My Review of Doctor Who's 1x04: "Aliens Of London"

Written by Russell T Davies
Directed by Keith Boak

After an attack of the Autons, Cassandra’s devious machinations and an inspired interaction with the Gelth and Charles Dickens in the previous episode, it was very much about time to get our first alien invasion and for The Doctor and Rose to touch base with the present day and we got both in the start of a two part adventure with very mixed results.

Touching base first, Rose and The Doctor realise that instead of being gone for twelve hours since the end of “Rose”, they’ve actually been gone for an entire year. That certainly explains why Jackie is freaked out when Rose walks into the house not a bother and later during a police interview, The Doctor finds himself at the receiving end of a slap from Jackie for his efforts to partly explain Rose’s absence.

Although still slightly annoying, Camille Coduri gives a decent enough performance as a distraught Jackie tries to get some real information on her daughter’s actual whereabouts, which Rose does her best to deflects but fails. Rose may have disappeared for an entire year but not much has seemed to have changed. Jackie aside, the only person who really went through the ringer during Rose’s departure was Mickey.

Still a bit of a plank but better than we last saw him, even I felt bad for Mickey in this episode. Not only did Rose fail to touch base with him when she returned to London (it was him who came looking for her), he also had to endure a lot of grief during his girlfriend’s disappearance such as Jackie’s anger and being a murder suspect and now that she has returned, her and Mickey don’t seem to be in a good place relationship wise.

He was gleeful when he thought The Doctor abandoned Rose and even rubbed it into her face, not a smart idea mate. Rose herself also showed resistance and hesitation when he almost begged her to stay. I think both Mickey and Rose will realise that that’s not going to happen.

She’s become akin to travelling and even if she was forced to stay, I don’t think she’d take it lying down so easily. Even The Doctor himself caused problems with them by being openly hostile with Mickey and then there’s our main storyline and a certain phone call that does Jackie more harm than good.

Our main problem this week are aliens called the Slitheen who have managed to entered 10 Downing Street by assuming the bodies of Joseph Green (acting PM), Margaret Blaine and Oliver Charles while killing the real Prime Minister. How did we know they were evil before even getting to see them in their real form? That insidious comic laughter they made with when dismissing liaison Indra Ganesh did it for me.

As aliens go the Slitheen are not the most convincing lot and while the running jokes about farting (less subtle than last week) are amusing to begin, an over reliance in them for the humour makes the comedy appear too trite for it’s own good. For diversion purposes we have an overly eager Flydale MP Harriet Jones witness the Slitheen in action while they dispatch General Asquith (he tried to relieve Joseph of PM duties).

As a set piece this is definitely the episode most (and possibly only) real moment of true menace, although Penelope Wilton’s expression at seeing these creatures in action feels a little over the top.

Like all aliens so far on the new series, the only thing the Slitheen want to do is take over the world and they’re determined enough to make sure nothing gets in the way of that. A fake crash landing which sees Big Ben destroyed and a view of the Thames looks stunning but feels rather pointless, except for the death of a fake pig alien has The Doctor and various other alien experts summoned into 10 Downing Street that has a very nasty surprise for them.

In order to keep things going the Slitheen attack from all sides. The ones disguised as General Asquith and Joseph Green do their best electrocute The Doctor and the other alien experts as they former deduces that they’ve been trapped. Rose, Harriet and Indra on the other hand face off with Margaret Blaine, which means Navin Chowdry from Teachers is another casualty for this race.

However it’s Jackie who really feels in peril as the consequences for reporting The Doctor has also made her a target for a Slitheen dressed as a policeman. Let’s just say this is one house call she won’t be forgetting in a while.

Although the final scenes try to up the terror and danger of the Slitheen, the CGI on these particular aliens looks rather dodgy and there’s not enough fear communicated by the actors that got me to think past that I’m afraid.

Also in “Aliens Of London”

Why are the “Previously On” bits silent with this show? Also some street kids wrote Bad Wolf on the TARDIS. That is significant, am I right?

The Doctor: “I am a Doctor”
Jackie: “Prove it, stitch this mate.”

The posters that were for Rose during her absence were “Missing”, “Can You Help?” and “Where Is Rose”. The only new thing we learned about the character was that she is 5’4 feet tall.

The Doctor (re being slapped by Jackie): “It hurt.”
Rose: “You are so gay.”

Rose (re spaceship): “Oh, that is just not fair.”
The Doctor: “Ha-ha.”

The Doctor is 900 years. Does that mean he was born in the 12^th Century or has been travelling relentlessly for 900 years?

Harriet: “I did have an appointment for 3.15.”
Indra: “Yes and then a spaceship crashed in the middle of London. I think the schedule might be changed.”

Harriet is an MP for Flydale. We also learned that she wants cottage hospitals to be included in Centres of Excellence. I like the character.

General Asquith: “You think this is fun?”
Joseph Green: “It’s a hoot.”
Margaret Blaine: “Honestly so fun.”

We didn’t learn anything about the real Joseph or Margaret but apparently the real Oliver had a wife, a mistress and a farmer.

Rose (to Mickey, re The Doctor): “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s better than that, he’s much more important.”

Other posters in this episode included “Ello ET” and “Welcome To Our World”. We got two famous faces in this episode - the rather cute Matt Baker from Blue Peter and Andrew Marr from BBC News, which featured heavily in this episode.

Rose: “In twelve months did you see anyone else?”
Mickey: “No, mainly because everyone thought I murdered you.”

Since her departure Jackie’s been seeing someone called Billy and Mickey’s been reading up on The Doctor. He provided a useful tip in this episode too.

The Doctor: “Apart from him?”
Rose: “Oh don’t you just love that?”

The number Jackie called on The Doctor is 08081570980 and in terms of chronology, it is 2005 or 2006?

The Doctor: “Would you mind not farting while I’m trying to save the world?”
Joseph Green: “Would you rather silent but deadly?”

Standout music: David Bowie’s “Star Man”, which is one of my favourite tracks from him.

Something of a hokum start to the first of three two part episodes expected in Season One, there are some fine moments in “Aliens Of London” but most of them have to do with the domestics The Doctor is eager to avoid, rather than the alien threat itself. Next episode can only improve things.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

My Review of Doctor Who's 1x03: "The Unquiet Dead"

Written by Mark Gatiss
Directed by Euros Lyn

I’ve sat through 63 episodes of Six Feet Under and have seen many unique, silly and heartbreaking depictions of death as well as many a fascinating discussion of how it affects the people who lose loved ones but this episode offered a rather new interpretation on the manner of ghosts and corpses.

Last week we got to see the future, this week it’s the past and adhering to the BBC’s love of period dramas, it seemed more than appropriate that our latest trip would be in 1869, Cardiff on a particular Christmas Eve with Charles Dickens no less. Rose isn’t exactly impressed with being in Cardiff but there is more than meets the eye in this impressive outing.

It seems that a spectral like creature called the Gelth are missing physical form and have been trying to amend for this by taking over the deceased bodies owned by funeral director Gabriel Sneed and servant girl Gwyneth, who is almost quickly established as having psychic abilities.

Their attempts of hiding the numerous living dead gets more complicated when the latest body snatcher causes a commotion at the theatre while Charles Dickens is on stage and after being kidnapped by Sneed, Rose herself is placed in the peril of the Gelth, until The Doctor and Dickens come to her rescue.

An episode of Doctor Who featuring Charles Dickens could’ve had the makings of a farce but what saves it from being so are many things. The casting of Simon Callow as Dickens is a masterstroke in genius as is the wonderful interplay between him and Christopher Eccleston and Gatiss makes use of his wonderful actors and sharp dialogue in more ways than one.

Dickens’ scepticism versus The Doctor’s optimism on the nature of spirits and séances is not only a highlight throughout the hour but it also enhances the episode thematically and plays wonderfully into several other interactions including The Doctor and Rose, who take very different stances on the Gelth’s use of dead bodies as vessels or even using psychic Gwyneth as a means of closing the rift that the fallout of the legendary Time War has caused.

On this scope I sided with Rose more than I did with The Doctor. The Doctor doesn’t realise or maybe chose not to acknowledge that the deceased bodies still may have very alive loved ones who would freak out if they knew their former loved ones are being used for other spirits to inhabit.

Even if she did feel a little superior to Gwyneth, Rose acknowledged that fact and felt that a girl who has been treated like a second class citizen all her life shouldn’t be used as a means, even if it is for the greater good. That being said, Gwyneth made the decision despite the fatal outcome you could see coming a mile off. Great performance from Eve Myles though.

As baddies go, the astral like Gelth were suitably scary, especially given the almost child like mannerism they displayed. Props have to go to the wonderful CGI for our blue ghosts. I expected the seemingly benevolent spirits to turn bad but it still shocked anyway when they started killing Mr Sneed and were planning to do the same to our heroes. It’s a good job that a newly swayed Dickens thought of asphyxiating the funeral home in order to save the day.

With Gwyneth sacrificed and the Gelth held in their place, the last few minutes of the episode saw a rather optimistic Dickens happily skipping off in the snow while The Doctor tells Rose inside the TARDIS that there’s one story Charles won’t be writing about anytime soon.

The Doctor and Rose’s relationship got nicely touched upon again in a similar enough manner to last week. Rose certainly doesn’t have a problem with questioning The Doctor’s motives but I’m wondering if this keeps happening, will there be a big fallout from it, like an error in judgement or Rose being sent home?

Still though it is plausible that she asks questions and it’s nice that in such a short space of time they’ve grown rather attached to each other, which got demonstrated in a particularly touching scene before Charles’ heroics.

