sure, he managed to come home and even up to the Ojai ranch during a special occasion but his anger towards Nora and the betrayal he felt her withholding Aaron’s predicament all these years was not something he could let go of either.

I would’ve found it a cop out if Kevin had done. That doesn’t mean I want him and Nora at loggerheads for the rest of the season but I would like to see a natural progression for him to forgive her though. He knows that Nora was sorry for holding back on him and even acknowledged it towards the end of the episode, so it’s not like he isn’t open to forgiving her – he just can’t do it right away.

As scenes go, it was one that was realistically played out between Matthew Rhys and Sally Field without any unnecessary melodrama attached to it. And we still got some softer Kevin moments in this episode with Scotty comforting him and the flashback scene where his fourteen year old self confessed to Kitty that he was gay. If it hadn’t know that Kitty was the first person he ever told that to, I think any long term viewer would’ve guessed it quite easily.

When the episode wasn’t tackling Kevin’s very real dilemma, there was still the issue of Ojai and handing it over to Dennis York. Given that all the Walkers were now versed about Kevin and Aaron, was there any reason why Nora would hand it over to Dennis? Sure, Ojai’s been nothing but trouble for the last couple of years but why give it to someone like Dennis of all people?

Sarah and Tommy themselves pretty much went through the motions again of wanting to hand over the business to York at one point to wondering if they were making a mistake towards the end. If they have to get rid of Ojai, I’d hand over to Holly completely because even she is the lesser of evils when you count York into things.

Also this episode actually had Nora and Holly being the poor woman’s version of Thelma And Louise by trying to figure more and more about Narrow Lake. For a horrible second, I thought Nora would have to be forced into indulging Dennis’s leery advances but never was I grateful for Holly’s text interruption than I was with this episode. It’s amazing that it’s taken four years for Holly to actually be a relief instead of a hindrance.

Even when they stole Dennis’s car and hid out in the Ojai ranch, the two of them were effectively working together. I hate to admit it but this season really has changed Nora and Holly’s dynamic. You could argue that it’s similarly forced to the Kevin/Robert bromance but it feels a little tacked on for me. Or maybe I just have horrible double standards.

The jail stuff was amusing as well. A season ago, locking these two in a prison would’ve resulted in insults between the pair of them and I thought when Holly revealed herself as the leggy blonde that William flirted with all those years ago that Nora would flip her biscuits. Then again, given the crap that William did put her through, this was tame by comparison and Nora could be bothered to lose the plot over it.

As for the Narrow Lake thing, we really should’ve gotten Kevin in on this a few episodes. It didn’t take him long to deduce that it was an anagram for Nora Walker and that somewhere not far from Ojai, there was something that Dennis was seeking from William. More money? How many secret accounts does one man have?

In terms of the personal stuff of this episode, I knew that it was going to be revealed that Kitty would be cancer free, even if the scene during the Walker meal suggested that it would be the opposite. It’s clichéd but seeing as I actually don’t want Kitty to die on this show, it’s one that I can live with.

As for Justin and Rebecca getting married – this should be a reason why eloping should be more encouraged. Less drama, the day actually becomes about the two of you and minus Nora/Holly, you could also have a ranch to yourselves for some hanky-panky as well. That being said, did Justin actually buy back the ranch? Interesting move if he did considering it was sold to help with financial problems back in the first season.

Also in “Time After Time Part 2”

More4 in the UK didn’t air this two parter together but I watched this online as a whole before watching each part separating for reviewing purposes.

Sarah: “Your cancer’s not coming back, Kitty, I promise.”
Kitty: “You know what, Sarah, please don’t say that. You can’t promise me anything you don’t know anything. No-one can promise me anything and I hate it when people say that.”

It’s actually quite embarrassing that Luke Grimes’s name is still in the opening credits and Ryan has been missing for the last eight episodes. Also no Luc or David in this one either.

Scotty (re Aaron): “It’s not your fault.”
Kevin: “I ruined his life. He was just a kid.”

Aaron: “I’m not sure what you think this is gonna accomplish. You sure waited along time to stop by.”
Kevin: “Aaron, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what happened to you until last night.”

Did Scotty say that the blasts for Michelle didn’t work before Kevin stormed out of the house?

Nora (to Dennis): “The thing about William, he never wanted to openly hurt anyone. You on the other hand take pleasure in it. Did I ever wish I left William for you? No, not for a second.”

Robert (to Holly): “I know Nora is nutty enough to do something like this but you?”
Nora: “Hi Robert, this is nutty Nora.”
Robert: “Can I just have one conversation at a time?”

I think this is the first time that Robert and Holly have ever had any dialogue at all with each other.

Nora: “Take your time.”
Justin: “Thank you mom, that’s really so sweet. I hate them so much.”

Nora: “I’m glad you’re here.”
Kevin: “I’m here because of Justin and Rebecca.”

Standout music: Mainly score music for me in this episode. I think the first part had stronger music to be honest.

Nora: “Kevin, please talk to me.”
Kevin: “I don’t want to mom, not yet.”
Nora: “I love you.”
Kevin: “I know.”

Chronology: Directly takes place from where the first part left off.

“Time After Time Part 2” is a surprisingly much lighter than the previous part but it’s engaging nonetheless and hopefully it’s the start of a continuous tangent of strong episodes as this Narrow Lake plot will obviously dominate the last few episodes we have left this season.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

The End Is Not Near, It's Bloody Well Here - Lost Series Finale

I might not have dared to stay up at 5am on Monday morning to watch the series finale of Lost but I certainly watched it last night.

Warning: Spoilers and a review that might not be too critical.

Let's get the elephant out of the room here. What Lost did with this finale was a) totally predictable given the religious overtones of the series and b) covered virtually the same ground that Ashes To Ashes did a few days prior. Ending the show with everyone dead should come across as either completely lazy and bleak and while it is to a degree, it made sense for the show. Jack died on the island and was literally the last person to be rounded up into the church to meet everyone else before passing over and letting go. After six seasons, it was about damn time he did.

In terms of emotional beats, this finale hit far too many, which I think cemented my love for the series. I've always liked Shannon and Sayid's brief relationship and having them reunite was a strong move. The whole two and a half hours of The End having everyone hook up and remember their island lives hit the right moments - Jin/Sun, Claire/Charlie/Kate, Sawyer/Juliet, Locke/Jack, etc and it was certainly better than the island stuff itself. And I bet no-one was surprised when Juliet was revealed as David's mother as well. I was more surprised with how cordial her and Jack were as the seperated parents.

