My Review of The Sarah Jane Adventures 5x02: "The Curse Of Clyde Langer"

Written by Phil Ford
Directed by Ashley Way

Clyde (re begging): “You do this every day? Even in the rain?”
Ellie: “You’re hungry, I’m hungry. It’s either this or going through bins. I’ve done that too.”

I’ve said it enough times about this show and I’ll say it again – it doesn’t matter how much this show is billed as a kids series, it’s just amazing how much it refuses to dumb things down for the younger audiences. Even the topic of homelessness (which I wasn’t expecting to see here) is handled in a realistic manner without being patronising to the core audience.

Homelessness is always going to an issue in society and this story nicely highlighted that it’s a fate that can fall on anyone from any kind of a background. Ellie Faber explained that rather succinctly to Clyde when she took him to a soup kitchen because for this story alone, Clyde became a victim of society turning it’s back on him.

Daniel Anthony has always been one of the best things about this series and Clyde has certainly progressed as a character throughout the five series we’ve had and here is the story which really did him justice both for his acting abilities and his character too. Who would’ve thought the whole world would turn against Clyde Langer?

It’s exactly what they did do though and all because Clyde happened to get a nasty splinter of a totem pole of the god Hetocumtek in a museum and it was certainly an effective curse. I think having it set into place the moment his name was mentioned was actually really clever but led to a series of mishaps for Clyde.

His scene with Sarah Jane where she was admiring his drawing and then soured towards him after his name was mentioned was interesting. Even I got a little upset for Clyde when she turned on him for his friendly teasing of Luke and then forced him to leave her house. Of course the other two important people in his life quickly followed.

Rani launched into a tirade about how much she hated him and Haresh seemed to have a certain glee in excluding him from school (either that or I’ve been seeing Ace Bhatti too much as Yusef in EastEnders nowadays) as well but having even Carla turn on Clyde seemed to hammer home the most how bad things were for him.

I guess the least was that Steve fella who we only met here but it was nice that Clyde actually tried to find out about the curse with the totem pole before Dr Madigan turned on him as well. In the end, the only person Clyde had in his corner from his point of view was Ellie and that was because she didn’t know his name.

I liked the connection that Clyde forged with Ellie in this one. He showed her kindness earlier in the episode by giving her money for a sandwich but didn’t seem too sympathetic to her plight until he was put in the same position and got a better understanding. It also helped tremendously that Lily Loveless had such a good rapport with Daniel Anthony as well for this story.

I’m not sure if the romantic subplot between Clyde and Ellie was actually needed but it worked nicely enough too because it was subtle and the actors played well with each other. I also have to admit that I was relieved when Ellie’s talk of the Night Dragon actually turned out to be something more helpful to the homeless than harmless. I still have memories of homeless people on another show winding up as Cybermen.

I also hope that the incident with the Night Dragon meant that Ellie got a better life than the one she was enduring on the streets but it’s a shame that she’s gone too. I quite liked the character and it was nice to have seen Clyde forge a connection with someone who wasn’t in the Bannerman Road gang.

Of course Ellie wasn’t the only person that was in Clyde’s corner. I don’t give a monkey’s how ‘Mary Sue’ it was but I actually liked the fact that Sky was unaffected by the curse too and quickly realised how it was being triggered. Even if she is an alien, it’s nice to see her figuring things out and being helpful and if it wasn’t for her, then Clyde never would’ve been able to defeat Hetocumtek.

The defeat of the god seemed a lot simpler by comparison to everything else that actually happened in the story but it’s a minor quibble for such a quality story. It’s also wonderful to see (when he’s not being shunned) hoe well this new team of sorts are banding together. It actually feels like Sky has always been a part of the gang in a way, doesn’t it?

Also in “The Curse Of Clyde Langer”

The episode opened with Clyde asking a question about the storm of trout and it turned out he was asking the question to Ellie. Also, I liked the change of cliff hanger moment at the end of the first part. It definitely suited the tone of the story.

Clyde (to Ellie): “Where were you the day of the storm? You know the one I mean. No-one’s ever gonna forget that.”

One again, this episode played on Clyde’s drawing talents, including a moment where him and Ellie thought to make money from it.

Haresh: “Excuse me, Sarah Jane, Sky. Some of our pupils have an overdeveloped sense of humour.”

Sky: “I love this planet. Just when you think you get fish in the sea, then they start coming out from the sky.”

I know with the cuts to the BBC that most kids programming has been relegated to the digital channels but it is a shame this series isn’t airing on BBC.

Sky: “So what’s in a museum?”
Rani: “Dead things mostly.”

Sky (re totem pole): “Isn’t it pretty?”
Rani: “I think the word you’re looking for is creepy.”

This story did actually state how natural it is for some fish to actually fall out of the sky if they’re caught up in a tornado but not fish as big as trout though.

Clyde: “This is crazy.”
Sarah Jane: “You want crazy, I’ll give you crazy.”

Sky (to Sarah Jane): “Why do I have to be brave at school? Will people try to hurt me there?”

We found out from Rani that her parents met in a museum and why was Luke (not seen on screen) affected by the curse as well if Sky wasn’t?

Ellie (to Clyde): “If you had a row with your folks, go home. With any luck, you’ll be nice and warm in bed tonight.”

Mystic Mags: “Something bad is coming?”
Clyde: “You mean like the Night Dragon?”

Mystic Mags was played by Angela Pleasance who played Liz the first in “The Shakespeare Code”.

Rani (to Haresh, re Clyde): “I don’t know. It’s like something’s wrong. It feels like I’ve lost something really special and I don’t know what it is.”

Sarah Jane: “None of this makes sense, Sky.”
Sky (re Clyde): “You turning your back on him doesn’t make sense. Even his mum’s thrown him out.”

Clyde’s opening narration has been tweaked a little to talk about Sky. He referred to her as Sarah Jane’s adopted daughter.

Clyde (to Hetocumtek): “My name is Clyde Langer.”

Chronology: Not sure how much time has passed since “Sky” to be honest but I don’t think it’s been a lot.

I think as a story, “The Curse Of Clyde Langer” really is a personal best for the series. It might not have focused on the alien in question as heavily but what we got here was a fantastic character piece for Clyde and with one more story to go, this show will be a loss to TVs everywhere.

Rating: 9 out of 10

A Sacrifice Or Two

And here's the second of my TV jumble blog.

Downton Abbey: I can't believe how addictive this show has become. Okay, this season isn't as good as the first but it's still worthy TV and it's making the BBC looking further silly for putting Spooks against it. The last few episodes have had some interesting plot strands and a a few disappointing ones. The lack of danger that Matthew and William were put in falls into the latter category but Ethel's pregnancy, Edith's brief dalliance with a married man, Mary's vocal abilities, Anna/Bates back on track, Cora vs. Isobel over the convalescent home and the politics between Sybil and Branson along with the briefness of Lang and O'Brien and Thomas's scheming have been fun to watch. I can't believe there's only four episodes left to go.

Merlin - Is it me or has this show gone progressively darker as it's gone on? I mean, there's still plenty of humour but this opening two parter felt darker than last years. The Calleach was a good threat (compared to Morgana and Aggravaine) and both Morgause and Lancelot's sacrifices were certainly memorable too. Storywise, I am liking the new dynamic with the main characters and for once, I'm actually feeling bad for Uther and hoping that Morgana gets a clue and realises that Emerys is Merlin. Oh and the Knights certainly add a little something as well, don't they?

Smallville: An interesting set of episodes dealing with Clark and Lois's relationship and giving us more plot strands from the parallel world stuff than before. It did mean an appearance from Jonathan, which I can't complain and the episode that featured Booster was decent enough to watch as well but again, we need more on Darkseid and with four episodes left, it does feel like they're slacking a bit there.

