Sherlock - Christmas Special/Series 4 News

I've been a bit lax when it comes to the Sherlock news of late, so here's a round up on news for both the Christmas and Series 4.

- The special is set in 1895 with Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Amanda Abbington and everyone else playing period versions of their characters.
- Steven Moffat wanted to do at one episode with Holmes and Watson in period gear.
- The special itself is written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss and will be directed by Douglas Mackinnon, who has directed several episodes of Doctor Who.
- Filming for Series 4 will begin during Spring 2016, so it's more than likely the episodes for that won't air until January 2017.
- It will be darker than the previous series with a lot of emotional upheaval as well.
- There may be also a time jump, not to mention the fact that we also have to have Mary giving birth and whether or not Moriarty is alive.

I have to admit to not really being that shocked that we might have to wait a bit longer for the fourth series, which is probably why this year's Christmas special will be something of a way to bridge the gap. I also get the impression (and considering that both Cumerbatch and Freeman are getting harder to pin down) that Series 4 might actually be the last proper series and that specials (like the upcoming Christmas one) every few years is the way the BBC are going to go with this show. That might not be a bad thing to be honest.

Series 4 Spoilers: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s129/sherlock/feature/a647397/sherlock-series-4-everything-we-know-about-so-far-including-filming-schedule-air-dates-and-plots.html?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=dsuk&utm_campaign=twdsuk#~pcR7l3XnQYjZou

The Christmas special of Sherlock will air in December while Series 4 starts filming in Spring 2016.

First Look: 2015-2016 US TV Season Upfronts Part 2

And here's another look at some of more upcoming series for the 2015-2016 TV season with both NBC and CW also coming up with some interesting forthcoming series.

1: Legends Of Tomorrow - CW (Mid-season, TBC)

It's not just Supergirl that we've got to look forward to as the Arrow and The Flash spin-off finally has a proper name, a confirmed set of episodes (thirteen to air from January 2016) but it also released a pretty fantastic trailer in which Arthur Darvill's time travelling hero, Rip Hunter rounded up Ray Palmer/the Atom (Brandon Routh), Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl (Ciara Renee), Martin Stein/half of Firestorm (Victor Garber) along with the newly resurrected Sara Lance/White Canary (Caity Lotz) and the slightly turned a new leaf duo of Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) and Heatwave (Dominic Purcell) as the band together to save the world from Vandal Savage. Looks like the CW have another massive future hit on their hands with this one.

2: Heroes: Reborn - NBC (Thursdays 9pm)

One of two shows being revived for the current television season, this mini-series might be returning the likes of Jack Coleman and Masi Oka as their most famous characters, but it's mainly a new cast with former Chuck actor Zachary Levi leading things. I have to admit that I'm still a little iffy about the show returning (it had an amazing first season but Seasons 2-4 were very hit and miss) but perhaps with a new cast and a five year distance, maybe lessons might have been learned and the trailer did tantalise though with hints of dark events to come.

3: The X Files - FOX (Sundays 9pm, Mid-season)

A trailer has yet to be released (then again, filming doesn't begin til summer, so it's gonna be a while) but we do know that David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are reprising their iconic roles over the course of six episodes that will comprise of both monster and myth driven arcs. We also know that several other popular characters are returning (Skinner! Cigarette Smoking Man!) and that we can catch the series again from January 24th. Actually come to think of it, that's a fair amount of information there.

4: The Catch - ABC (Thursdays 10pm, Mid-season)

Another television season and another addition to the growing roster of Shonda Rhimes involved series (made by her production company, created by Jennifer Schurr), the series will star The Killing's Mirelle Enos as a woman used to catch out con artists whilst unaware that she's being scammed herself until it's too late. I don't know if this show will end up being a mega hit in the same way that Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder (it will take the latter's slot mid-season) but all the writing tropes that you would be used in a Shondaland show are definitely there.

5: Containment - CW (Mid-season, TBC)

This one is interesting enough. From producers of both The Vampire Diaries and Arrow and starring the likes of Claudia Black and David Gyasi, the focus here is on a widespread epidemic in Atlanta while local and federal officials desperately search for a cure. It's somewhat different for a CW show and like the upcoming Legends Of Tomorrow, one that's being left for mid-season as well. Possibly worth watching the pilot episode alone.

6: Blindspot - NBC (Mondays 10pm)

A series about a Jane Doe (Jamie Alexander) covered in mysterious tattoos and discovered naked in Times Square, I think it's a little obvious what this upcoming conspiracy series might be influenced by. The trailer was intriguing enough but it's one of several new shows that has a premise that you can't see being sustained organically beyond an initial first season though.

NBC Trailers: http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/05/nbc-new-fall-2015-shows-promos.html
CW Trailers: http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/05/containment-first-look-promo.html

Overall there does seem to be some interesting new shows on the way. I haven't covered them all but with the links in this blog and the previous entry, you'll be able to see the trailers and decide for yourself what you intend to watch over the next twelve months.

First Look: 2015-2016 US TV Season Upfronts Part 1

With the majority of the finales for the current season having now aired or about to air in the next week or two, it's time to look ahead towards the future as many new shows will be debuting in the autumn and trailers for these shows have now aired. I've picked some of the more striking ones from ABC, CBS and FOX for this segment.

1: Supergirl  - CBS (Mondays 8pm)

Probably the most anticipated new show to come, can Greg Berlanti and company strike lightening a third time with this one? Given the six and a half minute trailer that was released, I'm going to quite possibly. It might be up against Gotham when it debuts but Melissa Benoist already looks like she's going to make for a great Kara/Supergirl and the links to her cousin's legacy are also present and correct too. Tonally though, it seems closer to The Flash than Arrow, which is a great thing.

2: Scream Queens - FOX (Tuesdays 9pm)

It took Fox a bit longer to release a trailer for this one and oddly, they went for a shorter one (about half a minute) but it's a good one. While it does look like Emma Roberts really is just playing the same role she did twice in American Horror Story, there does seem to be a lot of bitchy fun to this as the Kappa girls (and some random dudes) find themselves being picked off by the Red Devil Mascot killer. Oh and it also seems to be an interesting comeback vehicle for Jamie Lee Curtis as well.