Now the island stuff was something of a sour point for me with this finale. Something as big as protecting light was not something that should've been introduced this late into the series game. Having Jack and Smoke Monster Locke fighting over it for the guts of 90 minutes was a source of tedium. I was enjoying the sideways so much that I really couldn't stick with the island stuff. The island nearly went kaboom but didn't, though Jack and Smokey were effectively dead and Hurley and Ben became protectors of the island. The other big surprise of this finale was how I actually cared about Ben. I don't remember when I stopped actively disliking him.

As for everyone in the church - Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, Sun, Sayid, Shannon, Boone, Claire, Hurley, Libby, Locke, Desmond, Rose, Bernard, Penny and Christian. I wonder why we didn't get Michael, Ana-Lucia and Walt. Come to think of it, we didn't see Daniel, Charlotte, Frank, Miles or Richard in the church either and they both on the island and the sideways segments. Plus the actress playing Illana was credited but I don't remember seeing her at all in this one. Still, we got the majority of our main players from the series and while the ending was far from perfect (a lot of stuff wasn't really answered in regards to the science bits), after six years and 121 episodes, Lost certainly ended a lot better than even I thought it would do.

I Wasn't That Worried To Be Honest

The finale has aired in America and in Ireland, we're nearing to it further than the UK. The last two episodes of Desperate Housewives that I've watched have been fine enough. We learnt that Porter's friend, Eddie is the Wisteria Lane strangler and he upped the body count by doing away with the obnoxious Irina and his own mother. Speaking of his mother, Mary Alice interacted with her in flashbacks as the housewives were all shown (rather contrived) their past altercations with Eddie. Other than that, you had Susan and Gabby playing games with Mike and Carlos and Bob and Lee breaking up. The Patrick mystery thankfully is further developed in the last three episodes.

Spoilers for tonight's episode of Glee- we finally know who Rachel's mother is and believe me, you won't be shocked by it in the slightest. It also explains some of Jesse's motivations as well and there's a rather inspired set of musical numbers such as I Dreamed A Dream with Rachel and her bio mum in the most unusual way possible, Artie's How We Dance (and there's some brilliant stuff with him in this episode) as well as the duet between Will and Bryan (Neil Patrick Harris's character) with Dream On. Joss Whedon did a good job with this episode but it wasn't my favourite. The Rachel-lite previous episode was actually much better, especially for Kurt's choices of songs (mostly his take on Rose's Turn) and Mercedes and Santana going head to head with The Boy Is Mine. With three episodes left, I can't wait to see how the first season will wrap up and there's that Lady Gaga episode to contend with as well.

Anyone catch the series finale of Lost last night (or today) at 5am? Nope, me neither. It looks like I'll be watching it Thursday/Friday depending on motivation. The last two episodes didn't exactly blow me away to be honest. Across The Sea felt like a story that should've been done earlier in the season and What They Died For just bumped off Richard in a rather anticlimatic style as well as Charles and Zoe but I won't miss them. And Jack's taken over Jacob's role? Here's hoping The End is better stuff. EDIT: I've seen it and a blog will commence tomorrow.

Biopics are ten a penny nowadays and if I wasn't getting enough of an 80's love in with Ashes To Ashes, the BBC decided to do an 80's season with the Boy George story, Worried About The Boy being one of it's centrepieces. I liked Douglas Booth as Boy George and there were some good supporting roles for Matthew Horne, Marc Warren and Mark Gatiss but maybe I was expecting more because this didn't really float my boat. The writing was good, the acting fine and some of the stuff about Boy George I didn't actually know but it just didn't grip me to be honest. Still it was better than anything the rival channels wer doing at the same time on that night.

- True Blood is getting closer to airing and it seems that 90210 actor Michael Stieger has been cast as a prostitute that Russell seeks out. Also Lara Pulver has been cast as Sookie's fairy godmother, Claudine.

- Lost finale can be seen Tuesday 9pm on Sky1 and has already aired on RTE2 for Irish viewers.

- Melrose Place has been another show to get the boot. Good riddance.

- Vanessa Williams has been cast as a series regular for the seventh season of Desperate Housewives, though it's uncertain if her character is a part of the season mystery.

- Spartacus premieres tomorrow on Bravo at 10pm. The drama stars John Hannah and Lucy Lawless and it's even raunchier than Rome.

- Tom Welling has been reported for saying that he wants Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor for the tenth and final season of Smallville. The villain for the last season will be Darkseid.

- One of the main characters will suffer a miscarriage in the sixth season finale of Grey's Anatomy.

My Review of Doctor Who's 5x08: "The Hungry Earth"

Written by Chris Chibnall
Directed by Ashley Way

Alaya (to Rory/Ambrose/Tony): “I know apes better than you know yourselves. I know which one of you will kill me. Do you?”

Okay, let’s get something out of the way first so it doesn’t become an issue later on during the review – I haven’t previously seen all that much of the Silurians to be honest. I haven’t seen “Doctor Who And The Silurians” or “Warriors Of The Deep”, except for a few clips here and there, so my opinion on the latest imagining of them might be a bit biased.

Aside from that, this was an interesting enough episode. You open with poor Mo being dragged into the Earth and then you had the Doctor, Amy and Rory land in the Welsh mining village of Cwmtaff instead of Rio. And yes, I did a little eye rolling when Amy said her attire was mostly aimed for a sunnier climate. Is that why she’s been wearing short skirts all season then?

But still, the strongest aspect about the opening part of this two parter was the fact that it took very little for things to take off. The Doctor and Amy themselves couldn’t help doing a little breaking and entering and ended up coming across Nasreen’s drilling excavation down the Earth and Rory himself was also kept busy.

I got a giggle out of the moment he stepped out of the TARDIS and was immediately cornered by Ambrose and Elliot into actually helping out with the graves. Bodies disappearing but they were taken below wasn’t that unusual after what we had seen done to Mo at the start of this episode.

And then there was Amy. Even if it the multitude of trailers hadn’t spoiled that scene, I still would’ve guessed that she was going to end up being sucked into the Earth and while I didn’t believe that the Doctor and Rory had really lost her, there was a beautifully effective moment that harkened back to Amy’s abandonment issues all over again.

The Doctor tried desperately not to let go of her hand and for a moment, it did look like he was going to pull her up but when she slipped in, he felt powerless and not for the first time in this episode. Because losing his companion whilst bad still got undermined by the fact that his carelessness also cost him losing Ambrose’s son Elliot as well.

I can often be mixed with child actors but the lad playing Elliot was a likeable presence in the episode and it was interesting see how clever he was as well. It was Elliot who explained to Rory about the bodies being taken down from below and also Elliot who asked the Doctor more directly about the monsters as well.

But the weird thing with Elliot was that we didn’t actually see the Silurian take him. It’s apparent that he was snatched and it certainly meant that the Doctor now had three people he needed to save but how come we didn’t see Elliot down the Silurian lair with his father Mo and Amy? We saw the both of them looking worse for wear as the episode ended but no sign of Elliot.

