Another Seaside Town Of Doom

It's been a while and there's some omission that will surface at a later but here's a rundown of recent shows that I've been watching.

9-1-1: Season 9 has probably been the weakest season of the show and there's a part of me that doesn't want to continue watching but I might. I do think Buck going from being kidnapped, having an addiction and now potentially being a father to his dead friends rambunctious son were all storylines that needed more time to breathe. Instead they're all rushed. As for Athena, I guess I am curious to see how she'll fare as a detective next season.

9-1-1: Nashville: Let's be honest, the rivalry between Blythe and Dixie might be repetitive every episode but it's one of the few times where the show's campiness actually works in it's favour. The diss track saga might even be the best story from this largely uneven first season. It even led to a fricking cat fight cliffhanger with the pair.

Daredevil: Born Again: A classic example of wanting to like a season, liking certain aspects but being largely bored with it as it further went along. At this point, I am well and truly over Matt Murdock vs. Wilson Fisk and if this show has any hope of going beyond next season, it needs to get over it as well. There was a decent rivalry between Karen and Heather, death for Vanessa and Daniel, the welcomed return of Jessica Jones but too often this season felt like it was sleepwalking.

The Boys: Season 5 hasn't turned out to be grand epic final that most fans were hoping but it's not quite been the Game Of Thrones style misfire. It's mostly been in between and would fall into "serviceable" at best. Too much time did seem to focus on setting up on Vought Rising and that much hyped Supernatural reunion amounted to very little. Homelander had too much plot armour as per usual but at least we're free of both him and Butcher. I've never been happier to see two main characters die than those two. I will not be covering that prequel series. After this final season, I'm definitely out of interest in this universe.

Widow's Bay: Matthew Rhys continues to build himself as an underrated king of television and his latest show would be one in my current favourite genre. Well, it's more horror comedy and the first half of the season has seen a lot of crazy shit happen in a seaside town. Rhys himself has proven to be well cast as the town's slightly inept Mayor doing his best to help his town and there's a good slew of characters for him to bounce off. I can see this show ending up in a few favourite lists towards the end of the year.

• Dan Stevens and Brian Cox will play different killers in the second season of Dexter: Resurrection. Uma Thurman and Desmond Harrington will also return.
• Sky have acquired the rights to the new Baywatch. The show will premiere on FOX from January 2027.
• A Texas based spin-off for Grey's Anatomy has been commissioned at ABC.
• Vision Quest will premiere on Disney+ from October 12th.
• HBO limited series The Chain has found it's lead in Jodie Comer.
• The Vampire Lestat will premiere on AMC from June 7th. An After show will also air alongside the new season.
• Season 6 of Only Murders In The Building has now gone into production.
• Stuart Fails To Save The Universe will now premiere on HBO Max from July 23rd.
• Scrubs has been renewed for an eleventh season at ABC.
• Netflix have renewed Running Point for a third season.
• The White Lotus has replaced Helena Bonham Carter with Laura Dern. Season 4 is now filming in France.
• Bridgerton will premiere it's fifth season in 2027.
• The final season of The Bear will premiere on FX from June 25th.

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 

SDCC 2022: MCU Edition - Mayor Developments Revealed

When Kevin Feige decided to bring the MCU back to San Diego Comic Con, he decided to go pretty damn hard. 

The amount of reveals that were unveiled here were something else.Some were confirmed casting rumours/characters appearing in upcoming projects but there were some genuine surprises in the mix here.

In terms of trailers, we got ones for both She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (August 17th on Disney+) and a rather stirring and emotional trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (November 11th in theatres). Both of these projects will conclude the MCU's fourth phase but they alone were the tip of the iceberg as Feige decided to announce the contents of the next phase. Before that you can check out I Am Groot on Disney+ from August 10th.

2023 will kick start Phase 5, starting off with movies such as Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians Of The Galaxy: Volume 3, The Marvels and Blade as well as Disney+ shows such as Secret Invasion, Echo, Loki Season 2, What If Season 2 (also renewed for a third season and has a spin off titled Marvel Zombies in development) and Ironheart. The now newly retitled, Agatha: Coven Of Chaos will premiere in late 2023 and likely bleed into early 2024. That year will also include movies such as Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts. Oh and a certain man without fear will also be getting his own Disney+ show titled, Daredevil: Born Again. Speaking of which ....