3: The Muppets - ABC (Tuesdays 8pm)

One of the surprising additions to the upcoming TV season, reviving a franchise that has mostly been movie fodder for the last while is an interesting movie. While I'm a bit iffy about the pitch of an adult version/focus on relationships, the trailer for this made me smile quite a lot and to be honest, who doesn't to see Kermit, Miss Piggy and company on the small screen once again?

4: Quantico - ABC (Tuesdays 10pm)

Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra and Scottish actor Dougray Scott head up the cast of this intriguing conspiracy/terrorist themed show. Having watched the trailer, there does seem to be some very soap opera elements amongst the various training sequences and devastation that seems to befall New York in this. I wasn't initially fussed about this show but the trailer at least makes me want to watch the first few episodes.

5: Of Kings And Prophets - ABC (Sundays 10pm)

I have to admit, this seems like a really strange addition to ABC's schedule. A biblical drama like this seems more suited for cable (though NBC recently had a similar series) and Ray Winstone is one of my least favourite actors going. That being said, the trailer for this massively impressed me and it's gorgeously shot, so I'll be giving it a go.

6: Lucifer - FOX (Mid-season, Mondays 9pm)

Launching out of the upcoming The X-Files revival (and then later airing alongside Gotham), this show will make it's debut in late February/early March 2016, the series has former Rush actor Tom Ellis playing Lucifer himself who has ditched hell to run a nightclub and work for the police when a girl is murdered in his arms. I have to admit, it's an interesting premise made slightly generic by the crime drama element and while Ellis isn't the most magnetic of actors, there was a fair degree of humour in the trailer for this show that the similarly themed The Frankenstein Code seemed devoid of. Not sure if this will be a show that will go the distance though.

7: Bordertown - FOX (Mid-season, Sundays TBC)

With Family Guy and American Dad still there and The Cleveland Show cancelled for a while now, Seth Macfarlane returns with another animated series, which this time focuses  two families living in a Southwest desert town on the United States–Mexico border. The trailer didn't exactly blow me away and with the show being placed at mid-season with 13 episodes, I kind of wonder if FOX aren't confident of it being a success either. The series will debut in January 2016.

8: The Real O'Neals - ABC (Tuesdays 8.30pm)

Another show that caught my surprise, this upcoming sitcom, loosely based on Dan Savage's life focuses on an Irish-American Catholic family who seem to be going through a series of events - the parents (Martha Plimpton and Jay R. Ferguson) are getting divorced, oldest son is a football star with an eating disorder, middle son is gay and youngest daughter is a kleptomaniac. As with The Muppets, I found myself laughing and smiling with the trailer. Oh and the topless hottie during Kenny's (Noah Galvin) fantasy sequence is a nice touch too ....

Yeah, yeah, shallow post aside, these eight trailers stood out so far but I might do another post in a few days covering some other shows from the three networks as well as ones from NBC and the CW that stick out as well. 

ABC Trailers: http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/05/abc-2015-16-new-shows-first-look-promos.html

CBS Trailers: http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/05/new-cbs-fall-2015-shows-first-promos.html

FOX Trailers: http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/05/fox-new-shows-first-look-promos-region.html 

So which new shows are you looking forward to the most?                                               

Recap/Review: Penny Dreadful's 2x02: Verbis Diablo

Second episode into the new season and things are getting rather icky if a final scene is anything to go by. Some good stuff did happen along the way though.

Written by John Logan
Directed by James Hawes

The History Buff & Sharp Shooter: The one thing I loved about this episode was the mixing up of interactions with characters and the teaming up of Egyptian expert Ferdinand Lyle and Ethan for some of this episode was an absolutely joy, especially given that Lyle couldn't contain his delight in spending time with the American. Come to think it, was it me or did Ethan seem a little flattered by Lyle? Probably me but the two of them doing more research on the titular language and uncovering something about a werewolf guard was interesting as well. Speaking of wolves, looks like Ethan's little massacre might be catching up with him fairly soon.

Puppet Mistress: Not too much progression was made with the witch/cult/devil plot this week other than Evelyn working her magic on Sir Malcolm and revealing that Lyle was working for her (or rather being blackmailed into working for her). Well, we did get a creepy final scene where Evelyn took organs from a baby in order to put into a puppet and we saw that there was also a puppet of Vanessa, which also looked pretty creepy. On a slightly less surprising note, it also seems that Evelyn is rather threatened/jealous of Vanessa too.

Honest Conversations: Speaking of Vanessa, this felt like a different episode for her. Sure, there was the opening scene where she told Malcolm that even in prayer she wasn't safe from demons but then we had her and Malcolm feeding the sick at some kind of underground soup kitchen run by nuns and there was also her conversation with Caliban as well. I realised that away from Victor, Caliban can actually be a likeable character and his conversation with Vanessa was one of my favourite scenes ever involving the character. More to the point, I'm enjoying the fact that the show is having other characters interact with each other like with Vanessa/Caliban and Ethan/Lyle this week. I think it keeps things a bit fresher.

A Change In Everything: And then there was one of the more polarising plots of the episode. I know Billie Piper struggled massively with the Northern Irish accent last season but seeing a slightly amnesiac Brona lose it along with her long flowing brown hair and being renamed Lily by Victor kind of pissed me off for some reason. Not to mention the slightly obvious 'triangle' of sorts that's clearly going to emerge between 'Lily', Victor and Caliban as well.

Stay Young & Beautiful: Divorced from all of the main plots (hopefully only for now), Dorian Gray returned in this episode and when he wasn't slightly brooding over Vanessa, he was being charmed by the lovely Angelique (who at first I thought was going to be revealed as a member of Evelyn's coven) who Dorian later visited and had sex with offscreen. While I was disappointed with the latter bit, I do like that the show is continuing well enough with the queer/bisexual representation on the show but aside from that, I'm also hoping that Dorian does become more involved in the main plots as the season progresses too.

Next week, Vanessa meets the Cut Wife as we learn more about her past history with witches.

