Doctor Who - 50th Anniversary Title & Schedule Revealed - EDITED

You wait ages for some news on the upcoming 50th anniversary of Doctor Who and all of a sudden, the BBC give us more than enough to go on.

Remember when Steven Moffat said the show would be taking over television? Well, in November it looks like he was telling the truth. Here's what to look forward to ...

BBC1: The anniversary episode itself will be 75 minutes long and has the title of The Day Of The Doctor and will air on the 23rd of November.
BBC2: Mark Gatiss's biopic An Adventure In Space And Time will air along with a Culture Show special by Matthew Sweet titled, You, Me And Doctor Who and Brian Cox will present a show on the science of Doctor Who.
BBC3: The channel will be doing programmes such as Doctor Who: Monsters And Villains Weekend and The Ultimate Guide.
BBC4: A repeat of the William Hartnell story, An Unearthly Child. The four episodes are being shown in a restored format, not previously broadcast in the UK.
CBBC:  12 Again will bring the likes of Sylvester McCoy, Louise Jameson, Tommy Knight, Neve McIntosh, Dan Starkey, Warwick Davis and Jon Culshaw to name a few. The programme will discuss the guests memories of the show when they were children, along with two Blue Peter specials.

And for the radio as well ...

BBC Radio 2:  A 90 minute documentary, will ask "Who Is The Doctor?" - using newly-recorded interviews and exclusive archive material to find an answer. Plus The Blaggers Guide To Doctor Who by David Quantick and Graham Norton will be hosting his show from Doctor Who Live Celebration in London from November 23rd.
Radio 1: A look at the music genre - TROCK (Time Lord Rock) in a 60 minute documentary.
Radio 4 Extra: A three hour documentary, Who Made Who? This will include interviews and audio/archive material from the series.

Overall, I think that's a cracking selection of stuff to be getting on with during the month of November. And it proves that Moffat wasn't actually lying about the show taking over television - because it will, during the month that it should be. Along with December, which leads to another thing ...

Filming for the Christmas special has begun and while there hasn't been anything massive in the way of spoilers revealed, some pictures have surfaced online with Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman filming in a field. From this angle, Matt's wig in this episode looks pretty convincing. Hopefully some interesting spoilers will materialise over the course of filming for this episode but for now, let's enjoy the spoilers that have been released today.

Press Release: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24030127
Christmas 2013 Filming: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-09-10/doctor-who-christmas-special-filming-begins---and-matt-smiths-wig-looks-pretty-convincing

Doctor Who will air a lot over November and December. Enjoy folks.

Atlantis - Series 1 Cast Pictures/Trailer

After weeks of little teasers here and there, the BBC have finally released some cast shots of the upcoming series, Atlantis along with a minute long trailer.

The cast shots so far do seem to focus mainly on Hercules (Mark Addy), Jason (Jack Donnelly) and Pythagoras (Robert Emms) but thankfully the trailer seemed to give us a little insight, not only into those three characters (who easily can be compared to Merlin/Arthur/Gwaine - you decide who fits which role) but even a little into the female characters as well.

As for the female characters - Ariadne (Aiysha Hart) definitely seemed to be destined for a romance with Jason (who is also destined for great things), Medusa (Jemima Rooper) seemed like she'll be an initially sympathetic character like a certain witch on Merlin while Juliet Stevenson's Oracle and Sarah Parish's Pasiphae have the potential to be interesting characters. Watching the trailer, it's hard not to draw comparisons between this show and it's predecessor, Merlin but either way, I am certainly looking forward to getting caught up in this adventure show for the next thirteen weeks.

Series 1 Trailer: http://www.spoilertv.com/2013/09/atlantis-series-1-trailer.html
Series 1 Cast Shots: http://www.spoilertv.com/2013/09/atlantis-season-1-cast-promotional.html

Atlantis - Series 1 will air on BBC1 from September 28th.

Glee - Season 4 Review

US Airdate: September 13th 2012- May 9th 2013

The fourth year of the show and it's a mixture of Lima and New York.

Two Worlds: Glee put itself in an unenviable position for it's fourth season. Not only did it have to push some of the main character forward in a different location but it also had to remember that no everyone graduated at the end of the previous. Finding a balance for both worlds was certainly going to be a tough one for the series. The first half of the season though seemed to favour with the remaining kids in Lima though more than those who moved to New York and elsewhere. Thankfully by the time we got to the second half of the season, there was a better balance between both places.

McKinley seemed to be desperate to come up with a new pecking order. Gone were Rachel, Santana, Finn and Kurt and in their places were the likes of Marley (a less ruthless Rachel), Kitty (a mashup of Santana and Quinn), Ryder (a nicer version of Finn), Jake (Puck's half brother) and of course the recently transferred Unique (Kurt meets Mercedes). All of them are decent characters, some better than others but the comparisons to the people they came before were hard not to ignore and it did hamper them initially, though they got better as the season progressed for the most part.

The whole rectangle with Kitty/Jake/Marley/Ryder was similarly played out to the one we got in the first season with Quinn/Puck/Rachel/Finn but it was still amusing in parts while Unique's quest for acceptance and bonding with the girls had a similar feel to Kurt's storylines from earlier seasons. Again, I should point out that these characters did get more likeable as the season progressed though and issues such as Marley's eating disorder and Ryder's learning difficulties were decent character plots too.

As for the McKinley characters we already knew and loved, Finn spending most of the season as a mini-Will and even tutoring the Glee club actually did the character a lot of favours in some respects along with his break up with Rachel. Don't get me wrong - Finn's habit for saying and doing stupid things (his insensitive comment about Sue's baby, kissing Emma for example) were still present but it was the first consistent season for me where I found him nearly likeable as a character before his off-screen departure into college with Puck as well as the unfortunate passing of actor Cory Monteith recently.

Then there's Blaine. In some ways, this was the first season in which the writers made more of an effort to define the character outside of Kurt and while their break up came from the most predictable of reasons, I actually quite enjoyed the single version of the character. Whether he was donning superhero costumes, briefly fancying Sam (whose relationship with Brittany was pretty hit and miss) or singing one too many solos, this was certainly a better season for Blaine as a character than the previous one had been for him.

Of course not all of the McKinley characters really benefited though for this year. Tina became pretty unbearable to watch as she attempted miserably to become a queen bee with New Directions (along with an annoying stalker-like crush on Blaine), Artie was still largely underused, save for a few moments, Brittany was a spare part until her exit in the finale, Will/Emma/Sue/Beiste didn't have that much to do, Burt was ill but the writers didn't properly explore it and the likes of Quinn, Mercedes, Puck and Mike were just guest characters who barely had anything to do really when they did occasionally appear in the show.