Matt Murdock is back with a vengeance. With Charlie Cox's Daredevil also appearing in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (with a new costume no less), his Disney+ series will break the MCU format by having a whopping 18 episodes. That genuinely surprised the heck out of me. You know what else was surprising though? Not only did Kevin Feige disclose presumably all of the fifth phase of the MCU, he also decided to go a bit further beyond for good measure.

If the first three phases in the MCU had the title of The Infinity Saga, then title for Phases 4-6 now have the title of The Multiverse Saga. Not only that but three movies confirmed for the sixth saga are Fantastic Four (November 8th 2024), Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (May 5th 2025) and Avengers: Secret Wars (November 7th 2025) with the latter movie being the conclusion of Phase 6. With Jonathan Majors playing the multiversal villain Kang throughout the saga, this could be an incredible conclusion to five years worth of content. Also while it might seem like a lot was revealed here, there's still more to come courtesy of D23 in September.

What reveals excited you the most at SDCC? Was there anything you wish they had revealed? Did you feel too much was unveiled or just the right amount? What can we expect at D23?

Children Behave

Last blog for the month of February and a look into some of the show I've been recently catching up on as well.

Arrow: 150th episodes are not as big a deal as other monumental episodes but they're still a good mark for a show to make and for this show, we were treated to a documentary style adventure with so many returning faces that it easily made this episode the best of the season. Actually the last few episodes have been pretty great with Stanley popping up and proving to be a chilling serial killer while the flashforwards revealed the most obvious outcome for Maya as well as confirming that William is in fact gay. Then there was Curtis's low key departure and Fauxcide Squad with the Ghost Initiative, both of which are decent-ish development.

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: The remaining five episodes (including Christmas) certainly elevated the first season. I'm so glad that this has been a successful reboot and it's great that we've got more to look forward to when the remaining nine episodes drop in April. While it was a little too convenient to break up Sabrina and Harvey, I did like both Roz and Susie's own growing prominence in the supernatural stories while Madam Satan's reveal was also delightfully creepy. As for the Christmas episode - it might not have advanced many stories but it's definitely one of the better festive episodes I've watched over the last few months.

Daredevil: While the show has now been sadly cancelled, I am really glad that I bothered to watch the third season. Having Fisk back second time around as a baddie worked surprisingly well as did the Bullseye storyline and the backstories for both Karen and Sister Maggie. The last few scenes of the finale felt like a set up for a potential fourth season which we're probably unlikely to see now but at least we got three seasons and while the Marvel Netflix era is coming to an end, this was the show that started a fun journey.

Supergirl: A mixed bag of episodes here. On one hand, Nia's Dreamer storyline and her budding romance with Brainy is actually the strongest components of the recent stories we've had while everything else has fallen rather flat. We're back to the uninspired Children of Liberty story, Alex's memory wipe of Kara being Supergirl is annoying and the less said about the chemistry free on and off pairing of James and Lena the better to be honest. Right now, the show seriously needs to get itself together. Hopefully Lex's imminent arrival and Manchester Black's return will help turn things around.

The Flash: While the season is still better than another CW show I could mention, I'm already losing interest in the Cicada plot. Plot wise, it greatly hasn't advanced anything and it's feeling like a holding pattern for Nora's unwise alliance with Eobard to inevitably go bad as well. There has been some nice moments though with the gang, even if Barry himself has felt a little short served at times and some of the beats with Nora have felt a little repetitive. With some major cast changes rumoured to be happening though, things should hopefully pick up for the remainder of the season.

The Good Place: I absolutely loved the first season of this wonderful show and the last two episodes have certainly made me want to catch up with the second and third seasons pretty soon. I guess the twist surrounding Michael maybe should've been obvious in retrospect but it was a rather nice game changing moment as Eleanor realised exactly what was going on before things were shifted once again. I am going to make the effort to play catch up sooner rather than later, unless E4 starting the next season pretty soon. Overall though, while I was a little late in the game with this show, I am glad I did get into it nonetheless.