Because of the shortage in guest characters for this two parter, the family unit of Elliot, Ambrose, Mo, Tony and Nasreen were certainly a more developed bunch in this episode alone. We saw that Mo was a good father at the start of the episode; we knew how clever Elliot was (even though he was self conscious about his dyslexia) but what about Ambrose, Tony and Nasreen?

I have to admit that I really did like Ambrose quite a lot. Out of everyone, she was more sceptical of the Doctor and even though she wasn’t completely convinced that he could save their village from attack, she did try to help him as best as she could. And she managed to trust his word that he would get both Elliot and Mo back to her.

Then there was Tony. The love angle with Nasreen aside, Tony did seem like the protective grandfather as well but saving his daughter from that Silurian also resulted in him becoming affected by it as well. Will Tony be the one to actually kill Alaya? It looks like it but given this show’s love of a red herring, let’s not be too sure, eh?

As for the Silurian segment of this episode, well there was a lot that did hit the right spot. The Doctor’s dialogue about their origins was concrete enough in bringing everyone up to speed on them as a species and there was a nice moment where he was determined that no blood would be spilled between humans and Silurians.

The Doctor got seriously agitated when Tony wanted to dissect Alaya and the Doctor showed similar annoyance with a captive Alaya when the female Silurian promised to slaughter all the humans. Seriously, is it wise to make death threats whilst being in the captivity of the Doctor? Probably not but that didn’t stop Alaya.

The new look Silurians are an improvement on their old version. I’m sorry purists but they really are, even if they are missing the third eye and the scanning masks are a good addition to them as well as that tongue of their, which was used on Tony. However, Alaya was only one of two Silurians that we actually got to see properly in this whole episode. Hats off to Neve McIntosh for a great performance as Alaya too. Can’t wait to see what she does in the next episode when she’s doing two roles instead of one.

I did like the interrogation with the Doctor and Alaya as well following the humorous capture that him and Rory instigated during the brief spell of night that they endured when the Silurians were attacking them. It seems using the ‘last of my species’ defence was not going to wash with the Doctor. He got visibly mad when Alaya used the defence instead of answering his questions.

Of course the Silurians were only retaliating because they felt the drilling that Nasreen had commissioned was a sign of an attack and judging by next week, it does look like we’re going to have an all out war on our hands. I was satisfied for the Doctor and Nasreen to discover the whole Silurian civilisation at the end of the episode. I was glad that Alaya was lying with the whole ‘last of my species’ defence after all, even if she did amp up the creepy factor by goading Rory, Ambrose and Tony that one of them will kill her.

As for the Doctor and Nasreen travelling in the TARDIS together – I loved it. The Doctor definitely thrives with an older companion as well as his favoured younger ones. The only flipside with this episode is that while you get great moments for the Doctor and Rory here with the villagers, Amy’s only contribution was to get captured and attacked by a Silurian with a nasty looking knife coming her way. Here’s hoping she’s better served in the next part of the story.

Also in “The Hungry Earth”

Given that this show is filmed in Cardiff, it’s amazing that this is the fourth TV story that has actually been set in Wales.

Amy: “We’re still together in ten years?”
Rory: “No need to sound so surprised.”

Instead of cracks and talks of the Pandorica and silence falling, we got to see a future version of Amy and Rory briefly.

The Doctor: “What about now? Can you feel it now?”
Amy: “Honestly, I've got no idea what you’re on about.”

Amy: “What's pulling me? What's under the Earth I don't wanna suffocate under there.”

The Doctor: "Amy, concentrate. Don't you give up."

Amy: "Tell Rory."

The Doctor checked that there was blue grass and kept jumping up at the start to indicate that the ground wasn’t right.

The Doctor (to Tony): “Excuse me, I’m making perfect sense. You’re just not keeping up.”

Nasreen: “I have seen the impossible today and the only person who has made any sense of it for me is the Doctor.”
Ambrose: “Him?”
The Doctor: “Me!”

There was a shameless plug here for Sherlock Holmes with Elliot quoting him to Rory. Yes Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, I will watch it.

Elliot: “Is there monsters coming? Have you met monsters before?”
The Doctor: “Yeah.”
Elliot: “Are you scared of them?”
The Doctor: “No, they’re scared of me.”

Rory: “Can’t you sonic it?”
The Doctor: “It doesn’t do wood.”
Rory: “That is rubbish.”
The Doctor: “Oi! Don’t diss the sonic!”

Some impressive stuff here with the Silurians using geothermal currents to rise up as well as a force field over the Welsh village and the Doctor’s sunglasses that can detect the cold blooded.

The Doctor: “Cold blood. I know who they are.”

Alaya: “I am the last of my species.”
The Doctor: “No, you’re really not because I am the last of my species and I know how it sits in a heart, so don’t insult me.”

Rory leaving Amy’s engagement ring back in the TARDIS is certainly going to raise something come next week, if my spoilers are anything to go on.

The Doctor (to Rory/Nasreen/Ambrose/Tony): “You are decent, brilliant people. Nobody dies today, understand?”

The Doctor (re TARDIS): “It’ll be dangerous.”
Nasreen: “Ah, so is crossing the road.”

Chronology: It’s 2020, even though a lot of synopsises for this episode kept saying 2015.

Not my favourite episode of the season but “The Hungry Earth” is a decent return for the Silurians and the cliff hanger is certainly more traditional than “The Time Of Angels” was a month ago. But while the episode was good, we have had stronger ones this season and Amy had bugger all to do as well.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

My Review of Ashes To Ashes 3x08: "Episode 24"

Written by Matthew Graham
Directed by David Drury

Gene: “See you around, Bollykecks.”
Alex: “Good luck, guv.”
Gene: “Go.”

Five seasons is a long time to find out the entire mystery of someone as enigmatic as Gene Hunt but after 40 episodes and two shows, this final episode finally revealed everything we needed to know about the guv and then some. And I’m conflicted about things to be honest.

There are a lot things in a show that can polarise viewers and series finales are one of them. Next week, the internet will literally explode on both sides of the pond as people grapple the ending of Lost but this week, it’s closer to home with an ender so damn frustrating and divisive as this one turned out to be.

The scarred copper that Alex had been seeing all season – why didn’t I figure out earlier that it would turn out to be Gene Hunt? I certainly would’ve saved myself some time and it would've made me realise why Gene was so eager to keep Alex out of the loop for as long as he could. Only thanks to Jim, she finally got the courage to go to Farringfield to actually learn the truth.

Gene looked like he was going to kill her when Alex was digging up his corpse but instead it spurred him into telling her the truth, a truth about himself that he had been repressing for so long and while I wasn’t breaking out the tear ducts, I did feel bad for Gene when he asked Alex if he deserved a shallow grave. No Gene, you most definitely did not deserve one.