New York was a slightly better avenue for the remaining characters though. Rachel flourished in the NYADA setting and the flatshare scenario with herself, Kurt and Santana provided some of the more entertaining moments of the season (even if we had to wait ages for Santana to hightail it to New York). Love interest wise, Brody was a boring one for Rachel and Adam, while sweet was quickly dispatched with, so we really didn't get to see him and Kurt blossom into anything significant. That's the power of Klaine I suppose.

In terms of events throughout the season - the break up episode was the show's best one yet, the shooting episode was good on paper and acted well by the cast involved but terribly misjudged in execution, the second Britney Spears tribute episode was a dud while the wedding of Will and Emma had a lot of interesting hook ups (namely Quinn/Santana) while the Sectional/Regional episodes were fun enough as was the Catfish plot involving Ryder and Unique and New Directions take on Grease.

Overall, while there were some niggles here and there, I actually think that this season was as close to recapturing the essence of the first season as possible. It wasn't perfect but it had it's moments. A lot of good ones along with a few I'd rather forget too. Oh and some good guest roles for both Kate Hudson as mean spirited dance teacher, Cassandra and Sarah Jessica Parker as the more sunny Vogue editor, Isabella. Definitely one of the show's better years.

DVD Extras: A Music Jukebox, deleted scenes, Movin On Up: Glee in NYC, something on Jake/Marley, Building New York, a feature on 500 songs, Blaine's Time Capsule and a premiere party feature.

Episode Ratings

4x01: The New Rachel =  9/10, 4x02: Britney 2.0 = 5/10,
4x03: Makeover = 6/10, 4x04: The Break Up = 10/10,
4x05: The Role You Were Born To Play = 7/10, 4x06: Glease = 8/10,
4x07: Dynamic Duets = 7/10, 4x08: Thanksgiving = 8/10,
4x09: Swan Song = 7/10, 4x10: Glee, Actually = 7/10,
4x11: Sadie Hawkins = 7/10, 4x12: Naked = 7/10,
4x13: Diva = 7/10, 4x14: I Do = 9/10,
4x15: Girls (And Boys) On Film = 7/10, 4x16: Feud = 7/10,
4x17: Guilty Pleasures = 7/10, 4x18: Shooting Star = 5/10,
4x19: Sweet Dreams = 8/10, 4x20: Lights Out = 7/10,
4x21: Wonder-Ful = 7/10, 4x22: All Or Nothing = 9/10

Glee Season 4 will be available on DVD from October 1st.

My Review of Doctor Who Proms 2013

Presented by Various
Directed by Rhodri Huw

Madame Vastra: "Today we are all here to celebrate our friend, the Doctor. I'm told that you humans have been following the Doctor's adventures for almost five decades. Some of us have known him much longer."

In the space of five years we've had three occasions in which Doctor Who became a perfect template for the BBC Proms and given that it's the show's 50th year, not having one this year would've been something of an oversight. Thankfully the Proms and the BBC made sure that we did get one after all.

Filmed in July and screened last month on BBC1 during the afternoon (a step up considering the previous two were only aired on BBC3 in 2008 and 2010 respectively), the edited version on television gave us a wonderful minxture of music to behold from the show's fifty years.

Granted the focus of music was mainly on the recent seventh series of the revived series with highlights from episodes such as Asylum Of The Daleks, The Bells Of Saint John, Nightmare In Silver and The Name Of The Doctor along with Clara's theme but previous eras were certainly not ignored. Dalek music from the fourth series finale could also be heard along with the classic All The Strange, Strage Creatures from the third series as well while those who attended the actual event itself got to listen to a suite from previous companions.

However the highlight of this year's Proms wasn't just the recent music or the display of monsters but more the fact of seeing both Peter Davison and Carole Ann Ford on stage at different points (when we didn't see Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Neve McIntosh and Dan Starkey, all of whom were in their respective characters) during the event and a wonderful medley of music from classic stories such as The Tomb Of The Cybermen, The Sea Devils, City Of Death, The Caves Of Androzani and The Curse Of Fenric as well as a classic take on the original theme as well. For me this was certainly the highlight of an enjoyable Bank Holiday bit of television.

- There was a short scene with the Doctor and Clara in which they got access to the Proms and an explanation for Matt Smith's haircut too. The scene is available to air on YouTube.
- The usual monsters we've seen in past Proms were there too along with newbies such as Skaldak, the Silence as well as the revamped Cybermen.
- I know Murray Gold's Song For Fifty has divided fans but I was actually disappointed it wasn't included in the TV version of the Proms. Though it's length rather than quality might have factored into that.
- I think the BBC missed another opportunity here to air a trailer or preview for either the 50th anniversary episode or upcoming biopic An Adventure In Space And Time.

Overall, this was another success story. Doctor Who really does suit the Proms. It's music is epic and atmospheric enough for the event. I now just hope that unlike the second edition that we had in 2010, this does end up on a special DVD set for Matt Smith's final episodes.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

True Blood - Season 7 To Be The Final Season

It's been suspected for a while but yesterday, HBO and showrunner Brian Buckner announced the upcoming seventh season of True Blood will indeed be the show's final year. Personally, I'm not shocked by this announcement but while I will certainly miss the show, even I think the time is right for it to end.

Season Seven will comprise of ten episodes with filming due to start later in the year with a Summer 2014 airdate schedule and it's also been confirmed that Eric will be returning and that Amelia Rose Blaire (Willa), Luke Grimes (James) and Karolina Wydra (Violet) will be regulars in the show's final year. With that in mind I came up with a list of seven things I wanted for the upcoming seventh season.

1: An Interesting Villain: Not zombie vampires or the return of Sarah Newlin (though I suspect we'll see her at some point). More something in the lines of Maryann or Marnie. We've done enough vampire and human threats at this point in the show. The villain needs to be someone/something that interacts and connects with most of our main players.

2: Sookie Ends Up With?: It probably won't be Eric, it technically shouldn't be Bill and while I like her with Alcide, I'm still not sure if it will last. Maybe Sookie ends up with one of these three suitors or maybe she chooses to be alone. Don't hook her up with Sam, show writers. Unlike the books, it really wouldn't make sense here.

3: Fairy Plots: Let's face it, the show's been a bit of a mixed bag here. Claude and Claudine were wasted characters, Warlow a disappointing hybrid, Hunter added for no reason and Niall rather unexplored so far. This needs to be handled better in the final season, especially with Sookie and her recent self-outing as a telepath as well.

4: Tertiary Plots To A Minimum: Unless they have an overall effect on the upcoming final season, let's not, eh? Season 6 did a good job of lessening the amount of superflous plots and hopefully Season 7 will stay away from them all together. Keep it to the point, writers.