The Umbrella Academy: Recently released and already renewed for a second season, I've never read a single issue of Gerard Way's comic book series, but after watching the first four episodes, it's clearly something I should look into. While the series itself isn't exactly subverting any superhero tropes as such, the main seven characters (including dead Ben) are certainly a dynamic and messed up bunch of people with the likes of Klaus, Allison, Diego, Luther, Vanya and the Boy all managing to maintain interest while an apocalypse is looming in the background. Overall, it's a fun series and I've got another six episodes to savour over the next few weeks.

- Tyler Posey, Dakata Shapiro, Kiele Sanchez and Medalion Rahimi will star in the CW's adaptation of The Lost Boys. The pilot begins films next month.
- Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends Of Tomorrow and Black Lightning all have been renewed for further seasons.
- Netflix have (unsurprisingly) confirmed that both The Punisher and Jessica Jones have been cancelled.
- Jussie Smollett has been suspended from the last two episodes of Empire's fifth season.
- Natalie Dormer and Nathan Lane have joined the cast of Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels for Showtime.
- Cameron Monaghan will rejoin Shameless for it's tenth season.
- Robin Lord Taylor has bagged a recurring role in the second season of You while Cory Michael Smith will be a regular in the US version of Utopia.
- Joshua Orpin has joined the cast of Titans as Superboy for it's second season. The show will also be adding Deathstroke, Rose and Jericho as well.
- Stephen Fry is rumoured to be guest starring in an episode of Doctor Who's twelfth series, due to air on BBC1 in 2020.
- Brooklyn Nine Nine has been renewed for a seventh season on NBC.

Dark Baptism, Anyone?

While not my first blog of the year, this is the first TV Jumble one and in here, I'm catching on something recently cancelled, two reboots that are polar opposites in terms of quality and more DC stuff.

Arrow: It only just came back this week and what an episode. While I still think the whole Emiko storyline is something that should've been done a few seasons ago, I already think she's a rather good addition to the series and her scenes with Rene and Oliver were pretty good in this one. I also like that the show didn't waste time in having her and Oliver meet each other and the continued flash forwards, now with Rene as Mayor of the Glades are still interesting along with Diggle and Lyla reviving the Ghost Initiative in order to give Diaz some relevance in the second half of this season. Oh and the Olicity scenes being kept to a bit of a minimum didn't hurt things either.

Charmed: I've not exactly been complimentary about this series on my Twitter account for months but I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go on E4. What can I say - so far, not so good. The main cast lack chemistry, the effects look even cheaper than the original series, none of the monsters of the week have really stood out and Mel sounds like an embarrassing Tumblr meme every time she has anything to say while Macy and Maggie feel rather bland as characters as does Whitelighter, Harry. The original series wasn't always amazing in terms of writing but it had a certain charm that so far this reboot is lacking in spades.

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: On the other hand, this reboot is near perfection. Unlike the CW's attempt with Charmed, this feels like a modern reboot that can tackle social issues, deliver on the monsters, give us excellent characters like Ambrose and Madam Satan, have an overall compelling arc with the Dark Lord himself while giving us compelling new takes on Sabrina, Salem, Zelda, Hilda and Harvey along with other great characters like Susie, Roz, the Weird Sisters and the High Priest as well. I'm six episodes into this series and it's been an absolute revelation to watch. Every once in a while you get a reboot that genuinely justifies its existences and offers something interesting and this is it. The writers of a certain other reboot could do with taking some notes here.

Daredevil: I know the show has been recently cancelled (and as I'm typing this, it seems The Punisher has followed suit) but I owed it to myself to catch up with the third and final season and so far, I like it. Yeah, the pace is still a bit slow and I really wish Matt would actually get back into costume, but with Fisk and Poindexter/Bullseye/FakeDevil proving to be excellent baddies and Foggy and Karen getting some decent screen time along with the welcomed addition of Sister Maggie, I'm already enjoying this season a little more than the previous one. Such a shame it had to end though.

