My Review of House Of The Dragon: "Rhaenyra The Cruel"

 

Written by Sara Hess

Directed by Clare Killer

Rhaenyra (to Daemon): "Do you accept me as your Queen and ruler or do you cling even now to what you think you've lost?"

You got to hand it to Daemon. He took an unfortunate situation and made it ten times worse by hiring two of the most idiotic would be assassins in all of Westeros. Not only did he manage to make the Greens look sympathetic but he also really fucked Rhaenyra over too.

Both things that Rhaenyra was aware of and both she had no problem rubbing in Daemon's face. Don't get me wrong, during their heated row this week where Daemon managed to control his violent impulses, Rhaenyra was absolutely right in calling him out on his bullshit. She even felt somewhat remorseful that Jaehaerys had been slain instead of Aemond.

Of course with the divide between Rhaenyra and Daemon growing, the latter went off to Harrenhal while the former had a rather illuminating conversation with Mysaria. It took a bit for Rhaenyra to recognise her husband's former lover but Mysaria had managed to earn her freedom and then abandoned it to help Rhaenyra once again.

The would be assassination attempt by Ser Arryk Cargyll by posing as his twin Erryk certainly came earlier than expected, largely down to Criston trying to divert his own guilt. Needless to say that, both twins ended up dying and Rhaenyra came out of the whole thing largely unharmed. I liked the twins but that was a good dramatic exit for both.

As for the Greens side this week, I hate to admit it but I liked Aegon II in this episode. He was genuinely distraught over losing Jaehaerys and while his actions weren't necessarily smart, they were at least believable. At least both Blood and Cheese were swiftly dealt with. Not only that but a character who desperately needed a comeuppance finally got one.

I've always been a firm hater of Otto Hightower like I was with Littlefinger back in the day and while I don't strictly approve of Criston being Aegon II's hand, Otto had that coming. For a man who thinks he's the cleverest one in the room, Otto has repeatedly proved that he doesn't know how to read a room. Also fuck that guy for using his great grandchild's death to tarnish Rhaenyra among the small folk.

Otto convinced himself that he could control Aegon II and likewise, Alicent is making the same mistake. It's clear as day that while Aegon II might be ill equipped to be King, he's not the pushover his overambitious mother and grandfather want him to be. For now, Alicent will have to make do with having sex with Criston. At least until something or someone spoils that for her.

As for Helaena, I really felt bad for her. After all, she's the only sympathetic member of the Greens and her struggle to deal with her son's death and the farce of a funeral that Otto arranged affected her big time. It doesn't help that no one was really there for her either. Even Alicent barely tried to comfort her. 

- We met Alyn's younger brother, Addam (Clinton Liberty) and the latter spotted a dragon in the air. 

- Daeron exists and is currently located in Old Town. Unfortunately, it seems like he's someone whom Otto can control.

- Some nice character scenes with Rhaenyra looking after Aegon III and Viserys II, Jace and Baela talking about Luke and a post sex with Rhaenys and Corlys.

- Despite being kicked by Cheese, that poor dog from last episode actually seemed sad by his former owner's death.

- There was a bit more on Hugh Hammer and his wife, Kat (Ellora Torchia) while Aemond confessed to his brothel madam lover that he regretted his part in Luke's death.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

I found there was some great moments in Rhaenyra The Cruel. Both sides are getting more fleshed out but the show does feel it's definitely more Team Black than Team Green as am I. Saying that, Aegon II was surprisingly the highlight of this episode with Tom Glynn-Carney delivering the performance of the night. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of My Adventures With Superman 2x06: "The Machine Who Would Be Empire"

 

Written by M. Willis 

Directed by Jen Bennett 

Brainiac (to Superman): "Please.  Let me show you my Krypton."

Last week we left off with a very hostile Supergirl kidnapping Superman. This week, he's woken up on a spaceship and wasn't best pleased with being taken off world. He almost escaped but then Kara mentioned other Kryptonians being alive. That alone kept him around his cousin.

Yeah, this episode was something of a bonding experience for Clark and Kara. The latter was convinced that being on Earth had made Kal-El too soft but as the episode unfolded, it was clear that Kara herself was also being influenced by a planet she was mistrusting of. That was something that Clark found highly amusing.

Of course the biggest takeaway was Kara keeping souvenirs from some of the world's she had visited with the Krytonian Empire and seeing Thanagar in ruins gave Kara a bit of a harsh wake up call. It also naturally caused Superman to be suspicious when he realised that the father Kara was referring to wasn't his uncle either.

Yes, Brainiac was revealed to be Kara's "father" and he wasn't best pleased with her veering off his mission from her. He also tried to get Superman on side by showing him his Krypton, which didn't totally succeed. When he couldn't get Superman to agree with him, Brainiac didn't hold back revealing his true nature. In fact, Brainiac was a bit too quick to play his villainous hand.

On the plus side while this episode might have had Superman remain a prisoner of Braniac, at least Kara broke free of his influence and managed to escape. Then the episode ended with her bumping into Lois and Jimmy. Now they just need to get Superman away from Brainiac.

- Superman found out pretty fast that Kara has a crush on Jimmy. The latter will be pleased given their scenes from last week.

- Superman learned from Brainiac that his mother name was Lara. Kara couldn't even remember her own father's name.

- I did find it amusing how long it took Superman to realise that he didn't need a helmet in order to breathe in outer space.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

I wasn't keen on last week's episode but The Machine Who Would Be Empire was definitely a step up. Brainiac might have played his hand too quickly but I enjoyed his presence while the bonding scenes with Superman and soon to be Supergirl were done well.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Doctor Who: "Empire Of Death"

 

Written by Russell T. Davies 

Directed by Jamie Donoughue 

Ruby: "Your own granddaughter. You left her and never went back."

The Doctor: "And that was my mistake. Maybe I'll find her one day again, but you, Ruby Sunday, I will see again because you've changed me. I talk about my family in a way I never did before is because of you. You've made my life bigger and better and now, Ruby Sunday, goodbye."

What boy, was that a finale or what? If you've ever watched a Russell T. Davies finale of Doctor Who, a lot of what happened here, you would've seen coming a mile off and then some. That might please or disappoint, depending on your disposition but it will not entirely shock you though.

