My Review of Ashes To Ashes 2x04: "Episode 12"

Written by Ashley Pharaoh
Directed by Ben Bolt

Gene: “We did it, Alex. We stood tall and stared them down.”
Alex: “Yeah we did.”

In that case – all hail Team Quattro. Since the second episode of this season, the writers have established that Alex and Gene would make their own team to take out corruption but given the way, they have been around each other, it’s natural that others would suspect something else.

Ray himself wasn’t shy at suggesting the idea that Alex and Gene were actually sleeping with each other. The reality however had more to do with them planting bugs in Mackintosh’s office and going through flip charts. That being said, bit risky sleeping in the office when you’re out to oust your boss, isn’t it?

Luckily for Alex and Gene, being suspected of shagging around is more of an advantage than anyone knowing what they were really up to. Alex wanted to bring Ray and Chris in on everything but Gene didn’t. Did he simply mistrust them or was he protecting them in his own way? Both are plausible but the latter would be something that viewers were more comfortable with.

Gene had plenty of other things to worry about as well. Earlier on when spoilers were circulating that a Life On Mars character was going to show up on the show, I was naturally hoping for either Sam or Annie but it seems that Jackie from the hostage episode in the first season was the character in question.

First off all, she’s kind enough to return Gene’s coat from Life On Mars and then she’s happy to tell him that he’s the father of her unborn child. Smutty jokes aside from Ray; it’s amazing how things quickly got heated between Jackie and Alex.

Alex went to town criticising Jackie on her chain smoking and she even snarked to Gene that he could’ve done better. The bitchiness between both Alex and Jackie did lead to some excellent one-liners but fortunately there was more to Jackie than being a thorn in Gene and Alex’s sides.

For starters, her motives for coming up to London are more to do with finding her missing niece Rachel and less to do with annoying Gene. It gives Jackie a more sympathetic edge, especially when after a proposal from Gene; she’s forced into admitting that the baby isn’t his or that they didn’t have sex either. More smutty jokes from Ray please.

It’s also around this time that Alex seems to warm to Jackie a bit more as well. Could it have been jealousy on Alex’s part that made her initially less than warm to Jackie? It’s nice that the writers didn’t descend into childish hysterics with the pair. Alex possibly has feelings for Gene but Jackie certainly doesn’t.

Both ladies bonding over the issue of motherhood brought home some pointers. Jackie went from trying to baby her niece Rachel to telling Gene that Rachel could stand up for herself as well as coming to grips with imminent motherhood herself. Alex on the other hand had to focus more on her quest to get back to Molly.

In fact when the ladies weren’t discussing that and Alex wasn’t trying to get any insight into what happened to Sam up until his death, Jackie did make a point of asking Alex about her feelings for Gene – something to delight the shippers. The Sam references however were the bigger made of win.

The main plot of the week however involved missing teens from the North who ended up dead upon arriving in London. We had the gang save Debbie at first from a pervy photographer, only for her to later wind up dead and even Jackie’s niece Rachel wanted to try and help the gang catch chief suspect Ralph Jarvis.

When Alex and the gang first made an arrest on Jarvis, we learned more about the scheming so and so’s violent history with young girls. More importantly came the clanger about Jarvis and Mackintosh being in cahoots. Hardly a shocker but Alex and Gene did see it as more reason to get ride of Mackintosh once and for all.

Mackintosh wasn’t stupid though. He could definitely tell that Gene and Alex were up to something and he certainly did his best to try and get Alex out of the way, around the same time that she and Gene finally convinced themselves to let Chris and Ray in on their scheming only for Mackintosh to try and get Alex out of the way.

Planting evidence to make it look like Alex was taking backhanders and having access to secret bank accounts was a bit late for Mackintosh. Alex and Gene (thanks to Jackie’s encouragement) still managed to arrest Jarvis and connect the dots that he laundered money for Mackintosh in exchange for his freedom.

What no-one had banked on was that when it looked Jarvis was going to get away with things, Mackintosh opened fire on him and then turned the gun on himself. I actually found Mackintosh’s death to be quite satisfying, though a part of me did wonder for a minute if he might have shot Alex.

Instead he just told that he knew about the roses that she was getting and that Operation Rose was in order. What is Operation Rose and who is that guy stalking Alex? This week he pestered her about them being a team towards the end of the episode, coincidently enough when Mackintosh died. Even Gene is beginning to ask questions and Alex would do well to let him in on what’s been happening to her over the last few weeks.

Also in “Episode 12”

The opening scene with the other coppers singing to taunt Ray and Chris into a food fight was inspired.

Viv: “Sounds like you’re in for a promise.”
Chris (re Shaz): “Not really. She’s got me watching tapes of Brideshead Revisited.”

Shaz’s support of gay culture continues. Now all we need is gay character that she can be best mates with.

Alex (re exposing Mackintosh): “It’s a big step.”
Gene: “Between you and me, Bolls, I’ve been wanting to do this for weeks.”
Alex: “Yeah, me too. I just didn’t know you felt the same way.”

Gene: “That’s my coat. I was looking for that.”
Jackie: “You left it in my flat but come to think of it, that’s not all you left behind.”

Jackie told Alex that Sam and Annie had married but had no kids, that Sam had surrendered to being in 1973 and that she wrote his obituary. She seemed to like Sam.

Gene (re Jackie): “What’s wrong with her?”
Alex: “Well apart from the fact that she’s a journalist and she’s from Glasgow?”
Gene: “Blimey, you’re beginning to sound like me, Bolly.”

Jackie: “Where’s the father of my child?”
Ray: “He’s in there with DI Drake but I wouldn’t.”

Halfway through the episode, Shaz went undercover as a runaway trying to get information out of the girls about Jarvis’s parties.

Chris: “Shirt up.”
Shaz: “Bet you say that to all the girls.”
Ray: “Women in the police force, it’s just not right.”

Ray: “Is this a private conversation or can anyone join in?”
Alex: “No, it’s private.”

I have to give Ray points this week for telling Gene that he’d do anything for him as well as Chris for his hilarious response to it.

Alex: “That’s the difference. I have to get back. Somebody needs me.”
Jackie: “You’re quite a strange person, aren’t you? Have you and Hunt got something going on?” Alex: “God, no. Why do you ask?”

Dr Death: “When are you going to learn? What you do in this place has consequences.”
Alex: “What consequences?”
Dr Death: “You’ll find out.”

We saw a painting of Mackintosh and his daughter and Gene shot a dog to Shaz’s disgust when she found out. Plus Roland Rat and those nightmares with Molly and Jarvis.

Mackintosh (to Alex): “Drake, hanging around gents toilets. You’ll get a reputation.”

Alex: “This is an outrage.”
Mackintosh: “I made it quite clear, DI Drake – either with me or against me.”

Standout music: “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime” by The Korgis stood out for me the most.

Ralph: “Nothing to worry about.”
Jackie: “Well you should be worried. You’re surrounded by armed bastards.”
Gene (to Alex): “Oh that bloody woman.”

Dr Death: “You might be right, Alex. Maybe we can help each other, you and me.”
Alex: “Who is this? What do you want?”
Dr Death: “Not Hunt, not Mackintosh. Just you and me.”

Chronology: A few days after where the previous episode left off.

By far, my favourite episode of the season. The continuity references were brilliant, Jackie worked well, loved learning more about Operation Rose and the shipper vibes between Gene and Alex definitely appealed.

Rating: 10 out of 10.

Skins – Season 1 Review

UK Airdate: January 25^th – March 22^nd 2007

Standing In The Way Of Control: Teen shows aren’t exactly something that are really dying out. As long as they are young audiences, there’s always going to be enthusiastic viewers wanting their usual mix of teen angst, hedonism and cuter than thou totty. American shows such as The OC, One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl and 90210 are continuing that trend in their own style.

In the UK, the decision by E4 to do their own teen show, following subsequent cancellations from shows such as As If and Sugar Rush seemed inevitable. The producers themselves wanted something that would serve as a slight anti-thesis to some of the US counterparts I’ve mentioned, while at the same time, appealing to the same type of an audience.

January 2007 saw the arrival of this series and the opener certainly went its way into introducing the core cast – smooth operator and total bastard, Tony, the seemingly vapid Michelle, geeky Sid, out and proud Maxxie, stoner Chris, level-headed Jal, self-destructive Cassie, mysterious Effy and sex obsessed Anwar, all of whom on paper wouldn’t have appeared to be anything new.

And they’re not but what sets them apart is that unlike US TV, age appropriate actors are better cast in the UK. The reason why these teenagers look like teenagers is because they’re played by actors who are teenagers. Makes things a lot easier in the long run.

The opening episode was fairly standard, surrounding a lot of mishaps in acquiring dope while gate crashing rich bitch Abigail’s party (no, not that one) and legging it when things get out of hand. The gangster Mad Twatter is a weak spot in the episode and his presence in the following two are a dampener (though we can thank Jal’s father for ridding us of him).

What really sets the show apart is its second episode focusing on Cassie (the first fixated on Tony). Dealing with anorexia is a popular theme, especially with teen characters but Hannah Murray’s blistering performance as the troubled girl and her attraction to Sid certainly endeared Cassie in a major way while Jal’s mother issues and burgeoning desire to get into classical music make episode three a solid one. Jal’s chances of musical success are more likely, given the fact that her dopey brothers are spectacularly tone deaf by comparison.