The Vampire Diaries: I wish TG4 would air this show earlier in the year. That way I wouldn't have to worry about Season 3 (which ITV2 are now airing) while watching the final third of Season 2. Bringing back John Gilbert has been fine but Isobel's return and subsequent death and Katherine being captured and reintroduced to Klaus (in Alaric's body) has been more of a highlight. Say what you want about this show but with episodes like that, it really can deliver.

The X Factor: Not really going to bother with the American version (though my sister loves it) but the UK version, we've done the judges houses and the first live performances resulted in 16 acts becoming 12. I can see why James and Amelia had to go but both Jon Jo and 2 Shoes could've lasted for another week or two. Oh and Louis Walsh, contrary to what you think - it is a singing competition. Or at least it very well should be. And much respect to Caroline Flack on The Xtra Factor for putting the usual rent a mob in their place. Fair enough if you don't like Kitty but I wish that lot would shut the hell up about it already.


- Rose Leslie has been cast as Ygritte in the second season of Game Of Thrones. HBO have announced the series return in April 2012.
- Emma Caulfield will be playing the Blind Witch in an upcoming episode of Once About A Time.
- ABC have started work on a version of comedy Suburban Shootout. Maybe they'll have more luck than HBO did.
- Despite being killed off in the opening episode, it turns out that Misha Collins will be returning to Supernatural as Castiel in the near future.
- Channel 5 have acquired the rights to the new series of Dallas, which they'll air next year.
- Denise Richards will guest star in an upcoming episode of 30 Rock.

Run The World, Brittany

And here is one of two TV blogs. Next one is tomorrow.

Glee - Great set of episodes of here. The second one seemed to deal all too quickly with Quinn's downward spiral but the reintroduction of Shelby and a second club which Mercedes ended up joining after the third episode was an interesting. Actually, the third episode was the best we've had - much needed focus on Mike's family, Emma's family (and Will being the supportive partner) and Mercedes being called out on her laziness as well. Plus Brittany at her flash mobbing best bid for Class President means that Kurt is probably going to lose another role pretty soon. Too bad we have to wait a month for more episodes though.

Shameless - Is it weird that I've enjoyed the second half 0f the series more than first half? The 100th episode felt like a return to form and the fact that Kev briefly returned and it was written by creator Paul Abbot certainly helped matters. But it still isn't perfect. I couldn't care less about Aidan as a character, Shane/Kelly's marital problems seemed to come out of nowhere, Mimi and Billy are still wrong to watch and Marty's return was ultimately pointless in the end. And Frank has got to go - he's become the epitome of cannon fodder now.

The Apprentice Ireland: Ah, I missed this show and funnily, I actually prefer it (slightly) to the UK one. Speaking of the UK one, this one has adopted the same stratagem this year with Bill going into business with one lucky hopeful instead of giving them a job. So far, I don't like any of them and while Ashling was an incompetent PM (read the fecking brief, woman), I would've fired Chris a lot quicker. He's a big character - yeah, right. Still, the next 11 weeks should be fun though.
The Fades: I'm at a crossroads with this show. Every time I feel underwhelmed, something drags back to watching it. The second episode was incredibly dreary (apart from Mac's daddy issues) but the third one sort of made up for it. Paul with wings and then Paul in a coma was interesting, Helen crossing over, Neil getting Mark to talk to Sarah (she's still here) and then Mark getting arrested for his estranged wife's disappearance and the arrival of John at the end. I hope this means the second half of the series delivers, especially with Anna and Jay, who are the weaker characters of the bunch.

This Is Jinsy: Every now and then, I see a programme so unimaginably horrible, I find myself at a loss as to why anyone in their right mind would commission such a show. Sky1 - what the hell were you thinking? Were you that hard up for new programmes you allowed this dreck to be subjected to a public audience? If you haven't seen it (and I only watched it for David Tennant and Catherine Tate's episodes), really don't bother. It tries to be akin to the likes of The League Of Gentlemen but it's nowhere near that level of entertaining. Avoid like the fucking plague.

- The Simpsons has been renewed for two extras seasons, courtesy of FOX. I guess that salary dispute got sorted then.
- Both The Playboy Club and Free Agents have become the first shows to get the axe for this season. I wonder what other shows will follow.
- Amber Benson will play a stripper in the 10th episode of Ringer, who Victor comes into contact with.
- Alice Evans will be playing Esther, the mother of Klaus in an upcoming episode of The Vampire Diaries (ITV2 are airing Season 3 tomorrow at 9pm).
- Irish viewers will see Pan Am first when RTE2 air it Mondays at 9pm from October 17th.
- Kristin Bauer will be played Maleficent in an upcoming episode of Once Upon A Time.

My Review of Ringer's 1x02: "She's Ruining Everything"

Written by Eric Charmelo And Nicole Snyder
Directed by Rob Bailey

Bridget: “I’m sorry.”
Siobhan: “You’re not sorry, you’re selfish.”
Bridget: “Come on, Shiv, I need you tonight.”
Siobhan: “No, you just need someone to clean up your mess and I’m over it.”

First thing is first – this was the episode that made me want to review the series, not because it’s a masterpiece but more down to this show’s potential but more importantly, when it comes to Siobhan, I think I speak for everyone when I say that we need more on the woman and preferably sooner than later.

A flashback to her and Bridget at a bar and a scene where she’s narked about being cleaned out of her secret account are well and good but seriously, more is needed for Siobhan. What the hell is she running away from that she’s in Paris and why does it seem like she wants Bridget out of the picture? I don’t want to wait too long to find out the answers to both of those questions.

I sided with Siobhan in the flashback scenes though. She had every right to be furious with Bridget during that scene. I have a feeling this was one time too many that Bridget relied on Siobhan to get her out of sticky situations and I think it was the first of several incidents that caused them to estranged.

I forgot how amusing Sarah Michelle Gellar is when it comes to playing drunk. Maybe it’s time I watched “Beer Bad” again to find out. Bridget was in an awful place nine years ago with herself and the writers were able to make a not at all subtle parallel between the way Bridget used to be and the way Juliet is currently behaving.

I actually left watching this episode liking Juliet more than I expected too. Every though her hedonism seemed to a way of manipulating sympathy for the character, I liked that it served as a neat catalyst for Bridget to maintain her pretence as Siobhan, though it still amazes through Andrew and Juliet how well they seem to respond to the more sympathetic and agreeable version of Siobhan.

Juliet let her guard down long enough for Bridget to help her and even let her comfort her and Andrew through the antics at the cocktail party finally felt like his wife was on his side again. Again, it’s amazing how much damage Siobhan seems to have caused to both of them that Bridget is sort of repairing.

But it’s also interesting that Gemma doesn’t seem all that suspicious of Bridget though. I don’t know how long Siobhan and Gemma have been friends (probably as long as Siobhan and Andrew have been together/married) but isn’t it odd that Gemma doesn’t seem a little more perturbed by her mate’s niceness?

Or Siobhan was always jovial and warm with Gemma (apart from the sleeping with Henry bits) and that’s part of the reason why Gemma doesn’t seem that suspicious by comparison. Also keeping with Gemma, this was another good one for her. I liked that she pieced things about Henry being a cheat and even though she slapped the wrong woman, she managed to be the most entertaining thing about that cocktail party in the loft after all and I also found Bridget’s advice to Gemma about Henry rather interesting too.

Of course if Gemma’s not a potential threat to Bridget posing as her sister, then something tells me that Andrew’s business partner Olivia has the makings of a big threat. Olivia did very little to reign in her hostility towards ‘Siobhan’ and that comment about getting pregnant as a strategy definitely suggested to me that Bridget should watch her back with Olivia. I wouldn’t be surprised if something happens in the next episodes to have Olivia gunning for her.

