Doctor Who - SDCC 2024 Highlights: New Spin Off Confirmed, Details For Christmas Special and Series 15

Yup, after sitting out last year due to the writer and actor strikes, this year Doctor Who came to play at San Diego Comic Con in Hall H. The highlights as follows.

First of all, we had showrunner Russell T. Davies and series stars Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson aka, the 15th Doctor and Ruby Sunday at the infamous Hall H (moderated by Josh Horowitz) while also doing press interviews. There was talks of other franchises (both Star Trek and Star Wars), past Doctors that both Ncuti and Millie would like to see and even the talk of other Doctors appearing through CGI (though I'm not sure how serious RTD was about that one). Of course, there were far bigger highlights tonight at Hall H.

After months of speculation, the biggest reveal was the announcement of a spin-off, which has been titled as The War Between The Land And The Sea. As you can see, its very familiar casting. 

- Jemma Redgrave and Alexander Devrient are reprising their roles as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Colonel Cristofer Ibrahim. They will be regulars.

- Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw will play new regular characters for the show. Previously they played the roles of Midshipman Frame and Letitia Jones during Russell T. Davies first run of Doctor Who.

- The show will be five episodes, written by Russell T. Davies and Pete McTighe and directed by Dylan Holmes Williams. The latter directed the episodes 73 Yards and Dot And Bubble.

- Expect a massive battle with UNIT and the Sea Devils as the latter dramatically reveal themselves to humanity, causing an international crisis.

- Filming will start from next month with the show slated to air on BBC and Disney+ in 2025. The show will be made by Bad Wolf, BBC Studios and Disney Branded Television. 

I have to admit that while I was hoping a certain former companion would return for this show, this is a hood cast line up. With filming happening next month, I expect more names will be revealed as cameras start rolling.

As for the upcoming Season 2/Series 15 of Doctor Who, a few tidbits were also revealed during the hour long panel.

- Ruby will be suffering from some PTSD when she returns. It's likely the fourth episode will be her returning episode.

- Varada Sethu's character will be Belinda Chandra. Is she related to Rani Chandra (Anjli Mohindra)? Time will tell. Will she have a connection to Sethu's other character,  Mundy Flynn? We'll see.

- Jonah Hauer-King's character (rumoured to be called Conrad) will be connected to Ruby. Filming from last year did reveal him to be a love interest.

- We can expect to see more of Anita Dobson's mysterious Mrs Flood in the next series.

- Ncuti Gatwa really wants to meet the Daleks. Here's hoping he gets his wish next series.

Last but not least, we got something for upcoming Christmas special, thanks to a recorded appearance from Nicola Coughlan. What can we expect from Joy To The World?

- Nicola's character is called Joy and she's from 2024 London. The Doctor is going to have a significant impact on her life.

- There are scenes in 1940, 1962 and 1953. Scenes involving a train journey and a Mount Everest expedition.

- The Doctor seems to be looking for the right person to give a ham and cheese toasties and a pumpkin latte to. Joy seems to be the one to get his attention.

- There's a Silurian hotel worker who appeared in a scene where the Doctor and Joy first meet each other in Joy's hotel room.

- The episode's written by Steven Moffat and directed by Alex Pillai.

Overall, a good selection of information revealed at SDCC, hinting that the show's future is in good hands. 

Doctor Who will return with Joy To The World on Christmas Day on BBC1, iPlayer and Disney+. Series 15 will air in early 2025.

My Review of The House Of The Devil (2009)

 

Written And Directed by Ti West 

Samantha: "This one night changes everything for me."

Having completed To West's X trilogy recently, I went back somewhat earlier into his career and found this movie. If you've seen a certain episode of Inside No. 9, then this movie would be rather familiar to you.

You've got a young woman named Samantha Hughes (Jocelin Donahue). She's a college student who has recently managed to find herself somewhere to live but she's struggling to make ends meets. So far, so familiar. Then an opportunity presented itself.

The opportunity being a phone number on a flyer which Samantha rang at the nearest phone box. At the end of the line was a mystery man named Mr Ulman (Tom Noonan), who had a job offer for Samantha. After some initial crossed wired, Samantha accepted the babysitting gig but her best friend, Megan (Greta Gerwig) voiced concerns about Samantha's new job.