5: Other Relationships: Forget Tara/Pam, writers, go with Tara/Willa instead. We've seen more interaction with the pair, a better/natural chemistry between them and even Lettie Mae seemed to think they were a couple in Radioactive. Much as I like James and can tolerate Violet, I still think Jessica and Jason will be some kind of endgame couple too. Arlene can remain single, Andy/Holly will obviously get back together and Lafayette could do with a boyfriend about now. Oh and better writing for Sam/Nicole too I suppose.

6: Bellefleur Bar & Grill/Fangtasia: Both establishments need to be back in the centre of things, especially with Eric, Pam, Tara and Willa running the latter place and I'm intrigued to see what Arlene is actually like as a boss with the former establishment too.

7: HBO: Promote the show better. It's their final season, so more trailers (especially concept ones), gorgeous cast shots, etc. Remember how relentless you were with the final season of Sex And The City? Be like that again, okay? The show deserves to go with a bang and part of that will be down to the promotion of it as well. So promote the living fuck out of it, please.

Press Release: http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/09/03/true-blood-to-end-run-in-2014/

Season 6 of True Blood airs Mondays at 10pm on FOX from September 30th for UK viewers while Season 7 will air in Summer 2014 for US viewers.

Skins - Season 7 Review

UK Airdate: July 1st-August 5th 2013

All Grown Up?: The one thing I have consistently enjoyed about Skins over it's seven year run is that it has consistently always played by it's own rules. This has always been a series that has never had a problem with taking it's characters into some of the darker of places or changing it's own cast every two years with gleeful abandon.

The seventh and final series, comprising of six episodes broken into the stories - Fire, Pure and Rise however decided it was time to bring back at least five of the show's most popular characters from the first four series. While a part of me was annoyed with the show's decision not to include anyone from the previous two series, the characters chosen for this last chapter are certainly put through the ringer of sorts.

Fire itself takes in London over several months and mainly dealt with Effy thrown into the cutthroat world of investment and the consequences that the world had when she slept with her boss (Kayvan Novak) and committed a little bit of fraud on the side. The result are grim for Effy but they're nowhere near as grim for viewers than the outcome of Emily and Naomi in this story.

Arguably the most successful couple that Skins had ever produced, Fire not only had them barely interacting with each other (Emily's mainly in New York) but when Naomi fell ill, it took until literally the last minute for Emily to be informed and able to see her ailing girlfriend. I know this show has bumped off main characters in the past but this time, it felt more like a slap in the face.

However as frustrating as the first two parter was by it's second half, it's the second story of the bunch that really lets things down. Pure was the first time since 2008 that we had seen Hannah Murray playing the role of blissful Cassie and sadly for her, she had nothing worthwhile in the whole two episodes.

There was a great subplot with her father and brother struggling to cope with the death of Cassie's mother but it's barely touched upon in a favour of a dull stalker plotline with an annoying co-worker and some pretentious waffle with photography. It's a shame because Murray is good and there's some nice atmosphere moments like there was in all the stories but it's such an unengaging and lifeless story, you just won't care.

The last story, Rise centring around one of my least favourite characters in Cook turned out to actually be the best of the bunch. As a series finale, it's far from perfect but it's the only story where Cook felt both in character, showed some tiny bits of growth and one where the grimness actually worked in the narrative's favour too.

I'm not gonna lie and say that I found Louie a particularly convincing baddie but his hot pursuit of Cook and the bodies that were left in both men's wake amongst a snowy backdrop was certainly effective and it added to a rather bittersweet if not perfect end to the show's seven year saga.

I'm not sure if this approach was personally the best way of ending the series. Six episodes was a fine idea but it should've been one episode each for these characters and one or two from the third generation as well. Still, it could've been worse but it should've been better too.

DVD Extras: None, strangely enough. Another missed opportunity there.

Episode Ratings From 1 To 10

7x01: Fire Part 1 = 7/10, 7x02: Fire Part 2 = 6/10,
7x03: Pure Part 1 = 6/10, 7x04: Pure Part 2 = 5/10,
7x05: Rise Part 1 = 7/10, 7x06: Rise Part 2 = 7/10.

Season 7 is currently available on DVD.

Benevolent Lesbians?

It's a provocative title but if you've seen one of the five programmes I'm talking about here, you'll get the joke, lol. Here goes nothing ...

A Touch Of Cloth 2: Undercover Cloth: I know I dedicated a blog to the first two parter last year but while I enjoyed the second two parter almost as much (mainly for Anna Chancellor's delightful villainous lesbian mayoral candidate, Hope Goodgirl), I just felt I should talk about it here for now. It was fun enough two parter with Cloth going undercover to stop a nefarious plot surrounding a Telethon for Blameless Kids and there's no denying that both John Hannah and Suranne Jones are excellent but at times, it did feel a little too similar to the first two parter, especially with the ending. Still, I am looking forward to the third installment with Karen Gillan in 2014 though.

Orange Is The New Black: By watching two episodes a week, I've gotten at least halfway through the season with six episodes now watched. Each episode has managed to be better than the last with backstories for Sophia, Miss Claudette, Daya and Nikki as well as the further developments between Piper, Alex and Larry and the former's survival in prison as well. If I had to pick a favourite episode at the moment, then it's obviously going to be the one with the chicken. The last five minutes of that particular episode were some of the funniest I've seen in any show this year.

Orphan Black: It might be coming soon to BBC3 but I'm six episodes in and man, this show has been a gripping watch. The government conspiracy plotline with the clones might not be particularly original but the interactions with Sarah, Alison, Helena and Cosima and the more they invade each other's lives has certainly been fantastic to watch over the last few episodes. Tatiana Maslany really has managed to make each of her roles as different as the other and while she's been a revelation in all of her parts, I also have to praise Felix as well. As right hand men go, he's also been a joy to watch as well. I can't believe I've only got four episodes left to watch. I really don't want this show to end.

The Americans: As finales go, the first season ender to this mostly enjoyable show was a good way of ending things. The cliffhanger route is always a good way of getting audiences to come back, especially when the show itself is coming back and having both Philip and Elizabeth meeting the Colonel worked as an ending too. I've enjoyed this show a lot but I've hated the timeslot and I still think ITV have been a bad fit for the series overall. Also the cynical part of me won't be that surprised if the second season is relegated to the digital equivalents as well. It's a shame because had ITV had more foresight, this easily could've been a success for them like Homeland has been for the UK. At least RTE2 in Ireland treated the show better.

