My Review of Legends Of Tomorrow's 5x09: "The Great British Fake Off"

Written by Jackie Canino
Directed by David A. Geddes

Constantine (to Zari): "The bloody ring. Must have been here the whole time."

With five episodes left to go and two out of three Fate sisters determined to get the Loom of Fate in working order again, it's great that the show isn't wasting time as this episode certainly got the final piece - a ring. Now we just need to see everything go to hell when Lachesis and Atropos inevitably gain the upper hand.

For now, this was an episode that saw Zari and Constantine dominating the A plot as they searched for the ring, following Charlie/Clotho telling the team of a past encounter with Enchantress (Samantha Liane Cole). Long story short, John's spell went awry, both him and Zari wound up in the past where the mild mannered Mrs Hughes (Marion Eisman) was hosting a dinner party with some select Encores.

The Encores being the not so charming bunch of Dr White/Jack the Ripper (Timothy Lyle), Henry the Eighth (Chris Gauthier), Brutus (Peter Ciuffa), Black Caesar (Sean Millington) and Bonnie (Abby Ross) and Clyde (Ben Sullivan). The latter two were more than happy to bump off the competition and even bought Constantine and Zari's cover until the real Jack made his presence known.

Along with working together to find the ring, the episode did hint at a possible future hook up with John and Zari. I'm not sure how I feel about that tbh. No denying that Tala Ashe and Matt Ryan do have chemistry but the writing for it feels a little forced. Still though they did make for a good team in this episode.

Elsewhere with Sara taken out of commission for most of this one, it was up to Ava, Gary and Mick to venture into hell to get some answers out of Astra, who of course got some of her own when Lachesis introduced her to Atropos and by the end of this one, Astra chose to change up sides, even if John didn't seem happy to see her on the Waverider.

As for Sara, going by the brief appearance here, it seems that surviving her encounter with Atropos has given her some kind of ability to see in the future. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out in the remainder of the season.

- Like Constantine, Enchantress has also been a member of Justice League Dark (which is getting a streaming show on HBO Max) but is this version friend or foe here?
- Nice that Nate had some bonding scenes with Charlie and Zari here, not to mention we had reference to Rip, Amaya and Vandal Savage.
- Zari might have posed as Cleopatra here but it's nice we got a bit of a look of her DC comic look as well.
- Chronology: Ancient Egypt for the Charlie/Enchantress scene, 1910 for the main plot as well.

The Great British Fake Off had plenty of great moments with John and Zari definitely getting all the best scenes in this episode. I genuinely didn't expect the addition of Enchantress into the mix (though this version has a more comic accurate look than the Suicide Squad version) and with Astra switching teams, Sara's powers making themselves known, things are definitely getting more interesting.

Rating: 8 out 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 2x04: "Thawing Hearts"

Written by Tom Hyndman
Directed by Vinton Heuck

Mr Freeze (to Nora): "Goodbye, my love. Have the life I could never give you."

And we were doing so well. Two whole episodes where a Batman rogue gallery member didn't die. I'm not mad by the way, just more sad that after only two appearances, we can add Mr Freeze to the body count with this show.

On the other hand, this was a very emotional episode as Harley and her crew attempted to after Victor only to get captured by him, learn that he had been experimenting on rats unsuccessfully and he was now moving on to human experiments. This of course was in his mission to help save his beloved Nora, which Harley had a hard time believing.

This episode delved into Harley's still unresolved issues with the Joker, in which even her male crew members castigated her on over his cynicism of true love while at the same time providing another poignant take on Mr Freeze's tragic tale.

The good news for Victor was that Ivy and Kite Man were able to cure Nora but it also meant Freeze making the ultimate sacrifice so that his beloved could live. This was something Victor had no problem in doing but it's a pity we lost the character after he was only just introduced.

Elsewhere we can Kite Man in full Groomzilla mode trying to book a particular venue for his and Ivy's upcoming nuptials only for Condiment King (Alan Tudyk) to scupper the plan. The B plot was amusing enough but with the seeds being sown for the eventual Harley/Ivy pairing, you just know this wedding won't be going ahead anytime soon.

- I really loved Freeze's icy lair. Shades of both Batman: The Animated Series and Batman And  Robin.
- King Shark speaking for everyone when he was relieved that Dr Psycho didn't get to finish a certain sentence during Freeze's lunch.
- I assume both Frank and Sy Borgman were keeping an eye on Riddler this week.
- Chronology: Not long where the previous episode left off.

Thawing Hearts had a lot to say about relationships while also foreshadowing the one that many fans of this show are clamoring to see and while I would have rather that the show hadn't  killed off Freeze at least they treated him well in this one.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Legends Of Tomorrow's 5x08: "Zari, Not Zari"

Written by Morgan Faust & Tyrion Carter
Directed by Kevin Mock

Atropos (to Behrad): "You don't belong here. No more defying fate."

After a month off the air and following the lowkey exits for Ray and Nora, the Legends enter the second half of this fifth season with no mucking about as the Fates begin to be a very big problem for the gang.

To get the obvious out of the way first, it seems that Astra's mentor, the coin maker is one of Charlie/Clotho sister, Lachesis and the other sister, Atropos (Joanna Vanderham) has also arrived and wasted no time in making her presence felt.

This show has been calling out for a strong female villain and with Astra soon to switch sides, it looks like we've got one with Atropos. In this episode alone, she caused headaches for Charlie, Constantine and Sara and while she might have failed in killing the latter two, she did however succeed with Behrad.

In the space of eight episodes I've actually enjoyed Behrad and this week it was to see him genuinely help out Zari when she started having more memories of her other selves. I should've seen Behrad's death coming a mile off as Zari started to get to know herself but if the last scene between Zari and John was anything to go by, Behrad might not stay dead for too long.

As for the Zari scenes. - Tala Ashe really does bring so much to this show, differentiating between two versions of the same character. I've missed the previous Zari and it was great to see her back here for a bit. Also like Behrad, she's also going to be back sooner than later.

With the Fates plot kicking off nicely here, the B plot had Ava and Mick working together so the latter could have a better relationship with his daughter. It didn't quite pan out as well as Mick hoped it would have but it was a good way to utilise Ava this week.

- Sara, Charlie and Constantine were at a filming location for Supernatural and the comments about filming Season 15 practically wrote themselves.
- Clotho spun the weave, Lachesis decided how long they live and Atropos would kill them. Sara surviving looking at Atropos true form must be linked to that superpower we haven't seen yet.
- Nice references of Ava's own past with Rip in this episode as well as current Zari not being attracted to Nate.
- Chronology: 1977 London (Atropos killed Charlie'a former bandmates), Central City 2004-2020 for the Mick/Lita story and 2020 British Colimbia for the main plot.