Samantha really should've listened to Megan. Not only was the Ulman residence in the middle of nowhere but Mr Ulman and his wife (Mary Woronov) were obviously creepy. Not to mention the fact that they were exactly truthful about the fact there wasn't a child but Mother (Danielle Noe) to babysit instead.

Had Samantha been smart, she would've left with Megan and had the latter also been smart, she wouldn't have gotten killed by that other guy (A.J. Bowen). Of course, a movie set in the middle of nowhere with a creepy family was going to have some bad stuff happen. 

Yes, with the title of this movie, we got some old fashioned devil worshipping with poor Samantha being terrorised by the Ulman clan and barely getting out of the house alive. There's a decent level of creepiness when the Ulmans plan for Samantha was made clear and the end scene proved that they were successful too.

- Lena Dunham voiced the 911 operator while Ti West also briefly appeared as a teacher.

- Some of the behind the scenes antics that happened with cast and crew for this movie would inspire Ti West's next one, The Innkeepers.

- Standout music: The Fixx's One Thing Leads To Another and Greg Kihn Band's The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em). 

- Chronology: 1983 Connecticut for the duration of the movie and during a full lunar eclipse.

As a movie taking on the topic of Satanic cults, there's a fair bit to enjoy with The House Of The Devil. The scares and gore are nicely spaced out with some really creepy moments and you've got a sympathetic lead character. For one of his earlier movies, Ti West did well here.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

Burned By Paris

It's been a while since I've done one of these but again, a look at most of the recent things I've watched over the past few weeks.

Bridgerton: I enjoyed the first half of the third season and the second half had a lot to live up to. Did it manage to do so? I'd say it actually did as the remaining four episodes not only had Penelope and Colin go full steam ahead with their nuptials along with the very public reveal of Penelope being Lady Whistledown. I do feel the Whistledown was almost too easily resolved with the Queen but the Polin love story worked overall. Other highlights in the second half included Francesca's continued expansion as a character as well as tapping into Benedict's bisexuality. Bring on the next season.

Interview With The Vampire: I'm not sure if releasing the second season during the summer was a wise idea on AMC's part but on the other hand, how fucking good was this season overall? The big flashback episode with Daniel was amazing as was Claudia's death and the deconstruction of Louis and Armand's relationship. While I do think that Lestat could've been reintroduced into the main action quicker, when he did return, it was a much welcome jolt to this season. Santiago made for such a horrible baddie that his comeuppance was truly satisfying and yes, Daniel became a vampire. Great stuff overall.

The Bear: Yes, I watched the third season in two days. While not as good as the first two seasons (I found the opener very sluggish), there was still a lot to recommend. Specifically episodes such as Napkins and Ice Chips, both of which are likely Emmy contenders next year. The guest stars being utilised pretty, especially the likes of Will Poulter and Olivia Colman in the finale but I do feel that Carmy as a character hasn't progressed and some of his scenes with both Sydney and Richie often felt repetitive this season. Not to mention the neverending threat of the restaurant getting closed down. Other than that, it's still worth watching.

The Boys: Season 4 of this superhero show certainly got more political than ever before and to the point where the type of people who often missed the point of Homelander as a character, realised they were the very people being lampooned. Anyways we got two new supes with Firecracker and Sister Sage being strong additions, A-Train showing character growth with The Deep and Black Noir II doing the exact opposite. Homelander got worse, Ashley freaked out more, Ryan flip flopped as did Victoria Newman. As for the good guys, Butcher hallucinated a former comrade, Frenchie briefly had a boyfriend, Kimiko spoke her first word, MM had massive anxiety, Hughie got traumatised repeatedly and Annie had to deal with rivals wrecking her life and her powers being on the fritz. Oh and characters from Gen V popped up. Certainly wasn't a boring season. 