Chris is another engaging character and Joe Dempsie who plays him is probably the strongest male actor on the show. Dealing with his own issues, including opening up to Jal about his younger brother’s death does prove (along with Cassie’s battle with her eating disorder) that the show can have some emotional intelligence and given that a lot of the episodes heavily focus on various parties, it’s a nice contrast. Plus this side of Chris is also a lot better than the one we see when he starts sleeping with his teacher Angie for the remainder of the season.

One of the weakest points of the season is Tony and Sid’s dynamic. Tony clearly uses Sid as a scape goat, an object of ridicule and he even doesn’t mind screwing him and Michelle over in the fifth episode. Sid’s crush on Michelle is understandable but out of the female characters, Michelle might be a bit too vapid to care about. April Pearson who plays Michelle is good in the role, so it’s not really down to her that I’m often less than interested in the character.

Season One’s weakest episode however lies in with the gang’s trip to Russia. It’s not particularly an awful episode – I mean there’s some great conflict over Anwar and Maxxie regarding the latter’s sexuality, you do have a brief encounter between Maxxie and Tony and Jal and Michelle’s drunken antics are funny but it just doesn’t work as brilliantly as the first few episodes.

The last few episodes however are wonderful. There’s something spectacularly satisfying in seeing Michelle beating the crap out of Tony and Sid realising that he’s fallen out of love with Michelle and in with Cassie (hey, Sid/Cassie are the ship in this season whereas as Jal/Chris are Season Two and Emily/Naomi are Season Three). Effy, who in later seasons takes over her brother’s leadership with a new gang gets one of the most interesting episodes of the season. The penultimate episode is interesting because for a fair chunk of it, very little actually happens and when it does, it’s all of a sudden but it serves as an ongoing trend in the last segment of the season to show Tony that there are consequences for messing with people’s lives. His relationships with Sid and Effy are far more engaging than his need to get Michelle back.

The finale is by far, the best one we’ve had from the show. Where else do you see a character mowed down by a bus who survives or with the main gang miming to Wild World? Okay, maybe it’s not that unique but as teen shows go, this might be over hyped to the hills and even occasionally silly at times (Sid in particular gets pissed on a lot – metaphorically and literally in one episode alone). Anwar is probably the most underused character of the bunch, even less so than Abigail or Posh Kenneth. Plus this show has got to be doing something right if it’s able to attract the likes of Arabella Weir, Harry Enfield, Peter Capaldi, Morweena Banks and Neil Morrissey to name a few in the roles of parents on this show.

DVD EXTRAS: I don’t actually own the DVDs, seeing as they’re stripped of the original music used per episode but I do know what the extras entail.

- 9 Unseen Skins episodes (I Mostly Do, Careers Advice, Shoot 'Em Up Bang Bang Props to the Hood, A Friend in Need, Careers Advice II, To Russia With Love..., The Cat & the Duck, Pop and Bye)
- 11 Video diaries (Jal, Chris, Abigail, Effy, Maxxie, Michelle, Posh Kenneth, Tony, Sid, Anwar and Cassie)
- Music video for "Standing in the Way of Control"
- Director's cut trailer
- Broadcast trailers

EPISODE RATING FROM 1 TO 10

1x01: Tony = 7/10, 1x02: Cassie = 9/10, 1x03: Jal = 8/10,
1x04: Chris = 8/10, 1x05: Sid = 10/10, 1x06: Maxxie And Anwar = 7/10,
1x07: Michelle = 9/10, 1x08: Effy = 10/10, 1x09: Finale = 10/10.

My Review of Angel's 6x20: "Aftermath Part 3"

Written by Kelley Armstrong
Artwork by Dave Ross

Gwen (to Desdemona): “This is no time for a catnap. Get up or I’ll deliver a wake-up call you’ll feel for -”

Desdemona. What a mystery. Is she really evil or secretly good or misguided? This issue doesn’t really clarify which side she’s really on (aside from her own). Gwen’s little detective skills showed Desdemona in a very questionable light.

So who was the unfortunate bloke she put the voodoo on and why did she turn him into a gorilla? Who are the people that she’s working for and what are they getting out of people being turned into animals? Can’t be good whatever the answer may be.

Kate deciding to withhold this information from Angel but sharing with Gwen is mixed. Maybe she should wait until she knows everything about Desdemona’s antics before getting Angel involved but at the same time, it’s not like he’s going to appreciate being kept in the dark either.

Not that Angel seemed all that bothered about Desdemona anyways. Kate and Gwen did all the heavy lifting with that plot end this issue, which included having both of them facing Desdemona with predicted results.

It’s not Kate, Gwen and Desdemona were going to sit down and actually have a rational conversation. When Desdemona realised that she had uninvited guests, she immediately went to attack them and she didn’t stop when she realised that said guests happened to be Angel’s trusted lady friends either.

Of course knocking out and locking Desdemona didn’t exactly unite Kate and Gwen either. Both women may want to find out what the kitty shape shifter’s motives are but both of them are critical to the others methods. Personally I side with Kate a little more.

As for the kitty, are the cubs belonging to Desdemona? It looks like it and it certainly generates some sympathy if her children (or whoever they belong to) are being held in captivity. Wowsers, this might actually explain a lot of Desdemona’s motives and why she’s eager to side up with Angel.

There also seems to be two sisters as well talking about being held against their will. However it seems like they’re recovering from the effects of turning into animals and are bound to a cult/sect/whatever they are in case they become animals again. With only two issues left in this arc, they better be good.

What was good about this issues was Angel and James Smythe, who might end up becoming my favourite character actually introduced into this comic form sixth season. After all, Betta George predates the damn thing.

Why did I like James Smythe? I don’t know. Maybe it was because Angel could always do with an extra pair of hands but mainly because it was some connection to Cordelia and at the end of the day, I think anything Cordy related is going to hold my interests even if the writers refuse to resurrect her, Wesley and Fred.

Angel’s search for the mysterious angel didn’t really take all that long. Smythe wasn’t exactly hiding from Angel and when the two of them did meet up again, we saw some very cool moments. Having the two of them team up for a spot of demon fighting felt more in line with the series than anything else we’ve seen in this comic form so far, fighting wise.

Smythe explained that he needed help with the demons and he also made an effort to make sure that Angel was packing the right ammunition as well. As for his race – the Potentates, well they’re warrior angels and did some background work during the hell segment of this whole comic season.

The snag is that Smythe’s people are also missing and he obviously wants/needs Angel’s help in getting them back. That means he’s coming back for more and it also gives us another mystery. Who would go about kidnapping warrior angels? Assuming that Smythe’s race are not either dead, corrupted or that Smythe is making the whole thing up.

Personally I hope not. I like the character and I actually want him to be a good guy, is that naively silly of me? As for Angel’s disgruntled employers, I wasn’t that much interested in them two issues ago and I really didn’t care that Angel relinquished his services with them in this one.

As for the cat sisters, one of them got snagged (Penelope) while Gwen was still frustrated with Desdemona being out for the count. Now I really do want to find out what’s going on here.

Also in “Aftermath Part 3”

The cover for this issue showed Kate whaling on a demon that I don’t think we actually saw in this issue at all. No, we didn’t.

Angel: “The people we’re rounding up. From now, they come here.”
Kate: “Whoa. Here? We’re not equipped?”
Angel: “Then we’ll get equipped. We’re holding them here until we find out what’s wrong with them. We need to research -”

Angel’s latest plan of rounding up the people they have and bringing them to his new digs might not be the best of ideas. Times like this, you’d need some SD-6 type of cells.

Angel: “Two choices, Kate. Either we bring them here or we leave them on the streets.”
Kate: “They’re dangerous – to themselves and others.”
Angel: “Then you have your answer. Get the cells ready, then get hunting. I’ll join you later tonight. I have something to do first.”

Gwen: “You think I’m being too harsh.”
Kate: “I just think we didn’t need to -”
Gwen: “We did. Every cop knows it’s easier to get a confession when you don’t have to follow the rules. You’re not a cop anymore, Kate. Time to stop acting like one.”
Kate: “What if I don’t want to?”

The other cover for this issue had Desdemona in chains in a dungeon with her cat eyes.

Angel: “We don’t have time for this.”
James: “In quite a rush for an immortal, aren’t you? All right, I’ll take it with me.”

James: “The name’s James by the way.”
Angel: “Why couldn’t we have just walked out?”
James: “Oh I could have. The spell works very well on humans. There’s only one problem … not everything in this world is human.”

More confusing chronology as James mentions 2005 and Angel had to touch a sword that could burn him.

Angel: “Kidnapping Angels? That’s ballsy.”
James: “I thought so. I’ll be back. First, you need to deal with your disgruntled employers. They’re waiting for you.”
Angel: “Inside? How do you know?”

The next issue will be out towards the end of May. I know I’ve complained but why can’t IDW just add dates on like Dark Horse do with the Buffy comics?

“Aftermath Part 3” might be my favourite issue from this arc anyway. With two issues to go, it’ll be interesting to see what happens next and whether or not characters like Desdemona and James will be around for longer.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

My Review of Dexter's 3x03: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

Written by Scott Buck
Directed by John Dahl

Dexter (to Nathan): “I’m not like you. Nobody hurts my children.”