The X Factor: Don't expect this in every TV blog jumble but yes, I am watching the 10th series of ITV's mostly ratings juggernaut. So far, the new series seems to be doing better than the previous year and Sharon Osbourne so far has been far less annoying than expected but having it on two nights from the start seems like too much overexposure and the talent so far is hardly inspiring stuff. Once again, there's too much of an unhealthy emphasis on sob story and while the likes of Sam the prison officer do have talent, I wouldn't hold my breath on her winning it though. Bieber tribute act, Luke was surprisingly decent though. As for The Xtra Factor - still amusing, though I'm not sure of new presenter Matt Richardson just yet.

- Demi Lovato will be playing a character named Dani, in six episodes of Glee. Her character will be a love interest for Santana.
- JJ Abrams will be remaking Westwild as a series for HBO.
- Les Miserables could be a legal drama. It seems that Rob Thomas is spearheading the project. Ugh.
- A&E have axed The Glades after four seasons.
- Leslie Jordan will be appearing in American Horror Story: Coven.
- Bethany Joy Lenz will be appearing in the 300th episode of CSI.
- Channel 5 have bagged the rights to upcoming ABC drama, Betrayal.
- Lisa Kudrow will play a powerful politician in the new season of Scandal.
- David Morrissey will play the lead role in AMC's sci-fi series, Line Of Sight but will still be committed to the upcoming season of The Walking Dead as well.
- Alexis Denisof has joined the cast of Grimm, playing the cousin of James Frain's character, Eric Renard.

Looking - New Gay Dramady For HBO

Taking in the fact that the majority of HBO's programming has always had a healthy influx of gay characters, it now looks like the cable station is going to give us a dramady purely centring around three gay men in San Francisco called Looking and at least two of the leading actors have been cast.

First of all is Jonathan Groff. The actor best known for his roles in Starz drama, Boss (which was recently cancelled by the station) and of course the recurring role he had in the first three seasons of Glee was the first castmember to be revealed a few weeks ago. He will be playing Patrick, a gay man with a successful career as a video game developer.

The second leading character to be cast is Russell Tovey. the actor best known for his roles in Being Human and Him & Her. Tovey will be playing Kevin, a fellow video game wunderkid and best friend to Groff's character, Patrick. The eight part series will also feature Scott Bakula as Lynn, Frankie J. Alvarez as Agustín and Murray Bartlett as Dom. The series was created by Michael Lannan (based on his 2011 film, Lorimer) and will be executive produced by former Brothers & Sisters showrunner David Marshall Grant as well as Sarah Condon and Andrew Haigh. It's kind of overdue for HBO to try their hand at a gay centred dramady and with an excellent cast with Groff and Tovey, I can honestly say that I am definitely looking forward to see how this show fares when it airs next year. I also hope a UK broadcaster nabs it soon too.

Press Release:  http://www.out.com/entertainment/television/2013/08/30/hbo-looking-russell-tovey-jonathan-groff-gay-naked

Filming for Looking will begin over the next few months with an airdate scheduled for 2014 on HBO.

Atlantis - Four Glimpses

It's due to air on BBC1 very soon and yesterday, we finally got four rather brief trailers of upcoming Saturday night fantasy drama, Atlantis. Here they are ...

Arrows: The first trailer show Jason (Jack Donnelly) dodging a row of arrow being shot at him. Something tells me he'll be dodging a lot worse than during the first series.

The Oracle: A glimpse of Juliet Stevenson's Oracle. She sees deadly visions it seems. I am hoping that because we have four main female characters that we'll see more trailers for them as well.

The Heroes: A nice one of Hercules (Mark Addy), Jason (Jack Donnelly) and Pythagoras (Robert Emms) strolling around defiantly. It looks better than the poster we saw of them a while ago, doesn't it?

Jason 2: Another trailer focusing on the hunky lead, this time entering a rather creepy tomb all by himself. I expect this will happen a fair amount on the show.

Overall, some nice little teasers there but with the show due to air within the next few weeks, perhaps it's time for something a little more substantial though. Either way, Atlantis really does look like it's going to be a very worthy successor to Merlin though.

Series 1 Trailers: http://bbcatlantis.tumblr.com/

Atlantis will air Saturdays on BBC1 in the next few weeks.

Soap Discussion - August 2013

Coronation Street: A very strong month for this show. Trust David to take his vendetta towards Nick to extreme levels and put his brother in the hospital. It still made for some great drama as did Kylie giving birth during the week as well. Without a doubt the strongest storylines this month along with the bits we got with Hayley's condition and Karl's determination to keep Craig on side as well. Unfortunately we still had the race storyline with Paul and Lloyd, which was a complete dud to watch along with Anna vs. Sally as well. As soap rivalries go, it wasn't an interesting one to watch.

EastEnders: Um, a bit of a hit and miss month. Tyler's speedy exit, Lauren's speedy recovery, the brisk introductions of Jake, Sadie, Tara and Cindy Jr are all well and good but the Max/Kirsty/Carl scenes are enough to put audiences in a coma. Surely, the writers must realise by now that none of us care about these three individuals, right? Even the Janine/Michael/Danny stuff wasn't that particularly riveting this month and the camping trip with Lola, Peter (who had an interesting enough secret), Jay, Abi, Dexter and Cindy Jr has been a little hit and miss as well. At least next month looks more exciting.

Emmerdale: Rhona's addiction to prescription pills has definitely been the better handled compared to soap rivals Nancy Osbourne and Sharon Rickman but the subplot with her and Vanessa did seem a tad tacked on though, right? I'm all for Vanessa's sexuality being confirmed but I don't think I'm alone in wishing it had been done in far less dubious. Still the storyline was more enjoyable than the overextending of Cameron's murdering antics. Come on, show, it's time to expose him as the killer of Carl/Alex/Gennie and now. We've waited long enough at this rate.

Hollyoaks: What a crazy month. Even for this show, the twists kept coming a bit too fast, didn't they? We've had Browning trying and failing to kill both Myra and Cindy, Sienna successfully driving Nancy out of the Dog and into an institution, John Paul's boyfriend being Ste's dad (who also had to kill his mother), Trevor still being a general menace, Sandy bouncing between Dodger and Frazer, I'm surprised the writers haven't burned themselves out. Arguably too much happened this month and some of the plots have worked better than others but either the whole Six Weeks Of Summer has managed to mostly work in the show's favour for the time being.

My Review of Dexter's 8x09: "Make Your Own Kind Of Music"

Written by Karen Campbell
Directed by John Dahl

Vogel: “I think you misunderstand my point. Straddling two worlds as you are, it’s dangerous. Killers cannot have a full, emotional life.”
Dexter: “I think you underestimate me.”

I think the other point that should be raised isn’t whether or not Dexter and Hannah can run off with Harrison to Argentina for a full, emotional life but more it should be whether or not they deserve to have that kind of happiness together.