Supergirl: Argh, the show really had to go there, didn't they? Not only do they seem determined to make Haley come across as a poor man's version of Amanda Waller but now we've got the ridiculous plot of having Alex's memories of her sister being Supergirl erased along with Lena and Jimmy getting back together. On the plus side - I'm loving the slow build up with Brainy and Nia's blossoming romance and the latter's imminent Dreamer destiny along with J'onn setting up his own detective agency. Not to mention having a breather from Agent Liberty isn't a bad thing either.

The Flash: A modest return of episodes this month that truth be told, really haven't done a lot to advance the Cicada storyline and although I do like the character, I honestly don't know where else they can go with this character for the remainder of the season, not to mention that Nora hasn't been that great either and neither has Sherloque. On the otherhand, most of Caitlin, Cisco and Ralph's scenes have been fun, Barry/Iris have had their moments and Cecile's increased screentime in light of Joe's absence has worked as well. It's just the Cicada storyline feels like it needs to come to an end now.

The Good Place: I'm still on the first season but after next week, I'll have watched it all and if E4 take their time airing Seasons 2 and 3, I might just watch it online. Every week, I've found myself enjoying this charming series more and more and the more the show expands on it's mythology ("real" Eleanor, the Bad and Neutral Places, rebooting Janet, etc) along with the further developments of our Eleanor, Michael, Chidi, Tahani and Jason, the more I find myself falling in love with this show.  Plus if the Bad Place really does serve Hawaiian pizza, it can be all that bad, right?

- Meagan Tandy, Camrus Johnson and Nicole Kang have been cast respectively as Sophie Moore, Luke Fox and Mary Hamilton for the CW's upcoming Batwoman series.
- The CW have also commissioned pilots for The Lost Boys, Jane The Novella, Nancy Drew and Kathy Keene.
- Arrow will be doing a Birds Of Prey themed episode with Black Siren playing a prominent role.
- Criminal Minds will end with a 10 episode fifteenth season.
- Game Of Thrones final season will air on HBO from April 14th and SkyAtlantic the day after. Episodes 1 & 2 will be 60 minutes each while episodes 3-6 will be 80 minutes each.
- Along with a Picard spin-off, Star Trek fans can also look forward to a spin-off focused on Michelle Yeoh's character from Star Trek: Discovery.
- Christopher Meloni has joined the cast of The Handmaid's Tale for the show's third season.
- Kate Winslet will star in upcoming HBO miniseries, Mare Of Easttown.
- Netflix will adapt American Son with Kerry Washington resuming her role from the Broadway production.
- Black Lightning's second season will introduce  Hosea Chanchez  as magical threat, Shakedown.

Back To Prison And Tripping Into The 80s

It's been a while as I've been a little too DC focused at the moment but here's a run down of some of the stuff I've managed to catch between then.

Daredevil: Last month I talked about the show unsurprisingly being renewed for a third season. Now, as for the final three episodes, they were something else altogether. A part of me was a little surprised that Fisk didn't properly re-enter the fray but the Yakuza plot played out reasonably well with Elektra truly coming into her own while the Punisher storyline came to a satisfying conclusion as well. It was though disappointing to see Matt, Foggy and Karen so distant with each other but hopefully they can mend fences in the next season (which will be a wait for us all). Overall, a fantastic season.

Orange Is The New Black: I've been catching up with this one a little later than usual. Four episodes into the fourth season and it's an improvement on the previous year. Sure, Piper seems to be pissing off people left, right and centre and both Sophia and Nikki need to be properly reintroduce into the general populace but the arrival of new inmates, celebrity chef Judy King, the loveliness of Brooke and Poussey's growing relationships, stronger flashbacks and Alex and Lolly's dynamic has been fascinating to watch as well. A very promising start to the new season.