Also in “The Unquiet Dead”

There was no “Previously On” bit for this episode and the opening scene didn’t feature either The Doctor or Rose.

The Doctor: “It’s not Naples.”
Rose: “I don’t care.”

The Doctor: “It’s Cardiff.”
Rose: “Right.”

The original place the TARDIS was supposed to take them was Naples, 1860.

The Doctor: “That a boy, Charlie.”
Charles: “No-one calls me Charlie.”

The Doctor is a fan of Great Expectations and Oliver to name a few. It’s still Scrooge for me.

Rose: “Who’s your friend?”
The Doctor: “Charles Dickens.”

Rose (to Sneed): “And don’t think I didn’t feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man.”

The Doctor complimented Rose on her Victorian look and even Charles Dickens took a fancy to her. Rose’s attire was also mentioned by Gwyneth as well; who I think envied her free spirit approach to life.

Charles: “I saw nothing but an illusion.”
The Doctor: “If you’re going to deny it, then don’t waste my time and shut up.”

Gwyneth (re butcher boy): “Such a lovely smile on him.”
Rose: “I like a nice smile. Good smile, nice bum.”

Although Mickey and Jackie don’t appear, Rose mentions her mate Sherene again and Gwyneth reveals that she’s been thinking about her dead father.

The Doctor (re Gwyneth): “Don’t antagonise her, I love a happy medium.”
Rose: “I can’t believe you said that.”

The Doctor: “I’m so glad I met you.”
Rose: “Me too.”

According to tv.com, Mark Gatiss got the date Charles really died wrong. He died on June 8^th 1870, not December 1869.

With two brilliant first outings to start the series, our new Doctor Who hits its first classic episode with this instalment. “The Unquiet Dead” was spooky and slightly silly but Mark Gatiss delivered a powerful script and sterling performances from everyone concerned. Like Russell T Davies, he is a true fan and it reflects in the writing.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

My Review of Doctor Who's 1x02: "The End Of The World"

Written by Russell T Davies
Directed by Euros Lyn

The Doctor (to Rose): “You think it’ll last forever. The people and cars and concrete but it won’t. Then one day it’s all gone, even the sky.”

Wait a minute, the world is ending? Not the most original scenario ever witnessed in the TV and film world but episode two of the new series has The Doctor and Rose landing on Platform One to witness this historical event unfolds.

It seems The Doctor isn’t here to save the Earth – just to watch its annihilation, along with others alien guests bearing gifts. Rose is a little confused by this strange inaction and so was I for the first ten minutes.

It seems the Earth is a shell of it’s former self. There are no humans to worry about being perished because there’s none left, except for Rose and a creepy spread out shroud of a human called Cassandra, who’s had more operations than we’re ever likely to see and hear in Nip/Tuck’s entire run or read about in the tabloids.

Cassandra is one of many guests on Platform One but oddly enough, she is one of the few who is properly developed throughout the episode. The rest, while props to the make up and prosthetics department, are strangely underused and feel more like show rather than tell.

Voiced magnificently by My Family’s Zoë Wanamaker, the moment Cassandra stepped on the screen, I could tell that she was responsible for sabotaging Platform One and the near assassination of everyone on board. The suspicion had been aroused big time when she was talking to Rose and how she addressed how all the other humans had abandoned the Earth and (supposedly) procreated with other species.

There was a massive element of nastiness between both her and even Rose in that exchange, although it was obviously more understandable to see where Rose was coming from rather than Cassandra.

So what was the reason for Cassandra’s nasty plan? Simple, she just wanted compensation so she could have more plastic surgery done. It proves your master-plan doesn’t have to be grand in order for the baddie to stoop so low and as a villain Cassandra hits the right spots. Not only does she look scarier than Michael Jackson but shock, horror, she exudes better menace than the Autons did last week.

Her lack of remorse when she was caught was also well played by Wanamaker but the fact her plan went awry and Cassandra paid the price by suffering from the heat she had intended to use to roast everyone else was terrific. Sadly another one of our aliens suffered from the same predicament on Platform One and it was an alien worth watching for the opposite reasons I enjoyed watching Cassandra.

Jabe from the forest of Cheam proved that not all aliens on this series are bad. From the moment we were introduced to her, she was charming and sweet. Her interplay and overall interest in The Doctor was a delight to watch and was it me or did she seem to have a thing for The Doctor? She was relieved when she learned that he and Rose weren’t intimate and she was sincere in sympathising for his loss.

The Doctor welling up in that particular scene nearly had me going but Jabe’s most memorable contribution of the hour was sacrificing herself to help The Doctor save everyone else on board. What a brilliant character, who was in the episode for 35 minutes but she showed so much compassion and subtle humour, her presence was missed. It shows how much heart and humanity is in this show.

We saw this in a lot of Rose’s moments too, firstly with her brief conversation with plumber Ruffalo and how politely Rose addressed her. Ruffalo’s death at the hands of those spider creatures was a little sad but her presence brought up some great questions for Rose to think about. Questions which she asked but some which were only half explained. Elements of this are advantageous to long time fans but it slightly isolates newcomers a little.

Rose did jump into the TARDIS without really thinking about. She didn’t really question The Doctor so much and even though she knew danger was always a risk, it’s only now that this becomes apparent to her and started asking questions. The Doctor told her about his race being wiped out but didn’t specify how or by whom.

He also didn’t tell her that the TARDIS can get inside her head and make her communicate with other species, so from her perspective, she is right to be a little annoyed by this and there is good conflict in that for their relationship.

It’s great that their relationship is being explored in this way. It’s new and both of them are out of their depth in different ways but there are enough things that as a viewers that makes you want Rose to stick with The Doctor. The final act with them back in London filled with a street of oblivious passers by we got to see the playful side of their relationship.

The world may always be in danger but it’s nice to know that they can go and get something to eat in between trips. It’s also worth pointing out that Rose will probably grow more as a person through the life she lives with The Doctor than by being with her Mum and Mickey. The Doctor pushes her and she pushes him, even this episode shows that.

Also in “The End Of The World”

The “Previously On” bit had no voiceover. Kind of strange but cool in a way.

Cassandra: “I don’t look a day over 2000. Moisturize me, moisturize me.”

Guests on Platform One included the Face Of Boe, Mox Of Balhoon who brought saliva as a gift, Repeated Mean, Cassandra who brought a Jukebox and an Ostrich egg, Jabe and two followers brought a twig (cutting of her grandfather) and The Doctor and Rose who brought breath.

Rose (re guests): “You look at them and they’re alien.”
The Doctor: “Good thing I didn’t take you to the Deep South.”

Rose: “Five billion years later and my Mum is dead.”
The Doctor: “Bundle of laughs you are.”

The Earth death times were 30 minutes, 25 minutes, 20 minutes, 3 minutes and 2 minutes before the beautiful explosion happened.

The Doctor (re disaster): “Fantastic.
Jabe: “I don’t understand. In what way is this fantastic?”

Nifty Titanic reference from last episode was thrown in during The Doctor and Jabe’s conversation.

Rose: “It’s better to die than to live like a bitchy trampoline like you.”
Cassandra: “What would you know?”

Cassandra’s has had five husbands; her mother was from the Arctic desert and her father from Texas. She’s also had 708 surgeries and referred to humans as mongrels.

Rose: “Let me out.”
The Doctor: “Well it would be you.”

Cassandra: “Burn baby, burn.”
Jabe: “Then you’ll burn with us.”

Jabe mistook Rose for being The Doctor’s wife, partner, concubine and prostitute. Rose’s reaction to the last one was hilarious.

Rose (re Cassandra): “Help her.”
The Doctor: “Everything has it’s time and everything dies.”

Bad Wolf was mentioned during the disaster on board. Didn’t the Nestene consciousness mention that as well?

The Doctor: “You’ve seen how dangerous it is. Do you wanna go home?”
Rose: “I don’t know.”

Standout music: “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell and “Toxic” by Britney Spears.

Would it be wrong to say that I preferred “The End Of The World” to “Rose”? Maybe but I think this episode delivered a lot more in comparison to the opener. It was more complicated and emotional and also a little darker. Both Eccleston and Piper continue to impress and Russell’s scripts show the kind of ambition needed for more UK television drama at the moment.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

My Review of Doctor Who's 1x01: "Rose"

Written by Russell T Davies
Directed by Keith Boak

Okay before I start anywhere in my review I should let it be known that I am only semi-new to the world of Doctor Who. By this I mean I’ve only seen bits and pieces of the old series, the magazine I buy on a religious basis Dreamwatch originated from being a fanzine for the series and not only do I realise it’s not only influential in the sci-fi and fantasy genre but it’s also a British institution and cultural icon.

So why would I even dare review if there was a risk of making a blunder that pedantic fans could crucify me for missing out on? I like it a lot as a show and be honest I fancied a change of pace from the usual type of shows I do review and what could be more of a change than Doctor Who?

So 26 seasons, a failed TV movie, eight previous Doctors and a 16 year break from our screens and our 2005 debut begins with an ordinary girl named Rose Tyler going about her usual day – saying goodbye to Mum, lunch with her boyfriend and finishing the day at her job, only to go back and hand the lottery money to Winston downstairs.

Hardly riveting stuff until she finds herself under attack by Living Plastic Shop Dummies and rescued by an odd looking man dressed in leather who tells her to forget him, only when she’s just processed the fact he’s stopped her assailants – temporarily. Fat lot of good that is!

It’s unlikely to forget the guy that saved your life when the next morning he turns up at your council flat and another attack happens in your living room while your Mum is drying her hair but what the hey? You can keep your head firmly lodged in the sand and choose to live a life of ignorant bliss or better yet, you can look for some answers about your mystery. Thankfully Rose leans towards the latter option and more power to her for that decision.