Yes, they’ve killed some awful people between them but they’ve also killed some innocent people and their actions have had consequences on the ones they’ve loved as well. Do Dexter and Hannah deserve a happy ever after? I’m not actually sure, which is interesting.

One of the things I’ve noticed about this season is that Dexter has killed far less people and when he has killed, the exhilaration he’s usually felt hasn’t been quite their. Could it be that the events of the last few years – Rita’s death, raising Harrison, Deb learning about his identity and what it’s cost her morality, Vogel coming into his life, Zach as a short lived apprentice as well as his bonds with Lumen and mostly Hannah – have actually lessened his desire to kill?

More to the point, could Dexter actually live a life where he doesn’t kill? Hannah made it clear twice that she doesn’t derive pleasure from murder and even Dexter admitted to Vogel that killing the Brain Surgeon would be the last thing he’d do before leaving Miami. Maybe he meant that it would also be his last kill too. It’s a certain possibility at the very least.

Then there’s the Brain Surgeon himself. Having the identity revealed as Daniel Vogel (aka, Oliver Saxon), the song of Dr Vogel was hardly a shock. It was set up early in the season that there would be a connection between Vogel and the Brain Surgeon and the former had been evasive with her own interest in psychopaths as well. Now it all makes sense in the most obvious of storytelling methods.

That’s not actually a criticism because I actually do like the idea of conflict between Vogel, Dexter and Daniel here. How is Vogel going to be able to protect the son she’s failed (Daniel) against the ‘son’ she’s succeeded with (Dexter) and vice versa? With three episodes left, one of them will definitely die if not both of them but who it will be remains the question though.

I liked that this episode delved more into Vogel’s back-story and her past. The timing was right and it’s one of a few plots that are coming together nicely. Elway making it his business to bring down Hannah is another interesting plot too, especially given that Marshall Clayton poses a decent threat to Dexter’s plans of happy life outside Miami too.

I also liked that this episode saw Deb reconsidering becoming a detective again. Angel more or less welcomed her back to the force and she certainly came alive during her interrogation of Oliver with Quinn as well too. Even the totally predictable kiss between the pair of them didn’t seem to deter her either.

Also in “Make Your Own Kind Of Music”

Vogel had two children and we learned pretty fast that Daniel killed his younger brother and faked his death from a fire in the mental home he was sent to.

Dexter: “Actually I was gonna say I love you.”
Hannah: “I love you too.”

Arlene really did turn out to be a good friend for Hannah. She kept $500,000 hidden for her and pretended to be sleeping with Dexter to keep Clayton off the scent. Harrison also lied to Clayton as well.

Dexter: “No-one else knows Zach is dead.”
Deb: “Now I know. I don’t wanna know because I’m gonna have to explain how I know.”

Arlene: “Aren’t you the asshole that turned her in?”
Dexter: “That would be me.”
Hannah: “Long story. Can we come in?”

I really enjoyed the scene with Deb and Hannah eating dinner together. I think there’s a good idea for a spin-off there, Showtime.

Jamie (to Deb, re Oliver): “We should all have someone who worships us like that, right?”

Vogel (re Daniel): “He’s my son.”
Dexter: “There’s nothing you can do for him now.”

Standout music: Mama Cass’s “Make Your Own Kind Of Music”, played several times during the episode and used to expand on Vogel’s backstory with her son.

Deb: “I can’t believe I’m eating food you made.”
Hannah: “It’s not bad though, right?”

Dexter (to himself): “I’ll kill Saxon and then leave Miami forever.”

Chronology: A few days since “Are We There Yet?”

“Make Your Own Kind Of Music” certainly delivered with revealing the Brain Surgeon and overall it was an enjoyable episode. Some of the other subplots (anything involving Angel, Matthews and Jamie) weren’t as exciting but overall, a good one.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Movie News: Ben Affleck Is Batman

It's been four days since the casting was announced and while this isn't a movie blog generally, I did promise some Batman content and here goes nothing ...

By now we all know that Ben Affleck (Argo to name one of his many credits) has been cast in the upcoming sequel for Man Of Steel, rumoured to be titled Batman vs. Superman and it's nice to know that people have generally learned nothing from past experiences. I can understand perhaps a lack of enthusiasm for Affleck's casting but do people really think petitions site against the man are going to achieve anything? Personally I think Affleck is fine enough casting - he looks the part, is the right age for the characters of Batman/Bruce Wayne the story is rumoured to be telling (an older, wearier version of the characters) and he's a good actor. You know, the stuff that actually matters in the grand scheme of things. Of course, even if he doesn't compare to the likes of Michael Keaton and Christian Bale, I can't see him faring worse than either Val Kilmer (who has openly supported Affleck's casting) or George Clooney.

However like many people, I do have some reservations. Actually a few to be honest and none of them are a reflection on Ben Affleck himself. I am actually confident that I'll like his version of Batman but it's hard not to admit that the inclusion of the character into the second Henry Cavill as Superman movie seems a tad forced. It's not that long since The Dark Knight trilogy ended and with Christopher Nolan not having any involvement in the project, can Zach Snyder really deliver? His direction in Man Of Steel has certainly divided movie goers over the summer and with a Justice League movie not far off either, you could argue it might be better to leave Batman and Superman meeting until then and just focus on further establishing Cavill's take on Superman without having the Caped Crusader overshadowing him in his own franchise. I'm definitely in two minds of it myself at the moment.

Elsewhere after it being rumoured for ages, it now seems that Bryan Cranston will be a part of the upcoming sequel as well. The Breaking Bad actor will be playing Superman's nemesis, Lex Luthor, having signed a deal for six appearances in the DC universe. Well, this just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?

Press Release: http://www.digitalspy.ie/movies/news/a509294/ben-affleck-confirmed-as-batman-in-man-of-steel-sequel.html
Bryan Cranston Casting:  http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/breaking-bads-bryan-cranston-to-play-lex-luthor-in-man-of-steel-sequel-8785892.html

Filming for the Man Of Steel sequel will begin in 2014 with a summer 2015 release scheduled. I'll provide more updates as they come.

Penny Dreadful - Casting Announced

It's been a while since Showtime have had a horror themed show and now it seems we've got with the announcement of Penny Dreadful.

Former Doctor Who and Secret Diary Of A Call Girl actress Billie Piper has been cast in the eight part anthology series in an undisclosed. The series created by created by three-time Oscar nominee John Logan (Hugo, The Aviator and Gladiator ). Logan will write and executive produce alongside Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road). The series will examine the origins of characters such as Dorian Gray, Frankenstein's monster and Count Dracula to name a few.