Stranger Things: Remember last year when everyone was raving about Sense8? Well, this year, Netflix have managed it again with this delightful 80's nostalgia fueled series. I've only watched the first four episodes and aside from giving Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine's careers a much needed jolt again, it's really the kids who shine on this show. Authentically written and acted, the children and teenagers are the driving force of the series in light of the disappearance of a young boy named Will and the arrival of a mysterious, powerful girl named Eleven as well. If you haven't tuned in yet, you should do very soon.

The Catch: Recently finished up on SkyLiving, the last four episodes of this daft but entertaining show certainly upped the ante a little. Casting Mrs Patmore from Downton Abbey as Margot and Rhys's mother was a genius moment and it was blast having her, even if it was for two episodes. I'm still not hugely compelled by Alice and Ben as a couple but they did have some good moments, especially in the finale and I certainly liked seeing both Alice and Margot trying to outwit the other as well as Alice's encounter with Rhys too. Also while we got the tired trope of Ben and Rhys pretending to be a couple for a con job at least the show made it clear where Sean swings when he asked a surprised Danny out. I'll give the next season a go.

- Katie McGrath has been cast as Lena Luthor for the second season of Supergirl. A musical crossover between the show and The Flash will be happening.
- Savitar will be the second main villain of The Flash's third season alongside Dr Alchmey. Wentworth Miller will reprise his role as Cold in the fourth episode. Joey King will guest star as Magenta.
- Gotham may feature a version of Harley Quinn at some point. The Mad Hatter and Court of Owls are the main antagonists for the first half of the third season.
- Charisma Carpenter will be appearing in an episode of Lucifer's second season.
- Mr Robot has been renewed for a third season.
- The CW are planning a reboot of The Lost Boys.
- UK viewers will be able to watch the US version of Dirk Gently on Netflix from December. BBCAmerica are airing it from October 22nd.
- Will Traval will be appearing in Arrow as the Human Target.
- The creators of Gossip Girl will be bring Marvel's The Runaways to Hulu next year.
- Robert Knepper will be appearing in the sixth season of Homeland. The show has been renewed for a seventh and eighth season respectively.

Luke Cage/Iron Fist/The Defenders - Comic Con Trailers

Comic Con is officially here and over the next few days, we're going to be getting some great treats, First up, a look at the trailers for some upcoming Netflix/Marvel shows.

Luke Cage: I've been waiting a while for a trailer for Mike Colter's super strong heroic, bar owner and it did not disappoint in the slightest. The minute and a half trailer saw Luke ripping off a car door and using it as a shield against some gun toting baddies while telling us that he's ready. It's also another two months before the series gets it's release on Netflix so I'm imagining that more trailers and promotion are imminent for the upcoming series.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymw5uvViqPU

Iron Fist: I wasn't expecting a trailer for this series but I'm really glad one appeared. As well publicised by now, former Game Of Thrones actor Finn Jones has taken on the role of rich boy, Danny Rand/Iron Fist and despite one or two Arrow type reminders, this trailer certainly set up things well for the upcoming series. Now all we have to do is see Danny in costume and unlike Daredevil, I really hope it doesn't take all of the first season for that to happen.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCSPda7xQ3s

The Defenders: And finally we got this trailer. Less of actual footage and more of a voice over from Stick (Scott Glen) as he questions whether or not the combined forces of Matt Murdoch, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Danny Rand are enough to take out the Hand once and for all and ultimately save New York from destruction. I can't wait to see all four characters meet and interact with each other during this particular event series.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBZtM8q2Z1g

Also in the least shocking news ever, Marvel confirmed at Comic Con that Daredevil will be returning to Netflix for a third season. However due to the character's role in The Defenders, the wait will be a little longer but either way, it's good news though. The show's second season certainly gripped and ended on a high note and I am intrigued to see what a third year will offer.

Daredevil News: http://comicbook.com/marvel/2016/07/23/marvel-and-netflix-announce-daredevil-season-3/

Luke Cage will be released on Netflix from September 30th while Iron Fist and The Defenders will debut in 2017.

A Con Or Several

There's certain shows I do need to catch up on but here's a look at what I've seen for now though.