Speaking of gunning for Bridget/Siobhan – Victor really is like a dog with a bone. I read somewhere that he was being compared to Paul Ballard and I have to admit, it’s a fair enough comparison, though Victor has yet to be that annoying. With any luck, Victor is smart enough not to be irritating.

Also, I suppose his suspicious nature should be seen as a good thing. He might not have copped on to the fact that Bridget is posing as Siobhan but he certainly had a way of getting under her skin during the party as well. I do hope there’s more in store for Victor than his pursuit of Bridget because he could end up being one dimensional if there isn’t anything else.

As for Malcolm – the one person who actually knows what the hell Bridget’s up to and it looks like he’s going to pay for it. I really hope that he doesn’t wind up killed by Bodaway and his cronies but I certainly get the impression that he’s in for some bad times ahead. Bridget better come to his aid when that happens.

Also, wasn’t there a thing with a body this week? I loved Bridget’s many efforts to keep people from discovering that she had killed someone in self defence but I totally saw the fact that the body would disappear at the end of the episode. And that strange man at the party – clearly he’s one of a few reasons as to why Siobhan’s in hiding, right?

Also in “She’s Ruining Everything”

There’s a nice opening narration from Bridget explaining the events of the series so far. I wonder if we’ll get that every week.

Andrew: “It’s not just you anymore, Shiv. You have to think for two now.”
Bridget: “I know.”
Andrew: “Please do as you’re told for once.”

We learned in this episode that Malcolm is a college professor. One of his students met him during the nick of time as well.

Malcolm: “Bridge, you gotta stop telling me what to do. Let me help you.”
Bridget: “How?”
Malcolm: “If I can’t come to you, meet me halfway.”

Gemma: “You have an answer for everything.”
Henry: “Only when it’s the truth. Look, I’m not having an affair, you gotta believe me.”

Olivia was played Jamie Murray who has the likes of Dexter, Hustle and Warehouse 13 to her credits. Her character also seems to be British too.

Bridget: “I know where you’re headed and it’s not pretty.”
Juliet: “What the hell do you know?”
Bridget: “A lot more than you think.”

Olivia (to Bridget, re Andrew): “Do you mind if I steal your husband?”

Victor seems to have a thing for old buildings. He knew exactly how Siobhan’s loft had been used in both the 1920s and 1960s.

Bridget: “Did you come here to give me a history lesson?”
Victor: “Nah, I love old buildings, I love them. The history, I love the architecture.”

Bridget: “Getting pregnant isn’t a strategy.”
Olivia: “It is if you need to hold onto your husband.”

Standout music: Lifehouse’s “Everything”. If I remember correctly that was also used during the first year of Smallville.

Andrew: “It’s been a long time since I felt like you were on my side but tonight; it was like I had the old Siobhan back. Don’t go away again.”

Siobhan (to an unknown person, re Bridget): “She’s ruining everything, it has to get done. Sooner rather than later.”

Chronology: Pretty much from where the “Pilot” left off.

“She’s Ruining Everything” was certainly a better episode than the first one. While the show definitely has some things to iron out, I really cannot help but find this series enjoyable. I certainly hope the CW give it a chance to flourish and don’t pull it too quickly from the airwaves.

Rating: 7 out of 10

The Voice - Ireland/UK Update

Well, it won't be until 2012 until we can whether or not The Voice will be a success for both Irish and UK viewers as it has been in the US but at least both of them have announced at least one out of the four respective judges for their versions.

The first judge announced for the UK version turns out to be Jessie J, which was interesting considering that we recently saw her helping Tulisa pick her four groups for The X Factor at judges houses last week. I like Jessie J and let's face it, it's been a great week for her - first with the announcement of this gig and then her four MOBO wins as well. This is a good start. Hope the remaining three are just as good.

It's also something of a relief that Ireland seem to be taking this seriously as well. Maybe Sharon Corr isn't everyone's flavour of the month but at least she has experience/reasonable success within the Irish music industry and if the other three judges are also people who know what they're talking about, maybe our version won't be a giant farce like The All Ireland Talent Show.

My Review of The Sarah Jane Adventures 5x01: "Sky"

Written by Phil Ford
Directed by Ashley Way

Sarah Jane (to Sky): “Yes, this is your home for as long as you want it to be.”

Okay, to get the elephant out of the review first – I have to admit that reviewing this story (as well as watching it) was something of a strange experience. It’s been nearly six months since the tragic death of Elisabeth Sladen and when watching this story, it’s hard not to note that a new chapter within the show’s history will now never be completed.

Of course that doesn’t stop this from being a wonderful opening story for the fifth and final series but it’s also a case of ‘we’ve done this before’ with the titular character of this story. Sky in a lot of ways is a new version of Luke.

She’s an alien designed as a weapon that is then neutralised (shades of Melody Pond to an extent too) and also one that Sarah Jane ends up taking in by the end of this story. Unlike Luke though, she actually does spend the first half of this story as a baby before being turned into a twelve year old girl.

Sky’s arrival was definitely not a coincidence in many ways. Apart from the cryptic cameo appearance from the Captain and the Shopkeeper at the end of the story alluding to Sky purposely being sent to Sarah Jane to look after, there’s also the fact that our regular kids have grown up.

The show has made no effort in denying it. Luke’s off on his own adventures in college and we got a brief snap of Sarah Jane feeling lonely without him and Clyde and Rani have both matured over the last couple of seasons as well. Having a baby land on Sarah Jane’s doorstep really was a blessing for her and the series in it’s own right as well.

Sky might not have shown the kind of intelligence that Luke is blessed with but the way that both her laughing and crying has a means of causing chaos was definitely fun to watch, especially when Gita herself at the end of the story showed some surprising suspicion to the older version of Sky as well. I’m beginning to wonder if this means some trouble ahead in the next two stories as well.

Of course, getting back to the weapon element of Sky – just like Luke, poor Sky had the misfortune of having another rubbish mother/creature in the form of Miss Myers. I’ll keep it blunt – Myers is an alright adversary but there’s very little than seems to distinguish from the likes of Miss Wormwood. In fact, you could easily argue that she’s little more than a carbon copy of the character.

Myers mission as a member of the Fleshkind (the same species as Sky) was to wipe out her enemies, the Metalkind by using Sky as a bomb and the arrival of a Metalkind on Earth and the Sarah Jane gang more or less put the kibosh into her grand scheming to an extent, even though Myers certainly did her best to also use the Earth as the same place where the Metalkind would perish as well.

I knew that throughout the episode and with the amount of time that the grown up Sky had spent with Sarah Jane, Clyde and Rani that their influence would end up saving the day. Sky absorbed the energy to save the day and also managed to deactivate herself as a bomb but with some spark left in her too.

As for Myers – not too surprised that the Metalkind was able to transport her back to it’s planet and if this show had made further stories, I would easily bet that Miss Myers would’ve been brought back. Sure, she seemed to be happy to dump Sky when the girl was neutralised but she would’ve changed her mind at a later date. That’s an obvious guarantee.

As for the new dynamic between Sarah Jane and Sky – it should definitely be an interesting one to watch in the next two stories. Sky might have a lot to learn about being a twelve year old girl on Earth but she certainly knows where her loyalties lie. Her deliberate defiance of Sarah Jane’s order at the power station was indicative of her own desires to help out and it will be interesting to see Luke cope with a younger sister as well.

Clyde and Rani meanwhile were great with both Sarah Jane and Sky as well as contributing to defeating Myers as well but as they are getting older, is part of Sky’s introduction a way of telling us that they might have left the series after this season? I guess we’ll never really know now, will we?

