Tag: tv review

Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part 1

In case it’s not very obvious from the title, this article will contain many spoilers for last night’s episode of Supergirl. Read at your own risk.

Part 1 of the CW’s crossover for this season aired last night, and boy did they start off with a bang. There is no slowly introducing the problem and gathering the group. We’ve been doing that all season during Flash & Arrow. From minute one the Monitor gives us the background we need to set-up the rest of the story, and then it’s game on. I love that they didn’t waste any time in throwing our heroes into the fire. The rushed pacing gives us a sense of the danger they are in.

I had a lot of theories going in as to the role of certain characters and what would happen to some of our stars, but after part 1 I already have to rework all my preconceived notions. First off, I figure this version of Harrison Wells we’ve been seeing in Flash recently was working for or somehow connected to the Anti-Monitor. I guess I was partially right, but it never occurred to me he would be playing the part of Pariah. That reveal had my jaw drop. I’m excited to see what they do with his character.

The other thing I was surprised about is that they seem to have killed Oliver Queen at the end of the first episode. I figured if he was dying in a series other than his own it would be on Flash. The two shows have always been tied more closely together than the others, plus it makes for a great cliffhanger just before the break. Ollie dies, everyone looks shocked, cut to credits and we wait a month to see his team’s reactions. Who knows, maybe future Ollie whom we saw while they rescued baby Jonathan will have a role to play in everything. Only time will tell.

I’m going to try to keep posting these updates the day after each episode airs, so stay tuned tomorrow when I give my thoughts on Batwoman and Wednesday for my review of Flash (plus speculation on what will happen when we return in January for the thrilling conclusion).

This Crisis has been six years in the making, by my count. Ever since we first saw headlines about how the Flash would disappear during Crisis they have been planting the seeds to what looks to be their best crossover yet. I am simultaneously very prepared and not at all ready for what comes next.

Doctor Who S11Ep1 – The Woman Who Fell to Earth

Warning: there will be spoilers abound in all my Doctor Who reviews. Continue at your own risk.

After what seemed like forever, we finally got to meet the new Doctor this past Sunday, and… I have no words other than BRILLIANT. I mean, just look at her running around in Capaldi’s old close, looking a bit mad.

That’s her making a new sonic out of scraps she finds on Earth because she’s brilliant and can do anything.

In case you can’t tell, I really loved our Lady Doctor and the episode she gets introduced in. Throughout the extended season premiere we get to meet who will become the new companions as they get sucked into a mystery involving what else but aliens and the Doctor. I think my favorite of all of them was Grace, who unfortunately does not make it to the end of the episode. As Ryan points out in his ending video to his YouTube followers, she died the way she lived – helping people.

The companions we are left with are nothing to sneeze at, however. I love how Ryan is curious and unafraid from the start, but feels bad when he realizes his curiosity maybe got people hurt. I hope he keeps being curious while maybe being a little smarter about it in the future.

Then there’s Yasmin (Yas to her friends), the rookie police officer who wants something more exciting than parking disputes and gets a little more than she bargained for. She’s another one who is prime companion material – looking for a challenge and a way to make a difference.

Finally there’s Graham, who reluctantly goes along with everything even though he doesn’t even believe in aliens at first, and if they do exist they certainly aren’t in Sheffield. I love his skepticism, and I love his faith that the bus drivers will know if anything weird is going on (which he’s not wrong), and I love the fact he goes along with things no matter how doubtful or scared he is of this very unfamiliar situation. I look forward to him going waaaaay outside his comfort zone while he travels across the stars.

I could keep going, but there is not a single moment of this episode I did not wholeheartedly love. I think Jodie Whittaker is perfect as the Doctor so far, and I think she has the perfect companions for her version of the Doctor. I love that she’s just as confused by her situation as we are. She wants to know who she is and where her TARDIS went just as much as we do. I love that rush of adrenaline as she’s facing the Big Bad that finally jolts her memory. I love the speech that is both classic and unique where she reveals “I’m the Doctor” before defending the Earth yet again from an alien threat. I love everything about what I watched Sunday, and cannot wait to get to know her better. She is my Doctor, and I will follow her to the edges of time and space for as long as she asks me to.