Also in the cast include former 007 himself Timothy Dalton, who will also be appearing in the series along with Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down) Eva Green (Camelot) and Rory Kinnear (Count Arthur Strong). Dalton will be playing Sir Malcolm, a hardened African explorer while Green will play enigmatic heroine Vanessa Ives and Hartnell will play Ethan Chandler, a complicated man of action unafraid of violence. Like Piper, the nature of Kinnear's role has not been disclosed. I've got to be honest while this show does sound intruging, it also reminds me of that ABC pilot Gothika that wasn't picked up either. Penny Dreadful at least will have a first season and hopefully it'll be a good one too.

Press Release: http://www.rte.ie/ten/news/2013/0820/469146-billie-piper-cast-in-showtimes-penny-dreadful/

Filming for Penny Dreadful is taking place in Dublin and Wicklow from October 2013 to March 2014. The series will air on Showtime at some point in 2014.

Doctor Who - Top 50 Companions: Part 10

It's my final blog of my Top 50 Companions of Doctor Who and here are the Top 5. Enjoy folks.

1: TARDIS (Suranne Jones/Various Props)

Remember back in Rose when Cliven told a certain Miss Tyler that the Doctor's constant companion was death? Yeah, well he was a bit wide off the mark, there. The Doctor's actual constant companion is the TARDIS. Type 40. The Blue Box. Sexy. Whatever you want to call her and while recent episodes such as The Doctor's Wife and Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS have given us more details, it's always been the Doctor and the bestest spaceship in the world as constant companion. Now whether they mutually stole each or Clara introduced them is totally up to you but either way, the TARDIS is the best companion ever.

2: Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen)

If it were not for a certain blue box, then everyone's favourite investigative journalist would've been the number one companion. Still in terms of human companions though, she is, so that's good right? Sarah Jane is everything you'd want in a best mate, a travelling buddy and a female heroic character in general. It might have taken over three decades but spin-off show The Sarah Jane Adventures more than demonstrated why she deserves to be seen as the most iconic companion the show has ever produced.

3: Ace McShane (Sophie Aldred)

Oh Ace- you really did live up to your name, didn't you? In some ways without this character, we might not have had future companions like Rose Tyler and Amy Pond (both of whom have some similarities to Ace) and without her around, the Seventh Doctor probably would've been done for many times over. A passionate, flighty teenage girl with a expertise in Nitro-9, the character was a joy to watch develop over the final years of the Classic Series.

4: Brigadier Sir Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney)

Like Sarah Jane, the Brigadier not only has the fortune to have seen and worked with many versions of the Doctor but has worked brilliantly with nearly all of them, though his rapport with both the Second and Third Doctors have always been the most sublime to watch. A military man he might have been but not adverse to actually taking on some of the Doctor's more outlandish of ideas when the situation called for it, he's another deserved icon of the series. Five rounds rapid.

5: Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines)

The finest Scots person that ever surfaced on Doctor Who (though Amy is very close too). Jamie has appeared in the most amount episodes, proved that both historical and male companions worked with aplomb and it's really hard to imagine the Second Doctor without Jamie, isn't it? A wonderful companion who never gets dull to watch.

Doctor Who Proms is on Monday 4pm on BBC1 from August 26th.

Doctor Who - Top 50 Companions: Part 9

Penultimate blog of this impressive (haha) Top 50 list of Doctor Who companions. Last one is being put up tomorrow, folks.

6: Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman)

Without a doubt, Jack is one of the most fascinating characters ever on telly, never mind within the realms of the Doctor Who universe and spin-off series, Torchwood. An omnisexual conman with two years of his memories missing and more disasters surrounding him, it's amazing how much of an impact the character has made over the last eight years in both television shows. Surely at some point, he might resurface again. I know John Barrowman will certainly reprise the role at the drop of a hat.

7: Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman)

The impossible girl with a knack for burning souffles (did she inspire a certain Carly Simon song during her many splinters?) and popping up everywhere. She's met and helped every version of the Doctor (mainly without him knowing it), with both the Eleventh and Twelfth ones being the ones she's gotten to know/will get to know. While we do need more insight into what makes Clara ticks as a person, it's hard not to warm to the character, wonderfully played by Coleman. Definitely one of Steven Moffat's most fascinating of characters.

8: Amy Pond (Karen Gillan)

Oh Amy. If there is one thing that can be said about this flame haired Scotswoman it's definitely that she leaves a lasting impression. The Eleventh Doctor lamented about her being in his hearts prior to Manhattan and we've seen Rory go through hell and back with her too. Personally, I've always liked Amy's spiky personality and wanderlust and while she might be polarising for some, I do think she is without a doubt one of the most memorable companions we'll ever have on the show. I certainly enjoyed the majority of the 33 episodes that featured her.

9: Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill)

Okay, you know the way lazy critics and certain fans bleat on about the female companions being screamers? Well back in 1963, a certain history teacher did a lot more than that. She was the companion who easily called the First Doctor out on his hostile attitude at times, the ones who was seen as an Aztec goddess and the one who was the much needed voice of reason in the TARDIS. Basically, Barbara Wright rules.

10: Ian Chesterton (William Russell)

Keeping up with the high standards of male companion, science teacher Ian really did set up a precedent, didn't he? Like Barbara, he was an audience surrogate into the chaotic world of the First Doctor and Susan and he was more than a match for the Doctor as well. He was also the first companion to be addressed by his surname, long before Vislor Turlough and Amy Pond ever travelled in the TARDIS.

Part 10 will be up tomorrow.

My Review of Dexter's 8x08: "Are We There Yet?"

Written by Wendy West
Directed by Holly Dale

Zach (to Dexter/Hannah): “Are we there yet?”

Oh Zach – I finally got there and found myself enjoying you as a character (which helped when it was revealed that you didn’t kill Cassie) and then this episode had to end up with you losing some of your brain and Vogel getting another package in the mail. I should’ve known the moment I began to warm to Zach that was he was a dead man walking.

I liked so many things about this episode but Zach’s bond with Dexter and his following of Harry’s Code without actually realising it was interesting. I liked that he had done his research on Sean before killing him and that he had a kill room prepared even if he made the odd rookie mistake. More to the point, I liked the more genuine connection that he had with Dexter in this episode.

Dexter realised just in time that Zach was innocent and helped him dispose of Sean’s body. Along with Vogel and Hannah, they also realised that whoever really killed Cassie was trying to frame Zach as well. I think it might be a safe bet that Cassie’s killer was the Brain Surgeon and that leads to another thing.

Vogel has to be connected to the Brain Surgeon. If she’s not aiding them in some capacity then she is undoubtedly responsible for them in some other way. This isn’t even speculation anymore – it has to be a fact. We’ve had too many coincidences surrounding her and the Brain Surgeon for it to be otherwise. Also, now that we’re four episodes away from the big ending, can we please actually learn who the Brain Surgeon is now?

