My Review of Snow White And The Seven Dwarves (1937)

 

Written by Ted Sears And Richard Creedon And Otto Englander And Dick Rickard And Earl Hurd And Merrill De Maris And Dorothy Ann Blank And Webb Smith

Directed by David Hand And Perce Pearce And William Cottrell And Larry Morey And Wilfred Jackson And Ben Sharpsteen

Snow White: "We are standing by a wishing well / Make a wish into the well / That's all you have to do / And if you hear it echoing / Your wish will soon come true."

With the arrival of the live action movie in two weeks time, it was long past time for me to go back and rewatch the original. Has it aged it well? Is it too problematic for a modern audience? Are people incapable of separating fiction from reality? Those are the questions to be asked, notably the last one.

You got to remember, this was the first animated Disney movie to come out and it's success has reverberated the whole franchise ever since. It's partially why the upcoming live action adaptation has generated so much pushback but truthfully, it's a really good movie.

You've got your Evil Queen (Lucille La Verne), who for some time has been used to being the fairest of the land, if not the nicest of rulers. Then her Magic Mirror (Moroni Olsen) gave the Evil Queen a harsh reality check - that her stepdaughter Snow White (Adriana Caselotti) would surpass her in beauty. The Evil Queen didn't exactly take that news very well.

Unfortunately for her, the Huntsman (Stuart Buchanan) had enough of a conscience not to kill Snow White and despite taking over their house, the Seven Dwarves also liked having her around as a mother figure. The Dwarves being Doc (Roy Atwell), Grumpy/Sleepy (Pinto Colvig), Happy (Otis Harlan), Bashful (Scott Mattraw), Sneezy (Billy Gilbert) and Dopey (Eddie Collins). Those dwarves definitely lived up to their names when they werent mining for diamonds.

As for the Evil Queen, she decided that if a Huntsman couldn't kill her stepdaughter, she'd do it herself. She disguised herself as an old woman and tricked Snow White into eating a poisoned apple. Then she got a comeuppance herself courtesy of being atop of a cliff during a thunderstorm.

As for the Prince (Harry Stockwell) part of the movie, well he's just there to fall in love with Snow White and bring her back to life via a kiss. Other than that and like a lot of Disney princes that would follow, there's nothing there, character wise to grasp onto. 

- In the original story, the Evil Queen had a far worse fate than the one given to her in this movie.

- Originally the Prince was captured and nearly drown by the Evil Queen but elements of those would factor into later movies.

- Standout music: Someday My Prince Will Come, Whistle While You Work and Heigh-Ho.

- Chronology: An unspecified time period for both this and the original tale, though European in origin.

Maybe it hasn't entirely aged well but Snow White And The Seven Dwarves certainly made a last impression that's still felt to this very day. Is it my favourite Disney movie of all time? Probably not, no but it's definitely one that's iconic, if dated in certain ideas.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Doctor Odyssey: "Shark Attack!"

 

Written by Mike Schaub And Liz Friedman

Directed by Millicent Shelton

Avery: "Then I have to ask, what were you all doing in potentially shark infested waters?"

Brooke: "That was my client's call. Which I'll regret not saying no to for the rest of my life. And now Brody is my patient, so it's my call."

It's been nearly four months since this show had fun with rubber ducks and a pregnancy storyline for our trio - Max, Avery and Tristan. However, less time has definitely passed between episodes in the show itself and this mid season premiere injected some much needed danger into the mix.

The episode began with Max and Avery at odds over her pregnancy while a surfing lesson between Tristan and Spencer resulted in the latter being bitten by a shark. We don't see the creature in question but The Odyssey being in warm waters meant that sharks and orcas were a problem for our main players this week.

Of course it wasn't just the main ship in troubled waters but a smaller one named The Flicker also found themselves interacting with our crew this week. If we're getting potential new characters for the rest of the season, then Dr Brooke Lane (Adrianne Palicki) could be a very interesting spanner in the works for the trio.

First of all, while Max managed to show self restraint during his scenes with Brooke, there's definitely a spark between the pair of them. Avery wasn't exactly shy in expressing jealousy towards Max and Brooke but to be fair, Avery also rejected Max in this episode as well. Suddenly this triangle has potentially become a quadrangle.

Anyways, work related hook ups to one side, Brooke's crew included the autistic Ray who Tristan was initially a bit hostile towards before realising his mistake. Ray made a more positive impression on Robert, especially given his knowledge for sharks and orcas while Max, Brooke and Avery had to amputate the leg off a man named Brody while Tristan took care of his girlfriend, Josie (Rumer Willis).

Then there was Spencer himself. The first episode to really focus in on him had him attacked by a shark and at risk of death and leg amputation to boot. As for the cliffhanger, the lights are out on the ship and the waters are dangerous. Here's hoping the second part can deliver on the promise of this first part.

- Spencer talked about fishing trips with his father. Tristan also stepped up as a friend to him during the sick bay scenes.

- Rosie really knows her saws, which came in handy for this particular episode. I did miss Corey though.

- This was the first episode not to be co-written by any of three creators of the show. It had to happen sometimes.

- Chronology: Not long from where the mid season finale left off.

Shark Attack! might not be a game changer of an episode but it's a good start to hopefully a more campy and insane direction for a show that's been a bit too tame compared to its network predecessors. Brooke and Ray are two characters I hope we get to see more of beyond this two parter.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Harley Quinn: "Family Feud"

 

Written by Vidhya Iyer

Directed by Christina Manrique

Ivy (to Harley): "Lena did it. The bitch actually bottled the city."

Yup, that's exactly what Lena Luthor did and can I just say that while appreciated the Supergirl show having a more conflicted but ultimately good version of the character, I love that this version embraced their villain. This version really isn't that different to her brother.

In fact, Lex was the reason why Lena descended the path she's currently on and when she wasn't turning Harley and Ivy against each other, Lena had the foresight to try and kill them. Of course she didn't succeed but she got close enough.

With Harley, this meant her own father was willing to betray her and have her cut up for parts. It didn't end well for Nick and it also meant that Harley's mother somewhat tagged along at the end of the episode, being somewhat helpful in getting Lex from prison.

As for Ivy, well she did have the bight idea to access a transporter to face Lena but between a heartbroken Bruce, a homicidal security bot named G.A.I.L. and the transporter destroyed, it didn't pan out. Lena won that round but Harley and Ivy did make up by the end of the episode.

Now, we've got Metropolis bottled up, two episodes left, Harley and Ivy with the former's mother and Lex. Will they be enough to stop Lena and her plan? They're going to have to be, aren't they?