Closets - Upcoming Gay Sci-Fi Themed Movie

And for fans of both Cucumber and The Sarah Jane Adventures, it's a chance to see a few familiar faces together onscreen as well.

Closets - a sci-fi movie, written and directed by Lloyd Eyre-Morgan and reuniting both Julie Hesmondhalgh and Ceallach Spellman as mother and son for the second time this year will focus on tormented 16-year-old Henry (Thomas Knight) in 1986 who is struggling with his sexuality in his bedroom when he time travels to 2016 and meets gay teenager Ben (Spellman), who is occupying the same room 30 years later.

Hesmondalgh will play Penny, the mother of Spellman's character while rounding off the cast are Waterloo Road actor Jason Done as an older version of Henry and Janet Bamford as Susan. The film will focus on the attitudes towards homophobia as well as the past and present-day issues facing young gay teenagers through Ben and Henry's friendship as well. Closets has also been described as unusual, compassionate and ultimately uplifting story, peppered with sorrow, humour and hope. Needless to say when it becomes available, I will review it for this blog.

Closets - Official Site: http://www.closetsfilm.com/
Cast Pics: http://www.cultbox.co.uk/news/galleries/closets-pics-gallery-cucumber-stars-reunite-in-new-gay-time-travel-film

Closets will be screened later this year.

My Review of Revenge's 4x23: "Two Graves"

Written by Joe Fazzio
Directed by John Terlesky

Emily: "I consider myself lucky. Most morality tales don't have a happy ending. For some reason, karma saw fit to spare me, but not without leaving deeply edged wounds."

And that's it folks. I think we all knew in advance when the fourth season started up that a fifth season was going to be an unlikelihood and after 89 episodes, things came to a very satisfying conclusion here as Emily/Amanda's four year battle with Victoria came to quite a conclusion.

It wasn't quite as big or as lengthy as I expected it to be but the last confrontation between the two ladies was satisfying nonetheless. There was no way that Victoria was going to make it out of the series alive and the possibility that Emily wouldn't either was always there. In fact, the show teased ever so slightly the idea of our anti-heroine dying along with her arch enemy but instead the second grave fell to another person.

I liked that David was the one who shot Victoria and also found it apt that as the life was slipping from her that Victoria would try and take Emily with her. Of course she failed but the title of this episode still came to pass when David succumbed to his illness months later after saving his daughter's soul one last time.

Emily and Victoria's rivalry has been the grounds for this whole show and I felt this episode wrapped it up brilliantly. In the end, Emily came through as the victor but not without being slightly damaged herself. Sure, she got her happy ending by marrying Jack and sailing off with him at the end. I was never the biggest of Emily/Jack shippers but a part of me was pretty happy to see them together at the end than I was for most of the series to be honest.

As for the rest of the characters - Nolan got a mission at the end. The idea that he might be helping someone else exonerate their parent might reek of spin-off consideration but at the same time, it's a perfect fit for him. Emily gave him purpose for four years and even with her revenge story over, she was still able to keep doing that. The one thing I am going to miss massively with this show is Emily and Nolan's friendship and this episode gave so many great moments of reminding me of how wonderful it was to watch on screen.

Of course, other characters stories came to a natural conclusion here as well. Margaux finally realised that she had gone too far with abetting Victoria's antics and teamed up with Nolan to take out White Gold (who nearly killed Jack) and even turned herself in for her part in Ben's death. Much as I found Margaux in the second half of this season, I am glad that in the end she chose to the right thing. Similarly so did Louise by turning on Victoria and setting Emily on her.

As for Charlotte - she only had a handful of scenes but most of them were just her being supportive to Emily at David and Victoria's gravesides as well as attending Emily and Jack's wedding as well. It's amazing how likeable Charlotte was in the last two episodes than she was for a good portion of her time on the series but at least her and Emily were on good terms.

As for Emily's life now, post revenge - I guess we can assume that both her and Jack enjoyed sailing the world and domestic bliss. I know it seemed cheesy to give Emily a happy ending (something even the episode made a point of commenting on) but I'm glad nonetheless that she got one. Considering that she has had to pay prices for her pursuit of revenge, I think she was entitled to some happiness at the very end. More to the point, so were we as viewers.

Also in "Two Graves"

Despite being dead, Ben did manage to briefly appear in flashback and as images on Margaux's laptop in this episode.

Victoria (to Margaux): "The corpse I passed off was my mother."

Victoria using her mother's dead body to fake her death was fitting in a weird way. I did feel the final reveal about Victoria's parentage was a little tacked on though. Oh and Patrick got a mention.

Victoria: "You're a cruel, loathsome bitch who deserves to burn in hell."
Marian: "Well then we'll continue this conversation there."

White Gold: "Either you tell me where Amanda is and you die or either you don't tell me and you die slower."
Jack: "Go to hell."
White Gold: "Bad call."

Nolan giving both Emily and Jack a brand new puppy at their wedding was sweet. In fact, the various callbacks to the pilot really made this episode even more special.

Emily: "I'm not putting Victoria in prison. I'm gonna put her in the ground and don't you dare try to stop me."
Nolan: "I won't. Do it."

Margaux (to Nolan): "I started this to get justice for Daniel. He once told me not to abandon my soul like he had. He redeemed himself by saving a life. I need to honour him and do the same."

The ambiguity as to whether or not Emily now has Victoria's heart is a delightfully twisted thing. I don't think we'll ever know the answer to that. I'm not sure I really want to know either. David dying during a snowy winter as well felt oddly right too.

Emily: "For you, death is my only true revenge."
Victoria: "I died long before you were born. This is just a formality. Are you ready now?"
Emily: "More than you ever know. Goodbye, Victoria."

Emily: "Upon embarking on a path of revenge, Conficius warns dig two graves. Conficius was right. The second of the two graves was meant for me. I was only saved by my father's infinite love."

Standout music: Has to be Angus & Julia Stone's "For You". It was fantastic when it was used back in the "Pilot" and it was perfect here as well for Emily/Jack's wedding.

Emily: "When everything you love has been stolen from you, consider my story as you embark on your own journey of revenge and always remember, what goes around comes around."

Nolan: "Well played, Ams, well played."