Picking up from where we left off, Sutekh revealed themselves to the Doctor, Mel and UNIT through Harriet Arbinger and Susan Triad and things got worse. Within minutes every character who wasn't the Doctor, Ruby or Mel got reduced to dust and the appearance of a Memory TARDIS was the only temporary means of protection the Doctor, Ruby and Mel had. 

Yeah, Sutekh not only took over the main TARDIS but apparently he's really been playing the longest game ever, having hitched on since his altercation with Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith. That's a level of restraint and waiting no other villain would've managed. I mean, the Master would've given himself away in five minutes. Sutekh on the other hand, when he wasn't exterminating life throughout the universe was also waiting for some answers.

Like everyone who has watched this series, Sutekh really, really wanted to know who Ruby's mother was and if it meant killing Mel and using her body to lure the Doctor and Ruby into a trap, then Sutekh had little problem doing that. Of course with all these important supporting characters being killed off, I knew a deux ex machina was about to write this episode out of a corner.

Every single finale of the show since 2005 has effectively relied on them, so I wasn't shocked that a dog whistle, those gloves and a leash would be part of Sutekh's downfall. Well, that and being dragged around the time vortex until disintegration but given the shit he pulled, Sutekh pretty much had it coming. As a villain, he was a nice change of pace but for a defeat, it was a bit on the rushed side of things.

Saying they though, with everyone else restored, there was the resolution of Ruby's birth mother. Was she going to be revealed to be a Pantheon of the Gods? Not quite. Instead she was an ordinary nurse named Louise Miller (Faye McKeever), who had Ruby when she was fifteen and gave her away due to an abusive family life. An ordinary woman who completely perplexed Sutekh without even trying to.

However with Ruby's reunion with her birth mother and even tracking down her father, this episode also spelled her ending (of sorts) with the Doctor. As an exit, it's closer to Martha's than Rose or Donna's in the past. I think Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson have been a treat all season long and I thought their last scene was beautifully done. Saying that though, we will be seeing Ruby Sunday (née Miller) next series, even if she's not the main companion. 

As for the Doctor himself, he talked about Ruby changed him for the better and while I'm not entirely shocked that Susan Foreman didn't appear, at least there's groundwork laid out here for the Doctor to reunite with her. Preferably sooner than later though as it seems the groundwork has also been laid out for this Doctor's ending and its a terrible fate if Mrs Flood's fourth wall breaking was anything to go by.

- Ruby's father is called William Garnet and she managed to locate him. I can't wait to see who will be cast in that role.

- The Memory TARDIS came from Tales Of The TARDIS, further legitimising those minisodes. We saw clips of the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane and Susan this episode. The Daleks and Ood were mentioned as was the meaning of 73 Yards.

- Not only did Kate offer Susan Triad a UNIT job but she seemed rather familiar with Colonel Ibrahim too. Chidozie also got revived. 

- A special shout out to Sian Clifford, who gave a lovely performance as Kind Woman. I thought her scenes with Ncuti Gatwa were beautifully done too.

- Mrs Flood made it clear to Cherry she had her own plans, referred to the Doctor as a clever boy and dressed all in white with a fancy umbrella for the last scene of the episode. 

- Chronology: Primarily 2024 London, the end of the universe, the return of 2046 and Roger ap Gwilliam, not to mention various worlds except Gallifrey being mentioned/restored.

I can see why Empire Of Death might not satisfy everyone. If anything, Sutekh was quickly defeated, Ruby's mum was ordinary but the snow seemed unexplained and we've got a future threat with Roger ap Gwilliam and the setting up for this Doctor's departure. Saying that as well, there was Easter Eggs galore, the emotional core you'd expect from RTD and its nice that some things like Mrs Flood will be expanded on in the next series. Just six months to go now for Joy To The World.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Lost Boys And Fairies (2024, BBC1 Miniseries)

 

Written by Daf James

Directed by James Kent

Gabriel (to Andy): "It's like being back at school and no one wants to play with us."

Jake: "That's what I feel. Hi."

For Pride Month, the BBC gave us this charming three part miniseries. The premise focused on a couple named Gabriel (Sion Daniel Young) and Andy (Fra Free) who decided the next step in their relationship was to become parents. This miniseries certainly depicted the struggle in that journey.

Working with a kind social worker named Jackie (Elizabeth Barrington), both Gabe and Andy had past and current issues to work through in order to be seen as viable candidates for raising a child. Then they met Jake (Leo Harris) and both were nearly on the same page.

For the most part, the emphasis in this three part series was more on Gabriel than either Andy or Jake. We're given a rundown of his difficult childhood with both Arthur Sion Evans and Dylan Malyn playing the younger and teenage versions of the character, very much complimenting Sion Daniel Young's present day version.

As Gabriel recountered his issues with his sexuality and addictions to alcohol and drugs, in the present day he worked as a drag entertainer and had an uneasy dynamic with his father, Emrys (William Thomas). This served as a contrast to the more easy going one that Andy had with his mother, Sandra (Maria Doyle Kennedy). Sandra's a great character throughout the series.

Of course by the time we're past the second episode, Gabe and Andy actually get to adopt Jake and things were going well. Then Andy was killed and Gabe ended up spiralling into his old habits with the threat of losing Jake as well as having lost Andy. Gabe might not have had his father's unconditional support but he did have Jackie, Sandra, his boss Berwyn (Arwel Gruffydd) and co-worker, Celyn (Shaheen Jafargholi) in his corner.

While I wasn't particularly keen on Andy dying over halfway through this miniseries, I do think the focus was always focused on Gabriel from the start with his personal growth being somewhat paramount to everything else. The ending's definitely predictable but in no way was it unearned. 

- Other great performances in the series included the likes of Sharon D. Clarke and Gwyneth Keyworth as Jake's social worker Claire and birth mother, Becky.

- Gabe and Andy showed up that meeting showing themselves to be Supergirl fans and that was lovely.

- We got a lot of devil imagery thanks to Gabe. He saw the devil a lot in this series.

- Andy got no real flashbacks in this episode and was often depicted as the more sensible one of the couple.