- Using thumbs was Brainiac's way of expressing the middle finger. He didn't like it when Lena did it to him.

- Bruce and Lena 4ever was certainly a tacky password but fitting for this version of Bruce.

- Apart from one brief scene with Frankette, Harley and Ivy's other allies were nowhere to be seen here.

- Chronology: Took place from where the previous episode left off.

Family Feud might have had Harley and Ivy at odds for most of the episode but they did come back together at the very end. I did like their separate attempts of staying alive from Lena's attempts to have them killed.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Off To Thailand, Back To Hell's Kitchen Or The Wilderness

Yup, a lot of shows have popped up in the last few weeks with at least one ending for good and others getting their latest seasons in full swing.

9-1-1: Lone Star: Those last three episodes really came and went by so fast, didn't they? While it's baffling that FOX axed the show after five seasons, I'm glad the show went out on a strong note. TK and Carlos adopted the former's half brother, Owen went to New York, Tommy survived, Marjan got married and Judd took over the fire house. Not to mention some crazy antics involving an asteroid. At least the main show will still be around for the foreseeable future.

Daredevil: Born Again: It's felt like an eternity since the announcement of this show and the massive retooling that happened between filming but yesterday, Disney+ released the first two episodes and the reviews were a bit more mixed compared to its Netflix predecessor. Personally, I liked both episodes though I'm over the show trying to find ways of keeping Charlie Cox out of his costume more than that spoiled death. Still, I am enjoying Matt's new dynamic with various new characters as well as the mayoral story with Wilson Fisk and the White Tiger story. So far, I think the good outweighs the bad here.

Dexter: Original Sin: I'm genuinely impressed with how this prequel series has managed to become as entertaining as the original. I'm also impressed with how Patrick Gibson has embodied the role of Dexter Morgan as well as Michael C. Hall back in the day (and again this summer). Hiring Patrick Dempsey to play the main villain so depraved he'd mutilate his own child was also a clever move along with the death of Laura in flashbacks and arrival of Brian Moser in the current day. The Deb plot did falter a bit but I loved her scenes with Tanya and Maria in the penultimate episode.

Prime Target: Have you ever sat through an entire season of a show and not had a bloody clue why you bothered? Apple TV+ attempts of a conspiracy show with Leo Woodall as gay mathemacian Edward could have been a thrilling show or even mildly entertaining if it leaned a bit sillier but sadly, it took itself too seriously, was very dull and plodding and wasted a lot of talented actors like David Morrissey, Martha Plimpton, Harry Lloyd, Stephen Rea and so on. The finale tried to inject a bit of edge into it but it was a case of too little and too late. I'll be surprised if this gets a second season.

The White Lotus: It's been over two years since we've had this show dominating the conversation and trading Sicily for Thailand, we've got the returning Belinda from the first season and a slew of new characters. There's the very rich and very dodgy Ratliffs, with some sexually inappropriate siblings while age gap couple Rick and Chelsea spent most of their time getting bitten by snakes, interacting with other age gap couples and one of them taking an overt interest in Sritala (the manager). I am loving the bitchy friend trio - Jaclyn, Kate and Laurie but the staff haven't been as dynamic as some of the past ones. As usual, there's the mystery of a dead body and right now, it could be any of them. 

Towards Zero: Over the last few years, there's been a mixed reception towards the BBC's adaptations of Agatha Christie books. Usually some complain because the casting has been more diverse than in the past or because the person adaptating usually changes too many elements from the source material. Of course, there's no exception with the same criticisms but honestly, it's a pretty decent take on the novel. You've got a disgraced tennis star with both his former and current wives, a bed ridden matriarch, estranged family members, a sympathetic lawyer, a world weary detective, beleaguered staff and a murder where you probably guessed the killer and motive without having read the book. I do think these adaptations should be done as 90 minute TV movies than three hour long episodes but it's a decent if slowish take on the classic novel.

Yellowjackets: Season 3 so far has been entertaining but it's also raised the question of how much gas is left in the tank for this show. In the present day, Natalie's death barely had time to register when Lottie also ended up being dead. Shauna and Misty clashed while Taissa and Van had some better news and both Callie, Jeff and Walter had their moments. In the flashbacks, there was the girls setting up camp outdoors, Ben's trial and Shauna getting closer to Melissa and becoming more antagonistic towards everyone else along with some more screentime for Mari. It's a solid start but I'm still waiting for the likes of Joel McHale and Hilary Swank to show up. 

• Drew Starkey and Anya Taylor-Joy will play a married couple in upcoming Apple TV+ series, Lucky.
• The Recruit has been cancelled after two seasons by Netflix.
• Uma Thurman, Peter Dinklage, Krysten Ritter and Neil Patrick Harris will appear in Dexter: Resurrection, which will premiere in June on Showtime/Paramount+.
• Harry Lawtey won't be returning for the fourth season of Industry but Kit Harrrington will and Max Minghella has also joined the HBO/BBC series.
• The second season of The Last Of Us will premiere on HBO from April 13th.
• This month on ABC will see a crossover event between 9-1-1 and Doctor Odyssey, factoring Angela Bassett's Athena Grant.
• 9-1-1: Nashville will be the new spin off and will premiere on ABC in the autumn. Expect casting news very soon.
• Mid-Century Modern will premiere all ten episodes on Hulu from March 28th.
• Filming for the second season of Daredevil: Born Again has begun while Vision has added Ruairidh Mollica in an undisclosed role to its cast.
• James Norton has been cast as Ormund Hightower for the third season of House Of The Dragon. Lucas Aurelia has also been cast in an undisclosed role.
• The fate of Heartstopper on Netflix is currently unknown. 
• Netflix have ordered limited series Vladimir, which will start Rachel Weisz as a woman who becomes obsessed with her new colleague.
• The fourth season of The Bear is currently in production and will premiere on FX/Hulu during the summer.

My Review of Strangers On A Train (1951)

 

Written by Raymond Chandler And Czenzi Ormonde And Whitfield Cook

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Bruno: "My theory is that everyone is a potential murderer."

I'll be catching up with more Alfred Hitchcock movies over the next few months and one that was on my to do list was this one. I already liked Farley Granger in Rope and I was keen on seeing his performance in this often mentioned classic.

In the role of tennis star, Guy Haines, Granger gave one hell of a performance as a man with a messy personal life that would get a lot messier upon a chance meeting during a train journey. Sometimes it's best not to talk to strangers on public transport.