Chronology: 2014 or was it 2015 by the time we got to Emily and Jack's wedding?

That was absolutely perfect. It might have been something of a rocky road with Revenge in it's later years but with "Two Graves", I honestly do believe we got one of the most satisfying and wonderful character journey ends that we've had in a while. I'm going to miss seeing Emily and Nolan on my screens but after four seasons and 89 episodes, this was the best way of ending the series and their respective journeys. Goodbye show - you will be missed.

Rating: 10 out of 10

My Review of Atlantis's 2x11: "Kin"

Written by Julian Jones
Directed by Justin Molotnikov

Pasiphae (re Jason): “It seems the gods really do smile on him”

After two fairly strong enough episodes, this was another rather plodding hour for a show that will be over and done with by the weekend. Jason got captured - check, had to fit in the pits instead of getting roasted by the bronze bull - check, slowly but surely realised that Aeson was his father - check, eventually escaped captivity - check, lost his father - also check. Literally nothing in this episode came as a shock.

Okay, maybe the divide between Medea and Pasiphae towards the end of the episode as the latter took Jason's acceptance of Aeson as a form of rejection but Pasiphae has always been the easily slighted sort anyways. However unlike Pasiphae who the writers refuse to develop as a layer antagonist, at least Medea can actually see the value in Jason and doesn't take all of his resistance as a slight.

The best part of the episode surprisingly involved Ariadne. She didn't really do anything as such but her scenes with both Hercules and Pythagoras have done more to make a better character to watch than anything else thus far. Had we seen this side to the character before, it might have made more difference to the show.

Last but not least - are the writers going to go anywhere with Pythagoras and Icarus? I get the latter is being forced to give information to Pasiphae because his father's imprisoned but the fleeting scenes with the two aren't really going anywhere, are they?

- Why is everyone in Pasiphae's court acting like Jason murdered the previous Oracle when they know Medusa did the deed? It's getting frustrating now.
- Although the pit stuff was tedious, I did like the guy Diocles actually helping Jason though.
- I don't get why anyone would want to follow Pasiphae as a leader. She's pretty hot headed and incompetent from what has been shown so far.
- BBC1 are burning off the last two episodes on Saturday at 7pm. More than likely I will do one review for them instead of two.

"Kin" was just dull. I was hoping after the previous two, it would be an exciting leading episode into the series finale but I spent most of the episode bored by it. I really hope the finale is good but I'm starting to think it's going to be a pile of dreck.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Shotgun Wedding

A look at some of the shows I've been watching just of late ....

Arrow: The last few episodes have meandered a little and I have to admit, after initially finding Ras fascinating, I've actually gotten bored with the character and his desperation to make Oliver his heir. Maybe it's the Batman fan in me but either way, this plot isn't best working and having Nyssa being forced into marrying Oliver left a nasty taste too. On the other hand, I have enjoyed Thea and Roy's reunion and I liked that both Felicity and Ray broke up while remaining friends too. Ray has grown over the course of the season for me, character wise and more of Tatsu would be nice too. Hopefully the finale finishes off this 'heir to the demon' storyline for good though.

Game Of Thrones: I admitted to not really enjoying the opening episode as much as I did previous ones but the following episodes have been brilliant. While Ellaria's quest for vengeance is tedious, I do find the Sand Snakes interesting and I'm enjoying Jamie and Bronn's scenes together along with Tyrion and Jorah's ones too. Of course, it does seem like bad decisions are being made with Dany sticking around in Meereen and Cersei allying herself with the High Sparrow as well but at least Arya is getting results in Braavos and hopefully the change with the Sansa/Ramsay storyline will result in a painful demise for the latter. One can hope, right?

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: Still enjoying this season and the last few episodes have been great. May's backstory episode had it's moments and the show's attempts of having the original players work with Ward in order to rescue Lincoln and Mike also was a nice way of showing just how much things have genuinely changed with the show. The Inhumans plot is a lot better than the Real SHIELD stuff though, even if the show has found a better way of meshing the two together.

Once Upon A Time: I'll admit it - the Queens of Darkness was good on paper but didn't translate so well onscreen. Ursula had been taken out of the equation too quickly, Maleficent was mainly focused on reconnecting with Lily (which admittedly had some good moments) and while Cruella was the only one with true nastiness (and the most original backstory) was taken out too quickly. Not to mention that the pregnancy plot with Zelena seems like another obstacle we could've done without. At least with the Author getting a tad power crazy, it should lead to a suitably bonkers finale though.

Scandal: And the award for most distracting wig on telly - goes to Lena Dunham in an episode where she played a character that acting wise, didn't really stretch her but at the same time wasn't as frustrating as Hannah Horvath either. The last few episodes on SkyLiving have been fine but a little coasting. I did like Cyrus and Michael getting married but I am hopeful we'll never have to see Mellie's sister ever again. As for the B613 stuff, it does look like this season might finally wrap up that strand once and for all.

The Flash: Right now, this has rapidly become one of my favourite shows and the last few episodes have been joyfully mad to watch. An episode with a mind controlling Gorilla (hello, Grodd) shouldn't have worked but it bloody well did and having Iris finally be in the know of everything just as the show heads towards it's final two episodes is another good step in the right direction. Along with everyone being privy to Wells/Eobard too. I don't know what the last two episodes are going to do but I'm definitely excited to find out.

- Constantine is among several shows from NBC to get the axe. Others include About A Boy, State Of Affairs and Marry Me.
- ABC have passed on the Bobbi/Lance spin-off but have renewed both Agents Of SHIELD and Agent Carter for further seasons.
- Orphan Black has also been renewed for a fourth season. Brilliant news.
- Gotham's second season will return Jerome and introduce both Mad Hatter and Clayface.
- The Frankenstein Code has been ordered to series by FOX.
- CBS are rumoured to be planning to wrap up CSI with a television movie as the show's future is in the air.
- Following a certain departure, ratings have dipped for Grey's Anatomy but the show will be back for a 12th season.
- Rosario Dawson will be in the second season of Daredevil.
- CBS have officially picked up Supergirl for a series.
- Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell will air on BBCAmerica from June for US viewers.