Zari, Not Zari has definitely kicked off this Fates storyline with a solid punch. We've got a strong baddie with Charlie's sisters, hints of Sara's new power (whatever it may be) and the Zari/Behrad scenes were fantastic. So glad the series is back.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 2x03: "Trapped"

Written by Sarah Peters
Directed by Brandon McKinney

Catwoman (to Poison Ivy): "Girl, please, I'm never not stealing jewels."

Did anyone call for a Gotham City Sirens  episode? Well, you kind of have one here as this week Catwoman (Sanaa Lathan) finally made her debut on the show and needless to say that some hijinks ensure when she teamed up with Harley and Ivy to steal a plasma flamethrower formerly of Firefly but now in the current possession of Doctor Trap (Alan Tudyk).

Yeah, Harley was determined to mark Mr Freeze off her list and when ordinary fire wouldn't  do the trick, she knew she needed the best thief in Gotham to aid her cause. The problem was that Catwoman seemed more interested in needling Ivy and making off with a nice ring than really helping with the heist at hand.

I have to admit while I was looking forward to Catwoman in the show, the characterisation for her was somewhat disappointing if I'm honest. The voice acting was fine, design pretty good but a bit too bitchy, even if she did make Ivy get back to her activist roots by the end of this one. Hopefully it was just a blip and she's better written next time we see her.

Meanwhile when Harley and Ivy weren't getting help securing Firefly's gun and bashing Doctor Trap for good measure, the rest of the gang managed to lose Riddler before the latter admitted that watching Harley's gang being such screw ups was too fun to escape from. I guess I can see where he's coming from here.

The other big take away from this episode was also having Ivy accept Kite Man's third marriage proposal just as this one ended on a sign that her and Harley are likely to become a romantic pairing before the season ends. I'm just hoping Kite Man isn't killed off or vilified in order to service that though.

- All the main players were in this episode for the first time this season. It seems a few of them are fans of  The Babysitters Club book series.
- Catwoman seemed uninterested in Batman's whereabouts. That was another minus for this version of the character.
- I hope it's not too long before we see Batgirl again.
- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off .

Trapped made for an okay introduction to Catwoman and an all too brief encounter with Doctor Trap but the hints of Harley/Ivy and the B plot with the rest of the gang and Riddler were clear highlights though.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 2x02: "Riddle U"

Written by Sabreena Jalees
Directed by Colin Heck

Poison Ivy (re Barbara): "Hopefully she grows out of her awkward Batman obsession phase. I mean we all did."
Harley: "I don't know. I feel like we awakened something in her."

Ah, I was expecting a Batgirl origin story and this episode gave me that in a rather unusual but delightful way. In the past Barbara Gordon (Briana Cuoco) has been an enemy of Harley and Ivy but in recent times they have worked together and here they do that too in an unusual environment as the Riddler happens to be the target this week.

Taking all of the city's power for himself and only letting a selection few into his university, the episode had Harley, Ivy and Clayface as Steph going undercover to find out what he was plotting while Barbara was doing the same thing and trying to boost her depressed father's spirits to no success really.

With Clayface being in his element as Steph, it was Harley, Ivy and Barbara sort of working together when the Riddler was using college students as human batteries to power things along. Needless to say, Harley, Ivy and Clayface came afoul of Nygma but it was Barbara who inadvertently saved the day and became inspired to become Batgirl by the end of the episode.

It's a good origin story for Batgirl and I was actually relieved that instead of killing the Riddler, Harley and Ivy gave him a taste of his own medicine for a change. I'm not sure how long they'll keep him prisoner but it's better than bumping him off though.

Elsewhere Killer Shark and Dr Psycho got the B Plot, which mostly saw them taking out henchmen from both the Two Face and Bane corners of the city and not much else. I'd complain but I really liked their scenes together, so I didn't mind them having much less to do this week.

- Dr Psycho was making candles out of zoo animals as well as hats. Yeah, he's still evil, folks.
- There was a shameless 90s feel to this episode including Ivy being revealed as an Indigo Girls fan for good measure.
- Kite Man briefly popped up but Batman, Joker, Frank and Sy Borgman sat this one out.
- Chronology: A couple of months since the opening episode.

Riddle U worked better than the opening episode. I'm glad the show seems to be maybe avoiding having Harley kill off every one of her enemies and as I pointed out earlier, it also made for a good origin story for Batgirl. Next week, Catwoman.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 2x01: "New Gotham"

Written by Adam Stein
Directed by Vince Heuck

Harley (to Ivy): "It's about to get more 'Yikes'."

We did not have to wait long for this one. In just a few weeks since the first season ended with both Batman and Joker out of the mix and Gotham in ruins, the second season of DC Universe's animated series came back on a decent note.

Long story short, instead of actually taking over the city which has now become a No Man's Land situation, Harley decided it would be better to liberate some goons and let chaos be the order of the day. Ivy pointed out this was a bad idea, Harley didn't listen and consequences were had.

The consequences being an Injustice League formed with Penguin, Two Face, Riddler, Bane and Mr Freeze (Alfred Molina) quickly putting Harley on ice in order to carve out their own territories in the ruined city and restore organised crime (and get their goons back of course).

As for Harley, when the gang used one of Clayface's plans to finally get her free, she wasn't pleased that most of her work had been undone, leading to a fight between her and the Penguin, which the latter did nor survive. First Scarecrow, now Penguin? This show is not saying with killing off Rogue Gallery members. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Meanwhile Jim Gordon rejected Robin's help, got ousted from the GCPD by Two Face, had formerly good cops go bad and Barbara wants a divorce, so he's having a rotten time of it. On the other hand, Bruce Wayne turned up just about alive at the end of the episode and I don't doubt a certain clown won't be far behind in a few episodes time.

- They got a Batman Returns homage in with Harley biting the Penguin'a nose clean off before she killed him.
- Damien made me laugh dressed as Batman and other projects did Dr Psycho put on hold to save Harley?
- King Shark continues to be a delight, Sy Borgman was okay but where were Frank and Kite Man?
- Chronology: A week became three weeks, then over two months since the finale.

New Gotham while not as good as the previous episode did serve as a good opening nonetheless. However how long will it take Harley and her crew to take out the rest of the Injustice League and how long before two other characters re-enter the picture? Other than that, this was still a lot of fun to watch.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Superman - Where The DCEU Should Go With Him Next

Yeah, I've been thinking about this for a while now and I guess I'm gonna plunge in with both feet. Warning: this blog might pose a suggestion you may not agree with but it also might be the best way forward the character otherwise known as Superman and where the DC Extended Universe should take him next.

Reboot Baby: Yeah, I'm not going to mince words here and with no disrespect to Henry Cavill but the first thing that needs to be done with Superman is to reboot the character as the WB/DCEU are currently doing with The Batman, having Robert Pattinson assume the role from Ben Affleck. I know Henry Cavill has his fans and even I like his Superman, but going forward, having a new actor take on the role with a rebooted continuity will be better in the long run. Saying that though, there is a caveat I would have in place with said reboot.