Also in “Sky”

You can tell it’s this show because the episode opened with another monologue of Sarah Jane discussing how life on Earth can be an adventure. I still like them though.

Sarah Jane: “Life here can be an adventure too but after all my adventures, the last thing I expected was a family and that’s been the most amazing adventure of them all.”

This story along with the remaining two - “The Curse Of Clyde Langer” and “The Man Who Wasn’t There” were filmed along with Series 4.

Sarah Jane (re Sky): “A teenager I can handle but a baby, an alien baby, I need help.”
Rani: “Don’t look at me.”
Clyde: “Or me, obviously.”

Miss Myers: “Don’t worry baby, mummy’s coming to get you.”

The guy who played Caleb (the main fella under Myers influence) also appeared in Torchwood’s “Captain Jack Harkness”

Professor Rivers: “Wait for me, I’m in wellingtons.”

Miss Myers: “Get in if you want the child to live.”
Clyde: “Who are you?”
Miss Myers: “I’m her mother.”

Nice mention of the Doctor in this episode but no mention of K9? What is the metal dog up to nowadays?

Clyde: “Typical. I’m in the middle of a nuclear station and I’m carrying baby bang-bang.”

Metalkind: “I am too late.”
Miss Myers: “Face your destruction, Metalkind, the child is your doom.”
Sky: “What’s happening to me?”

Clyde gave Sky the nickname of ‘Sparky’ and we learned that both the Fleshkind and Metalkind have planets located in the Tornado Nebula.

Sky: “Everything is so green.”
Rani: “This is England. It rains most of the time.”

Sarah Jane (to Caleb): “Good, now take me to your leader.”

I have to admit that I love the friendship between Sarah Jane and Celeste Rivers that’s been developing over the last few series. Nice use of the professor in this one too.

Sarah Jane: “You’re wasting your time; I will never give you Sky.”
Miss Myers: “It doesn’t matter. The child is primed to activate on the vast energy of the Metalkind.”

Rani: “Did you just see that?”
Clyde: “Yeah, I reckon Sparky hasn’t totally lost her spark.”

Chronology: I’m assuming it’s set within 2011 but I’m not sure how much time has passed since “Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith”.

For an opening story, “Sky” might have been familiar ground rethreaded on once again but it was genuinely hard not to love the story for it’s merits. A great introduction for the character of Sky (both her and Luke really could pass for siblings), nice character moments and personally, I can’t wait for the last two stories.

Rating: 8 out of 10

The Simpsons - To Be Canned Or Not?

It's been running for 23 seasons but it seems like the time could be up for The Simpsons. Reports have surfaced that the long running FOX comedy cartoon could end because of a salary dispute and the ratings taking a tumble. So should it end?

I think maybe so. I love The Simpsons and literally catch nearly everyday (let's face it, it's bloody hard not to) but recent series just haven't been that great and the celeb cameos that use to be enjoyable from time to time have become somewhat intrusive to the series.

But at the same time, I can't imagine the series not producing new episodes. Love it or loathe it, it's a bloody iconic show and it's certainly better than other cartoon families (and live action) ones. I suppose we'll know in due course what the show's eventual fate will be.

My Review of Doctor Who's "Death Is The Only Answer"

Written by The Children Of Oakley Junior School
Directed by Richard Senior

Einstein: “I made it, I’ll do the tests.”
The Doctor: “That’s the 20th century physicists for you. Always wanting to do it themselves.”

We’re really at a point now where we can’t seem to move for these special little scenes and following the end of Series 6, we now have another one written by school children. To me, this just goes to show how much this show’s popularity is not waning with the youngsters.

The scene itself is brief but fun. You’ve got Albert Einstein (Nikolas Grace) inside the TARDIS due to the connection with his fez – the very one the Doctor nicked from him and he’s come up with a formula for time travel. Except he didn’t because it just went and turned him into an Ood.

Of course, the effect didn’t last too long (the Doctor managed to reverse it rather snappily) and there’s more fun to be had with the friendly sniping between the Doctor and Einstein than focusing too heavily on the latter’s attempts of perfecting time travel. Still, though the Doctor should give Einstein back his fez already.

- This episode aired during the final episode of Doctor Who Confidential but it can be found on YouTube as well.
- Matt Smith actually wrote fanfiction with the Doctor/Einstein when preparing for playing the Doctor.
- Amy and Rory did not appear in this story but River was mentioned at the start of it.
- It’s hard to determine when the chronology for this is – perhaps after “Closing Time”? For Einstein, it was 1945.

A fun, lively little but I’m hoping that “Death Is The Only Answer” isn’t the only time this version of the Doctor meets Einstein. Surely, he should be a dead cert for Series 7, right?

Rating: 8 out of 10.

My Review of Doctor Who's 6x13: "The Wedding Of River Song"

Written by Steven Moffat
Directed by Jeremy Webb

River: “Then you better kiss the bride.”
The Doctor: “I’ll make it a good one.”
River: “You better.”

I don’t care about semantics folks because as far as I am concerned Moffat just went and did it – he actually married the Doctor and River. He just went and made the eternal bachelor a married man. So, how come I’m not irritated by it?

I’d like to say it was down to River actually being a likeable/interesting enough character for the Doctor to marry or maybe it was the childish pleasure I took in seeing certain folks on internet forums going bananas over it but either way, it didn’t bother me. Maybe I don’t fit the ‘stereotype’ of a fan of the series after all.

In fact I think it was down to the fact that not only was it more literal than the alleged marriages to Liz 1 and Marilyn Monroe but also because in the series style, it wasn’t a straightforward type of a wedding. The Doctor didn’t just marry River because he might truly love her. He married her so she would fulfil her role in bringing about his death.

Even being forced into astronaut suit and left at Lake Silencio didn’t mean that River was going to kill the Doctor completely. She actually surpassed herself in draining the suit’s weaponry and spared the Doctor against his wishes. By doing that, River also opened up a world of trouble in her wake too.

Here we got a world where time was all playing out at the same time, forever stuck on a particular date and the only person at the start trying to figure what the heck was going on was Churchill. I might not have liked Churchill’s ill treatment of the Doctor but at least he was trying to get his captive soothsayer to fess up to what was going on.

Visually, the first few minutes was impressive stuff – cars on hot air balloons, Charles Dickens being interviewed on live TV, pterodactyls scaring kids and Emperor Winston Churchill lamenting about Cleopatra whilst trying to get the Doctor to open up more about River’s disruption to the world.

I liked seeing the Doctor and Churchill chewing the fat in those scenes, though the arrival of General Amy Pond and her army of hot soldiers around the time the Silence decided to attack was actually a lot more welcoming. Was there any doubt that Amy and Captain Williams (that’s Rory to the rest of us) were gonna show up to help the Doctor and their daughter once again?

Turning a pyramid in Cairo into Area 52 with a bunch of captive Silents and a sneering Kovarian was definitely an interesting move. I loved the little bits during these moments – the Doctor and Amy’s reunion, Amy’s method for trying to retain her memories, the use of the eye patches, the Doctor trying to set Amy and Rory up and of course, even Kovarian’s clear disgust over the Doctor and River’s flirting was amusing to watch.

That being said though, it did make the attack of the Silence feel somewhat slight by comparison. Even Kovarian’s comeuppance probably could’ve done with a little more screen time too but there’s no way in hell I’m going to complain about Amy leaving Kovarian to her fate. It was a nice way of showing us that Amy was affected by losing her daughter and she did show some remorse for it in a later scene as well.

As for the Doctor getting out of being killed – nice one, Moffat. I assumed that the Gangers plot would end up being used again but the Tesselecta disguised as the Time Lord instead was actually an interesting manoeuvre on the Doctor’s part. For me, because of the surprise factor, it actually worked better than if a Ganger version of the Doctor had been used instead.