The Jetty: Ah, Jenna Coleman. It's been a while since we last had her on our screen and this four part BBC detective series served as a reminder of how compelling an actor she can be. Ember Manning turned out to be a complicated character, navigating her relationships between her mother and daughter while also trying to resolve a case from her teenage years. I'll admit the flashbacks were a bit confusing to begin with and the podcaster had some heavy handed dialogue in parts but as a series, I thought it got stronger in the second half with a surprise twist that worked well. Could it come back for a second series? I don't see why not.

• Luke Thompson fans rejoice. Netflix have announced that Benedict and Sophie will be the love story of the fourth season of Bridgerton in 2026.
• The Boys fifth and final season is currently being written and will be released on Amazon in 2026. Season 2 of Gen V will premiere in 2025.
• Interview With The Vampire Season 2 will air on BBC2 from August 1st at 9pm. AMC have renewed the show for a third season.
• The fate of Chucky currently remains in flux. An announcement on its future should be soon.
• Filming for the third season of House Of The Dragon's third season has been rumoured for later this year.
• Welcome To Derry will air on HBO as well being streamed on Max as will Dune: Prophecy.
• Kim Cattrall has confirmed she will not be returning for the third season of And Just Like That. However, Mehcad Brooks, Jonathan Cake and Logan Marshall-Green will recur in the new season.
• Maura Tierney has joined the cast of Law And Order.
• Grey's Anatomy will add a new gay male character for it's upcoming twenty first season.
• Tatiana Maslany and Cory Michael Smith will lead the horror comedy series, Nightbeast for Amazon.
• Julia has been cancelled after two seasons by Max.

Wonder Woman - Episodes 9-13 Reviews

To cap off the first season, I look into an alien two parter, a formula, a trip to Texas and Steve Trevor the would be movie star.

Episode 9: Judgment From Outer Space: Part 1

Now, this was a turn up for the books. A two part story where the main attraction was an alien named Andros (Tim O'Connor) and wait for it, he's not the villain of the story. Even better was the fact that Andros not only quickly realised that Diana Prince and Wonder Woman were the same person but he was genuinely enamoured with her as a person and didn't reveal her secret. His mission was to observe humanity and report to an Intergalactic Council that were mistrustful of humans. Of course there's another Nazi scheme with Andros ending up captured but another noteworthy aspect was Diana and Steve actually having conflict over Andros during one scene. 8/10

Episode 10: Judgment From Outer Space: Part 2

Picking up from the previous episode, Andros got captured by the Nazis and Wonder Woman headed off to Germany in order to rescue him. Then she ended up getting captured by the Nazis herself while Andros tried to see both perspectives between the Allies and the Nazis. Then the latter showed their true colours and Steve stepped up to prove the selflessness of the Allies. Along with the fact that Intergalactic Council almost came close to taking out humanity. While not as strong as the opening part, the resolution was decent enough with a nice final scene between Wonder Woman and Andros, hinting at a future meeting between the two. 7/10

Episode 11: Formula 407

After an alien two part, it was back to another familiar scenario. Although this time, the action took place in Argentina with both Wonder Woman and Steve looking for a scientist (Nehemiah Persoff) to pick up a formula that can make rubber tires as strong as steel. It didn't take long for the daughter of the scientist to be kidnapped and of course, both Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor also found themselves being tied up for some of the episode. Eventually things did resolve themselves with the daughter being rescued, while both Diana and Steve also had admirers of their own. 7/10

Episode 12: The Bushwhackers

After an adventure, it was time for a trip to Texas for the penultimate episode of the first season. With this episode, you've got a cattle rancher Hadley (Roy Rogers). He's a good guy, looking after several adopted kids and it's both him and the children (though his son was initially duped by the main baddie) who help both Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor against the baddies of the week. This episode also debuted a different look for Wonder Woman that's more modest while the kids also rescued her at one point where she was overpowered by the baddies. 6/10

Episode 13: Wonder Woman In Hollywood 

For the first season finale, how about a trip to Hollywood? Despite the title of the finale, it's actually Steve Trevor and several other soldiers that are actually the focus of a propaganda film by director Mark Bremer (Harris Yulin). However, it's revealed that the propaganda film itself was actually a ruse by Bremer in order to kidnap the soldiers and transport them to Germany with the troubled Jim Ames (Robert Hays) coerced into capturing Steve. On the plus side, not only was Wonder Woman there to rescue Steve and the soldiers but Wonder Girl/Drusilla returned and Ames himself stepped up against Bremer at the right moment. It's a good first season finale but also the last time in the show you'd see any of these characters, except Wonder Woman for the next season. 8/10

Next blog I will tackle The Return Of Wonder Woman, Anschluss 77, The Man Who Could Move The World and The Bermuda Triangle Crisis.