- Standout music: The big cast rendition of Mad World in the final episode certainly stood out.

- Chronology: It felt very present day, though we did see teenage Gabe lust after Take That.

Lost Boys And Fairies does suffer from some cliches that may feel a tad reductive but it's also a beautiful miniseries telling the story of one couple's quest to become parents and in my opinion, it does that well. Easily one of the best things BBC have done this year.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey 2 (2024)

 

Written by Rhys Frake-Waterfield And Matt Leslie

Directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield

Pooh: "Oh, bother!"

If there's one thing that I've really learned when it comes to certain things, the power of hate watching a thing can easily backfire. By all means, the previous installment of The Twisted Childhood Universe should've been a failure but it wasn't and we got this sequel with more to come.

Okay, to be honest while the first movie was objectively bad in every conceivable way for a horror movie, it was weirdly fascinating. This second movie however managed to upgrade itself from awful to surprisingly decent. Yeah, I can't believe it.

I don't know if it had something to do with replacing the majority of the original cast from the first movie or the fact that the script for this one actually tried to make you care for the characters. Either way, it's a step in the right direction.

Last time we saw Christopher Robin (Scott Chambers), his fiancée was killed, he had been tortured in a kinky BDSM session with his childhood pals and some random characters got killed in front of him. Not surprising enough, he's become a bit of a local pariah while attending therapy sessions to unlock childhood trauma, including what happened to his twin brother, Billy (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney). 

While his local townspeople might mistrust him and the very hospital where proved to actually be good at his job fired him, Christopher had a big support system. Both his parents Alan (Alec Newman) and Daphne (Nicola Wright) were there for him, his sister Bunny (Thea Evans) wanted to connect with him and he had friends like Lexy (Tallulah Evans) and Finn (Flynn Matthews) who were on his side.

On the down side, there was also the returns of Pooh (Ryan Oliva), Piglet (Eddie McKenzie), Tigger (Lewis Santer) and Owl (Marcus Massey) and they didn't waste time killing and mutilating anyone they could in order to get their revenge on Christopher. Between movies their hatred for their former human friend certainly grew.

In this movie, not only did the goriness get upped along with the emotional stakes and more personal losses but there was an effort to make Christopher a more competent protagonist. There was also a more scientific explanation for the reason why Christopher's friends were the way are along with the very real promise that death wouldn't be a deterrent for them. The scientific was where the character Cavendish (Simon Callow) briefly factored in but it's a fairly wasted role. 

- Most of the actors from the first movie did appear as a movie that the kid Lexy was babysitting had watched. 

- Scott Chambers who replaced Nikolai Leon as Christopher Robin was a producer on the first movie. He's also co-writing future instalments for this franchise.

- The next movies will be Bambi: The Reckoning and Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare. Both have yet to be given official release dates.

- Chronology: About a year since the events of the first movie in the town of Ashdown.

Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey 2 turned out to be a surprising improvement on its very awful first movie. It's by no means brilliant, but it's definitely a move in the right direction with a seemingly conscious effort to do better with this childhood horror franchise.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of House Of The Dragon: "A Son For A Son"

 

Written by Ryan Condal

Directed by Alan Taylor 

Helaena (re Jaehaerys): "They killed the boy."

It's been 20 months since the events of the first season finale and while time have moved on for us as viewers, it's been a somewhat slower pace for everyone else. Alliances have been forged and revenge is in the air. Basically, things just got a whole lot worse than before.

I might as well talk about the last scene first because it's still the biggest takeaway from this episode. Getting to the Blood (Sam C. Wilson) and Cheese (Mark Stobbart) story was always going to stoke controversy. If they had stuck to the actual story, I doubt the discourse would've been much better.

In the book, both Aegon II and Helaena had three children but for this show, it's two and instead of being forced to choose between sons, Helaena basically signed her son's death warrant after the episode gave us that one scene with the character to build towards the horrible event itself.

This revised version of the infamous book scene certainly doesn't hit as much as the book version but considering the lack of Maelor, I guess it had to do. Still though, did we really need Helaena to walk in on Alicent and Criston having sex? Saying that, I doubt it's something that Helaena will focus on for the time being.

Keeping with the Greens, we had Aegon II attending his council meetings and being both impulsive in some regards while attempting to curry favour with the locals by listening to their problems. I'm still not an Aegon II fan but this episode at least tried to make him a bit more dimensional than he has been so far on the show. Now if he could just get Otto and Larys in line, he might have some hope as a king. Probably not.

Pivoting towards the Blacks, Rhaenyra was in full on grief mode and her few words of the episode stirred Daemon's whole scheme with Blood and Cheese. He meant Aemond but those idiot would be assassins thought murdering a four year old was the way to go. Indirectly, Daemon has managed to make everything worse.

The death of Lucerys was felt throughout the episode for both sides of the war. We got something of a funeral for Luke with characters such as Jacaerys, Rhaenys and Corlys all having their moments within the episode to dwell on Luke's death. On top of the grieving though, the Blacks were also making waves in securing allies and causing one disadvantage for the Greens.

- I love the new title sequence. A beautiful tapestry of the prominent members of both Greens and Blacks along with new cast members.

- Lord Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor) narrated the opening scene as we made a brief return to both Winterfell and the Wall. Cregan chose Team Black as did Lady Jeyne Arryn.

- Other new cast members included Kieran Bew as Hugh Hammer and Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull.

- Daemon captured Mysaria and only spared her life when he realised he could use her connections to get to Aemond. Larys also seemed to be turning Aegon II off keeping Otto as his hand.

- Aegon II had no problem attempting to humiliate Tyland during the council. The latter has also taken over as the Master of Coin.

- Chronology: A few days since the events of The Black Queen.

A Son For A Son might divide audiences with that last scene but for an opening episode, it did kick things off on a more brutal note. Both sides have innocent blood on their hands and both sides are going to have more blood drawn before we're even halfway through the season. I'm hooked once again.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of My Adventures With Superman 2x05: "Most Eligible Superman"

 

Written by Josie Campbell 

Directed by Kiki Manrique 

Superman: "Lois, are, are you breaking up with me?"