And then Jim practically appeared out of nowhere to gloat about Gene’s folly, happy to stir any further tension he could between Gene and Alex. While I’ve liked Daniel Mays’s performance in the series, I really thought that he was a bit too over the top in too much of this episode for my liking.

The mad hysterical bouts of glee he exuded as he crashed Gene’s world down, the way he was pummelling the crap out of Gene once they went back to the station, the choice of music in the car on the way to the station and showing everyone stars in the office. Yes, Jim was happy to get a wised up Alex, Ray, Chris and Shaz to pick a side.

I wasn’t too surprised when Alex told Jim to go to hell because that’s exactly where he was trying to lead Ray, Chris and Shaz there. Jim classically played on their insecurities in a bid to get them to come with him but for all his talk of Gene stifling them. Jim didn’t really have a clue towards the end, did he?

All Alex and Gene had to do was give them a sense of importance and soon enough, Jim’s attempts to drag Ray, Chris and Shaz back to hell blew up in his face. I laughed when Shaz made the eerie joke about dressing up as a dead woman being appropriate in the same way I couldn’t help smiling when Chris and Ray showed up to make sure that Eric didn’t get away from the scene of the crime.

I’m not gonna lie and say that I was gripped by the diamond heist subplot because truthfully I lost interest in all the cases this year because I was so impatient for genuine answers for the series but it was used effectively to show furthermore what a cohesive unit Chris, Ray and Shaz can be without Alex and Gene and also because we finally found out what happened to each and every one of them to wind up into Gene’s care.

We already knew what happened to Sam, Gene and Alex and here we learnt about the other three. Ray committing suicide because of his failure to get into the army and the death of a young lad was the most tragic of the bunch. That’s not to say that Chris getting shot and Shaz being stabbed were plain sailing but it was the one I found myself most effected by if that makes sense.

Still for all their deaths, this was the end of the road for them. They chose Gene over Jim and as a result like Sam, they were also effectively done as well. Having the Railway Arms back was a good way of bringing things full circle but it also served to remind Alex that there was no going back for her either.

She might not have chosen to remain in Gene’s world unlike Sam but she was also dead in her own world. It took looking at Jim’s watch to realise this and it also took some encouraging words from Gene for her to go into the Railway Arms as well. And the best part was that Alex and Gene finally got to share a kiss before she was complete.

However, even without the tedious gloating from Jim and the snarling (was that really necessary?) he did, it also reminded us that Gene was alone again. Then again, the arrival of a new copper in his kingdom bitching about his desk also went to prove that Gene Hunt’s work will never be truly done. Unfortunately that also means that he’ll probably have more altercations with more baddies like Jim to come as well.

So, the somewhat religious overtones of this entire arc – Gene the angel, Jim the devil of sorts. Well, it’s reasonably satisfying enough, though it reminds me a lot of Supernatural to be honest. On the plus side, at least this show didn’t end the same way that Life On Mars US ended. Now that truly would’ve sucked beyond belief.

But at the same time, there were some problems with it as well. I’m going to mention not seeing Sam because although I liked the Nelson cameo in this episode, I think it should’ve been Sam that everyone saw coming out of the Railway Arms instead; especially given all the teasing we had about him in this season particularly.

Plus I think the BBC should’ve made an exception and extended the episode’s running. If they could give “The End Of Time Part 2” a whopping 72 minutes to see out David Tennant from Doctor Who, then surely this episode deserved a similar length of time? Not seeing Sam in this episode disappointed me more than it probably should’ve done but at least Alex’s story ended on a believable note. I won’t fault that.

Also in “Episode 24”

There were no opening credits in this episode but they did show us the main cast at the end of the episode.

Alex (in her dream): “I have to know the truth. The truth will set me free.”
The puppets of Alex and Gene in the former’s dream were freaky enough. And I knew that Jim would use Molly’s scarf to try and tempt Alex.

Shaz (on Alex/Gene): “Those two should either get a room or kill each other.”

Jim (to Alex): “You and Sam ain’t different. You both challenge this world Gene has carefully built for himself. That makes you dangerous.”

I can’t tell when Chris and Ray died but Shaz seemed to have died in the 1990s thanks to a certain Oasis song I can’t stand being played in the background during her death. And nice that Chris and Shaz got back together as well.

Alex: “I didn’t take this world seriously. I do now.”
Gene: “And me?”
Alex: “I take you very seriously, guv.”

Gene: “He didn’t deserve a shallow grave, did he Alex? Did he?”
Alex: “No, you didn’t.”

In lieu of an actual appearance from John Simm in this episode, we did see a shadowy figure that we were supposed to take as Sam Tyler.

Alex: “You helped Sam. Do I mean nothing to you, Gene? I only wanted to get back to my little girl, that’s all.”

Jim (to Alex/Chris/Shaz/Ray): “Oh come on! You didn’t really think this was a police station?”

What actually happened to Annie? Alex asked about her but I don’t seem to remember Gene answering that particular one.

Jim: “It’s done, Alex.”
Alex: “Then go to hell.”
Jim: “Alright.”

Gene: “You looked good though.”
Alex: “I was dressed as a prostitute.”
Gene: “My point.”

Standout music: Erm, a lot here. Wham’s “Club Tropicana”, Madonna’s “Holiday”, Marc Almond’s “Tainted Love” and Phil Collins “In The Air Tonight”.

Alex: “You’re Gene Hunt, you’re their guv. That’s why I’m here for, nothing else.”
Gene: “Thank you.”

Gene: “Beer still the same, Nelson?”
Nelson: “Of course it is.”
Gene: “Never mind then.”

Alex died at 9.06pm, which was something that also has been shown enough times this season as well.

Alex: “I can’t go in there.”
Gene: “Yes, you can. They’ve got a saloon bar.”

Jim: “All alone, Gene. See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya!”

Chronology: For the new recruit that Gene is going to have to deal with, it looks like he’s from the 2000s at least.

There’s a chance that I’ll edit this review somewhere down the line and add more to it. As series enders go, I’ve seen better and I’ve seen worse. The episode tied up a five year mystery better than other shows would’ve done and love him or loathe him, I don’t think anyone can deny the unbridled genius that was Gene Hunt. And never mind everyone else passing on, R.I.P. the poor Quattro instead.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

My Review of Brothers And Sisters 4x18: "Time After Time Part 1"

Written by Sherri Cooper-Landsman And Jennifer Levin
Directed by Ken Olin

Nora: “There was nothing illegal about what we did.”
Dennis: “I know but it’s hardly what your children would expect of you. Get your kids to sign on the dotted line or I swear to God, Nora, I will destroy your family. You have no choice.”

Well as threats go, I have to admit that Dennis York actually can wield them pretty well. Last week, I had the thought that perhaps they had an almost sexual history but it seems that Dennis’s hold on Nora is far more original than that.