My Review of The Watchers (2024)

 

Written And Directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan

Darwin: "Try not to die."

Mina: "I thought they said you couldn't talk."

Catching up with some summer horror themed movies and yes, I've stumbled upon this American/Irish production, helmed by the daughter of M. Night Shyamalan. It's a debut feature and it's something alright. Let's dive in, shall we?

Our protagonist of the piece would be an American woman named Mina (Dakota Fanning). Mina found herself in Ireland, specifically Galway where fortunately, we're mostly spared the grotesque outdated stereotypes that American productions tend to do when filming in Ireland. Of course Mina's not just visiting the Emerald Isle.

Nope, Mina's been assigned by her boss to transport a golden conure parrot named Darwin to a zoo near Belfast and it's enough route that things got a bit crazy for Mina. Crazy in the sense that not only did she and the parrot wind up in a creepy woodland but also crazy that she ended up in a glass room in said creepy woodland with three others for company.

The others being a young wife named Ciara (Georgina Campbell), only man in the group, Daniel (Oliver Finnegan) and mystery older woman, Madeline (Olwen Fouéré). All four are there to entertain mystery night creatures known as The Watchers in scenes that looked like they could've been audition pieces for the Druid Theatre. 

Of course, Mina's savvy enough to try and ask questions and even savvy enough to try and get Daniel to help her escape The Watchers. Granted, they're a creepy bunch, largely obscured by the night scenes and when the group do escape, it's Daniel that ended up being the first to be killed off. He's given a fairly grisly demise.

As for The Watchers themselves, they're fairies/changelings unable to withstand the daylight. Except for Madeline, who more or less orchestrated everything throughout the movie and had a grudge against humans, despite being half human herself. It's an okay reveal as Mina managed to use her smarts in order to broker a truce and save herself.

By the end of the movie, Mina's essentially not only gotten herself out of a sticky situation with The Watchers but she also managed to even reconnect with her twin, Lucy (Dakota Fanning). As for Madeline, she's very much keeping to her side of the bargain as well.

- John Lynch also had a supporting role in the movie as Professor Kilmartin, whom Madeline had been romantically involved with.

- The movie's based a book of the same name by A.M. Shine.

- For the UK and Ireland, this film's called The Watched.

- Chronology: Mid 2000s, in both Galway and Belfast. The movie was partially in Galway as well as Dublin and Wicklow.

Overall, I found The Watchers to be an okay experience. It's diverting for its length, though plodding in parts but there's a decent enough atmosphere surrounding the whole thing. It's not an amazing debut but not would be it an awful one either.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of House Of The Dragon: "Smallfolk"

 

Written by Eileen Shim

Directed by Andrij Parekh

Rhaenyra: "It is my fault, I think, that you forgotten to fear me."

I've got to say, we should all be thanking Mysaria. In the absence of Rhaenys and apart from Jace and Baela, she's really proven her worth as Rhaenyra's Mistress of Whispers. She knows how to get things done and she outdid herself this week.

Mysaria's scheme of sowing dissent amongst the smallfolk against the Greens, coupled with Rhaenyra generously giving supplies of food worked an absolute treat this episode. Not only are they starting to think the Blacks are better but both Alicent and Helaena got a very public dressing down of the very folk that current Regent Aemond has no concern for.

Rhaenyra this week certainly had her mixed successes. Mysaria's plan might have worked beautifully in giving her an advantage but Jace's one certainly needed work. All I can say is that Steffon Darklyn didn't deserve to get incinerated by Seasmoke but alas, he did. Saying that, Rhaenyra and Mysaria getting more intimately acquainted was a turn up for the books (also not in the actual source material).