Now that we're at the halfway point of the season, I guess it was time for a series shake up that involved the break up and the cousin introduction getting off on the wrong foot. Oh dear to both plots.

Now I do get where and why both stories are happening but I can't help being a bit disappointed with both developments. Either way, this wasn't a great episode to beceither Clark Kent or Superman.

First of all, there was the weirdness factor of Jimmy inadvertently helping Lex Luthor's recently power grab and the awkwardness that remained between him and Superman/Clark Kent. Fortunately for Jimmy, a certain newcomer helped to distract him for most of this episode.

The newcomer being Kara Zor-El (Kiana Madeida). Yes, she got her cousin's message but it was Jimmy she interacted with for the most part while also learning of human customs. When she finally did meet Superman, it went as badly as possible with Supeerman being kidnapped by his own cousin. Yeah, Kara's under Brainiac's control and his whole plan pivoted in a different direction.

Of course when Superman wasn't being abducted by his cousin, he also broke up with Lois as well. The most eligible bachelor and bacholorette contest definitely brought out Lois's insecurities (with Cat Grant also not helping in that department) and she dumped the Man of Steel. Now both her and Jimmy have to rescue him from Brainiac next week.

- The contest saw a version of Silver St Cloud and Hank Henshaw. Their scenes with Superman were definitely night and day in terms of reactions towards him.

- In most continuities, Jimmy Olsen usually would have a crush on Supergirl. This version maintained that status quo.

- Lous admitted to Superman about her job offer in Gotham. Will she take it? Well, if she did it might lead to seeing Batman on this show.

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

Yeah, I think ghus one was the weakest episode so far in the series. I was hyped for Kara's appearance but with Most Eligible Superman, it's really gotten off to a bad start along with the Superman/Lois break up. Next week does look better though.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Inside No. 9 - Series 9 Review (2024)

The final series and the moment may have been prepared for as train journeys, escape rooms and real life partings make up some of the stories in this last run. All episodes are written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton and directed by George Kane, Al Campbell and Guillem Morales.

Episode 1: Boo To A Goose

Opening the ninth series, we take a trip on a train carriage with a slew of different folks. These included drag artist Wilma (Pemberton) and friend Cleo (Susan Wokoma), husband and wife duo Gerry (Shearsmith) and Edith (Siobhan Finneran), homeless man Mossy (Charlie Cooper), overzealous detective Raymond (Mark Bonnar), nurse Elena (Philippa Dunne), the paranoid Finn (Joel Fry), and the mysterious Harold (Matthew Kelly). Throughout the episode, it took little for this group of people to turn on each other with a biting commentary on compliance versus defiance leading to a trouble end for this one. 8/10

Episode 2: The Trolley Problem

Anyone hoping for a two hander between Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton in this final series just got their wish with this chilling episode. Pemberton takes on the role of therapist Blake, who thought he was doing a good deed by stopping Shearsmith's Drew from killing himself. However Blake realised that letting Drew into his home was a bad idea when the latter made it clear, he wanted revenge for his own daughter's death. Needless to say that Blake inadvertently played a role in Ellie's (Eleanor Kirby) death, so Drew returned the favour with Blake's son, Robbie (Ethan Joseph-Robert). The ending to this one was particularly dark. 9/10

Episode 3: Mulberry Close

Going a bit suburban, we got a couple named Damon (Shearsmith) and Val (Vinette Robinson) moving into the titular neighbourhood. It wasn't long before the couple stoked the attention of nosy neighbours Kenny (Pemberton), Sheila (Dorothy Atkins) and Larry (Adrian Scarborough) and throughout the viewpoint of a door cam, things descended into chaos. Damon's belligerent behaviour and Val's temporary disappearance had everyone else jump to the wrong conclusion. Add the accidental death of a dog named Popcorn and this episode definitely took a turn and proved the adage about not really knowing your neighbours. 8/10

Episode 4: CTRL/ALT/ESC

I'm actually surprised it took nine series to do an escape room episode but here we go. In this episode, you had Jason (Pemberton) along with his wife, Lynne (Katherine Kelly) and daughters, Millie (Kallie Tant) and Amy (Maddie Evans) in an escape room ran by Doug (Shearsmith). Family issues to one side, we had to see them working to get out of the room and avoid the clutches of Dr Death (Angus Wright). Now the twist of the episode was that the escape room was in Jason's mind and he was actually on life support, edging towards death. However the ending of this episode ended up being a surprisingly heartwarming one. 9/10

Episode 5: Curse Of The Ninth

If there had to be one weak episode in this final series, then it's a good thing it's one that's still very good. It's just not as good as every other episode this series. Anyways you've got a piano tuner named Jonah (Shearsmith) who found himself drawn to a curse in a country house ran by the recently widowed Lillian (Natalie Dormer). Her husband Nathaniel (Eddie Marsen) died before completing his 9th symphony in this Edwardian adventure. He was also buried with his incomplete work and an alliance between Jonah and scheming maid Devonshire (Hayley Shires) quickly exposed Jonah's ruthless side that both Lillian and her lawyer, Dickie (Pemberton) had no problem trying to exploit. However a certain curse (James Swanton) turned out to be true for everyone trying to complete that symphony. 7/10

Episode 6: Plodding On

Did nine series really lead to this? Being the longest running show that Shearsmith and Pemberton have done, the expectations were high for this final episode. At first it seemed like we were getting the real life version to Sardines with the returns of Katherine Parkinson and Anne Reid in the bathroom of a press screening for the final episode. Then we had a moment where it looked like Reece and Steve were actually going to do the On The Buses episode with Robin Askwith after all. Speaking of Reece and Steve, while the former wanted to do a detective series named Plodding On, the latter had signed up to do an Amazon fantasy series that seemingly every British actor auditioned for. While the two of them have a spat, quote their own show and go full tilt meta on each other, the rest of the episode roped in as many past guest actors as they could. The likes of Tim Key, Amanda Abbington, Mark Gatiss, Nick Mohammed, Sian Gibson and Jason Watkins to name but a few get some genuinely funny moments in this final episode. Yes, there's the hints of specials and we do have Inside No. 9: Stage/Fright to look forward to but for now, this was the perfect ending to this splendid series. 9/10.