Arrow: The Offer

Yesterday I promised a review of the return of Arrow, and I always do my damnedest to keep my promises. While last night’s episode may not have blown me away like the return of The Flash did, it still made me smile enough to be worth a brief post. There are some spoilers in this one but not nearly as bad as my review of The Flash from yesterday (although based on previews for the next episode it looks like none of that awesome stuff will have happened because timey whimey, which will be simultaneously awesome and infuriating if that becomes true). Still, if you haven’t watched yet you might want to hold back on reading this until you do.

Last night’s episode of Arrow picks up where the last one left off: with Oliver being offered the honor of becoming the heir to Ra’s al Ghul and taking over the League of Assassins one day (which Nyssa finds out about and doesn’t like one bit). I love the relationship with Ra’s and his daughter, how badly she wants his approval and her constant struggle to balance that with the love she feels for the now late Sara Lance vs how much her father disapproved of that relationship).

Here is one difference with the returning episodes of Arrow vs The Flash: Where Flash started off like a typical episode and cranked things up at the end, Arrow had a strong opening and closing but the middle was just another Wednesday for our team. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the episode and the middle part of the story made the ending possible, but I definitely was looking for a more constantly tense episode than I got. I will say that I liked the fact they had Arrow consider Ra’s al Ghul’s offer throughout the episode and made Oliver question why he still does the hero thing. I assumed after his struggles he would accept the offer and live to regret it, but instead they’re going to make him deal with the consequences of denying Ra’s something he wants. I doubt many people can get away with that without some consequences. I assume the rest of the season (or at least a good part of it) will be about Ra’s convincing Oliver to reconsider his decision until he finally relents. Oliver thinks he’s lost a lot in his journey as Arrow, but I have a bad feeling he’s going to see how much he has left to lose still. We’ll just have to wait and see…

The Flash Blasts Back

The Flash returned to our tv viewing schedules last night, and boy did it come back with a bang.

WARNING! MAJOR SPOILERS IN THIS POST. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

 

 

At first last night’s episode was just like any other. You had the usual tension caused by Iris and Barry’s dynamic, plus the meta-human villain of the week. Except this villain has a personal beef with Det Joe West. While this fact alone causes added tension within the episode, things really get cranked up to 11 by the end. Within the last few minutes we get

  • Joe being captured and Iris being told “come alone or daddy dies”
  • Cisco finding out the truth about Dr Wells and being killed by his mentor and father figure
  • Iris confessing her love to Barry and the kiss we’ve been waiting for since episode 1
  • Iris finding out Barry is the Flash in a way that does not involve an awkward conversion or added cheesiness (I assume that comes later)
  • A giant wtf ending that will leave you wanting more

So to conclude: The Flash cranked things up to the next level with last night’s episode. Here’s hoping 1) they can continue with this momentum through the end of the season, and 2) Arrow brings a similarly badass opener for their return tonight. If they do, you will be hearing from me again about our other costumed star tomorrow.

Jekyll & Hyde

As I mentioned in my post from yesterday, I’ve been binge watching a bunch of shows that Netflix is taking off Instant at the end of the month. Today’s viewing was a marathon of the 6-episode series Jekyll, which was a modern version of the classic Stevenson story as told by a different Steven – Steven Moffat. Usually I am cautiously optimistic when it comes to modernizing classic tales, but I think Moffat did a superb job with his version of the story. Warning: spoilers abound in the next section, so please consider yourself warned…

Jekyll

The story begins by introducing us to the main character, Dr Jackman. Jackman is originally presented in a very mysterious manner. As the viewer I knew what the story was supposed to be based on and made assumptions based on that which turned out to be accurate, but it was still fascinating watching the story unfold as we gradually realize Jackman has his version of Mr. Hyde. The two personalities seem to have a sort of truce where they work out scheduled times each one is allowed to be in control. They each have their own personal lives, although they spend their time in completely different ways. Jackman has a wife and two sons (twins), none of whom know about this alter ego. On the other side of things, Hyde does not realize Jackman has a family, at least not when we first meet him. The story progresses to show the struggle the two sides fight in trying to assume control, until ultimately they are put in a situation where they are forced to join forces for the big finale. It is fantastic the moment you realize Jackman and Hyde can control the transformation and switch between one or the other at will. Moffat does a splendid job spinning his tale and slowly revealing layers until you get to the creamy and delicious center of the show. I definitely recommend giving the series a try while you can, and at just 6 episodes long it should be easy to finish before Netflix takes this gem away from our Instant queues.