On their second encounter The Doctor gave her some tiny answers – he feels the Earth moving around him in the literal meaning of the phrase and that’s he something of a one man army. Obviously to all viewers, whether you’re new or old to the Who universe this raises more questions than answers and it also proves that there was a universe far more mysterious and even fatal long before The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost crashed into our collective consciousness and Rose’s attempts to get answers are fun.

Enter Clive, something of a Doctor Who fanatic, he beats most stereotypes by being a well together happily married man with children while having no intentions of harming anyone. The in-joke about him being a potential danger when he first meets Rose is handled well in my opinion. Although Clive dispenses some pretty impressive appearances of The Doctor throughout various time periods, his conclusion of The Doctor being an alien is hardly going to shock, is it? Even non-sci-fi viewers would’ve deduced that one pretty quickly but it’s moments like this that show the accessibility of this new remake/continuation/take your pick.

More interesting was Rose’s plank of a boyfriend Mickey being swallowed by a bin (more Living Plastic – I kid you not) and replaced with a copy. How Rose didn’t recognise this as soon as she got back in the car and even at the restaurant was baffling but the ensuing fight with Plastic Mickey and The Doctor was fun, although Rose’s first reaction to the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) and her and the Doctor’s arrival in London’s City Centre led to an interesting discussion on humanity.

As a girlfriend, Rose would naturally feel grief for Mickey and worry over having to tell his mother that he’s dead. The Doctor however would feel bad that Mickey was caught in the crossfire of a never ending war but would rationalise it with thinking of the bigger picture. Rose used the alien card when The Doctor didn’t appear as concerned for Mickey as she was. Up until that point she had handled the alien part just fine.

Rose being built as the new assistant for The Doctor was obvious from the start. Both her and The Doctor were drawn together and then sought each other out and it was Rose who saved the day against the Nestene Conscious, the leader of the Autons, our Living Plastic fiends. Their destruction came only out of Rose’s bravery – the real Mickey was useless and The Doctor had been outnumbered. I suppose I should note he came in peace, the Conscious chose to ignore and Rose was within her right to do what she did but we all know that, so yay for Rose.

Even The Doctor was impressed with how she handled herself and gave the opportunity of a lifetime – becoming a companion. When she declined at first I knew she didn’t mean it and it rang true when she overly ran to the TARDIS at the end. Let the fun begin.

As Doctor and assistant, there’s an instant likeable chemistry with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. The casting of an ex-pop star in normal circumstances could’ve been a disaster but Piper works a treat and is perfect for a down to earth, street savvy assistant.

The supporting players don’t fare as well with Rose’s mum and boyfriend being a tad annoying for their own good but with time they could improve, although it’s easy to see why The Doctor isn’t particularly fond of Mickey. His cowardice was quite laughable at best here. I also see problems with him and Rose now The Doctor looks set to play a bigger part in her life.

Also in “Rose”

The opening credits which I like are very Farscape like. Especially with the logo.

Rose (re Autons): “Who were they, students? Is this a student thing or what?”
The Doctor: “Why would they be students?”

Rose worked in a store called Henriks, which I had guessed was up market before Jackie’s “airs and graces” comment, while Wilson was an electrician. I don’t know who Derek was unless he was security.

Jackie: “Well anything could happen.”
The Doctor: “No.”

The Doctor (re magazine): “That’ll never work. He’s gay and she’s an alien.”

We didn’t learn much about Jackie in this episode – is she divorced or widowed? Employed or not? She seems to know a few people whose speciality is seeking compensation though.

Rose: “So what you’re saying is the entire universe revolves around you?”
The Doctor: “Sort of, yeah.”

Hits list – Doctor = 17,700,000 hits, Doctor Living Plastic = 53,700 hits and Doctor Blue Box = 493 hits. Clive’s website http://www.whoisdoctorwho.co.uk/ actually exists as well.

Clive (re The Doctor): “He has one constant companion.”
Rose: “Who’s that?”
Clive: “Death.”

Rose: “If you’re an alien, how come you sound like you’re from the North?”
The Doctor: “Lots of planets have a North.”

We saw the Doctor during J.F. Kennedy’s assassination, persuading the Daniels family not to board the Titanic and in 1883, Sumatra. Wouldn’t images of previous Doctors been a smart move to have used there?

Rose: “You were useless in there; you would’ve been dead without me.”
The Doctor: “Yes I would.”

Rose has got no A Levels but she does have a Bronze in gymnastics. A heroine who isn’t academic but still smart in her own right.

Trying to appease both long term Doctor Who fans and enticing newcomers must have been an unenviable and daunting task for Russell T Davies, but “Rose” is an impressive enough debut to satisfy both sides of the spectrum. A likeable cast with a fast, fun and energetic debut and one of the best screen tag teams in a while, the BBC finally have a real reason to rub their hands with glee and now we finally have a real reason to watch Saturday TV at least for thirteen weeks of the year anyway.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

My Review of Dollhouse's 1x06: "Man On The Street"

Written by Joss Whedon
Directed by David Straiton

Echo: “The Dollhouse deals in fantasy. That is their business but that is not their purpose.”
Paul: “What is?”
Echo: “We need you to find out. We’ll contact you again, if possible with the same body but you have to let the Dollhouse win. Make them back off. You have to trust me.”

Remember when Joss Whedon said that everything would fall into place around the sixth episode of the first season? Well, I guess he wasn’t kidding as this episode certainly had things falling into place and after five fairly hit and miss episodes, it was about bloody time.

Paul’s frantic search for Echo finally had him meet his desired girl when busting in on suspected Dollhouse client Joel Mynor. He was another in a long line of men having Actives programmed for romantic engagement, except that this was no ordinary engagement as such.

Echo wasn’t being programmed into some random hooker who thought the sun shined out of Joel’s arse but at the same time, there’s something very disturbed about her being programmed as the deceased Rebecca Mynor, all so that Joel can get a reaction from her in regards to a house he purchased.

In some ways, Joel has a very poignant story. He finally became a success, wanted to share that with the woman he loved and she died on him. There’s a part of me that is sympathetic to his plight but not enough for his actions to be condoned. His conversation with Paul is a master class in Whedon writing.

Although Paul was able to piece together Joel’s motives for having Echo imprinted as Rebecca, Joel was able to do the same thing with Paul’s need to rescue Caroline. It’ll shock no viewer that Paul has got something of a saviour complex and the allusions to fairytales are eerily appropriate.

Also on a superficial level, Tahmoh Penikett has the kind of physique that would have him cast as a Prince Charming in any fairytale adaptation. Also, while Paul’s motives aren’t entirely pure (love/lust for Caroline and all), this is the first time since the series started that I actually cared about him and his desire to bring down the Dollhouse. One is going to be tricky Paul but I dare you to try and take down over 20 of them.

Earlier on in the season, I found myself uninterested in his motives and almost siding with the fellow agents who happily took the piss out of him searching for a thing that might not exist. Then this episode reintroduced Agent Tanaka and I found myself wavering towards Paul’s side.

Mark Sheppard might be a good actor (he was certainly enjoyable in Battlestar Galactica) but he’s rather miscast for this role and Tanaka is little more than a wooden oppressor trying to railroad Paul’s research into the Dollhouse. Plus he warranted the injury Paul gave him alone for the sleazy comment he made about Caroline. Seriously dude, shut the frak up already.

I think another reason why I actually found myself liking Paul in this episode is that the writers finally took the stick out of his arse. Paul was actually funny in this episode. Maybe not in the sense that stand up comedy is the vocation he should be really pursuing but funny in the dry sarcastic way that can often make certain characters endearing in their own right.

I loved his banter with Loomis while they were drawing up more links to Joel and the Dollhouse and there was the fun, playful side with him and Mellie (and Paul, you are a fine piece of meat). That leads to another thing – how bloody amazing is Mellie? Seriously, let me count the ways.

First of all, Joss grasped an excellent handle on the character with this episode. No longer the clingy neighbour but more the sympathetic ear that went out of her way not to pressure Paul into a romantic liaison. Of course, Paul did end up sleeping with her but that also might have been as a result of Mynor pointing out his fixation on Caroline.

As for the big thing with Mellie – she’s a doll. Come on, who on Earth didn’t figure that one out? It had been obvious since her first appearance and while this episode did go some way to try and throw viewers off the scent, she certainly revealed herself during a life and death situation with Hearn. Oh Adelle, you really do play a bad hand very well.

I’m not sure how Paul is going to react when he discovers that his nice neighbour is really keeping an eye on him but I was blown away with the reveal. And how convenient was it that a corrupted Echo also gave Paul the big hint to go and check up on Mellie? If he had arrived a few minutes earlier, he would’ve caught Mellie in action and if Adele hadn’t activated Mellie when she did, Hearn would’ve succeeded.

Paul and Echo’s first meeting should’ve been the highlight of the episode but I think in a lot of ways, it just fell into a long line of excellent moments. The fight scene between the two of them in the kitchen and then an alley is up there with some of the best scraps on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel.

Echo also gave Paul enough rope to hang himself with and even with a suspension, it’s nice that Adelle seemed aware that Paul wouldn’t give up searching for the Dollhouse. I wonder will Adelle have Paul killed. She certainly had no problem sending Hearn to his death.

In “Stage Fright” Hearn came across as a massive jerk and while he had a point to attack the ethics of the Dollhouse, he had no right whatsoever to rape Sierra and have Victor nearly sent to the Attic for it. I loved that Claire pointed out the difference between being attracted to someone (like Victor is with Sierra) and hurting someone (Hearn/Sierra). Boyd piecing things together and setting Hearn up to reveal himself as the rapist was exquisite. Just when I think that character can’t get any better and protocol or not, even Adelle looked impressed with him.