All episodes of Inside No. 9 are available on BBC iPlayer and Amazon.

My Review of Doctor Who: "The Legend Of Ruby Sunday"

 

Written by Russell T. Davies 

Directed by Jamie Donoughue 

Susan/Sutekh: "Did you think I was family, Doctor? I bring Sutekh's gift of death for you and for all your tiny, vile, incessant universe."

Are you seriously telling me that all those theories turned out to be true after all? Because the way this episode opened, it felt like Russell T. Davies was taking those popular fan theories to largely debunk them. Then he didn't.

Now the episode might have been named after Ruby, but this episode wasn't just about trying to get to the bottom of her parentage. Nope, with the assistance of UNIT, which had returning characters such as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, Colonel Ibrahim, the Vlinx, Rose Noble and Melanie Bush, we also got some newbies like child prodigy Morris Gibbons (Lenny Rush) and archivist Harriet Arbinger (Genesis Lynea) in the mix too. Seriously there are a lot of characters to keep up with in this episode.

The biggest mystery outside of Ruby Sunday has been a mysterious woman popping up everywhere and in different characters. For her final/original form, we've got tech mogul Susan Triad (Susan Twist). Even without the Doctor stating the obvious, UNIT managed to figure out that S Triad was an anagram for TARDIS. On top of that, was Susan Twist actually Susan Foreman?

The Doctor certainly considered the possibility of his granddaughter being alive and his feelings on the matter came in some rather revealing individual scenes with Ruby, Kate and Melanie. However upon meeting Susan herself, it was quickly revealed she wasn't his granddaughter with a new face. I'm kind of relieved about that if I'm being honest, especially given that Carole Ann Ford is still alive and it would be nice to see appear on the show again.

Going back to Ruby though, we had the use of a VHS tape from the night of her abandonment in order for the Doctor and Ruby to use a time window to open up her memories. We didn't get to see the identity of Ruby's mother and by the end of this episode, Ruby was back in that window, reliving those memories with a lot of snow and coming face to face with her mother while everything else went to chaos in the meantime.

One of the complaints about this season has been the lack of a familiar villain and if RTD could get away with bringing back the likes of Beep the Meep and the Toymaker to cause problems, the return of Sutekh (Gabriel Woolf) was very much expected. However delightful it turned out to be true after all.

The last few minutes of this episode as Sutekh made his great return veered into horror territory and in the best way possible. The frightening changes to both Susan and Harriet as Sutekh spoke through then at the Doctor and UNIT was chilling to watch. Sue Tech indeed and yes, Doctor, you got the anagram wrong. RTD certainly knows how to pull off a cliffhanger and this one was a jaw dropper. How the hell will the Doctor fix this one?

- The TARDIS groaning all season long because Sutekh has been playing the long game. He was The One Who Waits after all. Mrs Flood even hinted at it to Cherry and she was downright creepy about it.

- Melanie told Carla a bit about her own tragic backstory while the Vlinx got an upgrade and an asteroid improved Morris's IQ.

- I thought it was sweet how quickly Ruby and Rose made friends. Rose was also better written here as she took a supporting role.

- Kate was angry at the Doctor when Colonel Winston Chidozie (Tachia Newall) was killed by Sutekh. Ruby and Winston bonded over being Mancunians.

- Other guises/dreams that Susan had included being a Bleet, a Griffin and a Sloogma. Other Gods mentioned were the Trickster, Toymaker, Maestro, Mara, Reprobate, a triple deity of Malice, Mischief and Misery and so on. I expect we'll see some of them next season.

- Chronology: 2024 London as well as the memories of December 24th 2004.

I gotta handle to RTD, he knows how to do a cliffhanger and The Legend Of Ruby Sunday certainly delivered on that front. I mean there's a lot going on in this episode, but that's certainly no bad thing and if RTD can truly deliver with resolving Ruby's mystery and the Sutekh return, this will be a hell of a way to end the season.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of In The Flesh (1998)

 

Written And Directed by Ben Taylor

Philip: "Maybe you're just not my type."

Oliver: "Yeah. Yeah, I like that. Keep tellin' yourself that."

Time for another murder mystery. Last week I watched and reviewed the better known Bound and now for the gay male audience, there's this far lesser known film. 

In terms of protagonists, you've got a chain smoking semi closeted detective named Philip Kirsch (Ed Corbin). He opened the movie by busting drugs at a brothel before being assigned another undercover gig. This one being at a gay bar named The Blue Boy. This precise location would put Philip into contact with the second lead of the film.

The second lead being a hustler/student named Oliver Beck (Dane Ritter). If anything, I feel this movie delved a lot more into Oliver as a character than Philip and their dynamic certainly went through the motions of mistrust, co-dependency, lust and potentially even love as the movie progressed.

With Oliver, when he wasn't dealing with a mentally ill sister and a co-worker who was into him more than he was with her, he also had an overzealous client named Mac (Frank Roberts) to deal with. Then Oliver had to deal with Mac being stabbed and him being in the frame for his murder.

Even when Philip recklessly gave Oliver a false statement, both men sort of became social pariahs while trying to find the actual killer. It's by the end of the movie where Philip's co-worker Detective Meyer (Philip Solomon) turned out to be the killer, amid another drug subplot.

It's a hastily done resolution that's not even properly handled within the time frame itself. The "romance" between Philip and Oliver is a mixed bag. There's some chemistry between the actors but at no point does the movie have them even kiss. As characters, they're very much worlds apart with a clear age gap and seemed better suited as friends by the time the movie ended.

- Oliver gave up alcohol after getting into a car crash with a friend that resulted in the latter's death. Philip was married to a woman at one point.

- Another subplot involved Oliver being nice to a disabled man named Mickey (Michael A. Newcomer).

- Standout music: Popcycle's Breathe, which is used frequently throughout the movie.

- Chronology: Late 1990s in Atlanta, Georgia. It was filmed there too.

I'll admit that I found In The Flesh to be a bit of a mixed bag. It's not a bad movie and it's attempts to flesh out both Philip and Oliver are decent enough. Parts of it are very sluggish though and the killer reveal was very sloppily done. Saying that, it's a decent watch.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

X-Men '97 - Episodes 6-10 Reviews

The second half of this season certainly upped the ante with the introduction of another major villain, a return of powers and a three part finale.