No Origin Story: Like with The Batman, which will focus on the Caped Crusader's second year in the role of the Dark Knight, a potential new Superman should already have Clark living and working in Metropolis, both as a reporter for the Daily Planet and as Superman for a few years, maybe two or three. This would mean that he's already in an established relationship with Lois Lane (who would know his dual identity) as well as having met some of his more prominent foes and is a member of a certain League as well. Leading to my next point.

Main Antagonist: At this rate, we've had more than enough movies with both Lex Luthor and General Zod as the main villains of the piece. It's been done enough now. Or at least for now. Someone else needs to have a crack at causing the Man of Steel some major problems and the obvious candidate would be Brainiac. Given that the character has popped up in multiple animated movies and TV shows and live action appearances in both Smallville and Krypton in recent years, it's time for a big screen outing for this particular foe. Of course while Brainiac would be the main villain of the piece, he wouldn't be the only foe that Superman should face in a new movie.

Secondary Antagonist: There's a few characters I considered for this. Characters included the likes of Mxy, Livewire, Toyman, Metallo, etc and then it hit me - Silver Banshee. Aside from the fact that the DCEU could do with more female antagonists (and we've had some great ones so far), she's also a character who hasn't had a big screen live action adaptation and she's a lovely contrast to Brainiac, providing a different strand of villainy for Superman to deal with. In a bit of pilfering though, I'd try a similiar-ish backstory/character arc to the one that Supergirl used in it's first season with the character, giving the character a connection with Lois as well.

The Daily Planet Staff (And Other Characters): I definitely like that Zack Snyder depicted some of Superman's supporting characters in his movies but also hated some of his creative choices as well (killing a certain someone off early into Batman V. Superman springs to mind). Supporting characters are needed for Clark's world and in terms of the Daily Planet we should have the likes of Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, Cat Grant, Steve Lombard as well as characters like Bibbo, Snapper Carr and Maggie Sawyer should somewhat factor into this movie. I'd even have both Jonathan and Martha Kent alive in this movie. It never hurt Lois & Clark having Jonathan alive. And then there ....

The Maid Of Might: With a TV series currently on the CW, you might think that Supergirl shouldn't be a priority but I personally think she's a character this particular side of the DCEU shouldn't wait too long to introduce. To differ from the TV show, make the character a teenager, adopted by Jonathan and Martha and who also takes on her mantle in the movie during it's crucial third act moment. You can also explore her relationship with Clark while I would use a post credit sequence to introduce Martian Manhunter.

Before All That: Yes, before a new Superman movie, perhaps a brief taster first? I'd introduce the new version of the character in the upcoming Shazam! sequel, giving him a similar role to what Wonder Woman herself had in Batman V. Superman as well as using Ezra Miller's upcoming Flash movie to explain recasting (brief scene, nothing too big). By doing this and assuming a new actor lands with audiences, it should make a rebooted movie an easier sell for most audiences. Realistically speaking, I don't envision Henry Cavill reprising the role and the character needs to have a movie presence and not just be a show on the CW as well.

So there are my thoughts on what should be done with Superman going forward. What do you think? Should the DCEU do as I suggest and go with a full reboot or should they give Henry Cavill one more movie to see if audiences are interested in more of his take on the character?

First Look: Toy Boy - Magic Mike Meets Murder Mystery

With the Coronavirus dominating the media at the moment, I thought I'd post something a little more cheerful as Netflix recently obtained the rights to Spanish drama, Toy Boy.

Billed as a murder mystery version of Magic Mike (2012-2015), the 13 episode series focuses on a group of male strippers - Hugo Beltran (Jesús Mosquera), Iván (José de la Torre), Jairo (Carl Constanzia), Germán (Raudel Raúl Martiato) and newcomer Oscar (Carlos Scholz). Seven years prior to Oscar joining the group known as the Toy Boys, lead character Hugo fell madly in love with an older woman, a heiress named Macarena Medina (Cristina Castaño), only to end up in prison for the murder of her husband, a crime in which he didn't commit.

Released with the help of a lawyer named Triana Marín (Maria Pedraza), Hugo is desperate to clear his name and get even with his former lover while also teaming up with his former team in order to do so. For gay male viewers, there's a romance between tattooed stripper Jairo and Andrea Medina (Juanjo Almeida) to keep an eye for it with the latter character being the moody son of Hugo's former lover while the remaining cast is rounded off by Macarena's brothers - Borja and Mateo as played by José Manuel Seda and Álex Gadea respectively. With a solid bout of twists, an unabashed display of male totty on display from creators César Benítez, Juan Carlos Cueto and Rocío Martínez Llano, Toy Boy definitely have plenty of appeal for binge watching over the next few weeks.

Toy Boy Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIRkuav64Gk&feature=emb_title

The first season of Toy Boy is currently available to watch on Netflix.

My Review of Legends Of Tomorrow's 5x07: "Romeo V. Juliet: Dawn Of Justness"

Written by Ray Utarnachitt & Matthew Maala
Directed by Alexandra La Roche

Ray (to Gideon): "Thank you for everything and take care of the Legends for me."

And just like that, we're down to three original members of the team, including Gideon of course. The moment has been prepared for a while now, but I still can't believe that Ray Palmer has actually left the show with Nora.

I've said a few times but this show will feel the loss of this particular character and it's not taking away from the fact that with a large and revolving cast, we've seen plenty of characters come and go from the Waverider over the last five years but this time it really does feel different.

Ray was undoubtedly the glue of the ship with a sunny optimism that never felt saccharine and while the rest of the crew understood perfectly why he was stepping away with Nora, it took Nate somewhat longer to get his head around the idea after finding out by accident and reacting badly to the news itself.

Of course while the eventual exit of Ray and Nora was more quiet and the former did get one last meaningful scene with the other love of his life before leaving, it was the final scene that played around with the mood as the remaining team were left with a rather unforgettable reminder of Ray's presence that only Zari seemed unaffected by. That green juice will get you every single time.

As for the action of the episode, well, we ventured into Jolly Old England where Shakespeare (Rowan Schlosberg) was holding on to a piece of the Loom of Fate for Charlie before the latter learned that her famous mate also sold it off when struck by writers block. Needless to say, Charlie used her charms to retrieve while Constantine inadvertently started a bar fight and Shakespeare decided that he could invented the superhero genre for good measure.

Of course between respective bachelor parties for the newlyweds, the gang also had to work together in order to bring the real Romeo & Juliet to life in order to course correct history while also working through some other issues with one another. While Nate didn't make for the most convincing of Juliets, Zari had no problem stepping into the role and working with John's rough and ready Romeo.

Meanwhile, anyone else getting the impression that Coin Maker is one of Charlie's sisters? Her role has certainly expanded from last season and she was quick to emotionally manipulate Astra when the latter told her about John's plan. Not to mention that she got very interested when Astra revealed that Constantine was looking for the Loom of Fate. It really is time to propel that storyline forward as we move into the latter half of the season.