This two-part story has been suitably hyped for the last couple of weeks, notably because we were getting flashbacks to a time in the Walker history that would answer the mystery behind Dennis. This episode in it’s own way certainly lives up to that in a big way as we finally learned what Dennis had over the Walkers to begin with.

If it had been something involving embezzlement from William, I don’t think I would’ve cared a single bit. Instead the writers actually went one better by having a tragedy being the backdrop of this story but the teasing of who it was happened to be the very thing that drove the episode home for me.

I assumed like Kevin that the tragedy had to have involved Tommy. He screws up on a regular enough basis and the episode did start with him leaving the hospital and Nora barely able to talk to him at all. And then there was the party where Kevin begged him not to drive because he had been drinking.

These were the flashbacks bits of the episode and where a lot of the big action was happening. Did Tommy do more than total over his brand new car? Kevin, Kitty and Sarah were certainly quick to assume that he did and Kevin even yelled at him for always running away. Normally I would’ve been behind Kevin giving Tommy a piece of his mind but sadly this was also where everything went spectacularly wrong as well.

Tommy might have wrecked an entire car but was anyone expecting it to be revealed that a then struggling with his sexuality Kevin was responsible for putting Aaron in the hospital and paralysing? That scene where he spurned the lad’s advances and lashed out with serious consequences was definitely the most shocking thing of the whole episode.

It’s no secret that during Kevin’s teenage years that he had to struggle with his sexuality but I never imagined that his struggle came at such a horrible price. The worst part of it was that Kevin was seemingly unaware of how serious his attack on Aaron had resulted in because Nora, William and presumably Dennis all played their parts in covering the whole thing up.

Kevin had to find out in the worst way because Dennis had re-entered the scene and had forced Nora’s hand into getting everyone to sell their shares in Ojai. Having an entire twenty five years without knowing that you’ve ruined someone’s life has to be one hell of a blow to the system. Kevin really couldn’t believe it.

He was so sure of Tommy’s screwing up that he never knew that he had done something much worse than risk Ojai’s future. As episodes go, this is undoubtedly one of the finest for Matthew Rhys as Kevin learns the truth of what happened to Aaron and naturally doesn’t react to Nora’s attempts of explaining why she kept it from him.

As a viewer, there’s a part of me that does want to point out that seeing as we never had any build up in previous seasons of Kevin ever doing something like paralysing another person that there’s something rather rushed about the plot. Dramatically though, it’s rather satisfying with the actor playing a younger Kevin pulling off a blinding performance. It also might explain a bit more about Kevin’s complicated relationship with William as a result as well.

In terms of the rest of the flashbacks – what can I say? They worked a treat. All of the actors cast in the younger roles of Sarah, Kitty, Tommy, Kevin and Justin worked a treat and we got to have a kegger at Ojai. Plus we did see multiple view points of the fight between Nora, William and Dennis as well before Kevin’s past was revealed.

But in the present day it also continued to raise further problems for the Walkers as well. Sarah was so adamant not to sell her shares to Dennis that her and Nora nearly came to blows during the episode while Kitty discovered that Robert had prior knowledge to Tommy’s totalled car wreck.

It had also served as a reminder to Justin and Rebecca that the whole debacle would’ve got them caught in the middle of things yet again. I was actually relieved when the both of them made a promise to try and keep out of things, even if it meant that Justin had to promise not to surrender his shares of Ojai to Dennis. Whether or not he’ll be able to adhere to that promise however is the other thing but here’s hoping because while Ojai really is an anchor around the Walkers necks, no-one wants the likes of York getting a hold of the business.

Also in “Time After Time Part 1”

Just like last year’s big two parter, Ken Olin is back on directing duties again. No doubt he’ll appear in some capacity in the second part though.

Tommy: “I love the hair.”
Kitty: “Well thank you, it’s my own.”

I’m glad Tommy commented about Kitty’s hair because while it’s not back to her usual length, it is a lot longer than the previous episode.

Justin (to everyone): “I swear this family has more meetings than the mob.”

Kitty: “Oh my God, mom, please stop spinning. I’m a pundit, I can spot it a mile away.”
Nora: “I’m not spinning, I mean it.”

The only thing we didn’t get to the bottom of in this episode was Narrow Lake but I’m hoping more is developed on that in the next part.

Scotty: “What kids? Right now we have two frozen blasts and a lot of debt.”
Kevin: “We’re trying to be positive, remember.”

Kitty: “Who’s mom yelling at?”
Sarah: “It’s dad and this guy, Dennis.”
Kitty: “Did he throw up on the sofa too?”

Okay, let’s see if I can get these ages mostly straight – Sarah’s about 18/19 in flashback so Kitty’s 17/18, Tommy was 16, Kevin was 14 and Justin was about 5 or 6.

Kevin: “I’d rather see Top Gun again.”
Tommy: “Okay, Top Gun it is.”

Kevin (to Tommy): “You know what; you’re on your own? You always do this. You always run away from your problems. You know what, you can do it forever? One day you’re gonna have to face yourself and you’ll be alone when you do.”

Standout music: Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” and Rob Giles’s “Behind Blue Eyes”. The music here was exceptional.

Kevin: “You knew all this time?”
Tommy: “No, no, mom just told me. That night, they said he was fine. I swear I thought that was truth. Kevin, it’s not your fault, it’s okay.”
Kevin: “No, Tommy, it’s not okay.”

Nora: “I wanted to protect you. I thought that was what parents were supposed to do.”
Kevin: “I don’t need protecting. Everything you said, it’s all about you. What you wanted to do, how you felt, how you were protecting me. You were only protecting yourself.”

Chronology: 1985, if it really was 25 years ago as it was repeatedly mentioned in the episode.

As episodes go, “Time After Time Part 1” is a bloody stonker. The show is definitely at it’s best with this one and if the second part is just as good, then this show really has made a big turning point with this whole storyline surrounding York.

Rating: 10 out of 10.

Cancellation 101

The 2009-2010 TV season has had a wake of shows that have come to their natural end and some that have been cancellled. I'll discuss a few of them within the next couple of days as well as some of the hopefuls for 2010-2011 TV season.

Nine seasons is a long time for any show to run and Scrubs has finally hung up it's stethoscope forever as ABC have pulled the plug on the long running comedy. I loved this show when it started and while later seasons haven't been as brilliant, it was still a decent show to have on the air but cancellation wise, I'm not upset. Zach Braff mentioned months ago that the show wasn't coming back for a tenth season and given that most of the main cast were either leaving or reducing their episode count, the news isn't a bad thing really.