Episode 6: Lifedeath - Part 2

Remember how the fourth episode was basically two episodes stories smashed into one? Well, there's a continuation of that. Yet again, the Storm story proved to be the best of the bunch as she tooknn Adversary once again and managed to not only defeat Adversary but also regained her powers in a scene that lifted from Man Of Steel. The second story revealed that Professor X was living off world with Lilandra Neramani, only for the latter's sister to disapprove of their impending nuptials. Structurally, it's much better than the previous part with a bit of a follow up on the attack on Genosha. 7/10

Episode 7: Bright Eyes

Now this was a hell of a prelude to the finale. We had Gambit's funeral and Rogue going to extreme measures in her quest for answers by hunting down both Gyrich and Trask. Let's just say that Rogue really let her dark side out while Cable also returned to warn the X-Men about Mister Sinister's next plan. There's also a subplot involving Sunspot coming out as a Mutant to his mother along with the reveal of another Sentinel programme. The biggest reveal though wasn't Magneto being alive but more that he was being held prisoner by Bastion (Theo James) during the very last scene in this one. 8/10

Episode 8: Tolerance Is Extinction - Part 1

Ending this season with a three part finale was certainly a wise choice on Beau DeMayo's part. This first segment alone certainly kicked things off chaotically with Cyclops, Jean and Cable travelling back in time to uncover Bastion's backstory just as the latter used Sentinels to blow up the school and attack mutants. Magneto getting free however created even more problems as he resorted to his own methods to stop the Sentinels. With Wolverine voicing the obvious concerns of war, Xavier also returned to Earth. 8/10

Episode 9: Tolerance Is Extinction - Part 2 

The middle segment and things certainly intensified here. Throwing in some fan pleasing cameos from other Marvel characters to one side, the highlight in this part was the battle of wits between Xavier and Magneto with the latter making it clear he had tired of Xavier's nonsense. This episode also had the groups splitting into Magneto's team with Rogue and Sunspot and then everyone else. We also had Beast and Forge working together to create a disadvantage for Bastion and the Sentinels. 8/10

Episode 10: Tolerance Is Extinction - Part 3

The final part and what a way to end this season. A reunited X-Men team, new costumes, differences put aside and the defeats of both Mr Sinister and Bastion along with a restored to power Earth. It was a hell of a time during this three part finale but there were so many satisfying moments that played throughout this event, including a surprise resolution to the series finale of Spider-Man: The Animated Series. However the cliffhanger involved our main characters being scattered in different time periods and the predicted return of a certain character that was killed earlier this season. Let's just say the second season can't come soon enough. 9/10

Season 2 of X-Men '97 will premiere on Disney+, likely in early 2025.

My Review of The Pass (2016)

 

Written by John Donnelly

Directed by Ben A. Williams

Jason: "If I need a wife and kid... yeah, if I need to fuck a woman... or a man... you know what, or a fucking apricot for that matter, then that's what I do."

If I was going to keep with these LGBT themed reviews for Pride Month, of course I was going to include a sports themed one. The sport in question being football with an emphasis on two characters over a ten year time period.

In a way, this was a movie split into three. While there was an emphasis on two footballers, the focus was predominantly on Jason (Russell Tovey), a very laddish individual who was in a hotel room with his fellow teammate, Ade (Arinze Kene). To say there was tension between the two would be underselling it.

At first in the hotel room, there was some fairly expected laddish banter that got really uncomfortable when Jason decided to do blackface in front of Ade, which enraged the latter who also did whiteface in retaliation. However, neither of that didn't stop an unexpected election and a kiss between the pair that certainly created unresolved issues between the two.

Then there's a five year jump in a different location and another hotel room. In order to quash the gay rumours, Jason hired a woman named Lindsay (Lisa McGrillis) to sleep with him and leak a sex tape. This was also Jason's harebrained scheme in order to stop his estranged wife from outing him to the press.

It's by this time in the movie, we get to see how truly conflicted Jason was as a character. This is a man who'll brag about his clout as a footballer and revel in being promiscuous while at the same time resorting to the biggest extremes to conceal his sexuality. Lindsay rightfully chewed Jason out on his bullshit before making sure she got double her payday.

The last act included another five year jump, a different location and a different hotel. We got a reunion between Jason and Ade and a round up of how different their lives turned out. Ade's football dreams ended too quickly but he seemed happier being a plumber and being an out gay man. No matter how Jason attempted to undermine Ade's more settled life, Ade mostly rose above it.

However the inclusion of straight hotel worker Harry (Nico Mirallegro) saw both Jason and Ade hashing out their anger towards each other. Harry was a bit of an idiot but Jason definitely pushed him a bit too far. As for Jason and Ade, this movie didn't really resolve their issues but instead arguably left things worse than before.

- Russell Tovey previously played the role of Jason in the stage production of this movie two years before it was released.

- Both Jason and Ade watched another teammates sex tape, when the former wasn't mocking the latter's religious father.

- Standout music: James Vincent McMorrow's Look Out and Moscow Youth Cult's Like A Machine.

- Chronology 2006 Bucharest, 2011 London and 2016 Manchester.

I certainly enjoyed The Pass. Great performances from both Russell Tovey and Arinze Kene with the former being vexing but compelling and the latter being more sympathetic of the two. Its a movie that doesn't outstay its welcome while also offering a decent commentary on football culture and gay men.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of My Adventures With Superman 2x04: "Two Lanes Diverged"

 

Written by Sari Cooper

Directed by Diana Huh

Lois (to General Lane): "All you've ever wanted was for me to make it on my own. Okay, Dad, you win. I'll make it without you."

Okay, then. We got an episode where Lois and Sam Lane's relationship was put through the ringer. A good look into the father/daughter dynamic that's been fairly messy on this show. 

In flashbacks we had Sam training Lois to train herself and locate the North Star. It took Lois a bit to learn that while also venting her frustration over various issues. Notably her mother's illness and constantly losing friends by constantly having to move with Sam's job. Sam didn't exactly help matters either.