- Astra recalled both Rasputin and Marie Antoinette. Mona also returned to help induct Zari into book club while also giving Mick sound advice about connecting with his daughter.
- They missed a trick by not having Shakespeare flirt with both Constantine and Charlie, though his bemusement at Juliet not being played by a man was funny.
- Sly reference to Riverdale this week while the next episode, due to air in April will be a homage to Supernatural.
- Chronology: 1594 England for most of this episode.

Romeo V. Juliet: Dawn Of Justness felt more of a quiet affair after the big Ray/Nora wedding episode and while I wish the characters hadn't left here, it was a decent ending for them. I do hope that when this show eventually ends, both characters are recalled for the series finale but going forward at least we have the Looms storyline to tide us over.

Rating: 8 out of 10

To End The Spellmans ... Eventually

And it's been a while but here's another TV Jumble blog, going on some of the stuff I've been watching over the last few weeks.

Batwoman: And this show continues to somewhat improve as it's progressed. Granted the other Beth situation was resolved in a predictable manner but having Cartwright out in force certainly meant that Alice could vent her rage at the right person for a change. I also liked the last two episodes respective depictions of obscure characters like Nocturna and Duela Dent and can I say that Sophie has somewhat improved the last few weeks? I mean the show's not perfect but it's definitely gotten better, post Crisis at this rate.

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: The third season/part of this series has definitely upped it's use of Paganism as they made for rather decent antagonists among Sabrina and Caliban's ongoing battle for hell, Lucifer getting free, Lilith finding a stalling tactic and Faustus still being a general pain in the arse (can we please lose Faustus next season?). The finale had fun playing about with time, giving us two Sabrina (or is it three?), pairing Zelda with Marie (already a better partnership than her last one), separating Ambrose and Prudence while Harvey, Roz, Theo and Robin all seemed to be in better places. Nick on the other hand has felt too much like a spare part this season and Sabrina's lack of thinking her plans through continues to be an ongoing trend. While not as good as the first two seasons, this was still a lot of devilish fun to watch.

Good Omens: Ah, this was a fun series, wasn't it? Right now, I'm not sure if it'll be back for a second series but with the impressive banter between Michael Sheen and David Tennant, you'd think both BBC2 and Amazon would be chomping at the bit for some more. The finale certainly felt like it might have been meant to close things but at the same time, maybe one more series? Ah go on, BBC2/Amazon, you know you want to.

Supergirl: The show hit it's 100th episode and it did so by having Mxy device a few opportunities for Kara to change her current situation with Lena before Kara realised that actually calling out Lena's actions was the better course of action. Aside from that, we've got William as a love interest, Lena moving into human experiments, Alex working with J'onn, Brainy still be Lex's minion, Nia and Kelly both looking for a storyline, Andrea's Acrata plotline resurfacing and Lex and Leviathan trying to outsmart one another. It's a bit treading water at the moment.

The Flash: Speaking of treading water, this show certainly is feeling it too at the moment. I mean, we've got Thawne back again and there's a female Mirror Master with Eva McCulloch but too many episodes with Iris trapped in a mirror universe, Barry wallowing more than usual, the pattern of Cisco, Caitlin and Ralph sitting episodes out and Wally's all too bief return. Yeah, the show is better than the first half of the season but it's still going through the motions at the moment. I'm also not sure about Sue either, character wise, though I did like Grodd's return and Pied Piper's too. It's not bad but it needs to be a bit better.

The L Word: Generation Q: I'm near the end of this series and the highlight so far, still has to be the cast from the original show than the newbies. I don't dislike the newbies, but I don't really care enough about them either if I'm being honest. At the moment, the interesting stories are with Shane and her estranged wife, Alice getting into a throuple situation and of course, finally having Bette and Tina interact on the show. I'm hoping with Tina's appearance here that means the second season will have more original cast members pop up in guest roles.

- Despite the fact that it was meant to be ending this year, it seems that Netflix are closing in on giving Lucifer a sixth season.
- An upcoming episode of Legends Of Tomorrow will play homage to Supernatural.
- Harley Quinn's second season will premiere on April 2nd.
- Richard E. Grant has joined the cast of Disney+'s Loki series.
- Jon Bernthal will star in American Gigalo for Showtime.
- Gina Torres and Erin Richards will star in ABC's The Brides, which will centre on the brides of Dracula.
- RuPaul's AJ And The Queen has been cancelled after on season on Netflix.
- Clarice will see Rebecca Breeds in the lead role while Lucca De Oliveira and Devyn A. Tyler will star in the upcoming series.
- Maxim Baldry has been cast in Amazon's upcoming Lord Of The Rings TV series.
- HBO Max will be airing a reunion show with the cast of Friends when it becomes available for streaming from May. A UK broadcaster has yet to be announced.

My Review of Legends Of Tomorrow's 5x06: "Mr Parker's Cul-De-Sac"

Written by Keto Shimizu & James Eagan
Directed by Ben Hernandez Bray

Damien (to Sara): "I know you'll never forgive me and to tell you the truth, I won't either."

And he came back for a very special episode. An episode that saw the return of puppets, an old children's television show being used as a means of getting most of our main characters to better communicate with one another and to top it all off, a lovely wedding for two characters who I think should NOT be departing next week.

Damien Darhk might be the man infamous for killing Laurel Lance but Legends Of Tomorrow has managed to find ways to make the character sympathetic, notably through his genuine remorse for being a crappy parent to Nora and this episode managed to give the two of them a bit of closure and by the end of it, permanent closure for Damien.

Becoming one of Astra's Encores, Damien eschewed bringing more souls to hell so that he could catch up with Nora and inadvertently ruin her date night with Ray where the latter had planned on popping the big question. He also had Gary bound and gagged to a train track which gave the latter something else to be cowardly over as well for good measure.

As for Nora, she was delighted to see her father but found herself spinning a massive web of lies, which included having John pretend to be her boyfriend, Sara and Ava being relegated to her hench women before an attempt to de-power her father went awry, the truth came out and her latest charge used Ray's favourite kids programme to get everyone on the same page with one another.

By the end of the episode, Damien admitted to his failings and got to witness his fairy godmother daughter marry the nicest man on the show before telling said man that they need to give the Waverider the heave ho. Then he had one cathartic scene with Sara before using that blade from the previous episode to avoid being tormented by Astra for eternity. I guess barring any alternative versions, this probably will be the last time we see Damien Darkh in this particular universe.

Watching this episode and with the next one to come, I'm not happy that we're losing Ray and Nora as characters. I genuinely think it's a mistake on the show's part losing these two and I have loved watching their story play out over the last few seasons. At the very least, I think the show should've at least left their departure towards the end of the season.

Speaking of departures, the news of Mick having a kid with Ally, named Lita certainly has spelled his imminent exit. Right now, he's telling Zari that he's better off not being in his kid's life but there's no way the show would've introduced this plot unless they're seeing an eventual exit for Mick this season, right? By the way, loved the Mick and Zari team up this week as they were largely kept away from the main plot.