Getting back to Zach for a bit though – he still had some creepy moments (especially his post kill glee) but I did love his reactions to everything, especially the tension between Dexter, Hannah and Deb in this episode. I also really loved the dinner table scene with Dexter, Hannah, Zach and Vogel as well.

Vogel made some interesting points about Dexter and Hannah’s relationship. Both of them are good and bad together and this episode tried to highlight both as it swayed towards the good end of the scale. Deb let go of her anger towards Hannah and almost grudgingly gave Dexter her blessing but by then her snooping had been done and Elway decided to continue where she left off with Hannah being back in Miami.

As for Dexter and Hannah – there’s a load of issues you can raise about two killers getting a happy ever after but the possibility of them actually getting it does seem rather likely. Hannah was persuaded by Dexter to stay in Miami even after he went to the trouble of getting her fake papers to leave the country and more to the point, she took an interest in his methods as a killer and the impact that Vogel has had on him.

As for Deb, it wasn’t her best episode. It felt weird not seeing her at that dinner scene with Dexter and the gang and her decision to walk way from Elway’s business will more than likely backfire on her as well. Elway started off being a reasonable enough guy but it kind of seems like he’s got a nasty side to him as well. I wonder if he might end up being one of Dexter’s final kills before the show ends.

Also in “Are We There Yet?”

Masuka and Nikki dressing alike at Miami Metro was a little weird to watch. I wonder if Nikki will end up being killed off in later episodes.

Dexter: “Miami is not the place for you to be in right now. The sooner we get you out, the better.”
Hannah: “I completely agree.”

Vogel seemed deliberately evasive when Hannah asked her about her interest in psychopaths. Stating the obvious here but that has to mean something.

Dexter (re Cassie): “She’s dead because you talked me out of killing Zach in the first place.”
Vogel: “He showed real potential. You saw that. I thought you were having an impact on him.”

Deb (to Dexter, re Hannah): “Are you on top of it or on top of her?”

I’m surprised Quinn didn’t get suspicious when Dexter told him to back off with Zach. The plotlines with him and Jamie continue to bore though.

Hannah (re Zach): “So, he’s a terrible student?”
Dexter: “I wasn’t exactly a hands on teacher.”

Hannah: “So what brilliant turn of phrase have you come up with to describe me? The evil temptress? The passionate poisoner?”
Dexter: “Fiendish florist.”
Hannah: “No, really when you’re lying in bed at night and I happen to cross your mind, what do you call me?”
Dexter: “Hannah. You’re just Hannah.”

Jamie moved in with Angel in this episode, Hannah was given the passport of a Claire Thompson and was Oliver lying when he told Quinn he didn’t recognise Zach?

Dexter (re Zach): “He was following the code without even knowing it.”

Dexter (to Hannah/Deb): “You’re both still breathing. That’s a good sign.”

Standout music: Mama Cass’s “Make Your Own Kind Of Music”. Guess what the next episode is called folks.

Vogel (to Dexter/Hannah): “The truth is you make a good couple and probably a bad one too.”

Chronology: From where “Dress Code” more or less left off.

“Are We There Yet?” was certainly the best episode we’ve had this season. We’ve had road trip episodes before and this was another delightful one, especially for the family meal and last few minutes.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D & The Tomorrow People - Acquired by Channel 4 & E4

With both shows due to air on ABC and the CW respectively, it seems that UK broadcasters have swooped in early and nabbed both Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D and The Tomorrow People.

Channel 4 have confirmed that they have swooped up Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D and in probably a wise move, have also confirmed that they will air the show shortly after transmission on ABC. This isn't the first time the channel have aired a Joss Whedon show as they did air the first two seasons of Angel in the early 2000s. I just hope for this show's sake history doesn't repeat itself and it ends up in a crap timeslot with bad editing.

Elsewhere E4 have also bagged the rights to the US remake of The Tomorrow People and will be airing it in 2014. The show (like the ITV original) will focus on a group of young men and women with extraordinary abilities and stars both Robbie Amell and Luke Mitchell. I have to admit, I'm surprised both of these shows were gotten by Channel 4 and E4 respectively but I guess it does make a change from Sky bagging them. I just hope both shows fare well on their respective channels.

Marvels Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D: http://www.digitalspy.ie/ustv/s227/agents-of-shield/news/a508912/marvels-agents-of-shield-to-air-on-channel-4-in-uk.html
The Tomorrow People: http://www.digitalspy.ie/ustv/s226/the-tomorrow-people/news/a508962/e4-to-air-new-us-shows-tomorrow-people-the-100-in-uk.html

Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D airs Tuesdays at 9pm on ABC from September 24th and The Tomorrow People will air Wednesdays 9pm on the CW from October 9th.

Crazy About One Direction

"We're a part of a fandom that could kill you if we wanted to."

Never since the words "I'm your number one fan" from a certain Annie Wilkes in Misery has the idea of a fandom being scary become so apparent. Okay, I am going to be fair here because while I'm sure these selected girls are the more Crazy About One Direction and the majority of the lads fanbase is pretty harmless, it does get you thinking about the intensity of fans, especially given the rise in social media nowadays.

When I was their age, I was barely using the internet, never mind obsessively checking out for Twitter updates on my phone/laptop/tablet every five minutes for bands I've liked (and I'll admit my own taste in music can be all over the flipping place at times). These girls on the documentary that aired on Channel 4 last Thursday (talk about good time - given that a certain movie has been released this week) certainly proves that fandom can be a double edged sword.

It was these fangirls that propelled One Direction from another runner up on The X Factor back in 2010 to the most talked about boyband over the last few years. Musically, I don't think there's much that actually separates One Direction from their other predecessors and rivals and while they're not the only band with an intense fandom, it has been their fandom just of late that has generated a lot of negative press for the last while. This documentary did show that some of this negative press towards these particular set of fans wasn't entirely unjustified.

Throughout the hour I saw a group of teenage girls who weren't content with seeing the boys but took to levels of stalking them, fantasising about at least two of the members dating each other, viciously attacking their girlfriends through social media sites and even each other as well as well as even joking about cutting off their own limbs in order to be close to their idols. I know some will chalk it up to them just being kids and that they'll learn eventually but given the recent reports of more online cyber bullying (particularly from that ask.fm site), this documentary was something of a depressing insight into how some people take their enjoyment of certain things to extreme levels and how vicious things can escalates over nothing either.