Doctor Who - Series 9 Character Returns/Torchwood Comes To Big Finish

With filming for the third block now completed for the upcoming ninth series of Doctor Who, production for the fourth block - comprising of episodes 7 and 8 has now begun and there's some familiar faces to expect in it.

With UNIT already appearing in the opening two parter opener, The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar, it's been confirmed that not only will Jemma Redgrave and Jaye Griffiths also appear in this current block, but they're also going to be joined by Ingrid Oliver, reprising her role as the maybe not dead Osgood. Last seen being killed by Missy in the previous series finale, Death In Heaven, executive producer Steven Moffat had this to say about the character's return ....

“Osgood is back, fresh from her recent murder at the end of last series. We recently confirmed that Osgood was definitely dead and not returning - but in a show about time travel, anything can happen. The brilliant Ingrid Oliver is back in action. This time though, can the Doctor trust his number one fan?”

Much as I liked Osgood in her previous two appearances, I am a little surprised that she's returning for this story. Now it could turn out that Missy might have killed a Zygon posing as her last year (which leads to another thing in a moment) or that the 'Osgood' we see in this story for whatever purposes actually is a Zygon. Which leads to the next return.

And they're back. Last seen in The Day Of The Doctor, along with UNIT and Osgood (is she dead/isn't she dead?), the Zygons will also be appearing in this two part story, which has been confirmed to be written by Peter Harness (Kill The Moon) and directed by Daniel Nettheim (Glue, Line Of Duty). The two part story will also feature Cleopatra Dickens, Sasha Dickens, Abhishek Singh, Todd Kramer, Jill Winternitz, Nicholas Asbury, Jack Parker and Aidan Cook.

Meanwhile for Torchwood fans - great news, it's coming back - in audio form, that is. Big Finish have roped in John Barrowman to record six new adventures. The new series of audio dramas will each focus on different members of the Torchwood team, exploring the impact that a mysterious event has on them. This kicks off with The Conspiracy by David Llewellyn, which is released September 2015. The remaining five will be released in 2016. Still with this series getting a licence for the popular audio company and an upcoming Kate Stewart series, I wouldn't be surprised if we do get that tiny bit closer to Doctors from 2005 onwards materialing on audio within the near future.

Series 9 Press Release: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/entries/6fec5341-a0c9-439e-9c75-34e0cae1af56
Torchwood Press Release: http://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/torchwood

Series 9 of Doctor Who continues filming and will air on BBC1 and BBCAmerica from Autumn 2015.

Recap/Review: Penny Dreadful's 2x01: Fresh Hell

I can't believe it's been ten months since the first season of this show wrapped up but with the second season now airing on both Showtime and SkyAtlantic, it's time to get reacquainted with Vanessa and company.

Written by John Logan
Directed by James Hawes

Protectors: This episode was not Vanessa's week, was it? It seems that popular strand of the Devil wanting him as her bride will continue to run this season as she spent most of this episode being stalked, attacked and frightened out of her wits with Ethan determined to step in and protect. Of course, Vanessa doesn't play damsel in distress that well so she decided to come up with her own form of protection with a blood ritual as the episode drew to it's close.

Devil Women: Last season we had vampires of sorts as a recurring threat and this season, it seems that Madame Kali/Evelyn Poole, her daughter Hecate (played by Sarah Greene) and a slew of shape changing ladies are this year's threats. Their goal seems to be delivering Vanessa as the bride for their Master and while their attempts weren't successful this week, Kali herself seems more than determined to please good old Lucifer. Helen McCrory in this episode alone did generate some genuine scares (bathing in a bathtub of blood, her prayers to Lucifer himself) when she wasn't delightfully chewing the scenery as well and she certainly has the makings of a great villain here.

The Dead Has Risen: Keeping with the female characters here, while Billie Piper didn't get a word of dialogue this week, there was a generous amount of focus on Brona nonetheless. Sure for the most part, the character was naked, unconscious and in water but the end of this opening saw Brona rise from the dead in a rather glorious moment. While I hate the idea of her being used as a 'bride' for Caliban, I do hope that at some point this season, Brona will serve a bigger purpose to the overall arcs this year given how underused she was in the first season. Plus Victor is going to have some serious explaining to do when Ethan realises that Brona isn't quite as dead as he thought she was.

New Job: When Caliban wasn't obsessing over a new bride or taking cheap shots at the state of his creator's soul, he did however manage to get himself a new job at a failing waxworks place and also seemed to have a brief connection with the owner's blind daughter, Lavinia as well. I have to admit that while Caliban is still my least favourite character out of the regulars, I really don't want to see him in another employment situation where he's cruelly going to be mistreated or jeered at and the owners of his new job don't seem like the most tolerant of people either.

No More Children To Kill: I had actually forgotten about Sir Malcolm's wife until we saw her at Mina's grave in this episode and had her rip her estranged husband a new one as well. Funny thing is that she referred to Peter's grave as empty, so could that possibly mean something for upcoming episodes? As for Malcolm, aside from his scenes with his estranged wife and Vanessa, he didn't really do anything that interesting in this episode. Then again, neither did Sembene come to think of it. I do hope the latter is given more to do this season.

Next week, Dorian is back and Evelyn targets both Malcolm and Vanessa while Victor seems drawn to Brona.

My Review of Revenge's 4x22: "Plea"

Written by Alex Taub
Directed by J Miller Tobin

Emily (re Victoria): "I know she's alive."
Margaux: "You are delusional."
Emily: "Delusional with nothing to lose."

Well, that's not true. This episode alone made it clear that Emily could lose her freedom and will lose David as the latter only has six months to live but at least even with the obstacles of ankle bracelets and being put back in the slammer after violating rules didn't deter Emily from realising her archenemy is actually alive.

I have to admit I'm actually relieved to a degree that Victoria didn't kill herself. The woman is way too much of a narcissist to kill herself so framing Emily instead and using an unclaimed body (along with Margaux and Mason as hench people) actually makes a lot more sense. The way Emily described to Ben Victoria's intricate plans showed that she really thought things through. Except she was sloppy in some other regards.