As for Constantine and Charlie - those two continue to have great scenes together. I understand everyone sharing Charlie's stance about not wanting to restore the Loom and I did have to laugh at Constantine getting tricked into nearly heading to the South Pole when Charlie pretended to be Nate. Still though, they have managed to strike an uneasy agreement about using the Loom to change Astra's fate but I'm really hoping Charlie's sisters show within the next few episodes.

- Sara and Ava's latest conflict resulted in the former getting an offer from Rene in Star City. She turned it down. Loved John's face of horror when Sara and Ava were puppets again.
- There's still the subtle hints of Zari sort of remembering things but not quite. Can't be much longer now, right?
- Loved the throwback to the third season finale and even seeing John wearing some of Leonard's gear when he was about to go South.
- Chronology: 2020 Northumberland, England. They're really getting a lot of use of Constantine's house this season.

Mr Parker's Cul-De-Sac has become the highlight of the season so far. The ending is coming with Ray and Nora and while I definitely the show will lose something by losing them, I loved this episode and Damien's return was a highlight along with that particular sequence.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Superman: Red Son (2020)

Written by J.M. DeMatteis
Directed by Sam Liu

Superman: " I am no hero. I am merely a servant of the state who seeks, as you do, to better the lives of our citizens."

You can bet on the DC Animated side of things if you want direct adaptations of certain comic book arc and while their takes can be very hit and miss (still not happy over the changes they made to Batman: Hush tbh), this for the most part falls into the former category.

Venturing into Elseworlds territory, this story begins in 1946 Soviet Union as a young boy flees from three would be bullies. He's defended by a young girl named Svetland and later revealed his abilities to her. Nearly a decade later, the boy has grown into Superman (Jason Isaacs), serving under the control of Joseph Stalin (William Salyers) before eventually turning on the latter and assuming control of the Soviet Union.

In the next few decades we see this Superman befriend Wonder Woman (Vanessa Marshall), interact with Daily Planet Editor Lois Lane Luthor (Amy Acker) and her husband, Lex (Diedrich Bader), fight off Superior Man/Bizarro (Travis Willingham) while also incurring the wrath of a more vindictive Batman (Roger Craig Smith) and being the victim of a long game plot with a not so subservient Brainiac (Paul Williams).

With extra time allotted to this movie, things are spread out over a rather nicely, though the fight scenes with Batman and Brainiac are some of the best that the movie dishes out. The friendship with Diana also gets some nice exploration with the romantic subplot from the original comic surprisingly eschewed when it's revealed that she's only into women in this version of events. It's a shame but not a surprise that the friendship between Superman and Wonder Woman deteriorated towards the end of the movie.

Then there's Lex and Lois. They're an interesting pairing in this movie with Lois getting some perceptive comments in about societal pressures into being attractive. This movie has a Lex that while taking some questionable actions in assembling his own army of Green Lanterns and being the cause of Bizarro, is still not actually a villain of the movie. Even in the end he retired from his presidency to step the rest of his life with Lois.

As for the main villain - it's communism or is it capitalism? It's certainly some of Superman's actions and the consequences they've had for the US and Russia. It's the more crazed version of Batman but mostly it was Brainiac playing the long game, choosing the right moment to strike before being taken out rather quickly towards the end. Either way, it all worked within the context of this story.

- Svetlana was of course a Russian version of Lana Lang. I also liked the brief inclusion of Jack Ryder in this movie. We also go from 1946 to 1983 in this movie.
- Lex handed over his presidency to Jimmy Olsen while we saw both Hal Jordan and John Stewart leading the Green Lantern Corps against Superman. Abin Sur also appeared here.
- If this movie can depict Wonder Woman as a lesbian and a previous movie had both Scandal Savage/Knockout as a couple, then it's time for a future DC animated movie to have an openly gay or bisexual male character.
- There was a sneak preview of the next movie, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War released, which will be released during the Spring.

Superman: Red Son isn't a comic book I'm generally that bothered about but this while taking some creative liberties turned to be a rather good adaptation. These type of movies are better for the animated universe than the main live action one, which at this moment really does need to get itself together on the Superman front.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Doctor Who - Where Series 13 Needs To Go (And Beyond)

With Series 12 having completed it's transmission and the BBC still deciding where to air Revolution Of The Daleks (prays it's Christmas), it's time to take a look as to where the show should go next series and a little beyond that.

A Show Post Timeless Child: The latest series finale revealed more about the Doctor's origin than expected and still kept a lot of it REDACTED. There's no doubt that once her latest run in with the Daleks is out of the way that we'll be delving into the aftermath of that particular reveal. After all, it's going to be a lot for her to take in and should provide some emotional consequences next series but I'm hoping Chibnall will have other arcs besides expanding upon/massively rewriting the Doctor's history.

Mister Master: The highlight of Jodie's era so far has been the inclusion of Sacha Dhawan's take on the Master. Like his predecessors, he's done an exceptional job in bringing the Doctor's best enemy to life and if the character can survive various perilous situations, then no Death Particle will take him out of the equation for too long. Now, there's a danger of the show possibly overusing the character, but at the same time, I expect to see him causing the Doctor more headaches in Series 13.

Moving Away From The Fam(ily): Right now the tabloids are circulating a rumour that both Tosin Cole and Bradley Walsh will be departing the series in the upcoming Dalek special while Mandip Gill will be staying on for Series 13. Personally, I think it's better for all three current companions to depart and to allow the show and Jodie's Doctor to have a clean slate going into her third series. Companion wise, they've not been the best ones we've had and often, the 13th Doctor has worked better with guest characters than her own Fam.

New Blood: Expanding on the previous point I made, new companions are needed. I would like a similar situation to Series 10 with at least one companion not being from present day UK but if we're having only one companion next series instead of an entire group, it should be a solo male companion.

Marketing: If you follow me on Twitter, one of my ongoing sources of contention with the current era has been the marketing. Now, I don't expect and wouldn't want the BBC or Chris Chibnall to reveal too much in advance but it definitely wouldn't kill them to reveal more than they do, like actually featuring the monsters in the promo pics and trailers for each episode Even Jack's return in Fugitive Of The Judoon really didn't need to kept secret after, especially when he didn't materialise during the whole Lone Cyberman trilogy we just had.

Writers: Right now, for Series 13 the three writers who Chibnall should bring back are Vinay Patel, Pete McTighe and Maxine Alderton. I think I can and will speak for most fans when I say we really don't need another Orphan 55 or Can You Hear Me? style misfire and going into his third series as executive producer, it might be nice for Chibnall to bring back a writer from the two previous eras. More effort needs to be put into the standalone episodes.