If there was a statement needed to cement your commitment as a parental figure, I’m not sure if (from a legal perspective) murdering a paedophile is the way to go about it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m more than happy to see scum like Nathan taken off the streets, it’s just authorities frown on all forms of murder (except self-defence).

Dexter was worried that he wouldn’t make a good father to his unborn child but his skills with Cody and Astor really didn’t back up that fear. Even Dexter’s expertise in faking have their limitations and he’s more or less said on more than one occasion that he does care about what happens to children.

When it came to Nathan, there was no way about it though – the moment Dexter spotted him talking to Astor in the supermarket, he was justified in worrying. Nathan looked like trouble from the off and Dexter didn’t have to look hard to find the evidence to back up his theory.

Even on the beach there was a sense of worry. No-one takes photos of children unawares like that ever. Dexter was right to be suspicious but his confrontation with Nathan was new. Dexter sometimes vets out his victims, he rarely takes them aside and tells them that he knows all their sordid details.

He however did do that and I did think that maybe Dexter was try to give Nathan a chance to either get his sick urges until control or leave town. In the end, Dexter paying him a house call and killing him was the better option. Even if Nathan hadn’t personally attacked Dexter by taking photos of Astor, Nathan is still a danger to society.

Nathan’s serving as a plot device to get Dexter around the idea of a biological worked for me. It worked more than poor Dexter having to deal with yoga classes. Whatever happened to antenatal? Dexter’s sheer awkwardness over the whole debacle made me feel a little for him.

I noticed that throughout the episode, Rita insisted on not pressuring Dexter but was sort of pressuring him to make a decision. Not that I’m down on Rita for that, it’s just something that really stuck out for me. Dexter’s sending of positive energy made for a lovely moment.

Then there’s Deb’s reaction to the idea of becoming an auntie. By far, the funniest thing this show has ever done. No-one can send out a congratulations like Deb. This is one of the few times where her excessive swearing was incredibly sweet. I found myself giggling with it.

Deb was also another person who told Dexter to get into gear with becoming a father. The various slaps to the arms as well as telling him that he’s brilliant brother. Deb was on fine form with her brother and it was her way of being nice to him after he did something nice to her (he put up a missing photo of Tegan around so she’d get another clue).

With all the positives of family present and accounted for, Miguel’s kind of a bad representation on the friendship front. I mean, the guy really just kept pushing and pushing with Dexter here, especially on the whole Freebo debacle. Dexter seriously needs to watch himself with this bloke.

Wanting to know where Freebo’s body is was hardly unreasonable and even trying to bond with him over failed fathers could be natural but Dexter’s had too many bad luck with people that he’s ‘connected’ with (Brian/Rudy, Lila) and it’s very unlikely that Miguel is somehow going to buck the trend.

It is however very likely that he can make things ten times worse for Dexter. Even if he is an accessory to a murder, it’s still Dexter who would serve a longer jail sentence and even Miguel giving Dexter his blood stained shirt still doesn’t make me want to trust him in a massive hurry.

Dexter’s pondering on the nature of Miguel’s motive is good though. In an alternative reality, maybe Miguel would be genuinely trustworthy but in this one, I just can’t help feeling the opposite and soon enough if previews for upcoming episodes have shown me, Dexter will come around to the same way of thinking.

Even with all the stuff he knew and the platitudes about justice not getting served, Miguel had no problem standing aside and allowing Chicky Hines to take the rap for a DUI he didn’t commit. Maria herself looked pretty disgusted and even more so when she overheard Chicky’s lawyer talking to the press.

Deb on the other hand when she wasn’t happy for her brother, seemed determined to get more information from Anton as best she could. The only problem was that following Javier’s death, Anton wasn’t as eager to talk to him and going all hard ass on him in the bathroom wasn’t her best idea either.

Anton didn’t exactly make things easy on himself either. If Deb was too rash with him, it was only because Anton continued to goad her and lighting up a joint in front of her was dumb on his part. Did he really think she wouldn’t arrest him? Maybe Anton wanted to be arrested. He did express some fears about his safety during their heated confrontation. After all, Javier got skinned as well as Tegan.

As for Quinn, what the hell is his deal with Deb and Anton? Maybe he fancies Deb and it’s jealousy, maybe Anton’s more dangerous than we know and he’s worried for Deb or (more than likely) Anton has something on Quinn and Quinn would rather Deb not knowing. All are valid guesses on my part.

It is pretty likely that one of these guys will end up sleeping with Deb if not both of them. Anton’s little song tribute to Deb (Skinny Mean Bitch) generated a fair amount of laughs, especially given that even Deb was able to see the funny side of the whole thing. She even danced as a result of knowing what it meant exactly.

Also in “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”

The previously on bits for this episode were longer again. They always seem to be with this show.

Rita: “You do your grocery list alphabetically?”
Dexter: “How else would you do it?”

If it were me, probably listing it off with most important to least important. Or randomly write everything I remember and curse myself for the item I forgot.

Quinn: “You like milk or cream?”
Dexter: “Neither.”
Quinn: “Not exactly the chatty type, are you?”

Deb: “A baby? A motherfucking roly-poly, chubby cheeked shit machine? Are you kidding me?”
Dexter: “I’ve never heard it described in quite those words before, but yeah.”

I only just read in the May issue for Sky Magazine that Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter recently got married, so congratulations to them.

Sylvia (to Rita): “Men are such babies. They have to be carried kicking and screaming into fatherhood.”

Dexter (re Miguel): “Showing up late at night like this. Is it creepy or is it what friends do?”

During the meeting under the bridge, I was worried that Miguel might have found a hole in Dexter’s story. Luckily he hasn’t but I bet he will though.

Dexter: “My father was disgusted by me.”
Miguel: “Disgusted? No offence to the dead but your father’s an idiot.”

Anton (to Deb): “Looks like having conversations with you is dangerous for your health.”

I noticed that Chicky’s lawyer was played by the brilliant Anne Ramsay. Hopefully we’ll be seeing her in more episodes this season.

Deb (re Tegan): “I’m thinking of putting her picture on milk cartons.”
Dexter: “It’s a good idea.”
Deb: “Except no-one would ever drink milk again.”

Dexter: “What’s that for?”
Deb: “I know you, Dex; you’re the best brother in the world. You can do this. And if you don’t trust yourself, trust me. I’m the smart one in the family.”

Anton’s little ‘puta’ comment about Deb reminded me of LaGuerta frequently calling her that in Darkly Dreaming Dexter.

Quinn (re Masuka): “Who the fuck are his people?”
Angel: “I don’t know little scientists or something.”

Dexter: “So there it is. I’m gonna be a father and raise my child. It’s what any good man would do.”

Chronology: The day after “Finding Freebo”.

The first two episodes of this season were good but “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” was much better. Rita’s pregnancy plot should bore me to tears but it doesn’t, the skinnings are obviously leading to something bad and Miguel is dangerous.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

My Review of Ashes To Ashes 2x03: "Episode 11"

Written by Nicole Taylor
Directed by Ben Bolt

Gene (to Alex, re Jeffrey): “Never trust a man who owns a sex guide. There are some things you should be able to do without a book.”

Gene might raise an accurate point there. Unfortunately there are some things you also need guidance with and if you’re an animal rights activist on this show that involves finding locations to bomb in a frantic bid to turn over a vivisection law.

I’m all against vivisection as the next person but it’s protesters like this who give everyone else a bad name. I don’t care how it’s spun but endangering another human life in order to try and prove a point about the savagery that humans inflict is uncalled for every time.

The opening few minutes of this episode had a scientist Nigel Pattison maligned by protesters, only for his eight year old daughter Charlotte to be on the ouch end of a petrol bomb. Worse still is that more threats to blow up certain places are being made if the vivisection bill isn’t scrapped.

It’s enough to make Gene seethe even more with anger and I think as a parent, it probably had to hit home for Alex as well. If that had been Molly, I certainly don’t think she’d be her rational self. Endangering another life is no excuse for standing up for what you believe in.

The interesting part is that the episode does bring Alex in proximity of a Robin Elliot, a protester from back in the mid 1970’s, who hasn’t had any contact with the outside world following the death of his mother. As a character goes, he makes for a complicated villain.

Complicated because he doesn’t view what he’s doing as morally wrong but villainous because it bloody well is. His conversations with Alex however are intriguing, with him being perceptive enough to push some personal buttons in regards to her displacement in 1982 and of course.

For a second, there was a part of Alex who kept thinking that Robin had some genuine insight into what was actually happening to her. Jeffrey was able to point (though much later of course) that Robin had a knack for getting inside people’s heads and not in a good way.

Alex herself was certainly taken in by Robin and not just with the possibility of him knowing about her predicament. She actually gave him the benefit of the doubt and he played her twice by giving her false locations to potential places that were going to be bombed.

As for the bomber in question, a scruffy little runt named Adrian seemed to be happy to continue a circle of grooming and manipulate. Even before Gene spotted his hands still marked in green, it didn’t take much to guess that he was our not so mysterious bomber and I have to admit that a part of me applauded Gene’s police brutality.

When Adrian decided to endanger a child with a petrol bomb, he lost all the rights to use a rousing speech about the rights of monkeys. They do have rights but so do humans, even if we do behave reprehensibly from time to time. As for the person grooming Adrian, was there anyone genuinely surprised when it was revealed to be Jeffrey?