It took Louise of all people to actually find the hoodie that Emily supposedly wore when Victoria was attacked in the latter's penthouse (actually we learned that Margaux did the attacking) to make her realise that her guardian angel might not have killed herself after all. She did however manage to relay this back to Ben, who despite spending most of the episode sceptical of Emily's innocence did some digging of his own, learned that Victoria was alive and then got killed by White Gold at Margaux's behest.

I'm not going to mourn Ben too much as a character but it was a little sad that upon actually doing some decent detective work he ended up getting killed for it. Of course with White Gold around the place, it does mean that along with getting out of jail, Emily has someone other than Victoria that she'll have to take out during the final episode as well. That should be fun to watch, right?

As for the rest of the episode, it was mostly everyone reacting to either Emily going to prison or David not having too long to live. There were some nice individual scenes with Nolan and Jack, Jack and David, David and Emily and of course one scene with Emily and Jack that should delight all shipper if both of them make it out of next week's episode alive that is.

Also in "Plea"

Charlotte returned for one scene in this episode to give Louise permission to enter Victoria's penthouse and to also tell audiences that she can't be bothered with her mother's "death". Smart girl.

Louise: "We all need to grieve."
Margaux: "This is how I grieve."

Emily's defense lawyer was played by Tom Amandes who has previously worked with Emily Van Camp on Everwood.

Emily (to Jack): "I wanna be with you. It's why I need all of this to work. It's why I'm going after Mason even if I have to cut my damn foot off. I want us to have a chance."

Louise (re Victoria): "Don't you want something to remember her by?"
Charlotte: "I'll tell you what - you stop calling me and I'll tell the hotel you have my permission to enter her penthouse. Take whatever's gonna bring you solace."

Loved how Jack was able to get Margaux framed for stealing some jewellery and how quickly Emily was able to get information out of her. It does prove that Margaux is an inept villain though.

Margaux (to Jack): "This is a knee jerk reaction with you. Defend Emily no matter what, even when she kills."

Nolan (to Louise): "I can't stand in Emily's house because your guardian angel blew it up."

Victoria claimed the body of a woman named Mary Gaines to pull off her elaborate scheme.

Margaux: "Of course you were behind this."
Emily: "That's a theory but we've got all night to discuss among other things."

Standout music: Nothing that I can think of.

Ben (to Victoria): "Son of a bitch! You are alive."

Chronology: From where "Aftermath" kind of left off.

Not a brilliant penultimate episode but "Plea" certainly set up everything nicely for the finale though. It'll be interesting to see if Emily can get her freedom, revenge and love by Sunday, especially given the odds aren't in her favour at the moment.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Atlantis's 2x10: "The Dying Of The Light"

Written by Lucy Watkins
Directed by Justin Molotnikov

Medea (to Pasiphae, re Jason): “He also knows that he is touched by the gods. He is drawn to us, I have seen it with my own eyes”

Just as this show got cancelled and after two plodding episodes, it finally feels like Atlantis is stepping up a gear here. Last week saw Medusa sacrifice herself, Ariadne get rescued and Jason learnt that Pasiphae is his mother. This week dealt with all of those things mostly head on with decent results to be honest.

I'm not gonna lie about Jason's 'darkness' though. This plot in some ways does expose Jack Donnelly's limitations as an actor as half the time in this episode, it felt more like Jason having a sulky teenage strop rather than a hero on the brink of having his morality compromised and heart blackened heart. Despite one scene where he kills an innocent soldier, he just spends a good portion of the episode being a pain in the arse to both Ariadne and Hercules, the latter of whom wanted to throttle him at times.

Of course, we did get to the last scene of the episode where Jason and Medea met up, snogged and seemed to forge a connection and to be honest, it was probably the best part of the episode. Alone in this episode, I realised yet again that Jason and Ariadne are better characters away from each other than together. In fact, Ariadne's interactions alone with Pythagoras and Hercules were more interesting to watch than her scenes with Jason.

Speaking of Pythagoras - I loved that he got some more screen time with Icarus this week (even if the latter was forced to betray him to save his father from execution) and I also liked that he managed to get Aeson back into the mix as well. It's just too bad (possibly) that Jason succumbed to Medea before being reunited with his father though.

- Pasiphae went into literal Darth Vader mode in this episode with that little trick she did on her right hand man. I am sensing a power struggle with her and Medea as well.
- Is it too much to really hope that Pythagoras and Icarus do have a romantic past/present/future? They really do seem to be more than friends here.
- Controversial or not but I actually prefer this Oracle compared to the last one. Not sure why though.
- Jason's current storyline is similar to Emma's in Once Upon A Time when you think about it.

Definitely as good as last week and one of the better episodes we've had with this show. If we had more episodes of "The Dying Of The Light" I really do think this show might have gotten a third series at the very least. Still a good episode though.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Gotham's 1x22: "All Happy Families Are Alike"

Written by Bruno Heller
Directed by Danny Cannon

Oswald: "Goodbye Fish."
Fish: "It's all good."

And that episode just happened. It's no lie to say that Gotham has had something of a divisive first season and this finale in some ways perfectly capped off that feeling as well but can we at least say one thing about this episode? It wasn't boring. Not for one second.

The mob war stuff has been such a dominating factor of the show's first season and while it's been tedious and repetitive in some episodes, this finale did us all a massive favour by actually shaking up the dynamics here by taking two of the main players out of the equation while one walked away and the other can now (sort of) reign supreme for the time being.

Much as I like David Zayas, I don't think I'm going to miss Maroni all that much as a character. Between him and Falcone, he wasn't as interesting and his hotheaded ego got the worst of him this week with his constant patronising of Fish. Seeing the latter then put a bullet in his head was pretty welcomed after having to endure his irritating sexism one too many times here. Of course, Maroni wasn't the only fatality of this episode.

Fish herself literally went sailing to her death following a fiery rooftop confrontation with Oswald. One of the missed opportunities of the first season was that Fish and Oswald's dynamic was never properly fleshed out and while the former's death did pack a bit of a punch, it might have had more impact if the dynamic with Fish/Oswald had been better explored throughout the first season. However, I did laugh with Oswald's hilariously OTT announcing that he was the King of Gotham. If I were Oswald, I wouldn't get too comfortable with that title just yet.