More Recurring Characters: Series 12 introduced two of the most interesting new characters with both Ruth Clayton (Jo Martin) and Brendan Bildbriain (Evan McCabe) and both of them turned out to be variations of the Doctor, with the latter even being a false memory. Grace (Sharon D. Clarke) aside, there's a dearth in interesting recurring characters this era. Ruth definitely feels like someone who will pop up from time to time but it might be fun next series if the Doctor discovers that Brendan is actually real and have her y'know appear in Ireland for real next series. Basically, just make this current universe a little bigger in some respects. This also leads to my final point.

Rebuild The Expanded World: Series 12 threw in a UNIT name check after Resolution disbanded the organisation for the sake of a Brexit joke while Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) made his return in the series as well. Enough time has passed that perhaps while Torchwood currently still seem to be the property of Big Finish, perhaps it's time for UNIT to be brought back into the main show. Keep both Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) and Petronella Osgood (Ingrid Oliver) and maybe add another member into the mix.

Right that's my thoughts on where the show should go from Series 13 onwards. What are yours? How did you find Series 12? Am I too harsh with Chris Chibnall's era or not harsh enough? Let me know, lol.

My Review of Doctor Who's 12x10: "The Timeless Children"

Written by Chris Chibnall
Directed by Jamie Magnus Stone

The Doctor: "What happened to the child? What? What's so funny? What happened to the child?"
The Master: "Oh, Doctor, really? Haven't you worked this out yet? The child is you."

Well, that happened then. It's probably a good thing that this plotline actually leaked weeks ago and I've been a little desensitized to it but other than that, I can't help but think - "is this really a good idea, Chris?"

In the last few days, I've seen people accuse Chibnall of disrespecting the show's entire legacy while others have claimed this revelation has merely added to it and explained a certain plot strand from The Brains Of Morbius. For me, I still cannot decide which side of the fence I should be on with this one.

Both sides raise decent enough points and both Sacha Dhawan and Jodie Whittaker played their scenes with excellence as the Master took the Doctor to a ruined Gallifrey, got her to the remains of the citadel before putting her into the Matrix in order to bring her up to speed on her own personal history, which by the end of this episode he was more angry about that she was.

After all, it happened to the Doctor, now a stranger from another planet who got picked up by a woman named Tecteun (Seylan Baxter), brought to Gallifrey and was repeatedly experimented on when the latter learned that the Doctor could regenerate. The rest of it then would be the Shobogans siphoned off the Timeless Child's regenerative energy, limiting it to twelve regenerations before rebranding themselves as Time Lords and the rest is history as the Master would say.

Essentially, Chris Chibnall has decided to do a variation of the infamous Cartmel Master Plan and the results are definitely on the polarising end of the scale. I just cannot commit to a feeling about it at the moment and I'm sorry if this makes this review a harder read for anyone actually reading this. Needless to say, it's something that Chibnall didn't need to do but at the same time, there's enough leeway here (because of course, certain memories would be REDACTED) that a later showrunner could undo the whole thing.

Anyways moving away from the Timeless Child malarkey for a bit, the Master also took Ashad out and took over the Cyberium and because the Cybermen don't get fucked over often enough, we can now add CyberMasters to the ridiculous list of things that no-one asked for. Seriously, they looked a state but trust the Master to have a morbid solution for all those Time Lord bodies he conveniently kept a hold on.

Somewhat resolving this plot, the Doctor then used the Death Particle (a part of shrunken Ashad) to somewhat take out the Master and his latest army, except for Ko Sharmus to step in and make the heroic sacrifice. Let's be honest - the Master ain't dead, Gallifrey's a barren planet and if I never see the CyberMasters again, it'll be too soon.

Then the remaining five minutes of the episode saw Graham, Ryan and Yasmin along with Ravio, Yedlarmi and Ethan all get into another TARDIS and wind up back on Earth while the Doctor found herself being arrested and chucked into a prison, courtesy of the Judoon as a means of setting up the festive special, which currently might be trimming some cast members. End scene wise, it was a nice call back to some previous finales.

- It seems that Brendan was a "false memory" in the Matrix to cover up some of the scandal surrounding the Timeless Child. He would've been an interesting character to have brought back next series.
- The Fugitive Doctor reappeared during the Doctor's time in the Matrix. Still not sure where she fits in but it's safe to say we'll be seeing her again next series.
- The amount of flashbacks in that scene where the Doctor frees herself from the Matrix was impressive. Especially when it's slowed down and you see how many faces Chibnall got in there.
- This is the first episode since Hell Bent to actually have a companion on Gallifrey.
- The Doctor (and Fam) will be returning in Revolution Of The Daleks. BBC have yet to decide whether it airs Christmas or New Year though.
- Chronology: From where Ascension Of The Cybermen left off.

The Timeless Children will definitely go down as Chibnall's most memorable episode of the show. What he does from here on out will be relatively tame by comparison, won't it? I didn't love it and I didn't hate. Performance wise, both Jodie and Sacha were on fine form but I still feel this might be have been a Pandora's Box that should not have been opened.

Rating: 7 out of 10

American Horror Story - Season 10 Cast Announced

We might be months away from production and filming taking off, but yesterday and courtesy of Instagram, Ryan Murphy only went and announced the cast for the upcoming tenth season of American Horror Story and once again, he's not messing around.

Appearing in Season 10 will be Kathy Bates, Leslie Grossman, Adina Porter, Billie Lourd, Sarah Paulson, Angelica Ross,Finn Wittrock, Lily Rabe, Evan Peters and newcomer to the series, Macaulay Culkin. The cast were announced in a rather cryptic trailer but it's going to be a while before we find out who any of these people are playing.

The trailer, set to Orville Peck's Dead Of Night didn't reveal the title of the tenth season's theme but it seem that most are speculating it will be a nautical or coastal themed season. It probably matches up for now but given Ryan Murphy, the trailer could be also a misdirection as well. Either way, we've got a stellar cast here with Culkin being a very interesting addition to the show and we're also safe in the knowledge that aside from this current season, we've got three more to go.

Season 10 Trailer: https://www.instagram.com/p/B9CSaAaJdZo/

Season 10 of American Horror Story will begin filming in the summer and will air on FX and FOXUK during the autumn. 

My Review of Legends Of Tomorrow's 5x05: "Mortal Khanbat"

Written by Grainne Godfree & Mark Bruner
Directed by Caity Lotz

Ray: "How did you get Astra to change her mind?"
Constantine: "By making a promise that I intend to keep. Hail the Waverider. I need to see a lady about a loom."

Again and like the last two episodes, it's felt like we've been watching two different shows at once. On the plus side, both plots were excellent and the last scene pretty confirmed that we're back to having John Constantine on the Waverider for the remainder of the season.

Granted he did appear on the Waverider first to have Gideon confirm that he was dying of lung cancer, only to go back to his spooky little house with both Ray and an OTT Gary trying to help him find a cure. When most of that was failing, John lashed out at his friends, realised he was being even more of a bastard than usual and then prepared a last supper.