The way Jeffrey talked about not having contact with Robin was such a blatant, he really insulting the audience’s intelligence. If Jeffrey hated being manipulated so much by Robin, why the hell did he go and do the same thing to Adrian?

The confrontation scene between him and Alex wasn’t the strongest we’ve seen on this or Life On Mars. Alex really shouldn’t have faced him alone and failing that, she should’ve at least have had some weapon readily handy at her disposal because when you tend to face off with the perpetrator, it’s handy to have a weapon.

It’s a good job that for the billionth time, Gene was actually there to save her backside from being shot. Yes, all those intriguing little shooting effects came back into play in this episode when Alex thought once again that the real world was giving up on her. Gene’s witty aside to saving her made me smile a lot.

Gene had a lot to do in this episode, what with Mackintosh piling on the pressure. Kevin Hales committing suicide was yet another reason to believe that Mackintosh is a bad apple and Gene refusing to falsify a statement backfired on him. I doubt Mackintosh will succeed in ridding us off Gene but I certainly believe that now is the time for Gene and Alex to cast this guy out.

As for Chris and Ray, well Shaz finally managed to endear herself to the latter when she asked Ray to be Chris’s best man. Sure, it should’ve been Chris but I think because it was Shaz, Ray is more likely to come around to the idea of his best mate getting hitched after all.

With Alex though, there’s still the mystery of her stalker. If it’s not Sam (or connected to him), then who is it? We didn’t get any real encounters with the guy in this episode but he certainly managed to leave another rose for Alex without her catching him. That’s another thing that can’t last too long as well, right? Alex is eventually going to have to catch the bloke who’s leaving her all this stuff.

Also in “Episode 11”

Alex had the opening dream of Morph shocking her before deciding to give up on her. What other 80’s creation are we gonna have?

Gene: “Nobody leaves here; nobody evacuates their bladders or their bowels. Is that clear?”
Everyone: “Yes, Guv.”

I noticed that Viv and Luigi haven’t got a lot to do this season so far. Not that they often get much anyway but even still.

Alex (re Robin): “He certainly knows how to work the publicity machine.”
Gene: “Do you think he knows how to scale the walls as well?”

Robin: “I can feel something from you, Alex. A sadness. You’re physically present but really, you're elsewhere.”
Alex: “Elsewhere?”

Alex dreamed of Molly brushing her teeth too hard, only for it to turn into Robin. Was there supposed to be a connection between Molly and Robin?

Alex: “You sound like someone who wants to live.”
Ray: “Everyone wants to live Alex but who are we to decide who’s worth saved?”

Mackintosh (to Gene): “We’re brothers now as well as colleagues so if I have to do anything for you, you only have to ask.”

Chris had some amusing moments with Alex scolding him over the sex book and one of the dogs not taking a shine to him.

Robin: “Where’s your daughter, Alex?”
Alex: “I would hope she’s at school.”

Ray (re Shaz): “Today her jacket, tomorrow her blouse.”
Chris: “You won’t like me when I’m angry.”

I’m not siding with Ray but Chris has been wearing that jacket for the last three episodes so maybe there’s a point there.

Gene: “What a relief to know, Adrian that while I’m out there catching scum, you’re in here pondering the big question.”

Alex: “Break down the door.”
Ray: “You’re joking?”
Chris: “She’s not joking.”
Alex: “Ray, I’m your superior officer, now break the door down.”

Alex lost it at one point with one of the cleaners when she was hearing further messages about her fight to live fading.

Alex: “Guv, do you think if I’ve saved some lives, that means I’m worth saving?”
Gene: “If you say so. Now get your bony arse back here.”

Alex: “I’m alive. They saved me.”
Gene: “They? They stood there like lemons. The pleasure was all mine.”

Standout music: Something of an appropriate animal theme with the likes of “Eye Of The Tiger” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” popping up.

Alex (to everyone): “To the best bunch of colleagues a girl could ever have.”

Chronology: A few weeks since the premiere, given the Kevin Hales element of the episode.

Although not the best episode, there’s still a lot to keep interest in it. Alex’s mystery stalker though needs to make some better moves and it’d be kind of nice for Mackintosh to slip up as well.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

My Review of Angel's 6x19: "Aftermath Part 2"

Written by Kelley Armstrong
Artwork by Dave Ross

Angel: “The Lords are really scraping the bottom of the barrel now. Some job advice? I’m supposed to be the one running away.”
Desdemona: “Where’s the fun in that?”

First of all, I have to apologise for being extremely late with this comic. It’s just only now that I’ve gotten my hands on it and with various other reviews, I have to admit that I also got a little side tracked as well.

From the last issue Angel was about to meet his maker thanks to a lady who seems to enjoy morphing into a cat mainly. The lady in question gets the novel name of Desdemona but it seems that she’s not in a big rush to actually kill, even though she’s got a reasonably incentive to do so.

Owing the Lord of Sherman Oaks, Desdemona can only pay off the debt by offering Angel’s head up. The funny thing is that she spent way too much time in this comic flirting with Angel that she decides to re-evaluate what she wants to do with him.

Nakedness aside, Angel is still able to keep his wits about Desdemona, asking her the entire right question. The idea of them teaming up together in order to rid both of their problems (her debt, his various would be destroyers) isn’t exactly the most unrealistic of plot but can Angel really trust the woman?

Sure, she’s fun, seemingly more amoral than evil (not that amoral is a character strength) and while she does lead Angel up to seeing a certain Lord, she also had no problems in turning on Angel as well. After all, it’s not much of a shock that Desdemona was more interested in solving her own problems rather than Angel’s.

She did however kill two birds with one stone by essentially killing the Lord Of Sherman Oaks and making it look like the Lords were all backstabbing each other. For the time being, it could be a temporary solution and let Angel not have to worry about himself and Connor being hunted down but it’s unlikely to make for a decent permanent solution though.

Desdemona then also seems to have problems with attacking others as well. In this issue she attacked a stranger and took his clothing (I guess you can’t go around naked all the time, even if you can morph into a jaguar). Also she did Angel one of the people after him but her origins are a mystery.

Gwen made some headway into researching Desdemona but her theories on the cat creature largely got shot down by Angel. I suppose given that it’s clear that Desdemona will be around for this arc that we’ll learn more about her in the upcoming issues.

When Angel wasn’t dealing with feline frenemies, he spent a good deal of his time worrying about Connor’s safety. He even made a point of not asking Connor and Kate to accompany him and Desdemona when they went to see the Lord Of Sherman Oaks. Of course, Connor also pointed out that Angel was overreacting yet again to trying to baby him.

As for Gwen, I have to admit to feeling pretty bad for her. What she did in hell was wrong but the girl thought she was doing the right thing at the time and I’d like to think that Gunn was far more convincing in getting her on side than he ever was during the “After The Fall” arc.

Stalking Connor relentlessly throughout the issue didn’t exactly do her the best of favours. Connor’s pretty good with maintaining grudges and unequivocally stubborn that Gwen really is going to have to go above and beyond in order to actually prove that she really wants to help.

Being hostile with Kate wasn’t Gwen’s smartest decision either. Right now, Gwen should try being civil with as many LA Scoobies as she can if she really wants to get Connor back. That and of course showing that she’s genuinely sorry for her contribution to the Gunn mess in hell.

Besides Kate is the only who actually didn’t treat her like an eyesore and both of them also have a shared mutual distrust over Desdemona. That should give them something to bond over at least. Kate deciding to keep tabs on Desdemona made sense. I’m not sure the new girl can be trusted either.

When Connor and Kate weren’t making sweeps around the town and questioning Desdemona’s motives, they were also at the hospital with Angel. Angel getting that cryptic from Cordelia via the patient at the end was an interesting move. Does that mean we’ll be lucky and actually see Cordelia in this arc?

Also in “Aftermath Part 2”

The cover for this issue had a vamped out Angel not looking best pleased with being photographed.

Angel: “I’ve never seen a naked assassin before. Is that supposed to distract me?”
Desdemona: “Heaven forbid. That would be terribly unprofessional.”

Why is Desdemona not fond of clothing? And how many forms of were-kitties can they be? Angel and Gwen at least mentioned two, both of which don’t seem to match Desdemona.

Desdemona: “I’ve been sent to kill you.”
Angel: “You seem to have trouble with the key part of that concept.”
Desdemona: “I prefer peaceful methods of conflict resolution. So, I’d like to offer you a deal.”

Kate: “Department of post apocalyptic clear-up. Please stand by.”
Connor: “They gave you a badge?”
Kate: “It’s a library card. Most people have never seen one.”

The creature that Connor and Kate apprehend ended up escaping later on in the story. I’ve seen a preview for the next issues so I know what happens next.

Connor: “I have nothing to say to you. Now get out of my sight before-”
Gwen: “Okay, I get it – I know what I did in hell. I don’t expect you to forgive me. Not yet but just let me help you take these three-”
Connor: “We don’t need your help. Didn’t then, didn’t now.”

Gwen (to herself): “The last time I opened a book was … I’m not even sure. I said I’d do anything to prove myself. Did I mean it?”

Gwen’s library chatter seemed a little on the Faith side of things to me.

Desdemona (to Lord of Sherman Oaks): “Do you know the problem with hiring criminals? If you can buy them, so can anyone else. Perhaps a fellow demon Lord looking to thin out the competition and blame a certain rogue vampire.”