Guy made the mistake of being cordial to psychopath Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) and it wasn't long before the idea of a criss cross murder would be a conversation piece. A conversation that Guy should've taken a lot more serious than he initially did.

Bruno was more than keen to bump off Guy's estranged wife, Miriam (Kasey Rogers) and given the short screen time she had, you can see why Guy was happy to see Miriam dead. Guy also had another lover with Anne Morton (Ruth Roman) and didn't want his wife around to cause him any more headaches.

Of course, there was Guy having to kill Bruno's constantly disapproving father (Jonathan Hale). Bruno was attached to his mother (Marian Lorne) and wanted his father dead. Guy wasn't keen on actually keeping his end of the deal and went to great lengths to not kill Mr Anthony.

The rest of the movie was a nice battle of wits between the two characters, along with a physical altercation that didn't end well for Bruno. Bruno died, didn't get what he wanted and everyone knew he killed Miriam. Guy managed to keep Anne and learned not to talk to strangers on certain modes of public transport.

- Like most of his movies, this was based on Patricia Highsmith's novel of the same name.

- Hitchcock's daughter, Patricia also appeared in the movie as Anne's sister, Barbara. Anne's father was a Senator (Leo G. Carroll).

- There's cameo appearances from Alfred Hitchcock as well as Jack Cushingham and John Doucette.

- Chronology: The movie is set in the town of Metcalf as well as Washington DC.

Strangers On A Train was a sublime adaptation of the source material (regardless of some big changes). Both Farley Granger and Robert Walker are on superb form as two very different men drawn together with the grim realisation of a hypothetical made into a reality. It's an excellent movie.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

Scream 7 - The Dead Returns (Spoilers/Speculation, etc)

With filming for Scream 7 likely to finish this month, the last few weeks have revealed more casting news.

Before that, a reminder of the previously confirmed cast being Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, Roger L. Jackson, Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Isabel May, Joel McHale, Mark Consuelos, Anna Camp, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O'Connor, Asa Germann and Sam Rechner.

First of all, let's talk about those returns. Last month it was revealed that Matthew Lillard and Scott Foley would reprise their roles as former Ghostfaces Stu Macher and Roman Bridger, last seen in both Scream (1996) and Scream 3 alone. Right now, something they're not the only former Ghostfaces that we'll see in the upcoming seventh instalment.

Announced tonight however was the return of David Arquette as former deputy Dewey Riley. Yes, his character was killed off in Scream (2022) and its not likely he's being resurrected here, given the grounded nature of the franchise. My guess is that any confirmed return of a dead character will be courtesy of an AI/deep fake from the current Ghostface(s). Or maybe a dream/hallucination/flashback, etc.

As for more new faces to the franchise, Ethan Embry was also cast last month in an undisclosed role. There was a rumour that he might be playing either a drama teacher or a mental patient while the movie will be located in a fictional town named Pine Grove.

Aside from that, the general plot has managed to remain under wraps. Also with filming likely nearing the end, it'll be interesting if any further announcements are made before the release of the first trailer. 

Scream 7 will be released in theatres from February 27th 2026.

Doctor Who - Series 15 (Season 2) Airdate Confirmed, New Trailer And Guest Stars

Yup, last week certainly gave Doctor Who fans quite a lot to go on. Let's dive in, shall we?

New Friendships: In the recent Christmas special, the 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) was told to get a new friend. Taking that advice to his hearts, he's got one and it's nurse Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) or is that Miss Belinda Chandra? It'll make sense in the new series. Oh and if you were expecting a connection between Belinda and last season's guest character, Mundy Flynn, it looks like we're about to get one. Interestingly enough, a part of this season's arc will involve the Doctor trying to get Belinda home it who or what is stopping him from doing such a thing?

Ruby Returns: While the Doctor might have found a new friend in Belinda Chandra, his old friend Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) will also be back. Since we've last seen her, she's allied herself with UNIT and gotten herself a new boyfriend named Conrad (Jonah Hauer-King). We know for certain that Ruby will first appear in the fourth episode as well as the two part finale. The latter episodes will also see the return of former companion, Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford) along with Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), Shirley Anne Bingham (Ruth Madeley) and Colonel Ibrahim (Alexander Devrient) while answers surrounding Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson) should also be given this season.

Guests Ahoy: It wouldn't be a new season without a nice round up of guests. You've got Alan Cumming returning but this time as cartoon menace Mr Ring-A-Ding while Rylan Clark will appear in Juno Dawson's episode, The Interstellar Song Contest. Other guests this season include returns for both Michelle Greenidge and Susan Twist as Carla Sunday and Susan Triad, with Rose Ayling-Ellis and Christopher Chung also confirmed. Unofficially confirmed however are Archie Panjabi, Charlie Condou and Freddie Fox. 

What To Expect This Season: From the trailers and press releases and set pics, quite a bit. In the eight episodes due to air from next month, there's robots and skeleton creatures, 1950s Miami and living cartoons, potentially a look into the Anansi for one specific episode, a barely concealed Eurovision spoof and some reality bending antics and a new Doctor/Companion dynamic. What we don't have (as of yet) are any returning monsters or enemies. It's possible we are getting them but they're being held back as a surprise but if certain rumours are true, then I really do hope our current Doctor gets at least one encounter with a classic for or two before he departs.

Series 15 Trailer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MPxtqx55PA0

Series 15 of Doctor Who will be released on iPlayer at 8am every week from April 12th and air during the evening on BBC1. That's 12am for Disney+ on the same day.

My Review of Elektra (2005)

 

Written by Zak Penn And Stuart Zicherman And M. Raven Metzner

Directed by Rob Bowman

Elektra: "The second life isn't like the first one, is it?"

Stick: "Sometimes, it's even better."

2005 was certainly a year for comic book movies but not every one of them could hit the heights of Batman Begins and Fantastic Four. At least one of them had to hit rock bottom. This would be the case for Elektra.

Yesterday, I reviewed Daredevil (2003) and pointed out how much of a mess that movie was. However, the highlight of that movie was Jennifer Garner's antihero, Elektra Natchios. Given that the movie was a hit and Garner had a popular show with Alias at the time, giving her a spin off movie felt like a no brainer.

Unfortunately during the making of the movie, someone forgot to give the character a decent script to work with. With this film, you've got something that's marginally less worse than Catwoman (2004) but also something lacking a camp factor like Supergirl (1984). 

Between movies, Elektra was resurrected and left New York for some unknown island. She became a contract killer and was also being trained up by Stick (Terrance Stamp) while also working for McCabe (Colin Cunningham). Also for the most part, Elektra wanted to be left alone. 