Also in “Man On The Street”

The vox pops weighing the pros and cons from local people on an organisation like the Dollhouse was interesting. It’s not the kind of thing that could’ve been avoided I guess either. That being said, why didn’t Adelle try and kill the story?

Echo: “I like to be alone sometimes.”
Victor: “It’s peaceful.”

Who was the person that corrupted Echo’s programming because it wasn’t Alpha for sure? I actually want it to be Claire but that could be too obvious.

Paul (re Joel): “I’ve liked this guy for a while.”
Loomis: “Ever thought of asking him out?”

Mellie: “I get that I’m not the gold standard in LA.”
Paul: “Please, you’re gorgeous.”

While it’s nice that Paul is no longer treating Mellie like she were a nuisance, was it wise for him to be sharing the information he had about his investigating?

Echo (to Joel): “You did porn. My husband has porn.”

Joel: “I think your fantasy is sadder than mine.”
Paul: “Won’t know until I hear it.”

Eliza Dushku’s squealing of porn was hilarious. Now, that is good acting if you can make one word hysterical.

Claire: “How does Sierra make you feel?”
Victor: “Better.”

Paul (to Joel): “You might not be punished and I might not be alive but this house will fall.”

During the fight scene with Paul, didn’t Echo look a little Buffy-esque in her attire? I also read recently that Tahmoh Penikett is a dab hand with Muay Thai.

Sierra (re Hearn being thrown through a window): “That wasn’t quiet.”
Boyd: “It wasn’t meant to be.”

Adelle (to Hearn): “We are in the business of using people but the problem is, what is the best use for you?”

Which apartment was Mellie in when Hearn attacked her? If it was Paul’s, wouldn’t Adelle’s little voice message to activate Mellie been risky to have done?

Paul (to Mellie): “I’m not a piece of meat you know. I have a heart.”

Paul: “Whoever you are, I swear I don’t want to hurt you.”
Echo: “I know. I’m counting on it.”

Echo showed more traces of remembering assignments when she painted Joel’s house in her blank state. Adelle really should be worried. And Dominic was somewhat decent in this episode.

Echo: “The Dollhouse is real. They know you’re after them. They are going to have you taken off the case. That’s why they sent me.”
Paul: “Why are you telling me this?”
Echo: “We have a person on the inside. This person corrupted the imprint while the programmer wasn’t looking. Added the parameter.”

Dominic: “You played a good hand, ma’am.”
Adelle: “I played a bad hand very well. There is a distinction.”
Dominic: “Of course.”

Standout music: “Sweet Dream” by Greg Laswell. As a side note, I enjoyed the song he had in the Grey’s Anatomy season finale.

Okay this might not be the best piece of television I’ve ever seen in my whole life but “Man On The Street” is incentive enough to see this show through. Finally the ante seems to be upped and hopefully the payoff will be worth it.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Desperate Housewives - Seasons 1-5

Season 1 Overview

Debut seasons are usually regarded by some viewers as probably their best, especially in more recent times and this was certainly a first season that made a huge splash. A delightful mash up of Sex And The City and Six Feet Under (with its own uniqueness thrown in there as well), I really didn’t think that I would fall for this series so hard. Out of the shows I review, it’s certainly one of the strangest but it’s engaging no less. This was the season that introduced viewers to Susan, Bree, Gabrielle, Lynette and Edie, following the death of Mary Alice and it certainly raised the bar for television as well.

Episode Ratings

1x01: Pilot =9/10, 1x02: Ah But Underneath =8/10,
1x03: Pretty Little Picture = 9/10, 1x04: Who’s That Woman? = 7/10,
1x05: Come In Stranger = 7/10, 1x06: Running To Stand Still =8/10,
1x07: Anything You Can Do = 9/10, 1x08: Guilty =10/10,
1x09: Suspicious Minds = 8/10, 1x10: Come Back To Me =7/10,
1x11: Move On = 7/10, 1x12: Every Day A Little Death = 8/10,
1x13: Your Fault =8/10, 1x14: Love Is In The Air =9/10,
1x15: Impossible =10/10, 1x16: The Ladies Who Lunch =8/10,
1x17: There Won’t Be Trumpets =6/10, 1x18: Children Who Listen = 8/10,
1x19: Live Alone And Like It =7/10, 1x20: Fear No More =9/10,
1x21: Sunday In The Park With George =8/10, 1x22: Goodbye For Now = 8/10,
1x23: One Wonderful Day =9/10.

Season 2 Overview

Like a certain show I restrict for DVD reviews, the second season wasn’t the show at it’s best for a variety of reasons. The Applewhite mystery was by far the weakest of the bunch and having it largely disconnected from the housewives for a good chunk of the season didn’t help. It also didn’t help that we really didn’t have the housewives interact a lot but we did have Bree vs. Andrew, Orson’s introduction, Edie burning Susan’s house to the ground and Gabby and Carlos splitting up while Lynette discovered that Tom fathered another child and Mike was ran over, so not totally boring then.

Episode Ratings

2x01: Next = 8/10, 2x02: You Could Drive A Person Crazy =6/10,
2x03: You’ll Never Get Away From Me =8/10,
2x04: My Heart Belongs To Daddy = 8/10,
2x05: They Ask Me Why I Believe In You = 9/10,
2x06: I Wish I Could Forget You = 9/10,
2x07: Colour And Light = 10/10, 2x08: The Sun Won’t Set =6/10,
2x09: That’s Good, That’s Bad =9/10, 2x10: Coming Home =7/10,
2x11: One More Kiss = 10/10, 2x12: We’re Gonna Be All Right = 7/10,
2x13: There’s Something About A War =8/10, 2x14: Silly People = 6/10,
2x15: Thank You So Much =9/10, 2x16: There Is No Other Way =9/10,
2x17: Could I Leave You? =7/10, 2x18: Everybody Says Don’t =8/10,
2x19: Don’t Look At Me =10/10, 2x20: It Wasn’t Meant To Happen = 8/10,
2x21: I Know Things Now = 9/10, 2x22: No One Is Alone = 7/10,
2x23: Remember Part 1 = 8/10, 2x24: Remember Part 2 =9/10.

Season 3 Overview

By far, this is my favourite season of the series. I just felt the writing was a lot stronger and Bree/Orson during this time in the show was the strongest and most interesting pairing as well. Orson’s mystery definitely had a lot of interesting twists and turns and while it was wrapped up earlier than usual to accommodate Marcia Cross’s real life pregnancy, the rest of the season worked well, though I did hate the Edie became too clingy with Carlos, even if the writers did end the season on the wonderful cliff hanger of her faking suicide. Other stuff I liked – Gabby was alright on her own, Kayla caused tension with Tom and Lynette, the Mike/Susan/Ian triangle wasn’t all bad and the hostage episode is still the best episode the show has done.

Episode Ratings

3x01: Listen To The Rain On The Roof =9/10, 3x02: It Takes Two =7/10,
3x03: A Weekend In The Country = 8/10, 3x04: Like It Was =8/10,
3x05: Nice She Ain’t =9/10, 3x06: Sweetheart I Have To Confess =8/10,
3x07: Bang = 10/10, 3x08: Children And Art = 7/10,
3x09: Beautiful Girls =7/10, 3x10: The Miracle Song =9/10,
3x11: No Fits, No Fights, No Feuds =9/10, 3x12: Not While I’m Around =7/10,
3x13: Come Play Wiz Me =8/10, 3x14: I Remember That =9/10,
3x15: The Little Things You Do Together =10/10, 3x16: My Husband The Pig =8/10,
3x17: Dress Big =6/10, 3x18: Liaisons =8/10,
3x19: God That’s Good =9/10, 3x20: Gossip =9/10,
3x21: Into The Woods = 8/10, 3x22: What Would We Do Without You? = 8/10,
3x23: Getting Married Today =9/10.

Season 4 Overview

Maybe it was me but if there a series that actually benefited from the writers strike during the 2007-2008 TV season, it might have been this one. We didn’t have to go through several episodes where nothing happened and Katherine (though sort of annoying) had a mystery that was able to sustain itself throughout the year. It was nice to see Gabby and Carlos get back together and whether the latter’s blindness as well as Tom and Lynette beating the latter’s cancer and Kayla’s wrath. Susan and Mike were decidedly less drama filled (well, in spite of the drug relapse) and their pregnancy plot was fine with me. However I didn’t like Edie being booted out of town but the five year jump was delightful, even though a lot of shows are pulling that one now.

Episode Ratings

4x01: Now You Know =9/10, 4x02: Smiles Of A Summer Night =9/10,
4x03: The Game = 8/10, 4x04: If There’s Anything I Can’t Stand =7/10,
4x05: Art Isn’t Easy =8/10, 4x06: Now I Know, Don’t Be Scared = 9/10,
4x07: You Can’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover = 8/10,
4x08: A Distant Past = 8/10,
4x09: Something’s Coming = 10/10, 410: Welcome To Kanagawa =9/10,
4x11: Sunday =7/10, 4x12: In Buddy’s Eyes =9/10,
4x13: Hello Little Girl = 8/10, 4x14: Opening Doors = 9/10,
4x15: Mother Said = 9/10, 4x16: The Gun Song = 8/10, 4x17: Free = 9/10.