Desdemona: “Nope. Sorry. Hate to disappoint but I’m just a plain and simple were-kitty.”
Angel: “I suspect there’s nothing simple about you.”
Desdemona: “Or plain, I hope.”

This issue had no Lorne, Gunn, Illyria or Spike. Are they gonna be no-shows for this arc completely?

Mr Smythe: “I have a message for you, Angel. From Cordelia.”

The next issue came out during the last week of April. Hopefully I’ll get round to reviewing that quicker than this one.

Two issues in and while the artwork is taking a surprising downtown (none of the main characters are recognisable in certain panels), “Aftermath Part 2” is still a vast improvement on what we’ve had before. Just hoping the assassination threats and Cordelia’s heavenly pal play a significant role is all.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

My Review of Dexter's 3x02: "Finding Freebo"

Written by Melissa Rosenberg
Directed by Marcos Siega

Rita (to Dexter): “I’m not trying to pressure you but we have to make a decision before one is made for us.”

Parenthood. If there’s something that will definitely bring you out in cold sweats, it’s possibly that. We know that for all of his murderous ways that Dexter actually is pretty cool with children. You get him to babysit and not worry about him dispatching them.

However that’s not much of a cert for fatherhood. Rita’s pregnancy is certainly enough to get Dexter in a tail spin and when it’s confirmed for definite (because actual proof is needed to back up Rita’s realisation of old patterns); it’s also the last thing that Dexter really wanted to discuss.

Outside the hospital, he couldn’t get fast enough to work and even at Rita’s house, he still wasn’t able to talk to her about the potential of being a parent. Rita even made a half-baked attempt to try and get him to open up on their way to Miguel and Sylvia’s house and that still didn’t work.

Rita almost made a point of telling Sylvia that she was pregnant. Maybe because it was heavily playing on her mind or maybe it’s a depiction that aside from co-workers and occasional sitters for Cody and Astor, Rita doesn’t really have that many friends she can confide into.

Valerie Cruz (next to be seen in True Blood) is a good casting choice for the role of Sylvia and seems to work well along with Jimmy Smits. It’s also more likely that whatever friendship Rita and Sylvia will have is probably going to be healthier that the friendship Dexter finds himself being thrown into with Miguel.

Tension aside, it’s nice that Dexter and Rita didn’t have any explosive arguments or cross words with each other. When Rita stopped by Dexter’s apartment and started talking, I did at first think that she was going to suggest a termination in order to gauge Dexter’s reaction (the one thing he wasn’t giving her).

Instead she made the point of telling that she was keeping the child, in spite of the list of cons the both of them had earlier discussed. However she did give Dexter an out by telling him that his role in the baby’s life was his decision. While Rita’s not stupid, I doubt emotional blackmail factored into her discussion with Dexter.

As for being a good parent, I think we can vouch for that, especially when considering that the other parent (Paul, not Dexter) was a wife beating drug user. Rita’s certainly stepped out of the role of cute but dim girlfriend into something more with a backbone and personality.

Dexter spent a good part of this episode wondering whether or not his child would inherit the sociopath gene. Given that Dexter’s original father wasn’t a violent killer (if not exactly a law abiding citizen), there is the vague possibility that Dexter Jr could be a well adjusted child. Stranger things have happened and you’ve also got to remember that Rita’s there too.

When Dexter wasn’t brooding about impending fatherhood, the search for Freebo was also on his mind. There was a time when Dexter would bask in the incompetence of his own work place, only for them to now actually be more proactive in their search for Freebo as well.

Dexter had hoped that it was going to take them longer to link Oscar and Tegan’s murders and Freebo’s involvement but it seemed that Deb was doing her job just a little too well for Dexter’s liking. Isn’t it terrible when the police are actually good at their jobs? It’s certainly going to be problematic for Dexter if they get too good.

One big shining problem that came Dexter’s way this week was Miguel. Miguel’s suspicions of Dexter in the previous episode had signalled enough trouble but this week he was actively making a point in vetting Dexter out. That cosy little dinner incite had nothing to do with friendship or at least not the conventional kind.

When I meet up with friends, there’s usually chatter, pool, food, beverages (whether caffeinated or alcoholic). When Miguel met up with Dexter it was just so he could get an honest reaction in figuring out whether or not the police would end up catching Freebo.

There are a lot of things that can easily be called out on this show but Dexter being caught by Miguel after he murdered Freebo wasn’t one of them. I know Miguel was in the house while Dexter was getting busy on Freebo in the garage but I assumed (and hoped) that Dexter would escape and Miguel would just find Freebo’s corpse. Not so much apparently.

Miguel knowing that Dexter killed Freebo, even if he does believe it was in self-defence is trouble personified. Although Miguel intrigues me as a character (he could be a very interesting foil), I just don’t trust him and Dexter really is going to have to tread carefully with this guy.

Also speaking of treading carefully, Deb seems to be on a slippery slope. Although she’s always been the ambitious type, she really seems to be even more fixated on getting her shield more and more this season; to the point where I think she’s gonna mess up.

I’m not sure about Quinn as a character but I’m also uncertain that it would be wise for Deb to spy on him as well. Plus it doesn’t help that Yuki’s a massive bitch. Seriously, there’s someone lacking people skills in a big way and using Harry in a bid to try and get Deb to play ball is just low.

At least Deb got some results with Tegan, like actually finding out whom she was and that there was a link to Freebo. Of course, it’s also very interesting that Quinn wasn’t best pleased when Anton actually delivered the good. Now, that’s jealousy that could either be professional or personal but either way, both Quinn and Anton seem to fancy Deb. That part is certainly clear.

As for Masuka, I had to delight in him getting published but is there any chance we might actually get a snippet on the article he wrote about the Bay Harbour Butcher. Maria’s scenes with Miguel had some interesting moments. She did look pretty sad when Miguel kept things purely platonic and while Angel talked about the cons of his new position, I did love his little scene with Dexter on fatherhood.

Also in “Finding Freebo”

I don’t think there’s anyone who hasn’t seen this episode and realised that the title is a nice little play on “Finding Nemo”. Still, at least Nemo didn’t get gutted whereas Freebo certainly did.

Dexter (re Tegan): “I already saw what I saw and it was nothing.”
Deb: “Well, see what you see again.”

Masuka’s little shrine made for a funny moment in the episode as did Dexter’s pointed response on crucifixions.

Deb: “You’re gonna give me a shield for being a snitch.”
Yuki: “No, for being an honest cop, Deborah, like your father.”

Anton: “You know there is more to life than policing.”
Deb: “So I’ve heard.”

Anton plays the guitar in a band when he’s not doing snitch work on drug dealers. He also poked fun at Deb’s swearing.

Deb: “What the fuck is scrap-booking?”
Dexter: “The tradition of putting photos and memorabilia into family keepsake albums along with relevant journaling.”
Deb: “I don’t even want to know how you know that.”

Harry: “I always wanted to be a grandfather.”
Dexter: “I think we’re all better off without you.”

Naturally Dexter’s dream of a normal child would be skewered; though I’m surprised the kid only went after Astor. In the books, it’s both her and Cody that display sociopathic tendencies.

Deb: “You’re a little young to be in business for yourself.”
Javier: “I’m a wonder kid.”

Masuka: “I got the call. I’m getting published.”
Dexter: “Congratulations, the shrine must’ve worked.”

Maria had to tell Miguel that his conviction for Chicky Hynes was wrong. Miguel looked like he wanted to flip on Maria but instead he chose to thank her for being honest with him.

Rita: “Having this child is a huge mistake. I weighed up all the pros and cons and all I’ve got are the cons.”
Dexter: “I was thinking the same thing.”
Rita: “I’m keeping it.”

Rita (to Dexter): “This child is happening but your role in its life is entirely up to you.”

Rita’s list of cons included expense, sagging boobs and in Dexter’s dreams, was that a syringe rattler Harry had with the baby?

Freebo: “What the hell is this?”
Dexter: “Show and tell. It’s been so long since you killed them, I thought you’d forgotten.”

Chronology: More or less a day or two since “Our Father”.

“Finding Freebo” certainly livened things up a little. Dexter works better when he’s on the hunt for someone and the pursuit of Freebo was entertaining enough. The Miguel plot however pushed the episode and it’ll be interesting to see how that develops.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

My Review of Ashes To Ashes 2x02: "Episode 10"

Written by Matthew Graham
Directed by Catherine Morshead

Gene (to Alex): “You and me, Bolls, we’re a team. Fighting the rot together.”

I’m sure that’s a line that will satisfy many viewers but essentially, here is an episode that has Alex questioning her partnership with Gene all the way through as the nagging possibility that he’s not a figment of her imagination.

This week’s case involved a Romany man, Jed Wicklow being pursued by the team, which led to him being killed in an accident. Alex might have been all for the trouble but there was no surprise that Gene would be more complicit with having Mackintosh fob the press off with something different.

For all Mackintosh’s talk of wanting to run a less corrupt force, it was already established in the previous episode that he’s not to be trusted. His hostility toward Alex is certainly something that she needs to be vigilant of.

There was an interesting scene where he told Gene that she was trouble and he wasn’t particularly all that helpful when she asked him about Kevin Hales’s location. Alex may want to take Gene’s approach if she really thinks that Mackintosh is a rotten apple in the police force.