However with this movie, that idea went out the window where a father and daughter duo named Mark (Goran Višnjić) and Abby Miller (Kirsten Prout). At first they seemed like a normal family before it was revealed that Abby was Treasure, which was rather important to the villains of the bunch - the Hand.

Yup, with that reveal, Elektra not only found herself having to protect Abby but she also bonded with the teenager while battling the likes of Tattoo (Chris Ackerman), Kirigi (Will Yun Lee) and Typhoid (Natassia Malthe). Throw in some flashbacks, antics in a maze and kiss with Mark, this movie mostly saw Elektra put her demons to rest.

- Ben Affleck actually filmed a scene as Daredevil but it was removed from the movie.

- The directors cut extended the movie by three minutes with some extra scenes. 

- Standout music: Hawthorne Heights Angels With Even Filthier Souls.

- Chronology: Years after the events of Daredevil (2003) and set during Christmas time.

I wanted to like Elektra but like the movie it came from, it's just not a good movie. Jennifer Garner tried her best but it's just a dreadful showcase for both her and the character. Thank fuck a certain appearance in 2024 gave the character the redemption needed.

Rating: 4 out of 10 

My Review of Daredevil (2003)

 

Written And Directed by Mark Steven Johnson

Daredevil: "As for Daredevil, well... soon the world will know the truth. That this is a city born of heroes, that one man CAN make a difference."

There are some actors out there who are arguably not cut out for the superhero genre. If Ben Affleck made for a divisive version of Batman between 2016-2023, then cast your minds back to a time when he played a different superhero for another brand.

Picture it: It's 2003 and Affleck at a good place in his career decided to take on the role of blind lawyer Matt Murdock and his alter ego, the vigilante, Daredevil. I'll be blunt, he's absolutely miscast in the role from start to finish.

The early part of the movie skimmed through a younger Matt's (Scott Terra) backstory, involving bullies and the highs and lows of his boxer father, Jack (David Keith), with the latter's eventual death at the hands of local crime boss, Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan). Wilson's not to be messed with.

Throughout the movie, Fisk did everything to assert his power, including hiring Bullseye (Colin Farrell) to take out Nikolas Natchios (Erick Avari). By doing this, he created a vengeance seeking antihero in Nikolas's daughter, Elektra (Jennifer Garner), who was determined to get her own back.

Throughout the movie, Elektra was the obvious highlight of the whole thing. There's a good chemistry between Elektra and Matt, even when the former initially thought that Daredevil was responsible for her father's death. Of course she found out that Bullseye did the deed before she ended up dead at his hands.

The rest of the movie kind of rushed through both Daredevil taking out both Bullseye and Kingpin while also getting something of a media champion in Ben Urich (Joe Pantoliano). The latter could've outed him but chose not to, especially following the downfall of Kingpin.

- Other characters included Foggy Nelson (Jon Favreau) and Karen Page (Ellen Pompeo). Theres also cameos from Stan Lee and Kevin Smith.

- A post credit scene revealed that Bullseye survived and still had his skills intact. Colin Farrell using his own accent was something else.

- Standout music: Evanescence's Bring Me To Life.

- Chronology: 2003, Hell's Kitchen in New York.

Daredevil wasn't a great film when it first came out and over two decades later, it's still a rather poor live action adaptation for the character. Ben Affleck was woefully miscast as the character but both Colin Farrell and Michael Clarke Duncan are dire too.

Rating: 4 out of 10 

DCU Blog - February 2025 Edition: Massive Updates/New Projects Announced, Puppy Bowl and The Sandman Cancelled

I mean this was an eventful month but the last few days, it really was a hell of a time to be a DC fan.

This month had some Superman (2025) promo at the Puppy Bowl with a brief look at the upcoming movie. Another trailer will be coming soon. July 11th 2025. Rick Strauss will help with the marketing for the movie.

Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow is currently halfway through filming. It will be released in theatres from June 26th 2026.

Sgt. Rock has officially been confirmed by James Gunn with Luca Guadagnino directing from a script written by Justin Kuritzkes. However, Daniel Craig isn't attached to play the title character.

James Gunn has also confirmed that Ana Nogueira has written a script for Teen Titans while a writer has been confirmed for The Brave And The Bold. Gunn will be working close to that writer but Andy Muschietti might not direct the film after all.

Bad news for Wonder Woman fans as it was confirmed this week that the upcoming game has been cancelled. However, there's been talks NetherRealms and RockSteady for future DCU games.

DC will be teaming with Mattel again for action figures in 2026. 

James Watkins has been tapped to direct Clayface (September 11th 2026), which will start filming during the summer. Casting coming soon.

Yet again, the script for The Batman - Part II hasn't been handed in. The film is still due to be released in theatres from October 1st 2027.

Development for Dynamic Duo (June 30th 2028) is underway but it's unclear if it'll be a DCU movie or an Elseworlds one.

James Gunn and Zack Snyder recently took a photo together but the latter isn't returning to the world of DC.

Natasha Lyonne and Ana Lily Amirpour have teamed up to bring Vertigo series, Basketful Of Heads as a live horror comedy series.

In less good news, the following DCU projects have hit speed bumps - Waller, Booster Gold, Swamp Thing and The Authority.

Filming for Lanterns has begun and a first look image of Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler's John Stewart and Hal Jordan has been released. It will air on HBO in early 2026. The show could run for multiple seasons.

The goal for DC projects per year will be two live action movies, one animated movie, two live action shows and two animated shows. Some will be DCU and others will be Elseworlds.

A pilot episode for Wonder Woman prequel series, Paradise Lost is currently being written.

The animated Blue Beetle series with Xolo Mariduena reprising the role will be greenlit soon. 

Matthew Orton has been confirmed to be writing a DC movie but it's not been confirmed if it's one involving the characters, Deathstroke and Bane.

There's been talks about DC themed park rides at Six Flags as well as some new character skins for Fortnite.

In news that's not too shocking, Netflix announced that the second season of The Sandman will be it's final season. A release  date has yet to be confirmed.

The second season of Peacemaker will be released on Max from August 2025. Expect a new theme song as well. 

The Penguin keeps winning the awards and it's possible that a second season could happen, though Colin Farrell has expressed some doubt about it.

The following animated shows have been announced - DC Super Powers, Starfire, Krypto (series of seasonal shorts) and My Adventures With Green Lantern. The latter will focus on Jessica Cruz and be set in the same universe as My Adventures With Superman.