In the present day, both Lois and Sam were betrayed by Winslow Schott and nearly killed by Deathstroke and various Task Force X agents. Yet they managed to survive and hashed out some issues while Sam also moved in with Lois. Given that he was putting both Clark and Jimmy on edge, he won't be missed by either.

Speaking of Jimmy, the B plot of the episode had the Flamebird superstar schmoozing at a STAR Labs do where his own loyalty to Superman was tested. Let's just the newly out and about Lex Luthor was doing his best to undermine Superman throughout the event and things got awkward between Superman and his best pal.

As for the last scenes of the episode, there was Superman trying to contact Kara while Lex and Waller's own victories could be undermined by the arrival of the Nemesis Omega. Yeah, the latter two might have gloated a bit too soon about gaining the upper hand.

- We didn't get any pick up on Lois potentially going to the Gotham Gazaette but it seems like Lucy doesn't exist in this continuity.

- Sam knows there's something not quite right with Clark but still hasn't clocked on to him being Superman. It does feel like he's going to become privy soon.

- Lex certainly had no problem reminding Jimmy of the confidence boost the latter gave him in the first episode.

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

For the most part, I thought Two Lanes Diverged was rather good. Not as good as earlier episodes but things are still moving in the right direction. We're getting that Superman/Lex rivalry and Supergirl's on the way. That's good going.

Rating: 7 out of 10

X-Men '97 - Episodes 1-5 Reviews

I had been waiting for the whole first season to wrap up on Disney+ to do this and then I had other things to review. However, here's the first of two blogs that I am writing about this sequel series to the popular animated series from the 1990s.

Episode 1: To Me, My X-Men

Essentially this picked up from where the series finale of X-Men: The Animated Series left off. Charles Xavier is dead and it's Cyclops who has taken over the team. Oh and him and Jean Grey are expecting a child, Morph has settled back into being Wolverine's best friend and there's the introduction of Sunspot. On top of that, there's the return of Bolivar Trask and the Sentinels as well as the Master Mold supercomputer. Add in some horrible visions for Jean and Magneto stepping out of the woodwork to confirm he's taking over the school and you've got a great opening episode. 8/10

Episode 2: Mutant Liberation Begins

Magneto taking centre stage in this second episode only felt right after the way the first one ended. Not surprisingly, most of the X-Men aren't exactly keen on having him around as their leader and it's extra complicated for Rogue with hints of a romantic past between. Magneto's return also delayed Cyclops and Jean from leaving the team but not the birth of their son, Nathan. There was also the subplot of Magneto's trial at the UN Headquarters while Storm bore the brunt of the X-Cutioner and lost her powers. The episode did largely telegraph Storm's fate but it still came as a shock. 8/10

Episode 3: Fire Made Flesh 

Something of a spookier episode, I really loved that this one skewered fully into it's horror setting. We did the Dark Phoenix plot with Jean Grey that the next step was of course the Madelyne Pryor/Goblin Queen and at the behest of the returned Mister Sinister, its executed rather well. You've got a complicated triangle of sorts between Jean, Scott and Madelyne as well as Bishop being tasked with sending Nathan into the future in order to save. I also liked that the episode didn't pull away from Storm either. She might have left the team and gone back to her home but the arrival of Forge certainly helped with this subplot. 8/10

Episode 4: Motendo/Lifedeath - Part 1 

After three incredibly strong episodes, the season hit a bum note with this one. I didn't mind the focus on Jubilee and Sunspot but I just didn't care enough for the return of Mojo and the video game plot that nearly killed both Jubilee and Sunspot. Still though, their relationship did pick up, so it wasn't too much of a time waster. Better handled was Storm and Forge working together and the arrival of Adversary at the end. I genuinely thought that plot should've had the most focus on this one. It certainly would've improved the episode. 6/10

Episode 5: Remember It

Well, this might be one of the best episodes from any television show ever. Certainly one of the best episodes of a show airing in 2024. Gambit hadn't too much to do this season and while he wasn't a fan of Rogue and Magneto's growing connection, he certainly got one hell of a heroic sacrifice. The attack on Genosha, following the former being accepted by the UN was devastating. Rogue's pain over losing both Gambit and Magneto was heartbreaking. Then there was the Wolverine/Jean/Cyclops/Madelyne quadrangle, the return of Cable along with revealing the character's real identity (it's Nathan) and this episode didn't let up for a moment. 10/10

The next blog will cover Lifedeath - Part 2, Bright Eyes and Tolerance Is Extinction Parts 1-3.

My Review of Doctor Who: "Rogue"

Written by Kate Herron And Briony Redman

Directed by Ben Chessell

Rogue: "So can you do it? Can you lose your friend to save the world?"

The Doctor: "No."

Rogue: "I know. Find me."

You know if there's something this season has lacked so far, it's a spot of romance and cosplay. Fortunately in Doctor Who does Bridgerton, you get both. Sorry, I meant Rogue. My bad of course.

Yes, the Doctor and Ruby deliberately visit Regency era Bath because the latter's a massive fan of a certain Netflix show and wanted to do some cosplay. Of course, Ruby wasn't the only one with that specific idea in mind. The main villains of the week are also fans of that show that got referenced enough times to be a drinking game.

The Chuldur were a bird like race, obsessed with cosplay and only too happy to slaughter people and assume their form. The likes of The Duchess (Indira Varma), Lord Barton (Paul Foreman) and the waifish Emily Beckett (Camilla Aiko) were all replaced by these creatures as the Doctor, Ruby and titular bounty hunter, Rogue (Jonathan Groff) were quick enough to discover.

Pivoting the conversation to Rogue. He's certainly closer to Vinder in terms of seriousness but there's a flair of Jack Harkness and River Song in the mix too. Jonathan Groff proved to be an excellent choice and he certainly played off Ncuti Gatwa perfectly. In fact, he might be Ncuti's best scene partner outside of Millie Gibson. It also does help that Togue was entirely a new character, which debunked theories on his true identity for now.

The back and forth bickering and flirting between the Doctor and Rogue was a delight to watch. Its no wonder fans were shipping this pairing long before the episode aired and its further proof that the Doctor's not an asexual character. You can argue the romance between the Doctor and Rogue was sped up but in the context of the story, I found it worked rather well.