Daredevil: I have three episodes left to watch and right now, I kind of don't want this to end. The second half of this season has intensified both the Punisher and Elektra arcs so well and the returns of both Stick and Fisk have also added nicely to the mix. While it is a tad frustrating to see Matt, Karen and Foggy drift further apart from each other and the show continues to underuse Claire, this season is arguably stronger than the first one and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how things end before we delve into Netflix's other Marvel shows.

Game Of Thrones: Season Six has been without a doubt one of the best seasons we've had from the HBO megahit and the last two episodes really upped the ante. The epic, battle filled penultimate episode which finally saw the much deserved demise of Ramsay was one thing but the finale where Cersei effectively wiped out all of her enemies and became queen was certainly another. Between those events, Sansa/Jon reclaiming Winterfell, Arya ticking another name off her list, Bran learning more of his family history and alliances made with Olenna/Ellaria/Daenerys/Yara, next season cannot come soon enough.

Gogglebox/Gogglesprogs: I have to admit that over the last while I haven't been actively watching the former show as much as I had been and when I found out that Channel 4 were going to be doing a junior version of the show, I was sceptical at best. Having watched at least two episodes of the younger version, I was somewhat hasty. Gogglesprogs might sound terrible on paper but onscreen, it genuinely seems to work. It helps that the kids in question seem to watch the same programmes the regular version does and it's also amusing seeing the younger generation rightfully comment on the Brexit situation when they weren't watching the likes of Made In Chelsea and The Lion King.

The Catch: The latest Shondaland show might have debuted on ABC back in Spring but on SkyLiving, they're nearly done with. The first six episodes have certainly had a similar level of Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder style OTTness with leading lady and private investigator, Alice Vaughn trying to get back at the man who conned her. The man in question being Christopher or Benjamin, who was also working with the charming Margot. And then the show added John Simm as Margot's volatile and trigger happy brother, Rhys and suddenly things got a whole lot more crazier. Certainly one to catch up on over the summer period.

- Taylor Lautner has been cast as Dr Cassidy Cascade for the second season of Scream Queens.
- Cheyenne Jackson will return for the sixth season of American Horror Story. The theme for the upcoming season is due to be revealed soon.
- Tom Felton has been cast as a regular for the third season of The Flash. He'll be playing CS Julian Dorn.
- Lynda Carter has been as the President of the US for the second season of Supergirl.
- Maggie Geha will play an older version of Ivy Pepper for Gotham's third season while James Carpinello has been cast as Mario Falcone.
- Maisie Richardson-Sellers will play Amaya Jiwe, the original Vixen and grandmother to Mari as a regular in Legends Of Tomorrow's second season.
- True Blood is returning as a Broadway musical.
- NBC still aren't giving up on having a Cruel Intentions series just yet.
- Felicity Huffman will be returning for the third season of American Crime.
- Netflix are planning a reboot for Lost In Space, due for release in 2018.

A Girl Is Someone

And here's another look at some of the shows I've been watching lately.

Arrow: I'm not gonna lie, the fourth season finale was probably the weakest we've had from the series so far but it did have it's moments. Damien finally being taken out for starters was great to see and it was nice to see Oliver somewhat inspire a bit of confidence within the city but with just him and Felicity left (Thea's gotta mopey and Diggle's reenlisted), next season really will need to bring the gang back together as well as address the void left behind with Laurel's exit. Oh and tone down Olicity too would help things a little.

Daredevil: I've been a little catching up on this but given that I had so many other shows to watch and summer is a bit of a television wasteland, holding this off paid off though. I've seen the first five episodes of this show's second season and it's every bit as enjoyable as the first. While I'm not too fussed on the Matt/Karen romance, the latter continues to get great development, character wise, Foggy is fun and the references to both Jessica and Luke are nice to have onscreen. Even better though has been the Punisher arc and the beginnings of the Elektra one too. Feels like we're being spoiled here.