In tragic news, Gene Hackman passed away yesterday along with his wife and dog. Condolences to their loved ones.

Both Keanu Reeves and Francis Lawrence are pushing to get that Constantine sequel made. It hasn't been greenlit as of yet.

What a month and what a lot of news to mull over. DC fans really do have a lot to look forward to for the next while.

My Review of Harley Quinn: "Frankette"

 

Written by Leslie Schapira

Directed by Diana Huh

Harley (to Ivy): "Lena was the one who saved Metropolis."

Can I just say that I'm actually happy with this turn of events. I know we all love Katie McGrath's more sympathetic portrayal of the character in the CW Supergirl show but having a more villainous version of Lena Luthor works better for the show.

Having her actually be the one to kill Frank in order to get both Harley and Ivy to kill Brainiac was a good plan and it nearly worked. Instead, Brainiac got shrunk and bottled and Ivy learned about Lena being Frank's killer through footage on Brainiac's ship.

Also the heel turn Lena did was delightfully campy as well. She's owning the fact that she's the Big Bad of the season after all. She delighted in Brainiac being trapped, delighted in taking poor Frankette and definitely delighted in turning both Harley and Ivy against each other.

Speaking of Frankette, she was a parting gift from parts of both Frank and Ivy and the latter wouldn't let herself get attached to Frankette until those robots nearly killed the baby plant. Now Lena has Frankette so Harley and Ivy will have to work together to get back and stop Lena from ruling Metropolis altogether.

As for the rest of the episode, Bane got relegated to babysitting duties when he wasn't getting angry at Goldie's Dutch teacher and this show really wants to make Shawn the Shark into a bigger deal than needed. He's useful in this episode when he wasn't trying to eat Frankette.

- Brainiac was watching Clayface's performance on a loop with one particular performance getting his attention the most.

- Ivy talked to Frank in the Green and Frankette attacked a robot with her vines.

- Frank really did have a 500+ list of things just to lead into the arrival of Frankette.

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

Frankette served as a nice introduction for the title character while also proving just how delightfully evil this version of Lena can be as a character. Overall, pretty good.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Companion (2025)

 

Written And Directed by Drew Hancock 

Iris: "There were two times I felt truly happy. First, the day I met Josh; second, the day I killed him."

Another film that came out close to Valentine's Day that I missed out on but have now caught up with. Can I just say that I really wished the trailers hadn't spoiled the big twist? I mean I get why they did but I wish they hadn't.

Anyways, we've got our protagonist Iris (Sophie Thatcher) talking about two happiest times in her life. Both moments involved her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid). The first was meeting him and the second was killing. This movie showed a flaw in the first while it build towards the second.

Going away to an isolated lakehouse, Iris and Josh spent time with two other couples - Kat (Megan Suri) and Sergey (Rupert Friend) as well as Eli (Harvey Guillén) and Patrick (Lukas Gage). What should've been a nice weekend between three couples turned into a murder fest with Iris being the common denominator.

Iris killed a violent Sergey and then it got revealed that she was actually a robot that Josh, Kat and Eli were using in order to kill Sergey to begin with. On top of that, Patrick was also revealed to be a robot and when Iris was facing the threat of being permanently shut down, there was a fight for survival between humans and robots.

Let's be honest, the humans all are terrible in this movie. Eli's the least terrible of the bunch but even he had little problem with trying to shut Iris down. Saying that, his feelings for Patrick did seem genuine enough. Kat also showed a bit of conscience but not much as Josh had taken over Patrick in order to get control of Iris again.

Jack Quaid certainly knows how to play an unlikeable scimbag and he excelled himself with Josh as a character. Sophie Thatcher certainly brought her all as Iris managed to gain her own agency through a sympathetic outsider before ultimately gaining her freedom and getting rid of Josh for good.

- The company responsible for the robots in this film were called Empathix. The robots had more of it than the humans.

- Iris showing off her metallic hand at the end did feel like a nice nod to Terminator.

- Standout music: Bee Gees Emotion. The song played out during the closing credits.

- Chronology: 2025 America, though it's not specified where.

Companion was a delight. Excellent lead performances from both Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid as well as strong support from everyone else. Definitely worth the watch.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Heart Eyes (2025)

 

Written by Phillip Murphy And Christopher Landon And Michael Kennedy

Directed by Josh Ruben 

Ally (to a Valentine's statue): "Your fucking day sucks."

I missed this during the week of Valentine's Day, which would've been the perfect week for this. Good thing I had those My Bloody Valentine movies during that week. Anyways, I've caught up with this one and there was fun to be had.

In horror, we have serial killers killing for all kinds of reasons and here, the Heart Eyes Killer, aka HEK just enjoyed killing couples, especially the more obnoxious ones and after killing in two different states, they've taken their spree to Seattle for 2025 on a particular day. Can you guess which one?

Meanwhile, newly pitch designed Ally McCabe (Olivia Holt) thought that a doomed love campaign was the way to go and that stirred the ire of her boss, Crystal Cane (Michaela Watkins). It also meant the arrival of Corporate Cupid hunk Jay Simmons (Mason Gooding) to save the day for the assignment.

Yup, this movie wants to be the horror version of a Hallmark romcom so badly and it's a meeting of world that to it's credit did somewhat work here. Both Jay and Ally go through the predictable tropes in the romcom genre while also having to deal with the horror side of things.

This meant becoming a target for Heart Eyes, in spite of their insistence of not being a couple. It also meant having an unhelpful detective duo with Zek Hobbs (Devon Sawa) and Jeanette Shaw (Jordana Brewster) but like in most horror films, they were of no help, albeit for seperate reasons. Oh and one of them got a rather grisly ending.

Anyways the killer third act had well, three killers as Heart Eyes. There was Jeanette and her husband/IT guy David (Yoson An) and their patsy, Eli with Jay being the distressed dude and Ally having to kick ass and save the day. I mean, it's a good third act that nearly wrapped everything up with Jay and Ally actually becoming a couple by the end of the movie.

- A post credit scene had Ally's co-worker, Monica (Gigi Zumbado) pretend to be Heart Eyes. There's a sequel set up here too.

- With characters called Hobbs and Shaw, of course there was a reference to that particular franchise.

- Standout music: Lonestar's Amazed and Ginuwine's Pony.

- Chronology: Valentine's Day 2025 in Seattle. Heart Eyes has been killing couples since 2023.