As for Jed Wicklow, apart from the fact that another human being died, he was pretty much just a run of the mill scumbag. That creepy old lady had no problem telling Alex and Gene that he gave Romany tribes a bad name and his use of drugs was hardly shocker of the century.

It also pretty clear that the young girl Alva was being abused by him but the suspicions into his death did quickly veer to Dr Battleford. Joseph Millson from The Sarah Jane Adventures was a nice piece of guy candy but there was no doubting from the off that he was responsible for Wicklow’s death.

He seemed stereotypically too friendly and his desire to help out the Romany tribes did have a certain element of falseness to it as well. Plus he slipped up when casually talking to Alex.

With all this, the question then became how long would it be until they were allowed to nail Battleford? Mackintosh certainly did his bit to try and derail Alex from getting a conviction and even Gene seemed to change his mind about Battleford amidst a secret handshake.

I have to admit that my knowledge on Masons is pretty hooky at best but Gene joining one certainly could lead to an interesting path. His claim to Alex is that he wants to keep Mackintosh closer and I certainly believe that but there’s also the fear that Gene will either be quickly caught out by his new superior or become corrupted himself.

Most of the scenes between him and Alex this week did feel more cat and mouse than usual. As a viewer, you want Gene to be the good guy but you also see why Alex might have her faith in Gene challenged so to speak. Gene’s belligerence often doesn’t help matter.

It made no surprise that Alex would employ Chris into her attempts of getting Battleford arrested at first and that she’d be reprimanded but I did like that Gene filled her in on what he was attempting to do and that he also knew that Mackintosh wasn’t trustworthy. There was certainly something in those scenes to make shippers happy I think.

As for the main story, well it didn’t work all that well really. It was nice that Gene was able to find a loophole in the Mason loyalty in order to arrest Battleford that even Mackintosh couldn’t challenge but the character of Battleford did come across as a bit too pathetic to care about.

Plus this episode did help to reinforce Ray’s inherent racism as well. He was more than happy to participate in personally moving the Romany tribe and he also enjoyed his role in the Mason gang far more than Gene pretended to. I hope the writers don’t devolve Ray even if he is the most susceptible character to corruption on the series.

The birth scene with Alva was strictly played for laughs. When Gene decides to retire from the force, he’d make an excellent mid-wife. Because of his words of encouragement, the baby got to be called Eileen. It was a really funny moment in a mostly serious.

Another fun moment was Chris’s many attempts to propose to Shaz, only for him to keep getting dismissed by the girl. Fortunately he did succeed in the end but it certainly took him a while to successfully get there. I wonder if that means that Chris and Shaz have gotten further on this series than Sam and Annie in Life On Mars?

Shaz hasn’t really had a lot to do so far this season but seeing as there are six episodes left, I’m sure that’ll change in due course. I liked that Alex showed some remorse for yelling at Shaz for no reason though, during the whole computer debacle. That of course led to the strongest points of the episode.

Alex talked about the possibility of Gene being real and after the whole thing with the first season finale; I’m glad that’s being addressed. The writers have been promising us that everything that Alex assumes about her world is wrong and hints about that are certainly being dropped around the place.

Her mystery little stalker/abductor asked her to trust him (I’m really assuming that it’s a him and possibly Sam) and she admitted that she couldn’t. He didn’t take it well and buggered off and I doubt that will be the last that Alex sees of him. He’s a persistent so and so, I’ll give him that.

Also Alex seemed to be making more of a conscious effort to try and remember things. The fact that she was struggling to remember what Molly looked like and her daughter’s own name cannot be good at all, though it certainly adds another layer into this whole saga.

Also in “Episode 10”

Was it me or did anyone else slightly think of The Ring during Alex’s dream of Molly?

Alex (re Jed): “I’m 90% certain he was on something.”
Gene: “90%? How very modest of you.”

It was pretty obvious that the Tyler comment from the fortune teller would mislead Gene (it was a pseudonym of Ray’s) but I’m still hopeful that Sam will appear.

Gene: “A quick reminder, Drakey. I’m one of the good guys and you are on my side.”
Alex: “This’ll never be my side.”

Gene (to Alex, re Romany tribe): “They’ll tie you up as a sex slave and make a rabbit trap out of your knickers.”

Alex threw in a fairly funny reference to Desperate Housewives during one of her scenes at the station and also about choosing when she comes.

Battleford: “Cop psychology.”
Gene: “Cop psychiatry.”
Alex: “It’s psychology.”

Gene (to Mackintosh): “I have to warn you, I’m not very good in clubs. I’m serving a lifetime ban from the scouts.”

Shaz mentioned her mother and also that she had Romany blood in her family. Chris mentioned it again prior to actually proposing to her.

Alex: “You drugged me.”
Mystery Man: “I needed to know who you were. You were forgetting.”

Gene (to Alex): “You have a very pretty face but you go on longer than the Eurovision Song Contest.”

Gene made the conscious effort to call his predecessor and was told by him not to call again.

Alex: “Metaphors all over the shop.”
Gene: “Clever, isn’t it?”

Gene (to Alva): “Come on, Eileen.”
Alex: “Who’s Eileen?”
Gene: “I don’t know.”

Standout music: I’m a sucker for Phil Collins’s “In The Air Tonight” and I think it was greatly used in this episode.

Alex: “What if you’re real?”
Gene: “What if you’re quiet?”

Chronology: Obviously still 1982 but I’m not sure how long has passed since the last episode.

Another solidly engaging episode, this season is certainly upping the mystery to a delightful new pace. I can’t wait to find out the identity of Alex’s mystery stalker or how things will eventually escalate between her and Mackintosh.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

My Review of Dexter's 3x01: "Our Father"

Written by Clyde Philips
Directed by Keith Gordon

Old Man (re Oscar): “Did you know him well?”
Dexter: “Not as well as I thought.”

After reading the first four books over the last couple of weeks, I was really looking forward to a brand new episode of the series and FXUK’s decision to air the third season earlier than usual couldn’t have happened at a better time as far as I was concerned.

Things certainly felt a lot more different here than usual. Dexter talked about evolving and things changing and his murder of Oscar Prado was certainly something unexpected. The reason for that being the fact that Oscar wasn’t Dexter’s intended victim for that particular evening.

No, it was the rather unpleasant drug dealer Freebo that had the honour of making it to Dexter’s hit list and Dexter’s sense of vetting took an interesting. Pretending to be a jittering junkie made sense as Dexter needed to get close and in spite of Freebo’s protestations, Dexter seemed to gain his trust rather quickly.

The problem was that when Dexter went to actually kill Freebo, he made the cardinal error of killing Oscar instead. This is probably the first time that Dexter has murdered an innocent person so to speak and his inability to react in a way is worrying. He realised his mistake (albeit too late) but aside from some initial shock, he wasn’t exactly overcome with guilt.

However he might not have to be either as Deb learned pretty quickly that Oscar wasn’t at Freebo’s place during the night of his death for noble reasons. Oscar being a junkie might not be a massive surprise but it’s not exactly the kind of thing that absolves Dexter either.

Killing Oscar was certainly a moment of bad judgement but researching him at work was another sloppy move on Dexter’s part. With Doakes out of the picture, every other regular has no reason to suspect Dexter of not being quite what he seems, so I guess that’s a good reason why Miguel has been drafted in.

From the moment they met at the crime scene, Miguel Prado (good casting with Jimmy Smits) seemed very suspicious of Dexter but the latter didn’t pay any attention to it until he got summoned by Miguel a second time to the crime scene.

I have to admit that Miguel even caught me off guard with the quick fire way he asked Dexter about researching Oscar online. Miguel also seemed utterly unconvinced when Dexter told him that he wanted to understand more about Oscar. That’s a shame because Dexter’s usually very good at getting him out of tight spots.

Miguel could be a very formidable threat to Dexter if the writers have the stamina to keep him going all season. Being the older brother of Oscar and a prosecutor was enough to have him even more determined to nail Oscar’s killer. Dexter’s really going to have to watch himself with this guy. Miguel pretty much has trouble written all over him with a capital T.

Of course Miguel and Oscar weren’t the only issues that Dexter had to deal with. Deb had good reason to be pissed with him as well. It might be a brother’s prerogative not to notice when their sister’s cut their hair for the first time in a long while (very long in Deb’s case) but not showing up for a commemorative piss up for a dead parent, yeah I can see why Deb would be less forgiving about that.

Dexter’s issues with Harry played out over the episode but unlike other shows who tend to practically bludgeon viewers with main characters having parental issues, I liked the way the show dealt with them. Dexter was right about Harry’s code needing to evolve but spontaneity is not Dexter’s best of bedfellows. I guess some people do need to be control freak.

Rita’s pregnancy reveal at the end of the episode made a lot of sense. I’m not big on baby plots but I think the idea of Dexter fathering a child could raise some interesting issues. What if on the off chance that a child parented by Dexter doesn’t wind up becoming a sociopath? Stranger things have certainly happened, I’ll give you that. Also was it me or were there a lot of sex scenes with Dexter and Rita? I’m not complaining mind.

Dexter playing Dad with Cody and Astor has always been one of his endearing parts and often has given the character a degree of humanity that he would probably casually dismiss himself. The parent day segment was mildly touching as Dexter faced his toughest crowd yet: ten year olds who are not really impressed with the delicacies of blood spatter.

When Dexter wasn’t getting all the interesting moments (like having to attend Oscar’s funeral, listening to Miguel talk about being broken, etc), Deb also found herself in demand by both Quinn and Yuki but for different reasons.