Of course the more interesting part of the Doctor’s faked death was down to him wanting to erase his own fame. I think it’s an interesting concept that the Doctor wants to step back and not be as noisy as he used to be but will it realistically work in the long run? Let’s face it, the Doctor’s knack for attracting trouble is more than enough to ensure that it might not actually work in the long run.

Plus, considering that Amy, Rory and River are also aware of him still being alive (along with Dorium too), I still don’t know if they’re completely safe from Kovarian and the Silence (Amy killed a Kovarian in an aborted time line) or other big threats out there. Plus, it does seem depressing if the likes of Martha, Jack, Sarah Jane, Jo and Mickey also think he’s dead.

As for Dorium – great use for the character in this one. So what exactly is the fall of the Eleventh and what’s so great/horrible about Trenzalore in the Doctor’s future that the Silence came up with this plan to kill him in order to prevent? This finale might have answered some questions but it definitely did not waste any time in actually setting up new ones, including a particular question as well. I’m looking forward to seeing how that pans out.

Also in “The Wedding Of River Song”

I just realised this is the third finale in a row to feature wedding. We’ve already had Donna/Shaun, Amy/Rory and now Doctor/River. I now think we should get that gay gypsy bar mitzvah for the disabled next series.

Churchill: “Explain to me in terms I can understand. What happened to time?”
The Doctor: “A woman.”

Malokeh from “The Hungry Earth”/“Cold Blood” was Churchill’s doctor in this one and we briefly saw a Paradigm Dalek as well.

Churchill: “You mentioned a woman.”
The Doctor: “Yes, I’m getting to her.”
Churchill: “What’s she like? Attractive I assume.”
The Doctor: “Hell in high heels.”

Dorium: “Would you like to know what it is?”
The Doctor: “Yes.”
Dorium: “Are you sure? Very, very sure?”
The Doctor: “Of course.”
Dorium: “Then I shall tell you but on your very head, be it.”

The Headless Monks kept Dorium in better condition because he was rich. I liked that he got a media chip installed in him for entertainment purposes in the same that Churchill’s downloads comment made me laugh.

The Doctor (to Churchill): “All this time, I didn’t realise it was my silence, my death. The Doctor will fall.”

The Doctor: “What have you done?”
River: “Well, I think I’ve just drained my weapons system.”

The older version of Canton briefly appeared in this episode as well during the retelling of “The Impossible Astronaut” and Mark Gatiss played Gantok as well.

Amy: “What’s wrong with you?”
The Doctor: “I’m still alive.”

The Doctor: “Hi, honey I’m home.”
River: “And what sort of time do you call this?”

While I was pleased with the mentions of Rose and Jack in this episode, I have to applaud Steven Moffat for having the Doctor find out that the Brigadier had died a few months ago. That was a lovely tribute to Nicholas Courtney.

River: “Am I the woman who marries you or murders you?”
The Doctor: “I don’t want to marry you.”
River: “I don’t want to murder you.”

Amy: “We’re doing this for you.”
The Doctor: “People are dying for me. I won’t thank you for that, Amelia Pond.”

After six series, Doctor Who Confidential was cancelled by BBC3 and the one for this was the series last. It’s a shame about that. Oh and I’ll review the Doctor/Einstein scene “Death Is The Only Answer” tomorrow.

Madame Kovarian: “Amy, help me.”
Amy: “You took my baby and hurt her and now she’s all grown up and she’s fine and I’ll never see my baby again.”

Rory: “I’m not sure I completely understand.”
Amy (re River): “Um, we got married, had a baby and that’s her.”

River appeared to Amy during the last scene fresh from the Byzantium, which tied nicely to their first meeting last series.

The Doctor: “I got too big, Dorium, too noisy. Time to step back into the shadows.”

Chronology: April 22nd 2011 for a good portion of the episode and there was a title card saying the show will be back at Christmas.

As a finale, there’s a part of me that kind of thought “The Wedding Of River Song” should’ve either been a two parter or an hour long but watching the episode at least twice more, I actually think this was an incredibly interesting (and surprisingly straightforward) way of ending this current series. It’s gonna be a hell of a wait for the next series but it’ll be worth it though.

Rating: 10 out of 10

My Review of Ringer's 1x01: "Pilot"

Written by Eric Charmelo And Nicole Snyder
Directed by Richard Shepard

Bridget (to an attacker): “You have the wrong girl.”

I debated about taking this show on permanently and after watching the first two episodes, the decision became clearer. I’m taking this series on for the foreseeable future because while it’s neither perfect nor groundbreaking as a series, there’s a lot of potential here and if the show survives on the air long enough, perhaps it will get the chance to realise it.

It’s been eight years since Sarah Michelle Gellar was last on TV (apparently she was in some series about vampires, never heard of it myself) and watching this opening episode again made me realise that a) I really missed her and b) she’s one of those actresses who works better on television than in movies, so that’s another reason as to why I’d like to see this show thrive.

The general premise is interesting – Bridget Kelly, a former stripper on the run from some nasty fella because she witnessed the murder of another stripper who also happens to be a recovering alcoholic who decides to skip FBI custody the night before the trial that could’ve freed her of the same man she’s terrified will kill her.

In less than five minutes we learnt a lot about Bridget and the most important thing was that she happened to have a twin sister named Siobhan Martin, her polar opposite in many ways. Siobhan seemed the more together twin – rich husband, a secret lover, annoying stepdaughter, nice weekend place but of course, the relationship between both sisters is an interesting driving point.

Apart from the clothing and some slight mannerisms, Gellar and the series will have to do a bit more to really highlight the differences between Bridget and Siobhan but we’re off to a decent start. I liked the initial meeting between both sisters, and more so what seemed to be set up in it’s wake.

Bridget wanted forgiveness from Siobhan about Sean but Siobhan cut her down by saying she was already forgiven and then the two of them went on a nice boat ride together. I know that scene has been heavily criticised but I didn’t really mind it all that much. Sure, it was cheesy but I’ve seen worse and it did result in setting up a nice chain of events.

Even if the trailers hadn’t spoiled the fact that Siobhan was actually still alive (way to spoil the ending for this episode, CW), I doubt there would’ve been many people who would’ve believed that Siobhan was actually dead anyways.

So, what exactly is Siobhan up to herself? Is this some attempt of getting even with Bridget or is she in a similar position to her sister and needs to be in hiding too? Hopefully this show will be wise enough not to over stretch that mystery. It would be nice to know at least in the first half of the series why Siobhan is suddenly hiding from everyone in Paris.

As for Bridget – boy, she was quick. While it made sense that she didn’t actually report her sister’s disappearance and made some attempt of looking for her, it did seem like she was a little too eager to assume her sister’s identity at the time. Thankfully though, if Bridget thought Siobhan’s life was totally idyllic, then the rest of the episode gave her a little wake up call on that one.

So, where to begin with Siobhan’s life? The family stuff seems to be the obvious choice. Andrew immediately found Bridget suspicious when she was behaving too nicely and in a terribly predictable move, Juliet seemed to hate her stepmother’s guts as well. Still, Andrew at least softened when he found out that ‘Siobhan’ was four weeks pregnant which means Bridget really is in a trick situation, besides having to deal with hitmen coming after her.

As for Siobhan sleeping with her best mate Gemma’s husband – Henry, ooh bad move. Sure, he’s cute but he was also incredibly annoying in this episode that instead of Gemma investigating who her hubby’s screwing around, I actually hope she sleeps with a contractor instead. Well, she did get a good one liner out of it and despite being a little overly perky, I actually found myself liking Gemma more than I thought I would.