Heroes - another rightfully canned series. When this show aired, it had so much potential but it didn't take long for the cracks to appear. Season 1 was utterly brilliant, some of the best TV ever but the second season was a hot mess that suffered badly from the writer's strike in 2007 and while Seasons 3 and 4 both tried to recaptured the allure of the debut, it just wasn't enough. There'll be a TV movie to tie up loose ends but effectively, this show is done.

I never got into FlashForward but I was surprised that it got pulled after one season. I actually thought it was a huge hit for ABC but it seems the ratings quickly tanked after initial episodes and have been on a slide ever since. Another cancellation I can't get upset about to be honest. Give it's general concept, maybe being a one season wonder isn't a bad thing after all.

Smallville may be coming back for a tenth season but it will be it's last season, according to new reports and sadly, will not feature Allison Mack. So we have another 22 episodes for Clark to tell Lois who the hell he really is and for him to become Superman. As well as more opportunities to see Oliver Queen shirtless as well (not my fault the show has an affinity with his chest more than Justin Hartley's acting). The ninth season is set to debut on E4 pretty soon as well and the Zod stuff while not bad (good casting with Callum Blue) is nowhere near as gripping as the Doomsday stuff from the previous season.

My Review of "All Together Dead"

Written by Charlaine Harris
Released in 2007

Eric (re Quinn): “The were tiger is regaining consciousness. Do you love him?”
Sookie: “Don’t know yet.”
Eric: “Did you love me?”

Now isn’t that an interesting question to answer – does Sookie love Eric? Maybe she does and maybe she doesn’t but one thing is for certain is that between Bill, Eric and Quinn, Sookie needs to make a definitive choice and stick with it.

For the time being we can assume that Bill doesn’t stand a hope in hell of renewing his relationship with Sookie. Even though she’s not as hostile with him in this book, it’s pretty clear that she’s unable to get past his deception either, so that leaves both Eric and Quinn for her to mull over.

Personally I’d opt for Quinn because while his penchant of saying “babe” is a bit annoying, he actually treats her more as a person rather than a possession and we’ve had very little to detract from him either. Okay, so he’s got a mentally ill mother and a slightly wild sister but they’re hardly big no-no’s are they? Also he does seem to genuinely love Sookie.

But the only problem with this one is that Sookie doesn’t seem to love him back. Yes, she’s distraught when she thinks he’s in harm’s way and certainly apologetic when Quinn learns that she’s taken Eric’s blood again but none of these give any hope for their relationship to genuinely last I’m afraid.

So, the more likely option for a romantic partner right now is Eric and I’m divided about this. I like Eric plenty as a character but he still continues to view Sookie as a possession rather than a person and while it was preferable that she drank from him than Andre (who wanted his own little hold over Sookie), it just seems to further the fact that Sookie’s attraction to him isn’t entirely of her own volition.

As for the main part of this story – Sophie-Anne’s trial, this is where the novel is sort of let down. Pages upon pages go with some deaths, subterfuge, plotting and the like and Sophie-Anne getting off is seemingly wrapped up in very little time at all. In fact if it wasn’t for the Fellowship’s little bomb antics at the Pyramid Of Gizeh, this one would’ve ended on a more underwhelming note.

- Amelia is currently living with Sookie and there’s hostility between her and Claudine. Tara also married JB while Sookie was in Rhodes.
- Better use of Barry the Bellhop in this one. Hope that bodes well for his future development on the series too.
- We got some great back story into Pam’s life prior to being a vampire. More Pam I say.
- Russell Edgington married Bartlett of Indiana halfway through this book as well, which I didn’t expect.

Probably the weaker of the books that I’ve read but still a decent enough story and it’s almost reassuring to see the FOTS being as relentlessly nasty as ever.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

My Review of Doctor Who's 5x07: "Amy's Choice"

Written by Simon Nye
Directed by Catherine Morshead

Dream Lord (to the Doctor/Amy/Rory): “Tweet, tweet, time to sleep. Oh, or are you waking up?”

At some point in the series, we were always going to get an episode that would be a literal mindbender and in five seasons, I’m almost amazed that they managed to hold off until now. Two worlds to choose from and both of them were marred with their own problems? The problem was choosing which world was real and which wasn’t.

Of course this couldn’t be too easy on Amy. The world in which she and Rory were about to have their first child should be the real one but there was also the world with the two of them and the Doctor in the TARDIS. That also had to be real, right?

I think the bigger question was which world Amy wanted to be real all the more – one with madcap adventure or quiet domesticity. The Doctor or Rory? Surely, the girl could have both worlds/both men in her life, right? Not according to the Dream Lord she couldn’t. This was the episode where Amy had to choose which bloke she wanted more, so let’s look at them in detail.

Rory Williams is a nice guy. Nice in fiction terms tends to generate words such as “bland”, “boring” and “uncomplicated”. And it’s because of this that the Dream Lord has a few choice insults for Rory throughout the story. He seems to view Rory as a buffoon and views the world Rory could give Amy as dull.

With Rory, Amy would be married to an actual physician and live a relatively simple life with her husband and child, especially one where you’d have to endure bad amateur dramatics and pensioners who live into their nineties. In other words, Amy would be completely safe having a life with Rory Williams.

Except the Dream Lord was more than keen to point out the fact that whatever Amy had to choose, both worlds came with a dangerous price. In the cosy world with Rory, there were aliens decked out as pensioners turning everything in sight to dust and the visiting Doctor in this world really wasn’t that much help.

In fact the Doctor was at his most helpless in this world because the one thing he couldn’t do was bring Rory back when the latter died in the safe world. Rory’s death was an odd one in this episode because there’s rumours of something bad happening to him in the Silurian two-parter so it felt more like foreshadowing compared to anything else and Amy seemed to shut down for a few moments as well.

I wasn’t exactly expecting Amy to break down crying but her muted response certainly caught me off guard. However if you think that was supposed to mean that Amy doesn’t care about Rory, think again. It took this episode seemingly for her to realise how much she loved the bloke and while Amy technically wants both worlds, Rory turned out to be the man that she wanted romantically, not the Doctor. And that lead to the other bit of this episode - the Doctor’s world.

The Doctor has been letting Amy down since she was seven years old, by abandoning her and the Dream Lord knew how to play on that. Amy took a certain level of pride in her relationship with the Doctor and the Dream Lord came close to knocking it by revealing that the Doctor has a far more intricate history that she’s aware of. He even alluded to a certain redhead and not the one that I wanted him to reference.

Importantly, Amy was the only one in the TARDIS who got to talk to the Dream Lord by herself. Rory and the Doctor were rendered back to the land of nod and there were some interesting moments. It was her choosing to technically kill herself in the Leadworth world that seemingly defeated the Dream Lord but don’t get too excited.