As for Falcone - he actually took himself out of the equation. Sure, he came close enough to death a few times, got captured with Gordon, Bullock and Oswald at least twice but out of the four vying for Top Dog, he was smart enough to get the hell out of the city. I don't doubt that Falcone's retirement will be short term but for now, this episode actually gave the character a pretty dignified temporary exit. I liked that.

Of course it wasn't just mob stuff that this episode had in spades. Clearly spending time with Jason tapped into Barbara's inner psycho as she delighted in telling Leslie that she was the one who bumped off her parents before trying to kill Leslie herself. I did like that Leslie was the one who took Barbara down but what does this mean for Barbara next season? Will she be spending some time in Arkham or has Gotham thrown out the first seeds of a new female villain for the second season? Either way, this darkened version of the character is a lot more interesting to watch than what we got at the start of the season.

Last but not least - did Bruce and Alfred just discover the Bat Cave? I don't know but it was a fantastic way of ending this episode either way. While the two of them were detached from the main plots this week (and most of the season, truth be told), I do like that Bruce is getting a little closer to learning some of his family secrets though.

Also in "All Happy Families Are Alike"

For one episode only, Selina became Fish's right hand woman and even got to lord it over Gordon and Oswald as well.

Fish: "Good morning, child."
Selina: "We ain't children and it ain't morning."
Fish: "Oh, it will be soon. A brand new day."

Really liked the cyber punk looks that both Selina and Fish with their crew were going for in this episode.

Gordon (re Falcone): "He's a bad man but he's the best bad man we've got."

Fish (to Gordon/Bullock/Oswald/Falcone): "I know, it's astonishing. Sometimes I astonish myself."

It wasn't just Barbara going crazy in this episode. After Kringle deduced Nygma's name in the letter, Edward himself lost it as well.

Selina: "How you gonna kill them?"
Fish: "I love this girl."

Fish (to Maroni): "Don't call me babes."

Now that Maroni is dead, will it be Falcone who then pushes characters like Harvey Dent to their future fate?

Leslie: "That's not kids stuff."
Barbara: "To be fair to them, they simply never understood me. They have no clue who I am. Even when I was killing them, they just gaped at me like fools not understanding."

Leslie (to Gordon, re Barbara): "She just went crazy."
Bullock: "Told him that woman was trouble."

Standout music:  Romeo and Juliet: Montagues and Capulets (Dance of the Knights) by Ukraine National Symphony.

Oswald: "I'm the King of Gotham."

Chronology: A two week jump from where "The Anvil Or The Hammer" left off.

Now that was a fun finale. I'm not gonna say it's the best one we'll have this current season but I do think "All Happy Families Are Alike" did nail everything pretty well while setting up some interesting plots for the second season. Gotham's first season has been far from perfect but it has been a fun ride and now that some of the mob stuff has been rejigged, hopefully it'll mean focus on other villain aspects for next season.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Arrow/The Flash Spin-Off - Title Confirmed

Well, if we're going by Victor Garber, then yeah, the imminent Arrow/The Flash spin off will now be called, Legends Of Tomorrow.

Garber, who plays one half of Firestorm as Dr. Stein, let the details fly in an interview with BroadwayWorld.com.

 "Yeah, I think it's going to be a very fun ride. I really honestly can't tell you much about it except it is completely new and it will involve a lot of interesting people. No. We haven't filmed any of it yet - but, it is going straight to series. We start filming in August and it will be on in January. Yes, it will be on the CW."

Other details that have emerged is that the show will be 13 episodes (not a bad thing) and that a three minute teaser will be shown at the upfronts this month. While I do think that this show along with Supergirl does seem like the producers could be spreading themselves too thin, the casting so far has been interesting and I am looking forward to the show.

Source: http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/05/the-legends-of-tomorrow-arrowflash-spin.html

Legends Of Tomorrow will air on the CW from January 2016. 

Revenge - Cancelled After Four Seasons

I think we all saw it coming but yesterday ABC finally confirmed that Revenge will be ending for good after four seasons.

The show which debuted in 2011 will conclude with it's final two episodes Plea and Two Graves, the latter of which will air on May 10th. Executive producer Sunil Nayar told Entertainment Weekly ....

“We’ve been talking to the network and we all just wanted to make sure that we felt very confident. Now that everybody has seen the finale—which is fabulous—everybody understands that as much as we all adore the show, it has hit exactly the mark it needed to to end. This is the series finale of Revenge that will be airing in a couple weeks.”

Personally I think Revenge's ending is one of the least surprising cancellations we've had. Aside from the ratings sadly declining and ABC's lack of decent promotion this season, the fourth season has had so many moments where it looked like the show was wrapping up anyways - David being alive/exonerated, Daniel's death, Charlotte fleeing the Hamptons, Emily revealing to the world that she's Amanda and of course, Victoria blowing herself up as well. Now I love the show to bits but there's no way it could've logically justified a fifth run (even a truncated season would've been pushing it) and four seasons is a good run for the show. I'll miss Emily's weekly take downs and the wonderfulness that is Nolan but all good things have to end and hopefully the final episode will wrap things up in a satisfying way for the show.

Press Release: http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/04/revenge-cancelled-by-abc.html

Revenge's final episode will air on May 10th on ABC and later in the month for RTE1 viewers and in June for E4 viewers. Season 4 will be released on DVD later in 2015.

My Review of Revenge's 4x21: "Aftermath"

Written by Shannon Goss And Christopher Fife
Directed by Rob J. Greenlea

Emily (re Victoria): "That bitch set me up. I'm innocent."

Of course this happened. It would've been a remiss had it not. Emily had the perfect scheme to fake her death and see Victoria go to prison for it. Sadly for her, Victoria thought it was a neat thing to do as well and having Mason being part of the frame job was a nice touch. Emily screwed them both over and now they've done it to her in style.