With Quinn it seemed to be relentless flirting, though he did give her a lead with Anton but Yuki seemed more interested in getting Deb to become a snitch. As much as Deb protested that she couldn’t spy on her friends, I have a nasty feeling that she’ll be taking up Yuki’s offer within the next few weeks.

Another noteworthy point with Deb this week was her getting kicked off the Oscar Prado case. Okay, so she really should’ve applied tact when telling everyone in the office about Oscar being a drug dealer (I thought Miguel was going to rip her a new one, never mind LaGuerta) but seeing as Deb was the only to have any kind of advancement on Oscar’s case, maybe Angel made the wrong decision on that one.

Also, what the hell happened to Tegan? If we didn’t see that bit of flesh cut off at the end of the episode, I would’ve been convinced that it was Freebo who murdered her but I just don’t envision Freebo surviving beyond the next episode in order to become a season big bad. Given that Lila was more or less the baddie of last season, this new killer has a lot to live up to.

Also in “Our Father”

I loved the opening and ending with Dexter at the dentist. For a show that largely deals with dismemberment, the sense of humour is always spot on.

Dentist: “How was your summer?”
Dexter: “I went to the carnival. I even won a prize.”

I wasn’t really surprised when it was revealed that Maria and Miguel once had a thing. Props to Maria for mentioning it to every one else though.

Angel (to everyone): “When this is official, when I trade this in for a gold badge, drinks are on me.”

Dexter: “More interested in scoring tar.”
Freebo: “Another yuppie turned to the dark side.”

Angel got promoted to detective sergeant in this episode. Deb also talked about getting her shield as well.

Deb: “What is it you think Quinn did exactly?”
Yuki: “You don’t get to blow me off and still ask questions.”

Rita: “What happened to ‘do not call’? It’s three in the morning.”
Dexter: “Not in India.”

Freebo – Fred Bowman who killed two college girls. Possibly three if he did actually murder Tegan but I’m not convinced that he did.

Angel (re dog in the car): “Man’s best friend, eh Dex?”
Dexter: “Not today.”

Miguel: “Some people say the soul lives on forever.”
Dexter: “I hope not.”
Miguel: “That makes you a cynic.”
Dexter: “A scientist.”

I noticed in the cast that no-one has been added and that Michael C. Hall is now a co-executive producer for the series.

Dexter (re LaGuerta): “She’s been in better moods.”
Deb: “Yeah, I didn’t exactly brighten her day.”

Angel (re Deb): “If I bounce her, she’s gonna hate me.”
Maria: “You’re her boss, not her friend.”

Deb went on a spree of giving up smoking, drinking and men. She already gave up on abstaining from the booze so the others will undoubtedly follow suit.

Miguel: “Losing my brother is going to leave a pain in my heart that is never going to heal. Do you have a brother, Dexter?”
Dexter: “Just a very loud sister.”

Rita (to Dexter): “All I want is chocolate pudding and you. Not necessarily in that order.”

Chronology: Hard to say but it did seem like a good few months have passed since “The British Invasion”.

For an opening episode, we’ve had better but “Our Father” was certainly a good opener no less. Some moments were intriguing, some were sweet and most importantly, there’s another serial nutter to challenge/amaze Dexter for the duration of the season.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

My Review of Ashes To Ashes 2x01: "Episode 9"

Written by Ashley Pharaoh
Directed by Catherine Morshead

Gene (to Alex): “No-one knows anyone, Bolly. The greatest lie in life is we pretend that we do.”

After being forced to wait longer than usual for its return, it’s nice that Ashes To Ashes is more or less the same show that we last saw. Whether or not this is a second of a third season or the last has yet to be decided by the BBC but either way, things are off to a very interesting start for everyone.

First off all, a good chunk of time has passed since Alex was unable to prevent her parents’ death and she’s thinking that her time in the 1980’s is drawing to a close. She even asks an elderly woman on the street at one point if she knows her, which certainly made the lady in question look at Alex as if she was possessed or something.

There’s a good element of surreal moments in the opening episode to the new season. It was around the second year on Life On Mars that Sam was showing familiarity with being stuck in this time line while retaining his desire to go home. With Molly popping up in this episode, Alex’s motives for returning to her own time are always going to be stronger.

Of course the opening episode also needed a fairly strong case and the death of fellow officer Sean Irvine in Soho strip during a sex game that went wrong is sufficient in rounding everyone up on different opinions. Alex once again had to be the one to explain the delicacies of auto-erotic asphyxiation to her bemused colleagues.

The fact that Sean was an actual copper rather than a mere punter wasn’t revealed until the introduction of ‘Supermac’ Mackintosh, the station’s new superior and someone for Alex to admire as well. Reasons for Alex to hold such respect for her superiors are undoubtedly similar to ones that Sam would have.

She admires the fact that he seems fair on fellow workers and that he wants to smite out any form of corruption or backhanders (the look on Ray’s face was priceless during that scene, though it was Chris who shoved a betting slip into his coat) but also because he seemed to be the only male character in the station to use the word, ‘love’.

Mackintosh’s declaration of love was revealed when he was forced to confess that he had been sleeping with Irvine’s wife, Ruth. Ruth’s reaction to her husband’s death seemed all over the place though Gene’s unsympathetic nature towards her (even before learning that she was cheating on he husband) probably didn’t help matters.

Irvine seemed to be liked by all of his colleagues but it was Kevin Hales, whose comments on Irvine getting in over his head with the girls at the Soho club that raised alarm bells. It was sort of obvious that Kevin was going to factor in Irvine’s death from the moment he lost it with Shaz in front of everyone. No-one speaks to Shaz like that in my opinion.

More interesting was his questioning with Gene and Alex. For all of Gene’s brutish tactics, there’s usually some validity when he’s extra venomous towards someone and while his nastiness towards Ruth didn’t later reveal her being involved in her husband’s death, it was becoming clearer as the episode progressed that Kevin killed Irvine.

The motive for doing it seemed to be that it was an accident. It didn’t excuse him from killing Sally in the episode and it certainly didn’t excuse him from aiding in Alex’s kidnapping as well. What the hell did he mean when he said to Alex that she was ‘everywhere’?

When we weren’t dealing with Kevin and his feigning of drunkenness, there was all the cryptic stuff with Alex and it certainly added to the episode in my opinion. For all the appearances of Molly, Alex now seems to have a stalker on her hands and it’s hard to determine their motives.

On one hand, they did truss up Alex (in a scene that wouldn’t have looked out of place on an episode of Dexter) and frightened her into getting Gene and company to come to her rescue but on the other hand, there was the leaving of roses (one at her office, another in her flat), the pictures of Pont d’Alma and constantly telling her that she doesn’t belong in this time period.

What does it all mean and how or why is the mentions of Lady Diana so significant to things? We know that Alex’s mystery is supposed to be bigger than Sam’s ever was and we certainly know that along with Alex that nothing everything about this setting is merely a construct as well. We also know by now that Alex is supposed to be meeting a character from the Life On Mars.

If this is possibly the last season, it’d be excellent if it was Sam. Having John Simm on this show as well as having him back as The Master for David Tennant’s last two episodes of Doctor Who would certainly fulfil a few fan boy/girl’s dreams this year. Other than that, it’s going to be interesting to uncover who Alex’s mystery stalker is.

If I had to hazard a guess, I’d almost go with Supermac. He certainly soured towards Alex by the end of the episode (but I suppose when Alex snooped around in his office and uncovered that he was the last person to talk to Sean alive, that would do it) and we also know that Kevin was following instructions (snatching Alex, pretending to be drunk, etc).

Still it wasn’t all drama in this episode. There was some mild flirting with Gene and Alex, jokes made at the modern girl’s expense and also Chris going to talk to her about wooing Shaz after admitting that he couldn’t control how he felt about strippers. We even had some moments with Alex asking Gene about his wife, getting a family meal from Luigi and Ray making his disdain for Chris being in love pretty well known.

Chris can be a bit of a gobshite from time to time but I do think that him and Shaz make an interesting pairing (especially given how it highlights Ray’s jealousy) and his Full Monty routine to get back into her good books was something of a treat. Needless to say that both Gene and Ray were less impressed with Chris getting his kit off than Alex or Shaz.

Also in “Episode 9”

The credits have changed a little and Alex talked about fighting, searching and staying alive during them as well. They sound less cheesy than the first season.

Chris (looking at tunnel): “Not 69.”
Gene: “I’m sure DI Drake knows what a 69 is.”

I’ve never watched Grange Hill as a child (don’t shoot me) but I was aware of Mrs McCluskey during that scene with Molly.

Ray: “What’s it worth?”
Madam: “I’ll toss you both off.”
Chris: “No thanks.”

Mackintosh: “Irvine was supposed to clean up Soho. Instead he got corrupted by it.”
Alex: “We’ll sort this out, sir.”

There were some nice references to Harrison Ford/Blade Runner in this episode, mostly by Chris of course.

Ray (re Sally): “That’s our girl.”
Alex: “Someone gonna arrest her?”
Gene: “Why are you always in such a hurry?”

Sally: “I’m not a bad person.”
Gene: “No, you’re not a bad person.”
Sally: “Only wanted to be an actress.”
Gene: “You’ll be an actress so stop your croaking.”