Of course, another thing to tie Bridget and Siobhan together would be FBI man Victor Machado. I like Nestor Carbonell as an actor and hopefully, Victor will become more and more fleshed out as the series runs. He’s definitely the strongest of the leading men and it was nice that even before getting evidence about Bridget being in East Hamptons, he was suspicious enough of Siobhan.

The last important character then was Malcolm – Bridget’s sponsor. I really hope that Bridget genuinely likes him because it does seem like he’s very sweet on her, doesn’t it? That being said, it was rather stupid for Bridget to phone him up and tell him about Siobhan. She only went and put the poor fella in danger by doing that.

Also in “Ringer”

Originally this show was meant for CBS but they passed on it and the CW stepped in at the last minute.

Bridget (at the AA meeting): “I keep reminding myself mistakes aren’t tragedies but please higher power, help me learn from them.”

Both Bridget and Siobhan were born on September 30th 1979 and Sean died back in 2005 if I’m not mistaken.

Siobhan: “I was wondering how you’d look after six years.”
Bridget: “Not nearly as good as you.”

Bridget: “I want you to know how sorry I am for everything.”
Siobhan: “You already apologised in your letter.”

Bridget was staying in the Double Nickel Motel before she knocked out Jimmy and legged it. The stripper who was murdered by Macawi was called Shaylene Briggs.

Bridget: “Siobhan, I don’t want to have to be the sister you pretend doesn’t exist.”
Siobhan: “Just so you know, I missed you too.”

Gemma (to Bridget, re Henry): “I’ll hook up with one of the workmen. I’m sure contractors make more money than out of work novelists.”

What exactly is Andrew trying to get out of? He was awfully quick to change the subject when Bridget walked in on his phone conversation.

Andrew: “That was an act. This is your game, Siobhan.”
Siobhan: “What if I don’t want to play games anymore?”

Bridget (at another AA meeting, re Siobhan): “In all this, I lost someone who meant everything to me. I just got her back. Now she’s gone.”

Juliet got booted out of boarding school in London because she’s on drugs and Gemma went through a list of suspects of people she thought Henry was sleeping with.

Bridget: “Siobhan, what did you do?”

Voiceover: “Siobhan, we have a problem.”

Chronology: Because of the photo of Sean, I’m going to assume it’s 2011 but when I’m unsure of.

As pilot episodes go, “Ringer” is far from perfect but it’s more than interesting enough to make me want to watch and review the series. I’m interested in learning more about Bridget and Siobhan’s rocky relationship, what Andrew is up to, seeing if Macawi catches up with Bridget and also if Victor realises what’s going on with the current set up as well. In that respect, this opening episode did everything it needed to for me.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Soap Discussion - September 2011

And here's a penultimate blog for this month.

Coronation Street: The biggest storyline this month has been the quick devolution of Frank and Carla's relationship. It's almost a shame the writers decided to make Frank a baddie because him and Carla actually made a decent pairing. The rape part was certainly shocking, more so considering that it also now has consequences for both Peter and Leanne (and the injured Stella as well) and storywise, it's the show firing on all cylinders. The rest of the month hasn't been quite as good with Tracy's all too convenient pregnancy Pam reigniting her feud with Kevin. Mind you, she's not exactly wrong about Kevin's ability at bouncing back though.

EastEnders: I've never been the biggest fan of Darren and Jodie as a couple and I can't honestly say the show will suffer without him but the near wedding/sleeping with Lauren, coupled with Vanessa's inability to keep her opinions to herself made it more interesting than expected. This was also a month for more of Mandy's antics, Kat and Alfie losing another baby (really, show?), Ben kissing and being dumped by Duncan in quick succession, Yusef being his manipulative self, Lauren finding out about Tanya's cancer and preparations for Amira's return with some red button antics as well as a new Moon in Craig and another series of E20 with Mercy's annoying sister, Faith. Well, at least it's been busy.

Emmerdale: Dear writers - just knock it off already. I am bored shitless by your constant attempts of putting Aaron through the ringer. Now we can add self harming into the mix. Seriously show, in terms of dramatic storylines, learn to share the wealth a little, alright? And progress the Amy is pregnant plot because that's becoming similarly tedious to watch at the moment as well. I don't know but for me, this soap is in need of some better structuring because only Nicola and Jimmy's reunion was the best thing to happen in the last few weeks.

Fair City: I haven't been watching this one as actively either but I have liked the fallout over Barry's murder of Sarah and how it's affected most of the main characters on the series but apart from that and more stuff on Carol's pregnancy, it's been a rather dull month for the show in general.
Hollyoaks: Ooh, what a month. two sets of college kids (Maddie and her mates returning for Bart and Sinead, Ash and company for Will/Theresa/Dodger), the death of Rae, Brendan being set up for said death by Silas, Lynsey isolating more people with her Silas vendetta and the return of Gilly, plus the antics of Hollyoaks Later, I have to admit that this has been another strong month for the show. That being said, more people need to start waking up to Silas, it's getting a bit unrealistic at this point.

The Sarah Jane Adventures - Season 5 Cast Pictures

We've got less than a week to go but finally, cast shots of the fifth and final series of The Sarah Jane Adventures have been released ...

Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen): She may have lost Luke to university (in a way) but Sarah Jane is about to become a mother for the second time when Sky comes into her life.

Luke Smith (Tommy Knight): he may be in university but Luke will definitely be present for the last three stories of the show's fifth year, especially as he's put in the position of older brother.

Sky Smith (Sinead Michael): Newcomer Sky starts off as an alien baby and then becomes a lot older as she makes her debut in the first story, Sky.

Clyde Langer (Daniel Anthony): Clyde is also getting older but he takes centre stage in the second story, The Curse Of Clyde Langer when the theme of homelessness is explored in the series. But all isn't as it seems.

Rani Chandra (Anjli Mohindra): Like Clyde, she's definitely getting older and moving away from school but I'm not sure what her role this season is to be honest.

Meanwhile although three stories were filmed (i.e. six episodes), the last one, The Man Who Wasn't There was actually the finale intended for Series 5, so it should give the series a sense of closure. It's certainly not going to be easy watching these episodes but as a final tribute to Elisabeth Sladen, I have no doubt they will be worth it.

Season 5 Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQoaWFyH3pk

Series 5 of The Sarah Jane Adventures will air Mondays/Tuesdays on CBBC at 5.15pm from October 3rd.

My Review of Doctor Who's 6x12: "Closing Time"

Written by Gareth Roberts
Directed by Steve Hughes

Craig: “You always win. You always survive.”
The Doctor: “Those were the days.”

Is it me or has there been a huge pile of déjà vu with this episode? I mean the way the Doctor and Craig (minus the not-snog moment) were with each other in this one reminded me once too often of the way a previous incarnation and Wilfred were during “The End Of Time”. That isn’t actually a bad thing by the way.

I was surprised that Craig was brought back as part of the Doctor’s farewell tour but really pleased by it as well. The character was endearing during “The Lodger” and with a great rapport between Matt Smith and James Corden, this was an excellent reunion story for the pair of them.

It made sense that Craig’s life had taken several changes when the Doctor met him again. This time around, he had moved into a house with Sophie and they had a baby boy named Alfie and with Sophie gone for the weekend, it was nice to see another side to Craig as well in this episode.

His struggling with fatherhood seemed better explored here than in “Night Terrors” with Alex and George and it was amusing how the Doctor’s alleged ability (can he really do it or is he just screwing with Craig?) was used in this episode. Maybe the Doctor has a new vocation in life if he can manage to survive his impending demise first that is.

Of course, much as I wished that the Doctor had been just visiting solely to see Craig; it did seem that once again he was drawn to Colchester because of alien activities. Last time around saw people disappearing and this time around, the same also happened, though this time there was no mystery ship attached to a house.