Season 5 Overview

Five years into the future and so much can change and stay the same. This season started off fairly well but it petered as well. Edie’s death should’ve far more irrevocable than it actually was, Dave’s mystery had no twists whatsoever (everyone knew Susan was behind the wheel during the first episode), the Susan/Mike/Katherine triangle was frustrating and it was kind of heartbreaking to see Bree and Orson’s marriage go from bad to worse. We also didn’t need to have Lynette and Tom wind up pregnant by the finale and does anyone actually care who Mike’s mystery bride is? More interesting was Gabby and Carlos becoming parents, rich again, the latter getting his sight back and his niece, which could be a good mystery for next season. And Jackson was nice to gawk at.

Episode Ratings

5x01: You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow = 8/10,
5x02: We’re So Happy, You’re So Happy = 8/10,
5x03: Kids Ain’t Like Everybody Else = 7/10, 5x04: Back In Business = 8/10,
5x05: Mirror, Mirror = 10/10, 5x06: There’s Always A Woman = 9/10,
5x07: What More Do I Need? = 7/10, 5x08: City On Fire = 10/10,
5x09: Me And My Town = 8/10, 5x10: A Vision’s Just A Vision = 8/10,
5x11: Home Is The Place = 8/10, 5x12: Connect, Connect =9/10,
5x13: The Best Thing Ever That Could Have Happened = 10/10,
5x14: Mama Spent Money When She Had None = 7/10,
5x15: In A World Where The Employers Are Kings = 6/10,
5x16: Crime Doesn’t Pay = 7/10,
5x17: The Story Of Lucy And Jessie = 8/10,
5x18: A Spark To Pierce The Dark = 9/10,
5x19: Look Into Their Eyes And You See What They Know =9/10,
5x20: Rose’s Turn = 8/10, 5x21: Bargaining =8/10,
5x22: Marry Me A Little = 7/10, 5x23: Everybody Says Don’t = 8/10,
5x24: If It’s Only In Your Head =7/10.

All episode reviews can be found on both my TV TOME page and SHAWNLUNN2002TVHITS, both of which are linked on this blog.

My Review of Dexter's 3x09: "About Last Night"

Written by Melissa Rosenberg And Seth Reynolds
Directed by Tim Hunter

Sylvia: “When you’ve been married as long as we have, you know when your husband is lying.”
Dexter (to himself): “Something to look forward to.”

For someone as usually perceptive as Dexter, he should’ve spotted a long time ago that Miguel was a loose cannon. It’s at this point in the season where things heat up. In the first year, Rudy was getting close to Dexter and the second had Dexter discover that Lila was unhinged.

Miguel’s unhinged behaviour has become apparent in the last few episodes and after showing up on Ellen’s doorstep in the previous episode, there’s no mystery as to what happened next. I know a few people thought that Miguel and Ellen might have actually been in cahoots together but I watched that scene again and she looked uneasy when he paid her a house call.

Harry taunted Dexter on both Ellen and Miguel disappearing at the same time and it wasn’t until Dexter dug an unopened grave that he found her body. Damn it, no more Anne Ramsay on this series and more misery for Maria. First Doakes, now Ellen. Is Maria bad luck for people?

I’m kidding but thanks to the discovery Dexter has begun to realise how dangerous Miguel actually is. I also think for the first time this season, I properly and passionately loathe Miguel, even though Jimmy Smits continues to knock it out of the ballpark with the character.

Miguel made the mistake of thinking he was untouchable. His attempts of apologising to Dexter about taking on a solo project were blatantly insincere and even when Dexter attempted to prove a point to Miguel by leading the authorities to Ellen’s body in his own roundabout way; Miguel was still not getting the message.

Miguel has pretty thrown the trust issue at Dexter in order to gain it and to influence Dexter’s decision a fair amount of times this season. It should’ve been obvious that he would never have given Dexter a blood stained shirt that would incriminate him in Freebo’s murder.

Giving Dexter a shirt covered in Bovine surprised me, though I’m also surprised in retrospect that Dexter didn’t analyse the blood on the shirt until now. Dexter piecing together that Miguel was using him made for a powerful moment. It also yet again shows that Dexter does feel emotion and rage is pretty fucking powerful to feel. I so can’t wait to see how this rage is gonna play out.

Miguel’s pretty pissed on Dexter’s respect all over the shop and when he went to sympathise with Maria over Ellen’s death, I found myself quite disgusted watching that scene. Perhaps Maria will be smart enough to piece together that Miguel bumped off her new pal.

When he wasn’t bumping off Ellen, Miguel also managed to frak up things for Deb and Quinn regarding George King. Mystery solved – King’s the Skinner and Miguel made it possible for him to roam the streets again. Of course Miguel might be stupid enough to think he can take down the Skinner but he could easily end up becoming a victim of him as well if Dexter fails to kill him.

It was nice at this point that we’re finally getting in deeper with the Skinner and though he’s a good threat, he’s no Rudy. I even think Lila is better than him but I think one of the reasons why the Skinner isn’t as successful is given how little we’ve had of him at the start of the season and also how dominating Miguel has become these last few episodes as well.

Poor Anton was the latest victim of madman King but surprisingly enough, the scenes where he was getting skinned weren’t as gory as you’d expect. I sure would like to know why the Skinner is doing what he does and why he’s targeting certain people. I assume that with Anton, it’s because he was a CI but why did he go after the others, like Tegan for starters?

Deb lost her cool more than a few times in this episode. I love the girl to bits but she has been reckless in the handling of this case and she played into King’s hands with her violent outburst during the questioning section this week. It’s a good job that she had both Quinn and Maria to pull her back at different points.

Quinn sort of came into his own this episode. It’s also his fault that Anton was put in harm’s way so I liked that he drove a car into King’s hideout to rescue the guy. When he and Deb weren’t arguing over their collective screw ups in this case, they actually made some headway in their working relationship. If Anton’s done as a character, then that probably paves the way for Quinn to sweep Deb off her feet.

With three episodes left, I’m wondering how things are going to fare out for Dexter and Rita and baby on the way. Rita’s been spending the last few episodes either as a sounding board for Sylvia or channelling her inner Bridezilla to Dexter’s derision so in some ways this episode didn’t offer her anything new. It’s a shame because Julie Benz should get more to do on this show.

However Rita did at least get one intriguing scene with Miguel where she told him that he was being an idiot. It’s fairly obvious that Miguel isn’t used to being talked down to and if it wasn’t for wanting to keep Dexter onside, I have a feeling he probably would’ve ripped Rita a new one for sticking her oar in.

As for Angel and Barbara, they still seem to be the happiest couple right now on the show. Funnily enough, even spending time with Masuka hasn’t given Barbara the urge to leg it. As for Masuka commenting on Barbara being the ‘wikipedia of perv’, maybe it indicates something serious or maybe it’s just a defence mechanism that Barbara uses to deal with men like Vince. I’m sure we’ll find out sooner rather than later on that one.

Also in “About Last Night”

This season keeps playing with Harry as a fantasy figure. Getting him to wave Ellen’s hand was so inappropriately funny.

Dexter (to Deb): “Anton’s a big guy, lot of skin. That’s supposed to be comforting.”

Did I hear right in King saying that he owed Freebo money? Is that why he murdered Tegan?

Anton: “I can find you money.”
King: “I don’t want your money. I owe Freebo that money. This is about respect.”

Masuka (to Angel/Barbara): “Hey, get a room. Actually don’t.”

Harry, Miguel and Dexter were all singing the same song at one point in this episode, it’s was kind of disconcerting.

Rita (re Sylvia): “Either way you violated her trust.”
Miguel: “I just needed space. I have everything falling apart for me right now. Oscar, Ramon, my cases.”

Dexter (re Ellen): “She wasn’t guilty.”
Miguel: “Apparently we have a different definition of the word.”

Was Anne Ramsay even credited for this episode? I know all she had to do was play a corpse but I don’t remember seeing her name in the end credits.

Dexter (re George King/Skinner): “I hope we meet again. I’d like to get to know you better but how well can you know someone? How much do you wanna know?”

Dexter (re Miguel): “I didn’t create a monster, I was used by one. He used me.”

Dexter’s imaginary blow up reminded me of Six Feet Under when some of the characters used to do that as well.

“About Last Night” continues to set into motion both Miguel and the Skinner plots and while it’s obvious that both are going to be killed by the finale, it’s certainly going to be interesting getting there.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

My Review of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's: "Tales Of The Vampires: The Thrill"

Written by Becky Cloonan
Artwork by Vasilis Lolos

Alex (to Sebastian): “Humans aren’t just food, so why don’t you -”
Jacob: “Alex, come on. What’s the big deal?”
Alex: “The big deal? They’re soulless killers! I don’t care how that stupid reality show makes it look – you have to get the hell away from these guys, Jacob!”

This is weird. On one hand this is a part of the current run of eighth season comics but on the other, it isn’t. We’ve had issues without Buffy before (“The Chain”, “No Future For You Part 2”, and “Safe” to name three) but there isn’t a single familiar character here at all.

In the arse end of nowhere (I’m kidding, so if you’re from New Hampshire, do not take offence), you’ve got a misanthropic teenager by the name of Jacob. Like so many people his age, Jacob seems to loathe being in his home and is desperate for a way out.

Apparently his desperation is so intense that he can’t even be bothered to remember what day it happens to be because they all seem to merge together. Life is meaningless and this comic’s overt cynicism will divide readers. For a while, I wasn’t even sure I was going to review it myself.

Jacob’s monologue is pretty uninspired stuff so when a pretty girl by the name of May asked for him to light her cigarette, something had to have been up. Of course she was going to be a baddie and it almost seemed telegraphed when May started talking to Jacob’s best friend Alex.