I guess I should’ve seen the reveal about the Dream Lord being a result of psychic pollen wrecking havoc on the Doctor’s subconscious but I didn’t. It was a pretty satisfying reveal however and it certainly made me hope in a weird way that some more of that pollen comes into contact with the Doctor in the future. Does that make me a bad person?

As for the Dream Lord element of the episode, that reflection on the end did give us a strong indication that he won’t be a one episode only character. But the annoying thing was that the Doctor had to conceal that from Amy and Rory. We’re halfway into the season and with all the stuff that we’ve been getting, the Doctor really shouldn’t be holding back.

Surely that’s something that he would’ve copped onto during the events of this episode? The alien pensioners aside, the TARDIS literally became an ice palace as it was heading towards a cold star. Never has the TARDIS looked so magical and it would take something as disastrous as the threat of death to make it look that way. Then again, the heat got turned up when the Dream Lord surrendered to defeat and the Doctor pulled his own little stunt to make sure that himself, Amy and Rory survived the episode.

In terms of mystery though, this episode gave us another thing to think about – Leadworth. Is it really the village that time forgot? Is that why Amy’s memories are sketchy and there’s a general sense of weirdness surrounding her? The Doctor in dream world might have bleated on about Leadworth being dull but perhaps it’s not. Subconsciously he must suspect that something is up with that not so quaint little village.

In terms of performances though, this episode is a four piece. Arthur Darvill isn’t as served well in it as the previous episode but Rory continues to be a likeable and needed presence in the TARDIS and Karen Gillan certainly deserves props as well, given that this is her “Turn Left” type of episode, though not narrative wise of course.

However my favourite performances in this episode were between Matt Smith and Toby Jones. We’ve had some good villains this season but the Dream Lord is above and beyond the best of the bunch, which is why I hope that he’s not going to be a one episode character. For a moment, I thought they’d reveal him as the Toymaker with his meddling ways but I’m glad that he didn’t turn out to be that.

The scenes between the Doctor and the Dream Lord was where the strongest writing also came. Of course the Dream Lord would be able to really get under the Doctor’s skin and the taunting of the Doctor in his new form were more funny/effective than anything biting with Amy and Rory and they weren’t without effect. I think we could have a classic new series menace with the Dream Lord here. Sometimes the Doctor literally is his own worst enemy.

Also in “Amy’s Choice”

Amy is the third new series companion to have an episode named after her. After all, we’ve had “Rose” and “Smith And Jones”

The Doctor: “You’ve swallowed a planet.”
Amy: “I’m pregnant.”
The Doctor: “You're huge.”
Amy: “Yeah, I’m pregnant.”

I tried not being critical but that ponytail on Rory was hideous. I was pleased he cut it before dying in dream world.

The Doctor (to Amy/Rory, re Leadworth): “So, what do you do around here to stave off the y'know, self harm?”

The Doctor: “You’re a doctor?”
Rory: “Yeah and unlike you, I’ve passed some exams.”

Of course Rory would be a doctor in the Upper Leadworth. And that jumper that Mrs Poggit made the Doctor looked like something Matt Smith has worn himself.

Dream Lord (to the Doctor): “What should we call me? Well if you’re the Time Lord, let’s call me the Dream Lord.”

Dream Lord: “The prognosis is this. If you die in the dream, you wake up in reality, healthy recovery in next til no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality.”
Rory: “What happens?”
Dream Lord: “You die, stupid, that’s why it’s called reality.”

How many flipping costume changes did Toby Jones have in this episode? I did like that one of them was an almost direct replica of Eleven’s current attire.

Dream Lord: “One reality was always too much for you, Doctor. Take two and call me in the morning.”

Rory (re the Doctor): “I thought you’d chosen me not him.”
Amy: “You are always insecure.”
Rory: “You run off with another man.”
Amy: "Not in that way."

Amy made both the Doctor and Rory wear ponchos in the TARDIS when they were trying to get warm in the TARDIS. There was a lot of fashion critiquing in this episode come to think of it.

The Doctor: “I know who you are.”
Dream Lord: “Course you don’t.”
The Doctor: “Course I do. I've no idea how you could be here but I know there's one person in the universe who hates me as much as you do.”

The Doctor: “Oh pipe down, I’m busy.”
Dream Lord: “Maybe you need a little sleep.”

This is the only episode so far where the Doctor has worn both variants of his costume. He was decked in the light blue shirt/dark blue bowtie and brace for the Upper Leadworth world and pink shirt/ red bowtie and braces for the TARDIS one.

Dream Lord (re the Doctor): “Poor Amy, he always leave you, doesn’t he? Alone in the dark. Never apologises.”
Amy: “He doesn’t have to.”
Dream Lord: "That's good because he never will and now he's left you with me. Spooky, old, not to be trusted me."

Amy (re Rory): “Save him. You save everyone, you always do, that’s what you do.”
The Doctor: “Not always. I'm sorry.”
Amy: “Then what is the point of you?”

Interesting bits from the Confidential this week were that Arthur Darvill accidentally whacked the actress playing Mrs Poggit at one point when shooting and he did look suitably embarrassed.

Dream Lord (to Amy): “So you chose this world? Well done, you got it right and with only seconds left. Fair’s fair, let’s warm you up.”

Another fashion bit but this is the only episode so far where Amy hasn’t worn a short skirt, though on a serious note she could’ve prodded the Doctor more on talking about past companions.

“Amy’s Choice” is an odd episode but it’s also the best one of the season so far, delving into the psyche of our TARDIS trio a lot more succinctly than before. Rory essentially wants the simple, Amy wants him but also the TARDIS life as well and this Doctor has a lot of issues beneath his youthful features.

Rating: 10 out of 10.

I Was Raised To Fight Back - True Blood Season 3 Trailer 1

The first trailer for the new season aired last night and there was some goodies to behold.

The sight of naked Bill (Stephen Moyer) in the woods certainly keeps up with this show's fondness for nudity. Seriously though, it's going to be interesting to see how Bill's abduction is maintain for a reasonable length this season.

Pam (Kristin Bauer) had naff all to do last season but she's a regular in this one and Alan Ball has discussed delving into her sexuality as well. More Pam on screen can only be a good thing.

Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) finds herself getting up close with werewolf Alcide Herveaux(Joe Manganiello) during her quest to find Bill and other little errands that Eric keeps throwing her way. This was a relationship that petered out pretty quickly in the books but will it become something deeper in the series?

Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) certainly seems to be embracing her wilder side this season and if she isn't copping off with dodgy blokes, then she's adding to the body count in Bon Temps. The shipper in me hopes that her and Hoyt reunite though.

What on earth has gotten Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) so worried? Guilty conscience over Eggs's death? Jason's other storylines this season involve training to be a cop and getting involved with werepanther Crystal Norris.

For a girl with her own prejudice towards vampires, it's a shame that Tara (Rutina Wesley) will end up with one like Franklin Mott (James Frain) this season. Oh, Tara, your luck with men will continue to be dire.