Getting back to Seasmoke though, he wanted to choose his own rider and the lovely Addam found himself gaining a dragon without even having to do anything for it. I love that Seasmoke actively pursued Addam and wouldn't take no for an answer in this instance. Rhaenyra, you just got yourself a worthy ally. Just go with it.

Back at the Red Keep, when she wasn't getting fish flung at her by the smallfolk, Alicent got another reminder of how her crappy parenting became her undoing. Aemond had absolutely no problem removing her from the small council and he's become an even bigger bastard since being named Regent that Aegon II has suddenly looked like a better alternative.

It's tremendously hard to sympathise with Alicent when her brazen stupidity has brought about her own downfall. I did feel a bit bad when she had to listen to Gwayne tell her how kind Daeron was compared to her other sons. The show's really trying to set Daeron up as an ace for the Greens sleeve next season, aren't they?

Going back to Aemond for a bit, how this season has made him viler than Aegon II took some doing. He's definitely going to do something reckless in the last two episodes that will backfire on the Greens and no-one, including Alicent or Criston can rein him in. He also didn't appear happy when it was revealed that Aegon would recover as well.

Last but not least, it's really time to get Daemon out of Harrenhal and that's in spite of my enjoyment of characters like Alys and Simon Strong. The hallucinations this week included Viserys, which I liked, especially when Daemon did something he should've done during the first episode. Also, how could I not love seeing Matt Smith and Paddy Considine giving such brilliant performances.

I guess the plus side of this Harrenhal escapade this week was the fact that not only did Daemon get his wish with Grover Tully finally dying (no doubt by Alys's hand) but the Greens are also about to head there. If that doesn't liven up this strand in the last two episodes, nothing will.

- Corlys appointed Alyn as his ship's first mate. Alyn keeps cutting his hair to hide his true lineage. At this point, he needn't bother.

- Gotta love Rhaenyra finally slapping one of her council members. It's about time they were reminded who was boss.

- Yes, the dog appeared again in the episode as did the likes of Hugh, Kat and Ulf White.

- Looks like Rhaena will be getting herself a dragon in the form of Sheepstealer. Originally it was Nettles in the book but we're not getting the character for the show.

- Other stuff that happened in the episode included Alicent nearly being married to the Greyjoys, the Beesburys plotting revenge, Aemond wanting to align with the Triarchy as well as the return of Jason Lannister.

- Chronology: Not long from where the last episode left off.

Smallfolk was a stronger episode, compared to last week and one with plenty going on for the Black and the Greens. Even Daemon's story in spite of being the weakest gained some momentum here but it was the Rhaenyra/Mysaria scenes that were the highlight along Seasmoke and Addam.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of My Adventures With Superman 2x10: "My Adventures With Supergirl"

 

Written by Josie Campbell And Brendan Clogher And Jake Wyatt

Directed by Diana Huh 

Superman (to Kara): "I know what it's like to be alone. To search for a place you belong but home isn't a place. Home is the people who love you, so come back to us, Kara."

I can definitely say that this second season has not only maintained the standard of the first season but has gone above and beyond. For this finale, I think we got one of the loveliest depictions of family that we've had in a Superman property.

At the end of the previous, it appeared as though Brainiac had not only defeated both Superman and Supergirl but it looked like he was about to enslave Metropolis. Of course, Superman and Supergirl were still alive, so Brainiac had to work harder in order to bring both of them down.

For Superman, it was giving him some home truths about the last days of Krypton and with Kara, it was preying on her insecurities. It almost worked with Kara falling victim to Brainiac's power but Superman, Lous and Jimmy were the ones to bring her back to the side of good. Let's just say, Superman's speech about home really struck a chord, a big one for Kara. Adding both Lois and Jimmy in that scene made it even better.

As for Brainiac's defeat, it was glorious to see. Having both Superman and Supergirl, the citizens of Metropolis, Daily Planet, A.R.G.U.S. and even some past villains such as Heat Wave, Silver Banshee, Livewire and Intergang working together for a common cause. Now this was the type of inspiration that Superman can really have with the right writing.