Instead we got the return of both the Cybermen and the Cybermats and wasn’t this an interesting outing for them? Well, personally I think the Cybermats fared better than their masters in this one. At least the Cybermat got to show some menace on screen and with those teeth, both the Doctor and Craig should count themselves lucky they didn’t get by the thing for real.

Plus the Cybermat was excellent at playing clever too. It got the Doctor into thinking it had been slowed down long enough to try and attack again and it was also causing all the electrical problems within Colchester as well. You know it’s worrying when the minions are actually more successful than the main monsters themselves.

Ah, the Cybermen. They always seem to be overshadowed and their latest scheme here felt more like an afterthought than anything else. A ship of six Cybermen trapped within Sanderson And Grainger and a few conversions here and there, including one on Craig, except this time around, a conversion doesn’t spell the end.

I wasn’t surprised that the ‘power of love’ (i.e. Craig’s response to Alfie’s distress cries) ended up being the very thing that stopped the Cybermen from successfully converting Craig and I certainly wasn’t shocked that it shot through their emotional inhibitors and destroyed them once again. Poor Cybermen – maybe one day, they get another story where they’re not so easily defeated.

At the same time though, this story was never about the Cybermen, they were only ever an obstacle to overcome – it was about the Doctor’s final days and his friendship with Craig. Even with his own life and Alfie’s in danger, Craig never blamed the Doctor for what happened. I found that to be an amazing gesture on Craig’s part.

Heck, the Doctor even rewarded that by getting Craig to come out of his shell as a parent and even by fixing the place up before Sophie returned home. The best part though was connecting the story to the events of the season opener. The Doctor got both his Stetson and his stationary from Craig.

As for the last scene with the three kids – I found that scene really powerful. The Doctor seemed to be embracing his death, which is an obvious contrast to his tenth incarnation but at the same time, there’s no way the Doctor is going to remain dead. Something in next week’s episode is going to ensure that the events with the astronaut in Lake Silencio is not going to be his last.

Speaking of the astronaut – of course it was going to be River but I always assumed it would be the pre-Mels version rather than her grown up self. If I didn’t hate Madame Kovarian and the Silence beforehand, I sure as hell do now. Them along with the Clerics forcing River (on the day she became a doctor herself) into the astronaut suit and leaving her underwater at Silencio actually got to me scene wise.

It’s not like we haven’t seen River vulnerable before but something about this scene just got to me more than it should’ve done. I think it’s because River had already believed that she saved the Doctor’s life and Kovarian’s malice ensured that once again, River was put in the awkward position of having to be the one to kill her love.

I really hope in the last episode we actually find out why Kovarian has it in for the Doctor. What exactly did he do to both her and the Silence that they would go to these lengths to ensure that he died? It’s definitely something that as a viewer, I need to know just as much as any of the other important bits about River that we still don’t know already.

Last but not least – I loved the brief appearance from Amy and Rory in this one. I’m not bothered that they were in Colchester without reason and I certainly have no qualm with Amy becoming a perfume model and being asked for an autograph, it was just nice to see them, even if the scene did last less than a minute.

Also in “Closing Time”

Gareth Roberts mentioned in DWM that he originally intended to call the episode “Three Cybermen And A Baby”.

Craig: “I need something. I’m rubbish at this.”
The Doctor: “At what?”
Craig: “Being a dad.”

Sophie was only in two scenes for this episode because Daisy Haggard was in a play at the time of filming it.

Craig (to the Doctor): “You’re here for a reason, aren’t you? You’ve noticed something and you’re investigating and because it’s you, it’s gonna be dangerous and alien.”

Craig: “Doctor, are you gonna kiss me?”
The Doctor: “Yes, Craig, yes I am. Would you like that? Bit out of practice but I’ve had some wonderful feedback.”

Lynda Baron made her third contribution to the series (after “The Gunfighters” and “Enlightenment”) by playing Val in this one. I loved that no-one corrected her when she mistook the Doctor and Craig for a couple.

Craig: “Can you put that on quiet?”
The Doctor: “No, it’s a sonic screwdriver. Sonic equals sound.”

The Doctor (to Alfie): “Stop crying, you’ve got a lot to look forward, you know. A normal human life on Earth.”

Yappy the robot-dog was an obvious allusion to K9 and Alfie liked to be called Stormageddon and he called everyone who wasn’t Sophie “not mum” and “peasants”.

The Doctor: “Do you still feel safe with me, Craig?”
Craig: “Can’t help who your mates are.”

Cybermen (to Craig): “Your designation is Cyber-Controller, you will lead us. We will conquer this world.”

Amy’s perfume was called Petrichor and had the tagline of “for the girl who’s tired of waiting”.

Cybermen: “What is happening?”
The Doctor: “What’s happening you metal moron – a baby is crying and you better watch out because guess what? Daddy is coming home.”

The Doctor (to the TARDIS): “Well, then old girl. One last trip, eh?”

I’d like to say that this is the first episode not written by Steven Moffat to feature River but I have a suspicion that he might have written the last scene of this episode. Kovarian also delivered a much more malevolent version of that nursery rhyme from “Night Terrors” as well.

River: “It’s only a story.”
Madame Kovarian: “And this is where it begins. You never really escaped us, Melody Pond. We were always coming for you.”
River: “How do you know who I am?”
Madame Kovarian: “I made you what you are – the woman who kills the Doctor.”

Chronology: It’s been two hundred years for the Doctor since “The God Complex” but how long has it been for Amy, Rory, River and Craig since they’ve last seen him?

Well, that was certainly an entertaining episode. “Closing Time” probably could’ve put the Cybermen to better use but I liked the return of the Cybermats, every scene between the Doctor and Craig sparkled, Amy/Rory’s brief appearances were nice and the River/Kovarian bit at the end was a good way of leading into next week’s finale.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Desperate Housewives - Season 7 Review

US Airdate: September 26th 2010 – May 15th 2011

As the show enters its seventh year, some old faces return to wreck havoc on Wisteria Lane while a new face finds herself becoming a part of the gang.

Wild West Edition: Oh, sometimes I watch this show and I wonder about where it sort of went wrong. I use the phrase ‘sort of’ because while the series isn’t the most talked about thing anymore, it can still produce moments here and there that are worthy of discussion and after this series alone, only one more season is left for the least safest piece of suburbia in American TV.

Season Seven took something of an odd format for the mystery route that we’ve been used to for the last six years. Paul Young finally got the last laugh when Felicia’s attempts to frame him blew up in her face and she wound up in jail as penance. Now, Paul could’ve used the money he was given as compensation to go anywhere and start all over again.

Of course that would’ve been seen as too easy a solution, so Paul decided the best thing to do was to get a frumpy wife in the shape of Beth (who actually gets interesting as a character during the second half of the season) and return to Wisteria Lane, just to rub it into the neighbours that turned their backs on him all those years ago.

As plots go, it’s surprisingly direct even if there are predictable turns with Paul blackmailing Susan during her lowest ebb and causing neighbourhood chaos with the organisation of a halfway house during the first half of the season. It’s only when he gets shot and Beth kills herself that things actually step up a gear.

Okay, so Zach being the shooter was a bit of a copout (Zach’s return in general just proves that both him and John should never be brought back again) but I did love the reveal of Beth being Felicia’s daughter and that when she was rejected by both her mother and husband, she decided to save Susan’s life by ending her own in the show’s 150th episode. Now that was something I genuinely did not expect.

It also provided an interesting change of gears as well for the season. Instead of Paul being the baddie, he became someone we could actually sympathise with for the first time. I also have to admit that his friendship with Susan also became a highlight in the last few episodes along with Felicia’s many attempts to kill him.