I don't doubt that any moment between Sookie and Eric Northam (Alexander Skarsgard) will be met with universal happiness but it does seem like the love interests are being piled on this year. Bill, Eric and Alcide. Some girls do have all the luck.

Sookie get pistol happy. Must be for Debbie Pelt (Brit Morgan). I know this season is largely fusing stuff from the books Club Dead and Dead To The World so expect werewolves, fairies and all other sorts of badness coming Bon Temps way. By the way, I've watched the first three minisodes and I'm waiting until they've all aired so I can do a review for the lot of them. Season 3 premieres Sundays at 9pm on HBO from June 13th.

HBO Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JCODjwMFQc

New Trailer (Extended): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utwNjZ_aDuc

My Review of Ashes To Ashes 3x07: "Episode 23"

Written by Ashley Pharaoh
Directed by David Drury

Jim: “Have you any idea how serious this is?”
Gene: “Yes I do. It’s going to one hell of a last chapter, eh Jim?”

Here’s bloody hoping so because next week will finally to rest the five year enigma that has been Gene Hunt. Who and what the hell he really is has generated enough debates and whether or not, Alex really is in a real world or not also needs to be answered as satisfyingly as possible as well.

Taking the direct approach is probably something that Alex should’ve done ages ago but in this episode, she finally did it. She finally asked Gene directly to his face if he killed Sam and she got an answer of sorts. Gene certainly had more to say about Sam than he has in any other episode of the season.

I was hoping that Sam had faked his death and I could believe in him and Gene developing a trust over the course of time. A trust that would result in Sam asking Gene to help him with faking his death. Gene obviously believed in Sam enough to go along with this, despite the repercussions that it’s beginning to have for him.

The other thing that Gene also talked about was faith. Alex doesn’t have enough of it and I think that was supposed to mean that she didn’t trust in him enough. She was coming pretty close to doing that in this episode, only for Keats to throw her off course as much as he could.

Jim’s been gunning for Gene all season and was relying heavily on Alex extracting a confession of murder from the brute DCI (at least he didn’t ask Tracy Barlow) and didn’t hold back when Alex told him that she believed that Gene didn’t murder Sam. In fact, he was downright patronising and left her reeling with his own evidence.

If those damning photos are anything to go by, then Gene really did murder Sam and Alex has every reason in the world to be worried for her life. After all, another thing that Gene casually mentioned in this episode was the fact that he didn’t want Sam to leave. What happens when he decides a similar fate for Alex?

And then there was the other issue – the sexual tension. I might like my slash but I never once got that off Sam and Gene whereas with Alex and Gene, it’s been too overt for its own good. If Jim hadn’t actually called on Alex towards the end of this episode, then she and Gene would’ve done the deed. I can envision a million fans out there wanting to give Jim a right boot up the arse for his intervention.

Sexual tension aside, the hostility between Jim and Gene was a bit tedious in this episode. I should’ve played a drinking game every time Jim kept talking about finishing his report (he has worse procrastination than I do) or for every time Gene bared his animosity for the annoying little pencil pusher.

More interesting than Gene and Jim’s ongoing pissing contest happened to involve those neat little videos that Jim had of Chris, Shaz and Ray. Now what possibly could those tapes reveal about the three that we don’t already know anyways?

Speaking of the trio, Chris finally got it. Not necessarily stars (by himself, he did see them later with Shaz and Ray, my bad for not getting that first round) but the Life On Mars music and Nelson’s voice and it was something that he, Ray and Shaz could bond over. It’s funny given that over the course of the episode there was way too much talk of things coming down and even Chris was yammering on about nothing ever being the same again.

But it’s also making me wonder if Matthew Graham is going to end this show the same way the American version of his original creation. Why are we getting all these stars and why hasn’t Gene seen any of them? Only one more episode to go for everything to be revealed.

As for the main case of the week, I’m not sure how Chris freeing volatile ANC man Joshua was the best thing to do. He’s killed police officers in the past and was responsible for the special branch’s undercover man’s death. Granted the death he would’ve gotten in his own country would’ve been horrific but was it a wise thing to do on Chris’s part?

Something that was wise on Chris’s part was standing up to Gene. I loved that Chris ripped him a new one over Joshua and despite the fists flying with the pair of them, it made sense that Gene would end up having a great respect for Chris, even if him being a bastard to the lad felt a bit tacked on.

Also in “Episode 23”

The episode opened up with Viv’s funeral where the coffin refused to be burned at one point to Gene’s frustration.

Jim: “We’re the same, you and me.”
Alex: “Except I don’t want it to be true.”

Alex got Ray to look into the ID of the dead copper she’s been seeing and he was unable to find any files, given that they were burnt.

Gene: “Bugger off, I’m grieving.”
Alex: “How are you doing, guv?”
Gene: “I miss my pal.”

Shaz: “You need to stand up for yourself, Chris.”
Ray: “Oh yeah and police officers fly.”

Chris mistook Shaz’s embrace with Ray for something more when they were getting freaked out by weird noises in the station.

Shaz: “They’re illegal.”
Ray: “Are they? Maybe someone should tell the police.”

Gene: “This is the final chapter, Bolls in case you haven’t noticed. We’re fighting for our lives.”

Ray might be a racist, sexist guy but I noticed that he was egging Shaz’s policing on when they investigated the ANC drinking den even if it was him who found the murder weapon.

Gene: “You scrub up well Bolls.”
Alex: “Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.”

Alex (to Gene): “Did you or did you not kill Sam Tyler?”

Actually Alex was wearing an outfit rather similar to the first time that she met Gene, even if the dress here was cream rather than red.

Gene (to Alex, re Sam): “I wasn’t happy for him to go. I wanted him to stay. I didn’t want to lose him.”

Gene: “You’re the feminist, you can pay half.”
Alex: “Grab your coat, you’ve pulled.”

When Joshua was asking Chris about how come Alex knew of Nelson Mandela being president in years to come, Chris wasn’t that fazed of her knowledge.

Alex: “I don’t believe Gene Hunt killed Sam Tyler.”
Jim: “And how did you come to that conclusion?”
Alex: “I asked him.”

Gene (to Alex): “I don’t care what Jim Keats thinks, I care what you think and if you don’t believe me, what’s the point?”

It seems in the final episode; Alex is going to have to head to Lancashire in order to find out the truth about Sam.

Jim: “Be careful, Alex, be very careful.”

Standout music: Spandau Ballet’s “True”. Like Jim, I do like that song myself.

It wasn’t as good as last week’s episode but it was certainly a terrific episode and hopefully after all this teasing about, well, everything, we will get a finale justifies the show’s running and is true to character. Here’s hoping.

Rating: 8 out of 10.