Capping off the season, Brainiac and Kandor are out of the picture and Kara has settled into Metropolis. It was great seeing Jonathan and Martha essentially adopt but the last scene with Superman, Supergirl, Lois and Jimmy all flying off together to save the day. It was a great way to end this season and would've served as a great series finale had the show not been renewed for a third season.

- Amanda Waller found herself on the run by the end of this episode. I did like her "complicated" reunion with Sam.

- Lex might have lost control of the Metallos but he did set up LexCorp and gained Deathstroke as an ally.

- Supergirl's new suit was very much the same as Superman's. I'd fix the shoulder pads on both tbh.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

Overall, the second season has been a blast and My Adventures With Supergirl was a great ender for a very enjoyable run of episodes. I'm really glad that we're getting another season of this show.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Wonder Woman - Episodes 4-8 Reviews

In this blog I tackle the first two part story, a brainwashed gorilla, an Irish terrorist and of course, the danger of a two dollar bill.

Episode 4: The Feminum Mystique: Part 1

It's early season and already, it was time to have a return to Paradise Island. Mostly for the recasting of Hippolyta, this time played by Carolyn Jones and even more so for the introduction of Diana's younger sister, Drusilla (Debra Winger). Drusilla's been tasked with Diana back to Paradise Island but the reunion between sisters took something of a different turn. Mostly down to the presence of scientist Peter (Frank Charles), whom Drusilla took a shine towards. Of course when General Blankenship got kidnapped by main baddie of the two parter, Captain Radl (John Saxon), we got Drusilla take her older sister's example and become Wonder Girl.  It's a pity that Wonder Girl ended up being easily captured on her first mission. Plus side, we did get to see the reverse of Diana's transformation and Etta had a nice scene about being lonely. 8/10

Episode 5: The Feminum Mystique: Part 2

The second part of this story and when the Nazis hadn't figured out about the fakery behind the XPJ-1 fighter jet, there was also Steve getting knocked out by yet another mole in Washington DC. Of course the best scenes of the episode involved Paradise Island. Drusilla got duped into admitting that the island existed and about a previous metal named Feminum as well. It didn't take long for the Nazis to end up on the island, enslave the Amazons (Diana included) but grossly underestimating Hippolyta ended up being Radl's undoing and I liked seeing the more assertive Amazon's working together to get back their island and wipe the Nazis memories of its existence. As a two parter, I enjoyed this one. Drusilla's introduction was great and I liked the sisterly rapport with both her and Diana. 8/10

Episode 6: Wonder Woman vs. Gargantua

Loosely based on the idea of popular villain Giganta (but not actually featuring the character), this was an interesting gamble of an episode. You've got the titular character, Gargantua, taken from his home in Africa and brainwashed by Nazi agent and animal behavioural specialist, Erica Belgard (Gretchen Corbett). There was an attempt to capture a defected agent and also poor Gargantua being used in order to defeat Wonder Woman. Fortunately, this episode was where Diana's compassion for animals came nicely into play as she was able to break the brainwashing of Gargantua. On paper, this could've been a very silly episode but it actually managed to ground itself well enough with Erica being a pretty despicable guest baddie and Gargantua being sympathetic even when nearly killing Wonder Woman. Robert Loggia also appeared in this episode as Hans Eichler. 7/10

Episode 7: The Pluto File

Potentially the weakest of the bunch, we took a break from Nazis, only to have an Irish terrorist, dubbed "The Falcon" (Robert Reed). The Falcon's main mission involved stealing a formula designed to produce man-made earthquakes in order to level Washington, DC. This also means Wonder Woman working with the formula's inventor in order to stop The Falcon. Another plot included many characters getting infected by the bubonic plague and this was where The Falcon suddenly developed a conscience. As I said earlier, I found this to be the weakest one. 5/10

Episode 8: Last Of The $2 Bills

Anyways, back to Nazis for this episode and this time we've got Woton (James Olson) with the memorable eyes attacking both Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor at the beginning of the episode. Then back in Germany, he's selecting two agents to surgically alter as the Bureau of Engraving and Printing chief, Hank Miller (David Cryer) and his fiancée Maggie (Barbara Anderson). The plot of the week involving using the $2 bill in order to cripple the US government and when the plan invariably failed, the episode ended with the $2 bill being taken out of circulation. There's some good action scenes in this one, the use of a certain building last seen in Batman 66 and a moment where Steve got to save an agent from nearly being blown up. Not to mention, Etta's subplot about a $1.50 set of photos was oddly amusing. 8/10

Next blog I'll tackle the episodes Judgment From Outer Space Parts 1 and 2, Formula 407, The Bushwhackers and Wonder Woman In Hollywood.