What about Rogue's heroic sacrifice then? Was that the last we've seen of him? Honestly I doubt it tbh. Rogue strikes me as someone resourceful enough to eventually outwit the Chuldur, leave then to their fate and reunite with the Doctor. He was definitely set up as a character we'd see again. The fact that Rogue had no issue sacrificing himself so the Doctor didn't lose Ruby spoke volumes of his character.

Then there was Ruby herself. She got to mingle, almost made friends with Emily, faked being a Chuldur and nearly got banished had Rogue not stepped in. She also got to comfort the Doctor and seemed to be happy about the idea of him finding love. I guess I'm saying, I really have grown to love Ruby Sunday as a character.

- The episode rightfully had an In Memory to William Russell (1924-2024) during the end credits.

- The Doctor had a scene with Carla in flashbacks about keeping Ruby safe. She nearly got banished here and the finale will definitely have her in danger.

- Rogue not only got to see the previous fourteen Doctors but also the War, Fugitive and Shalka versions too. He absolutely loved the TARDIS.

- Susan Twist literally popped up as The Portrait for this episode. At least we're going to finally find out who or what she is next week.

- Standout music: Orchestral versions of Billie Eilish's Bad Guy and Lady Gaga's Poker Face. Rogue liked Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out Of My Head.

- Chronology: 1813 Bath for the entirety of the episode, bar that scene with Carla in 2024.

I absolutely loved Rogue. Yes, I've been very positive about this series but the episode was amazing. The cosplay taken to a murderous level plot worked, the Chuldur finally gave us a great villain outside Maestro and the Doctor/Rogue romance more than exceeded my appetite here. An absolute triumph of an episode.

Rating: 10 out of 10

My Review of Bound (1996)

 

Written And Directed by The Wachowskis

Corky: "What are you doing?"

Violet: "Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to seduce you."

Keeping with LGBT themed blogs for this month, I went with something a bit crime and erotic related. Also a directing debut for a sibling team that wold three years after this movie release deliver one of the most iconic sci-fi films of all time.

Anyways, back to this one and it's a film where the erotic aspect isn't shy about showing. You've got recently released convict Corky (Gina Gershon) moving into an apartment building. She's there to carry out maintenance work on behalf of the unseen landlord and mostly to keep her head down.

The latter part however went out the window the minute she bumped into her new neighbour Violet (Jennifer Tilly), a former sex worker and its not long before both Corky and Violet are getting more intimately acquainted with each other. Of course there's a snag with this potential pairing.

Aside from Corky's justified trust issues, the snag was of course Violet's money laundering and bad tempered boyfriend, Caesar (Joe Pantoliano). He's involved with the mob, there's money laundering at play and a rather unfortunate fella named Shelly (Barry Kivel) who lost a few fingers.

Violet and Corky had the not so genius idea of stealing the money that was being laundered with a rather contrived plan where Caesar would be gaslit into thinking that he would have to flee from his boss. Except that Caesar just ended up killing mobsters and even came close to killing both Violet and Corky when he wised up to their scheme.

The rest of the movie played out more as a crime thriller with Caesar nearly getting away with things, only for him to gravely underestimate both Violet and Corky. It didn't end well for him but as for Corky and Violet, they certainly managed to get their happy ending.

- The sex scenes between Corky and Violet were coordinated by Susie Bright, who appeared as bar owner Jess in the movie.

- Had things gone differently with this movie, both Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon would've played the opposite roles. Tilly was originally meant to be Corky.

- Standout music: Tom Jones She's A Lady gets nicely used at the end of this movie.

- Chronology: I'm assuming the same year as it's release and in a California setting.

Bound has certainly earned it's place in LGBT cinema and given how unapologetic it is in terms of it's sexuality and the magnetic chemistry between both Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon. The crime stuff's a nice backdrop to boot.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Teen Titans Go! Vs. Teen Titans (2019)

 

Written by Marly Halpern-Graser And Jeremy Adams

Directed by Jeff Mednikow

Robin: "Say hello to the Teen Titans of infinite earths. Titans of infinite earths, go!"

2019 was a year for Multiverse DC crossover events. If it wasn't the Arrowverse going into full Crisis mode, then there was two groups of Teen Titans going head to head with each other. Who can we thank for this aside from Cartoon Network?

Oh, Trigon (Kevin Michael Richardson) of course. He decided that pairing with his more serious self and bringing two groups of Teen Titans together would be the smartest way to rule over the Multiverse. Needless to say, it wasn't the most thought out of plans.

For starters, the Teen Titans themselves Robin (Scott Menville), Starfire (Hynden Walch), Raven (Tara Strong), Beast Boy (Greg Cipes) and Cyborg (Khary Payton) initially clashed and ridiculed each other before properly banding together as a team. That was something both Trigons would struggle to do. 

In fact, the clash of the Trigons saw one merge into the other and because of that, both group of Teen Titans needed the help of not only the dimension hopping Worlogog but also the help of many versions of themselves to save the day. Why have two versions of the same group when you have so many instead?

Even with these versions, the reality was that only Raven was vital in saving the day. The Go! version was literally struggling with her demon being on the loose, temporarily losing herself and being happier before making peace with her demon. As for both Trigons, they got close to victory and yet so far.

Seeing both groups of Teen Titans interacting with each other was a lot of fun to watch. Not quite a tonal clash if I'm being honest but it was amusing watching the contrasts and similarities between the groups along with the arguing Trigons.

- We got Gentlemen Ghost and Darkseid, both voiced by Weird Al Yankovic at the beginning and end of the movie. The Teen Titans ignored Darkseid's latest invasion attempts.

- I did enjoy that Santa Claus (Robert Morse) can be bothered a villain and sometimes grudging ally for the Teen Titans. Both Santa and Mrs Claus (Grey DeLisle) were enemies for this one.

- Standout music: I would go with the rap influenced Cooperation.

- Chronology: Not only from where the previous movie left off.

Like the previous movie, there was a lot of fun to be had with Teen Titans Go! Vs. Teen Titans. Both groups, the multiverse madness of it, the Santa Claus diversion and the music choices. A diverting way to spend time.

Rating: 7 out of 10