The other thing we learn about Jacob fairly quick is that he’s in a minority of morons daft enough to let a vampire snack on him. Instead of smoking a joint, this is probably what gets Jacob through the day. I know what it’s like to feel this depressed, bored, etc. The town I live in isn’t exactly bustling with life either but I’m also caring very little about this character.

Even his apathy to his stressed out mother and sexual fantasies about Alex aren’t exactly hitting the right spots for me. Dream wise, it’s obvious that Jacob is both in love with Alex and also that he wants to become a vampire. I have a feeling that he’s going to get one of his desires.

Needless to say, his sex dream motivated him into asking Alex out on a date and it also had his adjust his attitude towards his life. Jacob thought everything was going to turn out for the better. He even went out of his way to politely refuse Sebastian and his mates a snack.

Sebastian reacted by beating the crap out of Jacob and leaving him for dead. May conveniently turning up to save him meant that Jacob had another girl with an interest in him. For someone like Jacob, turning into a vampire is a thrill. The way he gushes on about it very much romanticised vampires but it was essentially lame as well.

Even his friend Alex can’t rack her brains as to why he’s so happy to be around vampires. Because of that, it wasn’t a massive shock that she’d react badly to finding out that her only friend turned into a vampire. Well, there was Sebastian and his big mouth.

If I were Jacob, I might have used my new found strength into getting a tiny bit of payback concerning Sebastian. Scratch that, I simply would’ve staked him and the gang of idiots who beat the living daylights out of me. I have to admit that Alex won some brownie points simply by telling Sebastian off.

However one thing I really didn’t like about this story was how accepting Jacob’s mother was of it. Shouldn’t she have done more than cry for a second and decide that he should live in the basement? Like maybe fear for her life or throw him out if she couldn’t stake him.

Jacob musing over whether or not to kill his mother felt a little Dexter-esque to me but not quite as interesting. However I did like the fact that he realised that just because he was a vampire, it didn’t mean that his situation had changed.

As for wanting to move in with May, maybe it’s a sire/maker connection thing but either way, Alex’s overall jealousy of May certainly intensified in a big way. Both girls got into a scrap over the guy and if May was a vampire, then I suppose it was appropriate that Alex would be a slayer.

It was also appropriate that Alex would also be the same slayer to end up killing May as well. Because of this, Jacob ranted on about drunk drivers being more of a threat to vampires than people. Maybe there’s a point in there but if Jacob really believes that, then Alex should’ve staked him there and then.

Jacob might love being a vampire but Alex has self-loathing issues over being a slayer. Its times like this when it’s more clear that there are so many girls out there that Buffy and company haven’t been able to reach. For every Simone or Gigi out there who abuses their power and succumbs to darkness, there’s an Alex who hates herself for being chosen. Now that’s a depressing thought.

The end piece is interesting with Jacob feasting on Alex and her letting him. He asked whether or not she wanted to be turned but he also made it clear that regardless of what she chose, the choice was his. That made me hate Jacob more and if Alex did become a vampire, her self-loathing issues are certainly going to be even more maddening for her.

Also in “Tales Of The Vampires: The Thrill”

The cover with May turning Jacob is one of the most gorgeous covers that Jo Chen has done. That woman keeps excelling herself.

Jacob: “I’m stuck in this black hole town and I keep sinking further down. Something’s gotta give.”

The arcade game that Jacob wasted 12 bucks looked familiar, like one of those Tekken games that were all the rage years ago.

Sebastian: “You’re too late today. I just ate.”
Jacob: “Are … are you sure? I mean …”
Sebastian: “I tell you what, kid. I’m done feeding for tonight, but I’ve got a couple of friends I could introduce you to. Get in.”

Jacob: “I dreamt about you last night.”
Alex: “Okay, that’s too much information.”
Jacob: “Do you want to get dinner tonight?”

Not to sound prudish but there was a fair chunk of nudity in this comic, most of it being Jacob of course.

Jacob (re girl): “I was in her shoes once. Just trying to shake up my boring life. I wanted to feel something. Anything. Begging for a thrill. Now I am the thrill. And it’s unlike anything I could have ever imagined.”

Alex: “Are you his girlfriend?”
May: “What, Jacob hasn’t told you about us?”

I noticed an ad for DragonCon, which will feature Charisma Carpenter, James Marsters, Julie Benz and Kristy Swanson.

Alex: “W … we?”
Jacob: “Yes, Alex. I’m a vampire now. I was trying to explain before you went all … slayer? So what now? You gonna kill me too?”
Alex: “I never wanted to be a sluh … slayer.”

Jacob (re Alex): “I know, right now you’re probably thinking, ‘oh my God, what will she do?’ But this isn’t about her choice. It’s about my choice. It’s about finally having the courage to feel something and wanting more.”

“Retreat Part 1” will be released on July 1^st. I’m so looking forward to it.

“Tales Of The Vampires: The Thrill” didn’t thrill me. Jacob’s story, while dark in it’s own right just didn’t engage me the way it should. Maybe if there had been some involvement with the Scoobies, I might have cared but this was a by the numbers storyline.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

My Review of Angel's 6x22: "Aftermath Part 5"

Written by Kelley Armstrong
Artwork by Dave Ross

Kate (to Angel): “That’s the kid from the gang house. The one they killed. Only … older. So what are we seeing? The ghost of Christmas future?”
Female Power That Be: “More like the ghost of tragedies averted.”

It’s the last issue of this arc and following the previous where we learned that those annoying clerks were actually Elohim, this is one of those issues that should prove to be quite interesting.

Basically the irritating duo seem to consider themselves to be celestial referees, only there to keep the balance between the demonic and the divine at a reasonable pace, carnage wise. It’s also them that we can sort of blame for the Potentates being missing and all.

Angel’s analogy of penalty boxes reminded me of my primary school days when kids had to stand in a designated box for misbehaving the like. The worst that ever happened in my school might have been fighting. With Potentates, is a time out really an effective to stop them from going all kill happy?

I don’t think it is and the annoying clerk duo though not against the Potentates actually fighting do seem to have a strong opinion on how they do it. If evil can use extreme tactics to get things done, can’t good do the same?

Angel did get something of a crash course with the Potentates when a few of them attacked him for no reason. Even James found himself to be an outcast amongst the people he resided with in the heavenly plains, though one of his former comrades was sticking up for him.

It’s not too much of a shock then that other Potentates refuse to take kindly to Kate, Connor and Desdemona. The latter in particular generated attention due to the Potentates realising that she was also part jaguar in the mix. Seems that they’re sticklers for those little details.

The best part was Connor letting rip on them over their treatment of Desdemona before the two of them decided to make their exit. Connor and Angel also seemed to be on different sides in regards to the Potentates as well while Angel and Kate were led by a gang lad into an interesting predicament.

Angel, Kate and James all expected to find a demon in the midst. Having it revealed that the Potentates were killing humans did add an interesting twist to the storyline. It seemed that as well as ridding LA from the demons that threaten the city, the Potentates are also doing the same with human threats.

It’s a hard thing to debate. Angel is right in telling them that they don’t have the right to kill humans but at the same time, the humans in question are dangerous and I didn’t need the Power who came in Cordy’s placement to drill that information into my head. Angel and the gang (including James) breaking protocol should have some interesting consequences in following issues.

Also in “Aftermath Part 5”

The cover I bought had Angel, Kate and Gwen surrounded by Potentates. Kate actually looked like the Kate we know but Gwen wasn’t in this issue.

Female Boss: “We monitor and mediate between the divine and the demonic, ensuring that everyone plays fair. And when they do not … we cry foul.”
Angel: “So you’ve put the Potentates in the penalty box?”
Female Boss: “Excellent analogy.”
Male Boss: “We’ll have to remember that one.”

It just occurred to me that pencil guy Dave Ross should suspiciously similar to a certain Dalek creator.

James: “Nice way to treat your rescuer.”
Potentate: “Rescuer? Aren’t you?”
James: “Jamaerah. It’s been a while I know but I’m back and ready to help.”
Angel: “Not the most popular Angel on the cloud, were you?”

Connor (to Potentate): “If you want our help, you’d better watch your mouth, Angel or not.”
Desdemona: “Forget it; I’ve got my own work to do anyway. My own mess to clean up. And I’m having trouble holding form anyway.”

Connor showed an attraction to Desdemona in this issue. I guess older supernatural women are his thing.

Angel (re Connor): “Every time I think we’re getting close. I do something that pushes him away again.”
Kate: “I’ve heard of that condition. It’s called fatherhood.”

Kate: “I don’t understand.”
James: “They were sent to clean up.”
Kate: “Clean up? This – this isn’t cleaning up. This is slaughter.”
Angel: “Get your bosses on the line. And I want answers.”

Why wasn’t Cordelia able to appear again in this issue? Are she and the Powers That Be having differing opinions on the Potentates? That would explain why she was quickly scooped away in the previous issue.

Connor: “How old are you anyway?”
Desdemona: “Too old for you.”
Connor: “I wasn’t -”
Desdemona: “Sure you were. Have you ever worked with a woman you didn’t want to bed?”
Connor: “Hey!”
Desdemona: “Just an observation.”

In Connor’s defence, he’s worked with Kate, Justine, Nina, Illyria and Fred without having a sexual attraction to any of them. Whereas he and Cordy/Gwen were groin buddies and he did fancy Faith.

Angel: “I get the idea.”
Female Power That Be: “No, Angel, I don’t think you do. Not really. Los Angeles is falling into the abyss. It has been for years. We have a chance to stop the cycle.”

Male Boss (re James/Kate/Connor/Desdemona): “What will you do with them?”
Angel: “Same thing I’ve always done. Fight.”
Female Boss: “For good?”
Angel: “For justice. For what’s right. It’s the only thing I can do.”