It was then that the use of poison and the promise of bringing Natalie back to life that Astra relented in her mission to kill John and spared his life. I'm not surprised that they put the lung cancer story on hold for a bit and neither am I mad about it either. Also as annoying as Gary was in this episode (love Adam Tsekhman, but the writers seriously need to dial Gary's behaviour down a few notches), I did on a shallow level enjoy that brief snog that him and John shared as well.

As for John, he was desperate to learn more about the Loom of Fate and Charlie herself was desperate to not tell him a thing, but this episode not only revealed that her and Behrad had sex between seasons but more importantly, it seems that Charlie's a Fae who could previously write peoples destinies but  destroyed the Loom as she wanted people to have free will and has been hiding from murderous sisters ever since.

Charlie has been a fantastic addition to the show and it's amazing how Maisie Richardson-Sellers have done wonders to differentiate between Amaya and Charlie. Charlie's backstory, I love it and the whole thing she's got going on with Behrad actually works too. He's getting there as a character and pairing him with Charlie I feel will be a great move for the character too.

As for the Encore of the week: Genghis Khan (Terry Chen) was handled pretty well, between taking over the Triad and trying to kill Prince Charles with his crew on scooters (which Nate was not impressed with) before being taken out by Charlie.

We also got some John Wick lite type action sequences as well, which put Ava's gun skills to use before Sara nearly tripped over a load of scooters for her one scene of the episode. Sara's absence in the last two episodes hasn't hurt the show but at the same time, I am glad that she's back on the Waverider.

- Caity Lotz stepped behind the cameras to direct this episode and she did a great job. I wouldn't be surprised if she does another one next season.
- Ray wanting to propose to Nora, I think this time he'll get his happy ending but it's disappointing we're losing two excellent characters. Marie Antoinette is also on the Waverider still.
- Zari seems to be flirting a little with Nate, but nothing here indicated that she remembered anything else. She did seem a bit flirty with Charlie while Mick looked after Prince Charles for his only scene this week.
- 1997 Hong Kong and 2020 Northumberland again.

Mortal Khanbat really felt like it could've been a television episode from the 1990's so it's setting was absolutely spot in this week. So far, my favourite episode this season, with both the Charlie and Constantine plots being on top form, excellent directing from Caity Lotz, more consequences from Crisis On Infinite Earths revealing themselves and the use of scooters.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Doctor Who's 12x09: "Ascension Of The Cybermen"

Written by Chris Chibnall
Directed by Jamie Magnus Stone

The Master: "That's a good entrance, right? Be afraid, Doctor because everything is about to change forever."

Oh shit. Those rumours are going to be true, Chibnall is going to go there and mess about previously established lore in a massive way and it's going to end up causing more headaches than anything else. Come on, Chris, I'm all for you taking risks but this might be one risk too big for the show to come back from. Oh fuck, he's going there, isn't he?

Anyways on to the main action of this episode, well it felt like we were watching two different stories waiting to actually connect with one another but they didn't. Inevitably they will though next week but even still, it did feel like watching two different shows at times.

Taking a trip to an unspecified part of Ireland (the amount of frustration with this, I could go to town with) a little baby boy got adopted by a nice rural family, gets called Brendan, grows up to be a strapping young Garda (Evan McCabe), then gets himself shot into the head, dives off a cliff and doesn't fecking die at all.

Then there's the bit where he's older, retiring and his non ageing father and mentor cuff him to a chair in the station and decide to start the process all over again. Yeah, right, now I'm running on the assumption that Brendan's one of the Timeless Children with Ruth/Fugitive Doctor probably being another but seeing how this will all be resolved in a satisfying manner on Sunday will be the real test here.

Elsewhere, the Cyberwarriors were rocking up led by the very emotional Ashad and the last few humans had the blessing and curse of also being paired off with the Doctor and her companions. Not many of them really stood out, except for Ravio (Julie Graham) who seemed to have a bit of a flirty rapport with Graham but basically Team Graham/Yaz got trapped on a ship with a mess load of Cybermen as Ashad had woke up his band of warriors.

As for Team Doctor/Ryan, well they did manage to meet Ko Sharmus (Ian McElhinney) who was some sort of ferryman surrouding the Border but the real exciting bit was the Master coming back at exactly the last minute to tell the Doctor that everything was about to change. With one episode left at least we know he's not entirely taking the piss with this one.

- Julie Graham previously popped up in The Sarah Jane Adventures as Ruby White. A part of me did wonder if Ravio was going to be revealed as another Doctor.
- Nice mixture of different era Cybermen for this episode but no Mondasian ones? They worked so well in World Enough And Time/The Doctor Falls.
- Back to the cold open again and also the use of the middle eight during the end credits.
- It does feel like they're setting up a companion death but which one though?
- The Cyberdrones looked absolutely ridiculous.
- Chronology: Ireland throughout various decades, but most of the action was space based.

Ascension Of The Cybermen - it's a decent enough set up to the finale and while I'm sure the Brendan plot will tie into the other stuff next week, it did feel too separate from the main action and the latter itself certainly felt too padded out for it's own good. Thank goodness the Master rocked up at the last minute.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 1x13: "The Final Joke"

Written by Tom Hyndman
Directed by Brandon McKinney

Joker: "You're nothing without me."
Harley: "You always tried to make me think that but it's not true. I have friends that love and care about me. I'm moving on with my life with the people that matter and that ain't you, Puddin'. Drop him."
Poison Ivy: "Love to."

Remember last week how I was a bit down on DC and their love affair with bumping off Poison Ivy? Well, in a predictable and utterly delightful move, she's alive and while it took the last five minutes for her to show up, her return was more than welcomed by everyone. Except for the Joker of course. He wasn't best pleased to see her.

As for the majority of the episode, the Joker took over Gotham, got Batman practically handed to him on a plate when Harley's first attempt to attack went belly up and pretty soon got bored, as you would have expected him too. The Scarecrow also proving that he's the least intelligent person in the room (at least on this show) also had to kill the mystery of the Batman and got himself killed as a result.

Using her captured crew in order to spur herself into action, Harley used the threat of suicide to get their freedom before the Joker decided to come up with the worst punishment he could think of for his ever evolving ex-girlfriend.

The idea of rendering Harley "normal" was so interesting a punishment that of course, it had to backfire and thanks to Ivy, the Joker has now suffered a fate worse than death - being sane and it's going to be interesting going into a second season seeing how this development plays out. I can't think of a far more satisfying way of dealing with the Joker and the inevitable carnage that will happen when he's back to himself.

As for Gotham - well that ended up in ruins and with Batman missing and Joker a nobody, Harley really did get her victory lap with some help from her friends. Now that she's somewhat achieved her goal and both the Justice League and Legion of Doom pose no immediate threat to her (both will inevitably regroup), where does this show go next?