Now for the disappointing part of it all. I enjoyed Felicia in the first two seasons and her brand of nuttiness but here I found her more of a nuisance and a far worse human being than Martha had been in the first year. Thankfully this show actually killed her off this time while sending Paul back to jail for a crime he actually did commit. All in all, when I look at the Paul/Felicia plot, I have to admit that it was a lot better than the antics of the Applewhites or Dave in previous seasons but only just.

As for the housewives themselves, it’s been an interesting enough time for them. Susan and Mike’s financial problems sounded good on paper but seemed to lack certain realism. I mean the apartment they’re forced to stay in for most of this year is a lot better than what other people with their dire finances can afford and the erotic housecleaning plot was just silly, even if it did cost Susan her teaching job. The kidney plot however (coupled with brief reappearances from Julie and Sophie) actually worked a lot better, especially given that it resulted in a great exit for Beth and an interesting Susan/Paul friendship.

Bree on the other hand seemed to have mostly storylines involving her love life. With no business to run, a brief look into Andrew’s alcoholism and Carlos finding out how his mother really died, the variations of Orson (who finally left the series), Keith (because Bree was due a younger man) and Chuck (the best match for her, maybe?) certainly proved that Bree still had it in her, didn’t it?

Less interesting were Lynette and Tom and their many arguments of this year. I guess the most refreshing thing about them this year was that they actually seperated but listening to the endless arguments between them over past hook-ups, work issues and the like, it became more and more difficult to actually care about them. If Lynette and Tom are supposed to be our most relatable couple, then theirs really is a marriage that could be likened to a special brand of hell this year.

As for Renee – I was quite excited about Vanessa Williams joining the cast but the first half of the season suffered with trying to find a sufficient role for her and it did take me a while to believe that someone like Renee would actually be friends with anyone on Wisteria Lane but somewhere during the second half of the year, the character seemed to work a lot better. Edie Britt she’s not but she’s probably the closest thing this show will have to it again.

Gabrielle on the other hand seemed to be given a rather important plot towards the end. Although too much of this year is dedicated to the Juanita/Grace storyline, it’s really the killing of abusive stepfather Alejandro and the wives covering up of his body that saw the season end on a bang. Well that and the Come Dine With Me antics too certainly paved the way as well and I liked that Bob and Lee got some more screen time this year as well.

DVD Extras: An interesting enough collection of bloopers, deleted scenes, commentaries and other features for the series. We’ve had more in previous releases but it’s still a modest enough round up of stuff.

EPISODE RATINGS:

7x01: Remember Paul = 8/10, 7x02: You Must Meet My Wife = 7/10,
7x03: Truly Content = 7/10, 7x04: The Thing That Counts Is What’s Inside = 7/10,
7x05: Let Me Entertain You = 6/10, 7x06: Excited And Scared = 9/10,
7x07: A Humiliating Business = 7/10, 7x08: Sorry Grateful = 7/10,
7x09: Pleasant Little Kingdom = 7/10, 7x10: Down The Block There’s A Riot = 9/10,
7x11: Assassins = 8/10, 7x12: Where Do I Belong = 6/10,
7x13: I’m Still Here = 7/10, 7x14: Flashback = 8/10,
7x15: Farewell Letter = 9/10, 7x16: Searching = 10/10,
7x17: Everything’s Different, Nothing’s Changed = 8/10,
7x18: Moments In The Woods = 8/10, 7x19: The Lies Ill-Concealed = 7/10,
7x20: I’ll Swallow Poison On Sunday = 8/10, 7x21: Then I Really Got Scared = 7/10,
7x22: And Lots Of Security = 8/10, 7x23: Come On Over For Dinner = 9/10.

We Got The Beat

Okay, it really has been a while, so apologies and here are some of the things I've been watching in the last while.

Downton Abbey - I literally spent four days last week catching up with the first series and writing up a review for it before watching the first episode of Season 2. The first episode of the new series taught me a lot of things, namely that this series isn't a flash in the pan for top notch quality entertainment on a Sunday night and that I really have become invested in the characters. The new ones were a varied bunch - I sort of sided with Ethel, Lavinia made no solid impression and Vera was a total unbridled bitch in the making. The love arcs - Matthew/Mary, Anna/Bates and Sybil/Branson all took up some good screentime but the scenes within the Somme with Matthew and Thomas were definitely the most effective, particularly towards the end. Welcome back, show.

Glee - I just watched the first episode of Season 3 yesterday and while there's too much talk about the show's ratings (overexposure can be a curse), the episode itself was actually pretty good. Sure, it would've been nice if the writers had come up with a better excuse for Blaine to transfer to McKinley and maybe Will shouldn't have booted Santana out of the group but it does seem like the show's back on fine form. I certainly enjoyed punky Quinn, the gang's take on We Got The Beat and Kurt/Rachel getting one hell of a humbling experience. Plus, the obvious tension between Finn and Blaine could make for an interesting rivalry. The biggest problem is still Sue though. I feel she is losing impact as a character and her candidacy is something that I don't is strong to be sustained throughout the series.

Smallville - I still have to catch up with E4's episode this week but the last few have been nothing but brilliant. I loved Chloe's re-introduction to the series, Martha's brief return and of course, Parallel Lionel doing his damndest to influence Alexander as well. Heck, even The Hangover themed episode was a lot more fun than it actually should've been but maybe that was because of Cassidy Freeman's singing. That being said though, the Darkseid arc does need to step up a gear though, considering that we don't have that many episodes left.

The Fades - You gotta love BBC3. They gave us the wonders of both Torchwood and Being Human and now they're hoping that The Fades can also bring them success. The ratings have certainly been good for the station and the apocalyptic scenerio that's presented here with the creepy dead things is certainly interesting. Paul's not a bad protagonist but I found myself disappointed that both Sarah and Helen were bumped off when I could've thought of two other characters I wouldn't have minded seeing the back off. Still, though I will be watching this one for the next five weeks.

The Vampire Diaries: Good set of episodes here. Rose's death certainly hit home, the build up towards Klaus has been interesting to watch along with the return of John Gilbert, werewolf lady Jules and the divide between Tyler and Caroline. In fairness, this show has certainly come leaps and bounds and the multiple plotting has certainly been more interesting than Damon's continuous veering between being good and bad. Just choose a damn side, already.

The X Factor: The last few weeks have been fine, ratings are up but have we really seen anyone with that great potential? Kelly's crying over one contestant was pretty horrid to watch and Louis needs to stop encouraging novelty acts as well. Also, I get that it wasn't intended but Simon's return last week just proved to me that the series really does work without him. Liking Gary and Tulisa the most as judges this year.

- I'll be reviewing Ringer from next week onwards. I needed to watch the first two episodes and while it's not perfect, I do want to review it.
- Alexandra Daddario has landed a multiple episode arc on Parenthood, playing the role of receptionist Rachel.
- Michael Zegan has signed up to play a new character in the second season of The Walking Dead.
- Despite being shot in the finale, Rutina Wesley will be appearing in the fifth season of True Blood. A mysterious woman will also be at the centre point of the next series.
- Downton Abbey has been renewed for a third run. The first episode of Season 2 attracted over 9 million viewers. Filming for this year's Christmas special has begun.
- Lacey Turner will appearing in David Tennant's episode of upcoming BBC series, Love Life. Filming for the series began this week.
- Matthew Rhys will be playing John Jasper in a BBC2 production of The Mystery Of Edwin Drood, due to air next year for the bicentennial of Charles Dickens. Tamzin Merchant and Alun Armstrong will also appear in the two-parter.
- Merlin's fourth season will air on October 1st at 7.50pm. Misfits third year will also debut on E4 next month.
- Gilles Marini will be appearing in an upcoming episode of Modern Family, playing a character named Julian.
- Ashton Kutcher's opening episode of Two And A Half Men attracted 28 million viewers.