Heart Eyes did work a fun merging of Hallmark romcom meets horror film and there's an undeniably good chemistry between Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding. The actual killer mask with heart eyes was a good visual with some decent kills. It's an entertaining romp.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Complete Strangers (2020)

 

Written And Directed by Pau Masó

Robert (re Hugo): "He is everything I ever wanted."

Oh boy. On paper, this seemed like a movie that was going to be right up my alley but once I watched it, let's just say, it was a lot of ropier than expected it to be.

I should comment writer/director Pau Masó for the general idea behind the movie but I got to be honest, his acting wasn't the best here. Playing the role of recovering alcoholic Robert, Pau Masó gave himself a challenge that he didn't quite rise to himself.

Robert's an alcoholic who also suffered a trauma that's given some memory loss. He also was in a relationship with a man named Christian (Sindre Bergfall) that ended due to the latter cheating on Robert and there's hostility between the pair during the few scenes they have in the film.

On top of that, an online hook up with new guy Hugo (Matthew Crawley) should've been a bit of fun for Robert. Instead, it's a relationship that had Robert's friends Frank (Fraser Fraser) and Kate (Sian Abrahams) concerned for his wellbeing as well as his therapist (Mirjam Novak). Robert should've listened to them.

The film didn't waste too much time in revealing that while Hugo might be a handsome hunk, he's also an unhinged nutcase to boot. Hugo became too possessive of Robert too fast to the point of physically and sexually assaulting him during a weekend trip to an isolated cabin in the woods. Robert however had a more concerning problem to deal with as his memories came flooding back.

Again with a stronger lead actor, I think this story would've hit better. Robert being revealed as a former pornstar named Colby that Hugo was hyper fixated on and intended to kill was a great twist. Robert turning the tables and killing Hugo was also a great twist along with the final sting as he escaped the cabin but the leads let proceedings down here.

- For some reason, this movie doesn't have a rating. Surely, it's meant to be R Rated, right?

- "You're My Dream Boy" is a good tagline for the movie, especially with the sinister connotations behind it. 

- I'm guessing had a sequel happened, it would've Robert going after Hugo's partner who wanted him dead as well.

- Chronology: Present day, Budapest. Robert mentioned his parents living in America.

Complete Strangers had the ingredients to be a great movie but the acting was very weak with both leads and the lack of chemistry didn't exactly help either. It's one of those films where I think a remake would end up being better. Is that harsh?

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of Big Boys - Series 3 (2025)

 

Written by Jack Rooke

Directed by Jim Archer

Danny (to Jack): "Everything's coming to an end."

It does seem to be a thing with a lot of UK comedies, that there's a sense of knowing where to end a show. Three series does seem to be that magic number and it's a perfect place to end this particular show.

In the first two series we had the friendship between gay guy Jack (Dylan Llewellyn) and his straight best mate, Danny (Jon Pointing) as the two of them navigated university life, coming out, mental health issues, family and relationships. Their friendship undoubtedly has been the very glue to this show.

For the last series, both Jack and Danny have slightly drifted apart with their lives pulling them in different directions. For Jack, that's included a brief pretentious poetry phase, hooks up ahoy, including with Yemi (Olisa Odele) and his Big D dissertation that made up some of the series. There's also meeting a certain idol of his and getting an answer to a question that's bothered him since the first series.

For Danny, he's had a relationship with Corinne (Izuka Hoyle) that devolved, a dissertation on the death of the lads magazine as well as the deaths of two family members and near downward spiral until Jules (Katy Wix) stepped in at the very minute. All series long, I did think the show was going to kill Danny off and the finale certainly led into that as well. When the show didn't, I was genuinely relieved. 

Now what about everyone else? Well, thanks to Shannon (Harriet Webb), the first episode took everyone to Greece and then back there for the last episode. Shannon also had two kids, got engaged to the rather nice Tariq (Shane Zaza) as well as a terrible reunion with her horrible mother but came out of the show in a much better place than before.

With Peggy (Camille Coduri) and Nanny Bingo (Annette Badland), they've had slightly less to do but their screen time certainly didn't feel wasted. Nanny in particular had some genuinely brilliant moments, including a nice reveal about a past love that sadly we didn't get to see. I do wish we had also seen more of Yemi as he was written out halfway in this final series.

- Episode titles were My Big Fat Gay Greek Holiday, Happy Anniversary You Silly Billy!, Thin Lips, Fat Lines & a Poem on Princess Di, Eurovision, Brexit & Shloer, Goodbye U-N-I and The Sea.

- Jack Rooke gave himself a proper acting role in the first scene of the last episode and it's a lovely moment between him and Jon Pointing.

- Jack's idol, the much mentioned Alison Hammond popped up in the final episode and I howled when Jack, Danny and Corinne were watching that moment from Celebrity Big Brother.

- I knew Tim (Robert Gilbert) was gay and the penultimate episode confirmed he was on Grindr. Jules can also speak Mandarin.

- Corinne had a story about her Scottish Independence dissertation and we met her family in the last episode. Her younger brother's named Brilliant.

- Chronology: September 2015 to September 2016 for this final series. Danny had taken over from Jules at the university.

This final series of Big Boys came and went too quickly for my liking (it was burned off in double bills like the first series) but what an incredible bunch of episodes. This show just snuck up on all of us and ended up being one of the best sitcoms of 2020s. Whatever Jack Rooke does next, I'll certainly watch it.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of The Last Showgirl (2024)

 

Written by Kate Gersten

Directed by Gia Coppola

Shelly: "I mean, Las Vegas used to treat us like movie stars. The costumes, the sets. We were ambassadors for style and grace."

It wasnt just Demi Moore having something of a career renaissance last year, was it? While this movie didn't quite break into the Oscar race, it did manage to prove that Pamela Anderson had it in her to be a potential award contender.

Taking on the role of showgirl Shelly Gardner, you've got the former Baywatch actor giving one of the most underrated performances during award season. The role was written for her in mind and it's a challenge that she delivered on quite well.

Shelly's a woman nearing 60 years old and she's got little to show for herself. The Le Razzle Dazzle troupe she's performed in since the 1980s are about to be shut down and she doesn't appear to have much savings or life skills to do anything else. Not to mention her resentment towards her younger dancers who see her as a mother figure reared it's head on many an occasion here.

The younger dancers being Mary Anne (Brenda Song) and Jodie (Kiernan Shipka), both of whom are less bothered by the closing down of Le Razzle Dazzle. In fact, both of them are auditioning for more modern shows and when Shelly tried to do the same, she was given a brutal reality check by a director (Jason Schwartzmann) that further isolated her.