The next issue “Become What You Are”, a one-shot for Gunn is out next week.

As a wrap to the five parter, “Aftermath Part 5” doesn’t resolve much but it certainly confused me a bit. I don’t know where this comic season is going to go because apart from trying to keep LA safe, the character arcs haven’t been very well defined and at this point, that’s worrying. As a whole this arc has been better than the previous one and I do have high hopes for the Drusilla two parter as well.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Nip/Tuck - Seasons 1-5

Season 1 Overview

An impressive debut season, though at first I wasn’t sure that this would be the kind of series I would watch regularly. The idea of a series revolving around two plastic surgeons wasn’t something that screamed out to be at first but the writing was stellar, the cases were touching and at the time, the love triangle between Sean/Christian/Julia at the time was intriguing, even though the paternity of Matt certainly changed things. Characters like Liz, Gina and even Kimber added something to the first year as did the villainous Escobar Gallardo.

Episode Ratings

1x01: Pilot = 8/10, 1x02: Mandi/Randi =7/10,
1x03: Nanette Babcock = 8/10, 1x04: Sophia Lopez = 8/10,
1x05: Kurt Dempsey = 9/10, 1x06: Megan O’Hara =10/10,
1x07: Cliff Mantegna =7/10, 1x08: Cara Fitzgerald = 9/10,
1x09: Sophia Lopez Part 2 =8/10, 1x10: Adelle Coffin = 10/10,
1x11: Montana/Sassy/Justice = 7/10, 1x12: Antonia Ramos = 8/10,
1x13: Escobar Gallardo =8/10.

Season 2 Overview

One of many shows that go to prove how brilliant second seasons can be. Sean and Christian very nearly decimated their own business when it was revealed that Matt was actually the latter’s. Julia’s marriage fell to pieces and the manipulative Ava virtually rang rings around everyone (though we really could’ve done with her relationship with Matt and her unhinged kid, Adrian). Plus, this also debuted the Carver and he became a signature villain in the third season. Gina also had Wilbur taken off her, Liz had an abortion and Kimber ventured into the porn industry.

Episode Ratings

2x01: Erica Noughton =8/10, 2x02: Christian Troy =6/10,
2x03: Manya Mabika =9/10, 2x04: Mrs Grubman =8/10,
2x05: Joel Gideon =7/10, 2x06: Bobbi Broderick =8/10,
2x07: Naomi Gaines =9/10, 2x08: Agatha Ripp =10/10,
2x09: Rose And Raven Rosenberg =8/10, 2x10: Kimber Henry =7/10,
2x11: Natasha Charles = 8/10, 2x12: Julia McNamara =10/10,
2x13: Oona Wentworth =7/10, 2x14: Trudy Nye =8/10,
2x15: Sean McNamara =9/10, 2x16: Joan Rivers =9/10.

Season 3 Overview

By far, one of two of the less engaging of the first five seasons, the third year had some hit and miss qualities. The Carver storyline which was ripe for potential was sort of dragged out and the reveal of it being bisexual Quentin wasn’t exactly a shock to the system. Then again, we did have Liz being underused, Julia and Gina’s business in De La Mer being short lived, Matt dating a racist, Sean and Christian briefly separating and Julia getting pregnant again.

Episode Ratings

3x01: Momma Boone =9/10, 3x02: Kiki =8/10,
3x03: Derek, Alex And Gary = 8/10, 3x04: Rhea Reynolds =9/10,
3x05: Granville Trapp =9/10, 3x06: Frankenlaura =7/10,
3x07: Ben White =6/10, 3x08: Tommy Bolton =8/10,
3x09: Hannah Tedesco =9/10, 3x10: Madison Berg =10/10,
3x11: Abby Mays =8/10, 3x12: Sal Perri =7/10,
3x13: Joy Kringle =8/10, 3x14: Cherry Peck =9/10,
3x15: Quentin Costa =9/10.

Season 4 Overview

Okay, now this was definitely better. I personally enjoyed former call girl Michelle hooking up with Christian, I enjoyed the organ harvesting plot. James made for a good female villain, while Escobar got bumped off by his own wife. Again we did have to endure Sean and Julia breaking up but the plot involving Connor was engaging and at least the writers made some effort to explore Liz’s love life. Matt and Kimber’s union was definitely something else that I didn’t expect to see on the show.

Episode Ratings

4x01: Cindy Plumb =9/10, 4x02: Blu Mondae =7/10,
4x03: Monica Wilder =8/10, 4x04: Shari Noble =10/10,
4x05: Dawn Budge =8/10, 4x06: Faith Wolper =9/10,
4x07: Burt Landau =6/10, 4x08: Connor McNamara =10/10,
4x09: Liz Cruz =7/10, 4x10: Merrill Bobolit =9/10,
4x11: Connor McNamara 2026 =10/10, 4x12: Diana Lubey =7/10,
4x13: Reefer =7/10, 4x14: Willy Ward =9/10,
4x15: Galla Gallardo =9/10.

Season 5 Overview

By far, the weakest season of the five, the move to LA should’ve heightened the show but it didn’t. Eden sucked as a villain, Julia/Olivia’s relationship was over too quickly, Christian’s competitiveness with Sean got tiring and I wasn’t best pleased with him and Liz hooking up (though the cancer plot and Gina’s death had their moments). Sean also attracted two psychos in both Colleen and Theodora as well while Kimber got back into porn and Matt just annoyed me a great many times in the season.

Episode Rating

5x01: Carly Summers =9/10, 5x02: Joyce And Sharon Monroe =8/10,
5x03: Everett Poe =8/10, 5x04: Dawn Budge Part 2 =7/10,
5x05: Chaz Darling =7/10, 5x06: Damien Sands =8/10,
5x07: Dr Joshua Lee =9/10, 5x08: Duke Collins =8/10,
5x09: Rachel Ben Natan = 6/10, 5x10: Magda And Jeff =10/10,
5x11: Kyle Ainge =9/10, 5x12: Lulu Grandiron =7/10,
5x13: August Waldon =8/10, 5x14: Candy Richards =7/10,
5x15: Ronnie Chase =7/10, 5x16: Gene Shelly =7/10,
5x17: Roxy St. James =6/10, 5x18: Ricky Wells =8/10,
5x19: Manny Skerritt =9/10, 5x20: Budi Sabri =8/10,
5x21: Allegra Caldarello =8/10,
5x22: Giselle Blaylock And Legend Chandler = 7/10.

All episode reviews can be found on both my TV TOME page and SHAWNLUNN2002TVHITS, both of which are linked on this blog.

Brothers And Sisters - Seasons 1-3

Season 1 Overview

When I first heard about this show, I immediately knew I wanted to watch it but I also was reluctant to review. After watching the first eight episodes, I soon threw caution to the wind and gave into reviewing the series. Family shows are few and far between and in the same TV season that also introduced Heroes, Dexter and Ugly Betty, this emerged as my favourite of the bunch. The writing is amazing, the actors (Matthew Rhys, Rachel Griffiths and Sally Field especially) are fantastic and the storylines were engrossing. Kevin’s series of boyfriend – Scotty, Chad and Jason, Justin’s struggles with his addictions, Sarah’s marriage collapsing, Tommy and Julia losing one of their twins, Kitty and Robert’s relationship and politics, the reveal of Saul being gay as well as Nora trying to rebuild her life, especially after the revelation of Holly and William having a daughter. As debut seasons went, this one was certainly unforgettable.

DVD Extras

Bonus Episode – State Of The Parties = 9/10.
Walker Family Tree
Behind The Scenes With The Brothers: Matthew Rhys, Dave Annable and Balthazar Getty
The Family Business: Meet The Olins
Bloopers
Deleted Scenes
Commentaries: Affairs Of State, Northern Exposure, The Other Walker and Matriarchy.

Episode Ratings

1x01: Patriarchy =9/10, 1x02: An Act Of Will = 7/10,
1x03: Affairs Of State = 8/10, 1x04: Family Portrait = 7/10,
1x05: Date Night = 9/10, 1x06: For The Children = 8/10,
1x07: Northern Exposure = 9/10, 1x08: Mistakes Were Made Part 1 = 10/10,
1x09: Mistakes Were Made Part 2 = 10/10, 1x10: Light The Lights = 8/10,
1x11: Family Day =9/10, 1x12: Sexual Politics = 8/10,
1x13: Something Ida This Way Comes = 9/10,
1x14: Valentine’s Day Massacre = 8/10,
1x15: Love Is Difficult = 9/10, 1x16: The Other Walker =10/10,
1x17: All In The Family = 7/10, 1x18: Three Parties = 7/10,
1x19: Game Night =9/10, 1x20: Bad News = 10/10,
1x21: Grapes Of Wrath = 8/10, 1x22: Favourite Son = 8/10,
1x23: Matriarchy =9/10.

Full Review: http://darkestboy.livejournal.com/9090.html

Season 2 Overview

A lot of people didn't like the second season but when I think about the kind of second seasons both Lost and Desperate Housewives had, I have to differ. IMO Season 2 was equally as good as Season 1 and while the Rebecca plot was a big retcon of the worst kind, we didn't really have any genuinely horrible episodes. In fact we had a series of stunning episodes, including the final two and with characters like Sarah and Kevin centre stage, I'll never be able to quit this series. The Ryan thing in Season 3 has potential if the writers are clever enough not to repeat themselves and I think they are capable of that. Overall I enjoyed Season 2. It wasn't perfect but close to a certain other show I'm obsessed about, I literally couldn't get enough of it.