My Review of Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths - Part Three (2024)

 

Written by James Krieg

Directed by Jeff Wamester

Earth-12 The Joker: "I must say, Batsy, I'm flattered. The end of the world, and you want to spend it with me? I didn't know you cared!"

Earth-12 Batman: "I care, Joker, about Gotham. About justice! And if it has to end, at least I go out like this... being Batman!"

I think years ago and had both Arrowverse and the DC Extended Universe not played out the Multiverse concept, something tells me that this trilogu ender might have gone down better with DC fans. Instead, it seemed to be less of an event and more of a whimper for some fans.

It's a shame because after a very sluggish second part, I actually thought this third part was something of an improvement. Following the Anti-Monitor getting even more powerful and universe shattering, there was a bleed in the universe. A version of limbo where two versions of Superman, Lois Lane, Hawkgirl and John Stewart were able to find and rescue Wonder Woman.

Meanwhile Lex Luthor and his assembled villain corner of Joker, Poison Ivy, Solomon Grundy and Two Face had Psycho Pirate captive and used him in order to broker a deal of sorts with the Anti-Monitor.  It wouldn't be Lex if he wasn't trying to manipulate a cataclysmic situation to his advantage. Oh and he trying to figure out a weakness for the Anti-Monitor. See, he's not all bad.

Then there was Supergirl working through her guilt of killing The Monitor, various characters (including the Losers) fighting off invading dinosaurs before there was a more concentrated effort to get some answers. That meant Batman, Wonder Woman, Doctor Fate and John Stewart taking a trip to Earth 18 in order to retrieve John Constantine.

For proof that you really needed to have caught between parts in this saga, once Constantine got sobered up, Batman learned very fast that Constantine manipulated The Flash into killing Darkseid as a baby. Yup, Constantine well and truly fucked up as it turns out that a Multiverse without Darkseid isn't a good one to have.

On the plus side, at least Supergirl (and Psycho Pirate) made a heroic sacrifice to take out the Anti-Monitor while Martian Manhunter and Nightshade got a hold of a machine with the ability to grant wishes. Constantine wasn't quite enough to get it working but Wonder Woman sure as hell was. Remember, it's a Crisis and multiple deaths were always going to be on the menu.

By the end of this movie, The Spectre showed up as the Multiverse ended and the Monoverse began, thus potentially ending all the animated continuity for now. Nearly everyone threw themselves into the Monoverse, except for The Question and Constantine. The latter was expecting punishment for royally fucking up the Multiverse but instead, he was offered hope. My feelings towards this trilogy to one side, I'm really happy the final shot was given to a young Wonder Woman on Themyscira. 

- The movie was dedicated to Kevin Conroy (1955-2022). My quote for this movie is the exchange between Batman (Conroy) and Joker (Mark Hamill) from Batman: The Animated Series.

- We saw the ending of both the Justice League animated worlds, including Super Friends.

- There was flashbacks to both Justice League Dark: Apokolips Wars and Constantine: The House Of Mystery. We saw the Justice Society one last time and some of the Titans.

- Despite being the end of this particular animated continuity, there will be more animated movies not set in the DC Universe to come, starting with Watchmen: Chapter One from August 13th.

- Aww, poor Darkseid being killed when he was only a year old. Next time, John, think your plans through. 

- Chronology: Eight months have passed between the second and third parts of this trilogy.

I know it's been a divisive trilogy and I would argue that the Arrowverse handled it better but I actually liked Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths - Part Three. It provided a solid ending to this particular continuity, gave certain characters their moments to step up and had fan pleasing cameos (minus their outcomes). Moving forward, I'd maybe avoid big universal plots for a long time and focus on smaller scale stories and adaptations. 

Rating: 7 out of 10