I'm not actually praising Victoria and Mason here and I certainly don't see Emily going to prison as karma in any form but I do think she should've seen this one coming. With two episodes left in the series, I'd be extremely annoyed if Emily is sent to prison for a murder she didn't commit, but right now it does look like the odds aren't in her favour.

Along with Victoria's two minions Louise and Margaux acting like the woman was a saint, Ben well and truly turned on Emily this week too. I know that he had to consider the possibility of Victoria's death being a murder but it's almost like was too quick to believe that Emily murdered the woman and that scene with Jack at the station did come across as sour grapes as well.

Speaking of Jack - I understand that he momentarily considered the idea that Emily might have done it too (as did Stevie in a way but ultimately I am glad that some awkwardness aside that he was mainly on Emily's side in this episode as well, even if Nolan had to convince him of Emily's innocence as well. He also seemed happy when Ben told him that Emily chose him as well.

As for David - I'm glad the episode raised the notion of him being a suspect, considering that he had plotted to kill Victoria earlier in the season. Of course this also ended up being used as a means for Emily to find out that her father was ill, even if David didn't tell her everything. Isn't his condition actually worse than he's letting on?

The rest of the episode moved at a good pace too. While I hated that Nolan and Tony broke up, I am glad that at least the latter wasn't killed off or vilified in the process though. That being said - the adoption storyline for Tony literally came out of nowhere and a part of me is still hoping he's back for the last episode but I guess not, eh?

Also in "Aftermath"

Of course Emily wouldn't be bothered about Grayson Manor being blown up. It was never really her home in the first place.

Nolan (to Emily, re Mason): "Can't anyone follow a simple revenge plan? Oh right you didn't when you revealed yourself as Amanda."

Nolan's nickname for Mason - Crazy Capote. I think even if Mason sold his soul to the devil, he probably wouldn't have half of Capote's talent though.

Emily (re Victoria): "She wanted to die at Grayson Manor."
David: "That house was a symbol of everything Grayson stood for - wealth, power, status."

Stevie (re Victoria): "That woman changed the course of my life. She stole my husband, she drove me to drink and she ran me out of town."
Jack: "You're not the only person whose life she destroyed."

Of course Victoria's little video message would quickly delete but even though are retrievable though. Emily better hope so.

Louise (to Margaux): "I knew it. This wasn't a suicide at all. This was murder."

Nolan: "I wish I had met you a year ago."
Tony: "Me too. Goodbye Nolan."

Standout music: Not really anything this week I think.

Victoria (to Emily): "The only difference, you never had the guts to kill yourself but I do so I suppose that makes me the victor in our little game but who's keeping score? Enjoy your life in prison my dear. May you suffer greatly."

Chronology: From where "Burn" left off.

A strong follow up episode, "Aftermath" might have had some frustrating moments (airport security?) but it was still a great episode, even if things might not be looking so rosy for Emily at the moment.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Empire - Season 1 Debuts On E4 Tonight/Season 2 Wishlist (Spoilers)

Well, it's finally here. The first season of FOX's mammoth hit Empire finally airs for UK and Irish viewers tonight on E4 and Digital Spy have rounded up seven compelling reasons to watch the show (the link's below). However for those of us who've already seen the first season (either at US pace or otherwise), here are a few things that I think the second season could do. Don't read on if you haven't seen all the first season.

Episode Count: Personally I think it should stick to 12 episodes. It’s a good number, ensures that certain storylines aren’t bloated and it means that we mostly avoid having filler episodes as well. I know FOX probably want more and are slightly nervous about gaps between seasons but if a show like Game Of Thrones can have 9-10 months gaps between seasons and still continue to pull in great ratings (amid book spoilers, episode leaks etc), there’s no reason Empire can’t either. Sometimes less is more and this show will burn out fast if FOX try to take it to 20 plus episodes - Glee certainly did. At a push though, they could do 16 episodes - eight that air during October/November, break for December and then air the remaining eight between mid January/early March but really, twelve episodes is more than enough for the show.

Father & Sons: I don’t mind that Jamal has a little bit of a ruthless streak but what I don’t want is the show to try and turn him into Lucious 2.0 though. Show the similarities between Jamal and Lucious but also continue to highlight the differences between them as well. Also continue to develop the relationships that Lucious has with Jamal, Andre and Hakeem as well. Same with Cookie and her sons too.

Develop Other Characters: I get that this show is about the Lyon family and that’s perfectly fine but I do hope for the second season we are given more insight into the likes of Anika, Rhonda, Porscha, Becky etc. Look at Michael - the guy was in six episodes and aside from something to do with cooking, we knew absolutely nothing about the guy.

Don’t Go Overkill With The Guest Stars: I get that the popularity of this show is going to be tempted all sort of people to want to appear in the show and I’m cool with that but at the same time, I hope the show continues to strike the right balance here. The super talented main cast should not play second fiddle to any of the special guest star types.

More Flashbacks: That’s probably a guarantee anyways but so far I am loving them. Basically, I’m a sucker for a good old flashback really.

Duets Ahoy: Again another thing I greatly enjoyed during the first season. More please.

Jamal’s Love Life: Should he stick with Ryan or should Michael come back and the two of them work it out again (the actor who plays the latter certainly seems keen on returning via his Twitter lol) or should Jamal get another love interest? I guess it depends but I do like seeing a loved up Jamal too. Although come to think of it, maybe we should also see a single Jamal for a few episodes too as we haven’t had that yet either.

Rivalries: Lucious needs a proper rival and I don’t mean members of his family. Beretti came close but appeared too fleetingly to really nail it so either that old guy that Cookie/Anika/Andre/Hakeem were seeking advice on a hostile takeover as a potential rival or someone else from Lucious’s past with a similar backstory and a similar rise to the ranks of being poor to owning a strong recording company. Someone Lucious can properly go toe to toe with as well. Plus you can imagine the fun this show would casting that role. The rival could also have his own family to rival Cookie and the boys as well.

Seven Reasons To Watch Empire: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/feature/a644349/empire-starts-tonight-7-reasons-why-you-should-tune-in-for-the-hit-us-drama.html#~pb91uKJIbu4USO

Empire airs Tuesdays 9pm on E4 fron tonight.