DVD Extras

Guest Book
TV Dinners: Food From Season 2
Open House: Designing the Brothers And Sisters set
Bloopers And Outtakes
Deleted Scenes
Commentaries: Home Front, 36 Hours and Prior Commitments.

Episode Ratings

2x01: Home Front =9/10, 2x02: An American Family =9/10,
2x03: History Repeating =8/10, 2x04: States Of The Union =8/10,
2x05: Domestic Issues =9/10, 2x06: Two Places =9/10,
2x07: 36 Hours =10/10, 2x08: Something New =8/10,
2x09: Holy Matrimony =9/10, 2x10: The Feast Of The Epiphany =7/10,
2x11: The Missionary Imposition = 8/10, 2x12: Compromises =9/10,
2x13: Separation Anxiety = 8/10, 2x14: Double Negative = 8/10,2x15: Moral Hazard = 10/10, 2x16: Prior Commitments =10/10.

Full Review: http://darkestboy.livejournal.com/9588.html

Season 3 Overview

This has been something of a debateable season. For a lot of viewers, it’s not the show it used to be and there were a series of plot that didn’t completely work. Kevin working for Robert made no sense, Ryan failed to generate interest with viewers, people were on occasion annoyed with Justin and Rebecca as a couple and anything involving Holly was met with its usual disdain. Tommy also made a huge blunder with Ojai and we’ve gotten to the point in the series where Nora really should have more in her life than constantly trying to mother her children and Saul was savagely underused while Julia literally did slip out quietly. So, was there anything good in the season? Of course – anything involving Kevin and Scotty, who remained the season’s only stable couple (retain that next season), plots that Justin and Rebecca had that were independent of each other, Kitty’s book plot (I cannot be the only person who liked this) as well as the slow but organic dissolution of her and Robert’s marriage as well as the arrival of their son, Evan via Trish plus Sarah in general, who didn’t have much of an angst ridden year compared to the first two seasons. It’s hard to tell if I prefer this season to the second but I do know that while the first is likely to be the best for the time being, I didn’t actually hate the season either but I did feel that some storylines should’ve either been handled or not happen at all.

DVD Extras

Interview With Sally Field/Patricia Wettig
Cast Visit To Real Life Winery In Ojai
Cast And Crew Hijinks On Location
Bloopers
Deleted Scenes

Episode Ratings

3x01: Glass Houses = 9/10, 3x02: Book Burning = 8/10,
3x03: Tug Of War = 8/10, 3x04: Everything Must Go = 9/10,
3x05: You Get What You Need = 9/10, 3x06: Bakersfield = 9/10,
3x07: Do You Believe In Magic = 8/10, 3x08: Going Once, Going Twice = 10/10,
3x09: Unfinished Business = 8/10, 3x10: Just A Sliver = 9/10,
3x11: A Father Dreams = 10/10, 3x12: Sibling Rivalry = 7/10,
3x13: It’s Not Easy Being Green = 7/10, 3x14: Owning It = 9/10,
3x15: Lost And Found = 8/10, 3x16: Troubled Waters Part 1 = 10/10,
3x17: Troubled Waters Part 2 = 10/10, 3x18: Taking Sides = 8/10,
3x19: Spring Broken = 9/10, 3x20: Missing = 8/10,
3x21: S3X = 9/10, 3x22: Julia =8/10,
3x23: Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off = 8/10, 3x24: Mexico = 9/10.

Full Review: http://darkestboy.livejournal.com/13314.html

All episode reviews can be found on both my TV TOME page and SHAWNLUNN2002TVHITS, both of which are linked on this blog.

My Review of Dollhouse's 1x05: "True Believer"

Written by Tim Minear
Directed by Allan Kroeker

Echo (to Seth): “Seth, the blind girl is looking you in the eye; do you know what that means? It means that God brought me here to give you a message and that message is ‘move your ass’.”

Another week, another clichéd case with a twist or two. We’ve had protecting a singer and a heist that goes wrong. Infiltrating a cult, like Children of the Temple should be a piece of cake.

Technically, it’s like a lot of other cases on this show. Instead of a Doll, you could hire an actual professional but cults do tend to be very selective about their members and when their leaders are as dangerous as Jonah Sparrow, there’s good reason for that.

Joss Whedon had spouted on more than one occasion that he wanted audiences to see as many sides to Eliza Dushku as possible and given that he’s probably realised that some viewers would grow sick and tired of that translating into Dushku wearing skimpy outfits, this episode tried something with a bit of substance.

Having Echo morphed into blind woman Esther Carpenter in order to ingratiate herself into Jonah’s gang was an interesting. Interesting because not only was it a Dollhouse mission but the ATF were also involved as well and that meant big things for Paul too.

I’m gonna praise Dushku for making increasing attempts of giving more nuanced performances in her various because while this show is still hokey at best, I will go on record to say that I am enjoying it more than I did with Firefly and that was something I did eventually grow to like.

With Esther’s condition, you would think that Jonah would take her at face value. His members including the likes of Seth and Elia, seemed to trust her instantly but he had to be repeatedly convinced that Esther was the genuine article. Quizzing her was never going to be enough, was it?

It’s amazing in this episode how many times Echo/Esther was actually smacked around the place. For some reason, it made me uncomfortable and not just because Echo’s engagement required her to be genuinely blind. It was more the madness of a man like Jonah.

It’s amazing how corruptible something like faith can be at the end of the day. There is a thing with extreme fanatical religious cults simply harming others because they’re non believers and Jonah’s influence over his own people is every bit as destructive as the Dollhouse. Seth and company are every bit as victims as are any of the Actives.

Of course, disagreeing with Jonah was never going to play in Echo’s interests either. As soon as she tried to get people to get out of the fire, Jonah smacked her. He did that a lot in this episode and it was due to one of these smacks that Esther apparently regained her sight. Then she was more or less blamed for the ATF trying to take Jonah down.

The episode doesn’t really go a long into explaining what Jonah was exactly up to. Okay, I don’t for a second believe that he and Seth loaded up on a serious arsenal solely to protect themselves but an actual detailed explanation would’ve gone a long way.

Like Paul, I really wanted to side with the ATF agent who was more than determined to bring Jonah down. Maybe he is a good man like Paul is supposed to but there was no strongly defined motive for his intent, though I did get a strong hint throughout the episode that he had a personal grievance with Jonah.

It also didn’t justify him telling his men to dispatch with Boyd and Echo as well. Boyd continues to be the most likeable thing about this show and while his concern for Echo is obvious, it’s more than endearing in a series where people are being stripped off their identity, respect, humanity, etc.

Boyd just about managed to save Echo this time around and he also helped with getting some of the cult members to safety as well. I’m also glad that he seemingly got his own back at the unprofessional agent as well.

As for Paul, I have still yet to care about him but I like the fact that he’s finally getting closer to tracking down Echo. Not because of any romantic possibilities but simply due to the fact that it’s moving the plot forward. I guess he was lucky that Echo appeared on the news and that Alpha is still giving him cryptic clues because Loomis certainly wasn’t able to help him.

Mellie on the other hand also reappeared. Paul did seem a little less dismissive of her than he usually was but I think that it had more to do with her bringing him his pain killers and wasn’t it more than silly to let her be around when him and Loomis were discussing the missing Caroline as well?

I know it has yet to be actually confirmed but I really would be surprised if Mellie turns out to not be a Doll. It seems so blatantly obvious that she is but regardless of anything, I do feel for her. She seems to be in love with a man who barely acknowledges her. It’s hard not to sympathise with her.

In another plot, Dominic really does hate Echo to the extent that he would knock her out in a burning building. I hope we discover soon why he’s got in it for her. Maybe he thinks she’ll turn into another Alpha or maybe he fears that she’s a mole but either way, there’s more to it than meets the eye.

Also, does it come as a surprise that Topher would have a problem with Victor’s ‘man reactions’? It’s sort of funny but it’s also sort of immature as well and Victor was very nearly taken out just because he developed an attraction towards Sierra. Just when I think I can’t find more things about this organisation that disgusts me, the show gives me one. Even Torchwood and their Retconning mantra are looking marginally less awful than this.

Also in “True Believer”

Although I could understand why a massive group singing would slightly unnerve some people, I wanted to smack Jesse for the attack he made on Seth.

Dominic (to Adelle, re Echo): “It’s not that I don’t like her, it’s that sometimes I’m worried you do.”

Again, there seems to be hints that Adelle has a personal connection to Echo. I wouldn’t rule it out at this point.

Echo (to Boyd): “I’m a girl. Wow, I’ve been blind longer than I thought.”

Claire: “Victor had an erection?”
Topher: “I prefer ‘man reaction’.”

That statement interprets that Topher’s either a virgin, sexually repressed or possibly asexual. Maybe that’s another thing the writers could take a look at.

Mellie (to Paul, re Caroline/Echo): “Wow, the photographs really didn’t do her any justice.”

Claire (to Topher, re Victor): “Of course! If it had been a snake … forget I said that.”

Shouldn’t Claire be a bit more pissed off that no-one reads her reports? I’m surprised she didn’t smack Topher across the head. I think I would it make it a hobby if I had to work with him on a day to day basis.

Jonah: “The truth this time sister.”
Echo: “It’s a miracle. I can see.”

Jonah (to his people): “We have witnessed more than one miracle these last few days. Prepare for the next.”

Standout music: “Moody Liz” by Daxton, which played at the start of the episode.

“True Believer” certainly raises enough stuff about faith that could be attributed to any sci-fi programme who has broached the subject, since ever. Tim Minear wrote a decent script, but parts of it petered out and the lack of motives in certain parts gave the episode a disjointed feel to it as well.

Rating: 7 out of 10.