As for her other relationships, Shelly prioritising her career put her at odds with her estranged daughter, Hannah (Billie Lourd). The latter in particular was very scathing about Shelly's line of work while manager Eddie (Dave Bautista) didn't seem too sympathetic towards Shelly's breakdown but was rather hypocritical about how she raised Hannah, given that he didn't help on that front. 

The only support they Shelly had in the movie was from best friend and irresponsible cocktail waitress, Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis). Annette's the only one who's sympathetic towards Shelly but she's also a chaotic messy who ended up needing Shelly's help more than Shelly needed her. The film did end on a rather ambiguous but interesting note with Shelly's delusions blurring reality.

- The movie's based on writer Kate Gersten's Body Of Work, which took inspiration from the Jubilee! shows before their closure in 2016.

- We should be thanking Pamela's son, Brandon for her taking on the movie as her agent foolishly turned it down at first.

- Standout music: Miley Cyrus's Beautiful That Way.

- Chronology: I'm assuming 2024 Las Vegas for Shelly. Hannah lives in Arizona where Shelly was planning to move to. Shelly's 57, the same age as Pamela Anderson. 

The Last Showgirl might have missed out on the big one to be nomated for but it's an undeniably great showcase for Pamela Anderson. She's given a great script and gave a great performance, playing the sympathetic if not frustrating Shelly. I hope this will lead to other casting directors giving her more serious roles going forward.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

 

Written by Rob Edwards And Malcolm Spellman And Dalan Musson And Julius Onah And Peter Glanz

Directed by Julius Noah

President Ross: "You may be Captain America, but you're not Steve Rogers."

Sam: "You're right. I'm not."

I waited a week to watch this movie as I wanted to get the initial reactions out of the way and judge it for myself. First and foremost, I like Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as a character and I'm a firm believer that Sam going from Falcon to Captain America actually made sense. Sadly though, this was a disastrous first solo outing for him.

Where The Falcon And The Winter Soldier in my opinion did an excellent job of making the transition smooth for both the character and the audience to accept Sam as Captain America, this movie almost undid all the good work from four years ago.

First of all, it's less of a Captain America movie and more of an unauthorized sequel to 2008's The Incredible Hulk and also sadly, not a very good one at that either. Our main villain was actually Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), who looked terrible, was actively manipulating everything behind the scenes and just so he could get revenge on the now President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford).

The marketing might have pushed Ross's Red Hulk big time but he barely got enough screen time. Granted the fight scenes between Captain America and Red Hulk were decent but we've honestly seen better and it felt like it took very little to turn both Sam and Thaddeus against one another. On the other hand, at least Ross took accountability, which means he has some character progression throughout the movie.

Speaking of characters, there's a nice support system for Sam's Captain America here but a lot of them are not utilised to their best. Personally, I enjoyed the return of Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), who's now assumed the Falcon mantle and was just lovable from start to finish. Sam and Joaquin get the best scenes in the whole movie.

Then there's the former Black Widow/Not Sabra here, Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas). Look, I know this character has her haters online but aside from the character overhaul she's given, I didn't have too much of an issue with her. Saying that, the movie clearly didn't need her at all. Ruth added little to proceedings here.

As for poor Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly). He was by far the most wasted character in the entire movie. A pawn in Sterns's hate campaign against President Ross and in prison for most of his scenes. I mean there's a few decent moments between Isaiah and Sam but not enough to salvage this movie.

- Fans of Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) should be happy that she made a brief appearance to reunite with her incarcerated father.

- Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) also popped up to comfort Sam when Joaquin got injured. We'll see him in Thunderbolts* next.

- Other characters to pop up included Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), Copperhead (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson) and Leila Taylor (Xosha Roquemore).

- This film did lay the groundwork for Sam to set up a new Avengers group. He's got another 15 months. 

- The post credits had Sterns giving Sam a cryptic warning about a coming attack from other worlds.

- Chronology: Current day Washington DC, as well as some scenes in Tokyo.

I wanted to give Captain America: Brave New World the benefit of the doubt because the campaign against this movie had gotten out of hand. Sadly, despite it's best efforts, the movie's an absolute mess and a very disappointing first outing for Sam Wilson's Captain America. Anthony Mackie did his best but it just didn't come together at all.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

Doctor Who - Series 15 Writers/Guest Actor Confirmed, Rumours And Big Finish News

It's been a while since I've done a Doctor Who related blog and this last week had too many things come up that I couldn't ignore. The biggest one involving the future of the show itself.

Earlier in the week, The Sun newspaper wrote a rather mean spirited article about the future of Doctor Who being in doubt with the imminent arrival of Series 15 (or Season 2), starring Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor and Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra. The article had the usual anti-woke talking points while making it clear that series star Ncuti Gatwa will be departing this series as the 15th Doctor.

The BBC didn't exactly alleviate these rumours by pointing out that they had a contract with Disney+ for 26 episodes. As others have pointed out those 26 episodes could possibly be referring to the 60th anniversary specials, Christmas 2023 and 2024, both of the 15th Doctor's two series and all five episodes of upcoming spin off, The War Between The Land And The Sea, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Russell Tovey.

My own thoughts are this - I think as horribly written and mean spirited as that article was, this will all end up being mostly true. As you'll note, there's no confirmed Christmas 2025 special as of yet, Ncuti Gatwa has taken on projects since he finished filming the upcoming series of Doctor Who and Russell T. Davies has signed on to write a five part series for Channel 4 titled Tiptoe (that'll be a blog in itself when casting's announced for it). Quite frankly, we're heading into uncharted territory with the show where it'll likely be rested again or a new cast will usher in a third season, either with RTD at the helm or someone else altogether. 

As for the upcoming series itself, another guest actor confirmed yesterday was Slow Horses actor, Christopher Chung. He'll be playing a character called Cassio in an upcoming episode but whether he's a friend or foe to the Doctor and Belinda, it's not made clear. In fact we're not sure what episode he's actually in, other than the fact that it's meant to be the scariest episode of the new series.

Going by the character's attire, it's either a planet setting of a base under siege type of story. This is the second time in the last few months a guest actor has gotten a press release with Rose Ayling-Ellis also being given one back in December. Yet, there's two actors who have yet to be publicly confirmed to be appearing in the new series and their roles are much larger. 

Meanwhile, given the criticism of the writers room for Series 14 being a bit too small, it seems that will not be a problem for Series 15. The confirmed writers will include Juno Dawson, Inua Ellams, Pete McTighe, and Sharma Angel-Walfall while the directors are now confirmed as Alex Sanjiv Pillai, Peter Hoar, Amanda Brotchie, Ben A. Williams, and Makalla McPherson. It's a good pool of new and familiar talent for this upcoming series.