In the hair department, both Alex and Ray don’t seem to as heavy with the perms as they were in the first season, Shaz’s hair is a little longer and Chris has got highlights in his.

Kevin: “Look, I’m not saying I’m a perfect copper but I didn’t kill my mate and I didn’t kill that girl.”
Gene: “Get out of my sight.”

Ruth (to Alex/Gene): “Sometimes love is very dark and dangerous and leaves you not liking yourself.”

I loved the little ads that the BBC were doing with the gang for the last week and viewers should really check out the Mackintosh reports on the characters (especially his one on Ray) on the site.

Alex: “Am I dead?”
Gene: “Not unless I’m Saint Peter and I find that highly unlikely, don’t you?”

Alex: “You’re not drunk.”
Kevin: “I’m just a pebble on the beach, babe. I’m nothing but you’re everywhere. Everywhere.”

Standout music: Some of the usual suspects but I did really enjoy Hot Chocolates “You Sexy Thing”. Also a soundtrack for the second season has been released this week.

Gene: “If Mac had something to do with Sean’s death, then everything in my world is wrong.”
Alex: “Welcome to my world.”

Chronology: It’s 1982 as mentioned by Alex in the credits and a few times in the episode.

For a season premiere, this was a very satisfying episode. Some of the stuff from last season has been toned down, but the mystery keeps on being interesting and well, after the atrocious Demons, it’s just nice to have Philip Glenister back in a worthwhile programme.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

My Review of Being Human's 1x06: "Bad Moon Rising"

Written by Toby Whithouse
Directed by Colin Teague

Mark (re bible passage): “What does it mean to you?”
George: “That it’s time to grow up.”

Big battles and matters of faith aside, did anyone really think that Mitchell would die and Annie would cross over? Not even a little bit? Then congratulate yourself because in less than five minutes, Annie ditched her flight and Mitchell wasn’t about to join Seth and Lauren anytime soon. Yay on both counts.

This episode of course opened up with the very moment two years ago in which George and Mitchell met. Unfortunately the flashback also included Seth as the sullen vampire and two of his mates made it their business to attack George.

Had Mitchell not have intervened way back when, then it’s easy to presume that George would’ve been a dead man. Watching that attack was unpleasant given how much the media are now discussing knife culture and other senseless killings in Britain nowadays.

Mitchell’s rescue of George wasn’t something that I would deem heroic of sorts. There was no epic fight to the death, it wasn’t really a moment where Seth realised that Mitchell was a good guy but it was important. Mitchell used simple logic to get Seth and his friends to leave George alone. Then he told George to leave without explaining why werewolves are loathed by vampires.

In the present day, the notion of fleeing is also present. Mitchell’s funky physiology was enough to baffle doctors and the lack of straight answers from George made Nina question their relationship as well. Getting Mitchell out of the hospital made sense but it was only Josie sacrificing herself that made Mitchell strong enough to be discharged.

I liked that we got Josie back in the finale and I even understood why Mitchell would drink from her. Josie wanted to die and she also wanted Mitchell strong enough to stop Herrick from plaguing the world. However because of her act, Mitchell has yet another person on his conscience and that’s not good if he wants to retain his humanity.

Surprisingly enough however is that the majority of confrontation that are with Herrick are ones with George. George became very protective of Mitchell and even got into a physical scrap with Herrick. Herrick continued to justify his plans as a step in evolution but anyone with half a brain could see that he was on the verge of wiping out the human race.

However for all of his smart arsed comments to George, there was no denying that Herrick posed a very potent threat to them all. He made no bones of telling George that he would kill him and Mitchell had to point out to Annie that Herrick could even hurt her by simply killing him and George.

Some viewers wondered if Annie’s presence had something to do with her attachment to Mitchell and George. This episode confirmed that. Annie herself was very territorial with the boys, first wanting to protect them and even considering fleeing as well. When George told her that he had to consider his own future, you could see that it broke Annie’s heart.

Herrick also had some brilliant moments with both Mitchell and George as the episode progressed. Mitchell’s rejection definitely left a taste given how determined Herrick has become in wanting him dead and even George couldn’t dissuade him into leaving them alone.

It’s actually a pity that we didn’t get early interaction scenes with George and Herrick earlier on in the season because both actors plays so well off each other that Mitchell almost becomes something that needs to be protected. Even the big fight doesn’t involve Mitchell.

No, instead we got George and Herrick locked in the same room prepared to do damage to each other. It’s interesting that when Herrick warns George that he’ll lose the remainder of his humanity by becoming a murderer that George didn’t start feeling guilty about it. Herrick needed to be stopped and George was the only one strong enough to do it.

I don’t think murdering Herrick should compromise George’s moral compass. If Herrick survived, then George and company would be picked off one by one but Herrick was able to point out that their attempts of trying to pass off as being human wasn’t that successful.

Then there’s the fact that Nina has now become aware of George being a werewolf. The scene where a wolfed out George recognised her was certainly telling. Has George made her into a werewolf by scratching her? If so, then he definitely will feel guilty about that.

Annie herself also had some moments to genuinely shine. Meeting up with one of the victims from last week’s episode gave her esteem enough of a boost to raid the funeral parlour and rescue the rest of the victims. It was also her conversation with Herrick’s crazed girlfriend that alerted her about George’s plot.

So with all these new skills of Annie, will we get to see her kicking more monster butt in the next season? She’s certainly more of a threat to evil doers than Mitchell and George are physically and she’s not even corporeal to put it mildly.

Of course another interesting aspect of the finale was Owen. I wasn’t expecting him to appear in this episode but it was nice to see that justice prevailed and he was in an asylum of sorts. However as soon as he started talking to that doctor, I had a feeling of what was going to happen next.

Our medic friends seemed to be more than interested in existence of ghosts, werewolves and vampires and that can’t be good. It does however make sense and not just because Herrick made a point of mentioning that others would come after the gang. Besides, normality is never going to be a complete option for Annie, Mitchell, George and now Nina.

Also in “Bad Moon Rising”

I noticed during the run up to this episode that the BBC3 website conducted interviews with the cast members.

Nina: “Are you involved in this family thing?”
George: “I guess so … by association.”
Nina: “Which means I’m involved by association. I don’t like that.”

Both Toby Whithouse and Colin Teague previously worked together on the Torchwood episode “Greeks Bearing Gifts”.

Mark: “Jewish people pray, I’ve seen Yentl.”
George: “You’re very sarcastic for a vicar.”
Mark: “Yeah, so people tell me and I feel really bad about it and then I forgive myself.”

Herrick: “How do you think this ends?”
George: “I don’t know, we kiss?”

Did anyone catch the name of the canteen lady that Herrick turned? I’m not really sure why she spoke so inanely though.

Nina: “I need something normal now. Something kind.”
George: “You need me to choose between you and him.”

Mitchell (re Herrick): “If I beat him, if this works, this whole thing will fall apart.”
Annie: “But you won’t beat him, will you?”

Was it me or did Annie wear her top backwards when she broke into the funeral parlour?

George: “I won’t live forever. I don’t have time like you do.”
Annie (re Mitchell): “He doesn’t have time. Two days ago, you made me rescue Mitchell from Herrick. You said that if I didn’t do, I’d finally died.”

George: “Someone actually recruited an old woman?”
Herrick: “Well, you know what it’s like. You’re out and about, you get the munchies, you’ll eat anything.”

I’m surprised that at one point, Nana didn’t actually try to attack George, though she did look at him with disdain.

George: “There will come a time when you understand why I’m doing this.”
Annie: “Don’t worry, I get it.”

Victim: “Where am I?”
Annie: “I think you’re dead.”
Victim: “But I don’t want to be dead.”
Annie: “I know. Can you take me there?”

I forgot to mention in my last review that Herrick’s first name is William. He also spoke of Mitchell being more merciless than he lets on.

Annie: “Well, congratulations on mastering the whole ‘speaking like a twat’ thing.”
Canteen Girl (re Herrick): “He’s gonna rip Mitchell’s head off.”

Nina: “Who are you?”
Annie: “Annie. I saw you at the house.”
Nina: “No, you didn’t. What are you talking about?”
Annie: “No, you’re right. I haven’t. I haven’t.”

With Mitchell joking about action figures, it’ll be amazing to see how long before ones actually surface from the characters in this series.

Herrick (to Mitchell/George/Annie): “So a werewolf, a ghost and a vampire decide to live like humans do. They get jobs, a house and a TV licence. They make friends they lie to, take lover they will infect. In fact, the only part of humanity they successfully adopt is it’s ability to deceive and destroy. All in all, I’d say your little scheme has been something of a failure.”

Herrick: “I realise now that was my role. If I’m going to hell, then I’m taking you with me.”
George: “Haven’t you worked it out yet? Humanity is about love and sacrifice. This doesn’t rob me of my humanity, it proves it.”

Standout music: Good selection here with Duffy’s “Mercy”, Bloc Party’s “Where Is Home” and Johnny Cash’s “When The Man Comes Around”.

Annie (re George): “Maybe he’s fine with it.”
Mitchell: “He killed someone.”
Annie: “Does Herrick count as someone?”

Chronology: Exactly where the previous episode left off.

For a first season with such a high standard of writing, the finale was brilliant. I know we’ve had better episode in the series but this was certainly a good way to end things while neatly setting up events for the next season. Here’s to 2010.

Rating: 9 out of 10.