- Joker's punishments for the crew were removing King Shark's teeth for a necklace, making Dr Psycho watch feminism rallies, pushing Sy Borgman down a flight of stairs and using Clayface for pottery class.
- I'm hoping Kite Man joins the crew next season. I like him a lot and he does genuinely care about Ivy.
- The commentary about Harley's original look (which I do love) was timely considering how critical some fans have been about the character's various looks in the DCEU straying from the original.
- Chronology: The Joker had one hell of a long birthday throughout this whole episode.

The Final Joke would've made for a satisfying series finale but I am so pleased this fun series has gotten a second run (it's back in April). The show took the idea of Harley in a post Joker world and showed why the idea works and why DC can never regress the character and reunite her with her "Puddin'".

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Legends Of Tomorrow's 5x04: "A Head Of Her Time"

Written by Morgan Faust
Directed by Avi Youbain

Ava (to the Legends): "Well, looks like we have a mission, so everyone stop looking so Les Miserables because we are going to France."

Oui, Oui, indeed, Ava. Yup, we've had some male Encores and now it's time for a female one and this week, Courtney Ford had the fun of playing double duty by briefly appearing as Nora and mostly as Marie Antoinette as the latter got a whole new lease on life thanks to Astra yet again.

Having Marie use a charming perfume while also getting people to party themselves to death actually made for a delightfully twisted method of revenge and worked rather well, until the Legends put a stop to the whole thing. Then Zari let her own vanity get in the way and learned the hard way about mixing unstable fragrances with a massive PR event.

I do love that while this show has been having a blast with the Influencer version of Zari, the character has never lost her smarts at all. We're just seeing them in a different way as she bonded with Ava and both of them helped the other out at certain situation. I also like that the show has slowly been hinting at Zari getting her memories back.

As for Marie Antoinette, she didn't have as much to do as the Encore from last week, but her scenes were certainly fun to watch especially when both Mick and Ray had to stop her headless body from causing maximum havoc on the Waverider. It's also nice to see that some of Ava's advice was heeded during a crucial moment.

Getting away from the main storyline from a bit, the second plot involving Constantine, Charlie and Gary was also pretty delightful to watch. Throughout the episode, we saw John re-examine his past relationship with Astra's mother, Natalie as the latter used Charlie's body to make sure that John was saving Astra for the right reasons.

Unfortunately for John though, Astra really has had enough of his shit and took things a lot further by getting another resident (the Coin Maker) in Hell to speed up Constantine's life expectancy. Fans of a certain arc from Hellblazer might be intrigued to see how the show will pull of this particular storyline as the episode certainly left John in a bad way.

As for Charlie, it's nice this episode finally delved into her past. She originally destroyed the Loom of Fate and she's been hiding every since because something's coming after her as well. Now the only thing we need to do will be to get both John and Charlie's storylines back in with the Legends and the sooner the better.

- Sara appeared in only two scenes this week as she had business to attend to in Star City. That probably was to do with Oliver's funeral and something else.
- We got some flashbacks to John and Natalie, both as a couple and as children first discovering magic. The arc they're running with happens to be Dangerous Habits.
- Of course Nate would punch Zari's Smore wearing now ex-boyfriend. I also made a note of things like CatChat and Dragoneque with this one too.
- Chronology: 2020 Northumberland, England, 1793 France and 2045 New York. The episode also snuck in a brief Napoleon cameo as well.

A Head Of Her Time had a lot of fun with the Marie Antoinette and Zari stories nicely interlinking with one another while also getting down with the more serious stuff with the Constantine/Charlie/Astra plot as well. This season so far has been coming along rather nicely and Ava made for an okay interim Captain.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Doctor Who's 12x08: "The Haunting Of Villa Diodati"

Written by Maxine Alderton
Directed by Emma Sullivan

Lone Cyberman: "You irritate me."
The Doctor: "How very human. Still feel things then? No inhibitor yet."

After last week's probably well meaning but misguided misfire, we are finally back to moving at least one of the main arcs and it's the Lone Cyberman one as the latter finally made his debut and certainly left something of an impression on the Doctor, her companions and the historical characters involved.

Cybermen episodes have not been as well received as other baddies and even in their good ones, they're usually upstaged by other episodes (other enemies, companion departures, etc) but here, it's just half formed Cyberman on the loose, desperate to get the thing it wants and leaving the episode with the Doctor doing the exact opposite of what Jack warned three weeks ago.

The setting for this one was excellently chosen. Yes, I know having an episode with Mary Shelley (Lili Miller) and Cybermen isn't exactly a new thing for this show in a wider media context but it's a first for TV and it's far better done than expected. Simply put, can Maxine Alderton come back next series?

Along with Shelley, you have her husband, Percy (Lewis Rainer), Lord Byron (Jacob Collins-Levy), Dr John Polidari (Maxim Baldry), Elise (Sarah Perles) and Claire Clairmont (Nadia Parkes) and while some episodes have struggled with a sizeable guest cast, this episode managed to utilise the majority of these characters pretty well. It's clear that Alderton definitely did her research with these particular characters, especially with Mary, Percy and Byron in particular.

I liked the flirtatious Byron being unable to impress the Doctor while Ryan dealt with Polidari's mood swings and Yaz even had some good moments with Elise as Graham had to go to the bathroom during the most dire of situations. The humour actually worked in the episode along with the foreboding horror but getting back to our main arc though, things really got interesting.

I loved how vicious and vindictive the Lone Cyberman, formerly known as Ashad (Patrick O'Kane) was in this episode. Mary Shelley's attempts of reaching out to it's humanity failed and the Doctor took the Cyberium from Percy to host it herself before having to surrender it to the Lone Cyberman and thus damning the universe to the ongoing Cyber Wars of the future.

What I also liked was the darker turn of the Doctor here as well. There's an overwhelming feeling that we're approaching the end of days with the Doctor and her current companions and that's pretty exciting. I want this Doctor to have a loss and I get the feeling she's going to get one in the next two episodes as we hurtle into the Cyber Wars.

- Of course, Big Finish will point out that Eighth Doctor previously traveled with Mary Shelley (Julie Cox), though this episode doesn't make any references to that.
- Nice waistcoat the Doctor was sporting in this episode and didn't Ryan, Yasmin and Graham all look gorgeous in period costume this week?
- Byron ended the episode reading a passage from Darkness and it's a pretty damning commentary on the Doctor when you think about it.
- We got the cold opening again. Can we just bring them back full time next series?
- We already met Byron's daughter in the second part of Spyfall earlier this series. The Doctor mentions the character while telling everyone else not to interfere or snog Byron. Disappointed no-one snogged Byron tbh.
- Chronology: June 1816, Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

The Haunting Of Villa Diodati - it's exactly the type of episode we need to see more. Easily one of the best historical episodes we've had in the series run, brilliant use of it's guest characters, probably one of the best uses of the Cybermen, a gorgeous setting, creepy atmosphere and some lovely character bits. Now this is more like it.

Rating: 9 out of 10