As for book fans, you get two of them and they will be released from May 29th. Spectral Scream by Hannah Fergesen will feature the 15th Doctor and Belinda while Fear Death By Water by Emily Cook has the 15th Doctor with a character named Grace Darling.

Last but by no means least, Big Finish have come up with the goods once again. For anyone who wanted a 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) reunion, you've just got one and it's coming in August 2025 for good measure. From the Big Finish site itself ....

"Across 12 episodes, slotting neatly into that 2005 series, we have more Jackie Tyler, more Powell Estate, plus friends and enemies old and new through time and space. Our writers have done an amazing job recapturing the spirit of that very special season, and Chris and Billie have embraced these scripts with delight and gusto. They're having a blast, back on that trip of a lifetime – and they sound fantastic!” 

I was hoping the moment Christopher Eccleston agreed to do Big Finish that this would happen and I'm so delighted that it is. Absolutely fantastic news. 

Series 15 of Doctor Who is rumoured to premiere on BBC1, iPlayer and Disney+ from April 12th.

My Review of EastEnders 40th Anniversary Week (February 17th-20th 2025)

In 1985, BBC1 launched a soap called EastEnders, created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland. Forty years later, it gave us one hell of an explosive week.

Written by Bryan Kirkwood And Simon Ashdown And Kevin Rundle And Lauren Klee

Directed by Lance Kneeshaw

Sonia: "Welcome to the world, Julia. It's all about to begin."

In the space of four episodes, which included an hour long Wednesday episode on the actual anniversary itself and a live episode on Thursday, there was a lot of plots to cover. Stories that have building up for months but within these episodes, we got plenty of resolutions. Let's break them down.

Phil's Mental Health: Steve McFadden who plays Phil Mitchell has been given plenty of heavy stories in the thirty plus years he's been on the show but the character's battle with depression might be the best one yet. Over the last few months, Phil's isolated himself from everyone, had hallucinations of his mother, Peggy (Jamie Winstone) and during this week, he came close to ending it all. Had it not been for the interventions of Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), Phil could've taken his own life. This story also involved Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp), though the latter struggled to effectively help his younger brother. Easily the best story of the week.

Who Whacked Cindy?: It was Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth). She was sick of her treacherous daughter in law (Michelle Collins) constantly making a fool out of Ian (Adam Woodyatt) and had Cindy not gotten a little gun happy, Kathy might have kept that secret to herself. Cindy not only shot Ian but she also pushed him in front of a certain car and her antics ended up causing said car to crash into the Queen Victoria pub. In a funny twist of events, Kathy ended up saving Cindy's life, though she wasn't particularly grateful about the save. I had convinced myself the last few days that Peter Beale (Thomas Law) who committed the act and I'm really mixed on it being Kathy. Saying that, I'm actually relieved that Elaine Peacock (Harriett Thorpe), George Knight (Colin Salmon) or any of the Knights did the deed. Now where will Cindy go as a character, considering she's burned every bridge, except for Junior (Micah Balfour) of course?

The Death Of Martin Fowler: A lot of people on social media actually called this one. I certainly didn't. I genuinely thought the show wouldn't have the balls to kill off a legacy character and even when it became apparent that Martin Fowler (James Bye) was a goner, I still thought there was going to be a last minute save for the character. Just when the live triangle between Martin and two of his big love interests Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) and Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton) was about to be resolved, he had to go and die. His death certainly packed an emotional punch with James Bye proving to be one of the most successful soap recasts in the eleven years he played the fruit and veg family man. While the show can survive without Martin, there's something rather sad about the last of the original Fowlers no longer being on the show. I mean there's still Hope and Roman to carry on Martin's legacy though.

Julia or Toni?: It wasn't just deciding on a certain outcome for a love triangle that viewers had to do their due diligence but also the naming of Sonia Fowler's (Natalie Cassidy) baby girl. In the end Julia won out as Sonia had to give birth to her daughter in a crumbling pub with both Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) and Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) as her midwives. Oh and the troublesome baby daddy/wife killer/sister kidnapper Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) getting his just desserts, courtesy of a bathtub crashing down on him. I think we were all happy to see Reiss get a rather brutal but campy death but Sonia will also be departing soon after this anniversary week. Who will end up in her house once she leaves with Bianca and Julia?

The Viewers Decided: Oh, they certainly did. For weeks, UK viewers has a choice in which Denise Fox (Diane Parish) could reunite with estranged husband Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) or continue her relationship with bad boy Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara). Personally, there should've been a throuple option but at the start of the live episode, it was made clear that Denise had in fact chosen Jack over Ravi. The viewers might have decided Jack but a lot of social media were Team Ravi. Can Denise and Jack work for a third time or will they fall into the same patterns that have broken them up over the last few years?

There Was A Wedding: It wasn't all misery on the Square. There was the wedding of Billy (Perry Fenwick) and Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) and while it wasn't the first time those two went down the aisle, it was a bright spot in a very explosive week. In terms of plots, it might not be the most compelling but Billy and Honey have always been a likeable pairing and giving them the anniversary wedding was a nice touch. The second wedding of the year, following the similarly disastrous one between Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) and Eve Unwin (Heather Pearce) on New Year's Day. Weddings in Walford are not off to a good start in 2025.

- It only took thirty seven years but wasn't it brilliant that Anita Dobson briefly appeared as Angie Watts to give Sharon the strength to fight to survive?

- The title sequence was made to nearly mirror the original one but the river was red. Rubies are associated with 40th anniversaries.

- I got the impression that Linda herself will get a new love interest towards the second half of the year given her conversation with Denise.

- BBC3 hosted a lock in with the cast on Tuesday, presented by Joe Swash (who played Mickey Miller) while the theme's creator appeared on Wednesday's episode of The One Show on BBC1. Ross Kemp also hosted 40 Years On The Square documentary and Lacey Turner had Anita Dobson on her podcast.

- Lacey Turner was pregnant while filming the first three episodes of the week but came back from maternity leave to film the live episode.

- Chronology: February 19th 2025.

The 40th Anniversary Week of EastEnders was certainly a triumph with all the episodes certainly packing a punch and keeping audiences entertained. Overall, while I think I might have preferred the 20th and 30th Anniversaries, this 40th had plenty in its favour. Here's to the next decade of the show. Chris Clenshaw helped to deliver a brilliant week along with the cast and crew.

Rating: 9 out of 10