Game Of Thrones: This season has been pretty strong but aside from the episode where we finally got Hodor's backstory in great detail along with his death and several returns (the Hound, Benjen, Brotherhood Without Banners and so on), it does feel like the pace has slowed down to deliberately build to the last two episodes. Cersei's trial is imminent, Margaery is playing the long game with the Faith, Sansa and Jon have different ideas to get their home back, Dany took the long route to return to Meereen and Arya finally decided that being someone was better than the alternative. Now, let's just move things that little further shall we and kill off some important characters this time around?

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: With the only Marvel show left on ABC, the third season finale did us a solid and killed off both Lincoln (didn't hate him but he was a tad bland at times) and finally Hive/Ward as well while teasing the ambiguity of the new director and having Daisy on the run as some vigilante type before she's inevitably swayed back to the group properly next season. The final few episodes were solid enough but not entirely spectacular. It'll be interesting to see where things go from here though.

Once Upon A Time: This season might not have been the show at it's most impressive, though the second half certainly was a step up from the first half though. The two part finale though certainly had it's moments, namely the introduction of both Jekyll and Hyde, the land of untold stories and of course, the return of the Evil Queen in the oddest of ways. All of these things however still didn't cancel out Henry's irrevocable stupidity by nearly banishing magic or the fact that yet again, Rumple never truly pays for any of his betrayals. That being said, enough happened here to make me want to watch the sixth season though.

The Flash: Barry- what the hell, man? Did you learn nothing from Rose Tyler or other similar situations? Yeah, we lost Henry but not John Wesley Shipp who turned out to be Earth 2's Jay Garrick and Barry saved his mother, so that's going to blow up in his face next season. Other stuff that happened included Zoom getting his just desserts, Harrison and Jessie taking their leave, more WestAllen foreshadowing and of course for a brief moment, the arrival of Black Siren who may pop up again next season. Strong final batch of episodes though.

- Nick Zano has been cast as Dr. Nate Haywood/Commander Steel for Legends Of Tomorrow's second season. The show will also be adding an earlier version of Vixen as a regular too.

- Rick Gonzalez has been cast as Wild Dog for Arrow's fifth season. Josh Segerra however will be playing the role of Adrian Chase/Vigilante, the main antagonist for the upcoming season.

- Supergirl will be adding Lena Luthor, Maggie Sawyer, Nick Farrow, the Doctor and Snapper Carr. Superman will also be appearing in the first two episodes of the show's second season. Tyler Hoechlin will be playing the man of steel.

- CMT and Hulu have stepped in and Nashville has been renewed for a fifth season of 22 episodes.

- Lesley Jordan will be returning to American Horror Story for it's sixth season, due to begin filming in July.

- Outlander has been renewed for both a third and fourth season by Starz.

- Orlando Jones and Gillian Anderson have joined American Gods as Mr Nancy and Media alike.

- Gotham will be recasting the role of Ivy Pepper as Clare Foley will not be returning for Season 3.

- John Stamos has joined Scream Queens second season as a regular. He'll be playing the role of Dr Brock Holt.

- Orphan Black has been renewed for a fifth and final season by BBCAmerica.

First Look: Daredevil - Season 2

The other day I discussed the casting for Iron Fist and now the first of the Netflix/Marvel shows is back with a second season due to be release very soon - Daredevil.

Back for another 13 episodes, Netflix have been pushing the boat out in terms of trailers, character posters and cast photos for the upcoming season of Daredevil. The recent trailer really upped the ante with Charlie Cox's titular hero meeting up with ex-girlfriend, Elektra (Elodie Yung) in order to fight off the chaos descending on Hell's Kitchen but we know that Elektra isn't the only new addition this season to the show.

Step forward, the Punisher as played by former The Walking Dead actor Jon Bernthal, who is also a regular this season and may or may not be another character who possibly gain their own show somewhere down the line (there has been conflicting rumours about this). Then there's also Stephen Rider as newcomer Blake Tower while audiences can also expect to see Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson and Rosario Dawson reprise their respective roles of Karen Page, Foggy Nelson and Claire Temple during the new season as Matt's relationships with all three are challenged.

Things are certainly hotting up. I can't wait to see the new season unfold.

Season 2 Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cn3DVV0LHY

Daredevil Season 2 will be released on Netflix from March 18th.