Now I know that not all fans of bands like One Direction behave this way (thank goodness) but the fact that there's even a vocal few who do (and realise their behaviour is a bit excessive and still do it) behave this way is worrying. After the Channel 4 documentary aired, some of them took to Twitter to express their anger in a way that was both laughable and worrying as well. In these girls defence, if social networking had been around during Beatlemania, we would probably see similar behaviour patterns but at the same time, I couldn't help thinking these girls should just get a grip and enjoy the lads music without behaving like lunatics over them. One Direction might be the hot boyband right now but I doubt it'll be that long before another one swoops in and take their title.

Crazy About One Direction can be watched again on 4OD.

Revenge - Season 3 Trailer/Spoilers

It's just a little over a month away from airing but ABC have started with the promotional material for the upcoming third season of Revenge.

The 30 second trailer for the third season has already revealed what will happen in the first few minutes of the season premiere, Fear. Emily gets shot, presumably after marrying Daniel for real this time and falls into the ocean. I think it's a safe assumption that Emily will actually survive this but who shot her and why? Has someone else rumbled that she's actually Amanda Clarke after all? Either way, it's a rather soapy way of opening up the new season.

As for Nolan - good news viewers, we'll be seeing him with a male love interest this season. According to The Backlot (formerly AfterElton) and producers Aaron Harberts and Gretchen J. Berg, the reveal of Nolan's new suitor will be delicious. I get the feeling it could be Patrick (Justin Hartley) but that might be wishful thinking on my part though. Other spoilers include a feistier version of Charlotte who returns from Europe and will be doing some revenge of her own this year. There's rumours she might be getting Daniel to wise up about Emily a little as well.

And here is the first promotional picture of Victoria and first born Patrick released as well. It also seems from more recent spoilers that Patrick will be something of a handful as well. I don't doubt that he'll rub both Daniel and Conrad up the wrong way and may provide some sort of an obstacle for Emily as well. The trailer for the new season also showed us that we'll be seeing Patrick shirtless as well, which will undoubtedly back up Gabriel Mann's comments about there being more skin shown this season with the cast.

Season 3 Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhZH9-WTYPg
More News: http://www.thebacklot.com/revenge-nolan-is-back-to-men-sexy-season-three/08/2013/

Season 3 of Revenge airs Sundays at 9pm on ABC from September 29th. Airdates for RTE2 and E4 have yet to be announced.

My Review of True Blood's 6x10: "Radioactive"

Written by Kate Barnow
Directed by Scott Winant

Sookie: “Monster. What the fuck are you smiling at? Your intended just called you a monster.”
Warlow: “Good news. Night has fallen.”

Even better news for those who didn’t like Warlow – he didn’t survive this episode. Well, him not surviving was obvious but at least he finally showed his true colours before being tag team killed by both Jason and Niall (who finally appeared for a few seconds this week) and it was a rather quick death.

For a vampire-fairy hybrid Warlow managed to be even easier to kill than Russell was last season with Eric. However staking Warlow after he tried to use brute force in order to keep Sookie as his vampire bride did make sure that at least the Bilith and vampires walking in the sunlight plot was swiftly dealt with as well.

I said in my previous review that “Life Matters” felt more like a season finale and watching this episode, I stand by that opinion. This episode did what usual finales of the show have done – the first half tied up loose ends while the second half set up a whole load of plots waiting to be explored next season with a six month fast forward.

Sam as the new Mayor of Bon Temps and Bill the book author banding together to get humans and vampires to have consensual feeding/protection relationship against the Hep V infected vampires could go either way to be honest. Most people at the church seemed pissed off with the idea and Lettie Mae suddenly wanting Tara to feed off her seemed a little suspicious as well.

Of course the cliff hanger with a horde of infected vampires coming towards Bellefleur’s Bar & Grill (yes, Arlene bought Merlotte’s and changed the name) was a nice image even if it came in the middle of Bill sticking his oar into Sookie and Alcide’s relationship by trying to offer her some protection.

I can’t say I exactly blame Alcide for being pissed or Sookie for turning down Bill’s offer either on the matter. Bill might his old self again but him and Sookie really should not renew their relationship. Both of them keeping a respective distance from each other is probably the wisest thing they can do for each other. Also I actually like that Sookie and Alcide have ended up together, even if certain segments of fandom are less enamoured with this pairing.

The biggest about this episode however seemed to be whether or not Eric truly fried. We saw him starkers roasting when the fairy blood wore off but I just can’t see the writers killing Eric off in such an anticlimactic way. Besides, the episode did make a big deal about Pam wanting to go find Eric, so unless HBO confirm that Alexander Skarsgard has actually left the show, I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of a certain Viking vampire just yet.

As for Jessica, this was an interesting episode for her too. She got herself a lovely vampire boyfriend with James (who can actually sing quite well), told Bill to save Sookie and more to the point, she made genuine steps to atone for her actions with Andy by offering him her protection without wanting feeding in return. Andy has every right not to forgive Jessica but the fact that he didn’t kill her when she was reaching out to him was good. I got the impression though that was more for Adylin than Jessica.

Also in “Radioactive”

Violet is still around and she’s a sexually teasing relationship with Jason for the last 178 days. I did like that she helped with rescuing Sookie though. I didn’t however like the jealous strike she showed with Jessica though during the volleyball game.

Sookie: “Alcide, I’m a survivor too.”

I bet there were a lot of fans who were pausing their screens when Eric appeared in this episode. Famous Males Forums already has the pictures too.

Pam: “Sookie, I am actually happy to see you.”
Tara: “Back off bitch.”

Sookie: “Honestly, I’m asking if you’ll date me.”
Warlow: “Date you? As in drive in movies and bowling?”

The maypole ritual was a bit on the cheesy side and Warlow did seem to enjoy tying Sookie up a little too much here.

Pam: “Take care of Willa.”
Tara: “You guys are the worst fucking makers ever.”

Warlow: “Don’t you get it? No more Bilith. No more access.”

Was it me or did Lettie Mae seem to assume that Tara and Willa were actually involved with each other? Lafayette and Nicole also had no lines in this episode and Bill’s book was called And God Bled.

Lawrence: “So why the book at all?”
Bill: “To establish trust. To end all the secrets.”

Violet (to Jason): “I told you I wasn’t going to make it easy.”

Standout music: Imagine Dragon’s “Radioactive”, which is one of my favourite songs at the moment.

Sookie (to Bill): “That’s the thing though. Even at your best, I could never really trust you.”

Chronology: Six month jump, which means we missed Christmas in Bon Temps and are back into the summer.

“Radioactive” might not be as great as previous finales but I seriously thought it was actually a decent way of ending the season. It tied up the right loose ends, gave a few interesting cliff hangers and some great set ups for next season. Sorry, Eric obsessives but I am not done with this show.

Rating: 8 out of 10