Doctor Who: S03 Ep13 - Last Of The Time Lords

What happened?

A year of The Master reigning over the planet, things are in a miserable condition. The Doctor, still in an elderly form, has been reduced to The Master’s pet, Jack remains a prisoner and Martha’s family are nothing more than servants. Only Martha has carried the torch of hope, having been walking across the planet spreading word of The Doctor amongst the population.

And so the time arrives when The Doctor, thanks to Martha, is able to use The Master’s own subconscious control system against him when the entire planet thinks of The Doctor and restores him to full vigour. Unwilling to see the last of his people killed, The Doctor vows to keep The Master with him in the TARDIS but The Master is shot dead by his bitter wife.

Martha elects to discontinue travelling with The Doctor, unable to stand being around him due to her feelings for him that are not returned. And so The Doctor returns to the TARDIS alone, and instantly crashes into the Titanic. . .

Thoughts

The one very refreshing thing this episode brought in to the fold was having a year have passed since the end of the previous one. It really gave a lot more gravitas to Martha’s declaration that she would return that felt somewhat melodramatic previously. Shifting the focus to Martha, and her extraordinary (unbelievable?) feat of endurance and perseverance in travelling the planet and spreading the word about The Doctor was impressive, and fitting. She has been a terrific companion, resourceful and brave and reliable, and it felt right that she would be the real saviour here, despite The Doctor leaping in at the end to take all the credit!

Beyond the jarring state of the world and Martha’s heroic efforts, there wasn’t really very much else I liked about this episode. I didn’t like the longterm plan The Doctor had set in motion (was that really the best thing he could come up with?) and I thought the undoing of The Master and the resolution to things was awfully twee. I know Doctor Who often strains credulity but this felt like a reach too far.

I also felt elevating The Doctor to this mythical saviour in the eyes of all humanity across the planet felt disingenuous in comparison to the sometimes egotistically dangerous character he represents (he is, basically, an unstoppable force that determines the fate of the entire universe!). Fundamentally it just felt weak.

It’s a shame The Doctor was reduced to a CGI wench throughout the majority of this episode, because seeing the sparks fly between him and The Master felt worthwhile of a series finale – the last of the Timelords locked in opposition. There was a better, grandstanding event more deserving of such an occasion, and I don’t think we got it here.

I suppose the episode wasn’t all bad. I did like the nice surprise at the end that heavily suggested that The Face of Boe was none other than Jack! That was really good, and if we never see or hear from Jack again in Doctor Who (I know he crossed over as a main character of Torchwood, which I’ve never seen any of) then it’s a cute, quirky sign off.

Aside from Martha and that, however, the rest of it was overblown and lacked drama.

What was the best part?

The best part was seeing The Master cavort around near the beginning of the episode, to music, lording it over everyone and revealing The Doctor had been forced to remain on all fours and live in a kennel. For some reason such behaviour kind of made The Master seem like a nastier villain than the usual foes that are simply out to destroy and kill – enslavement, torture and humiliation are far more inhumane than genocide!

What do I think will happen next?

End of a series, and farewell to another companion. Since this episode ended with the Titanic abruptly crashing through the TARDIS (I thought that thing was impregnable and indestructible!?) the next episode, a Christmas special, will feature the aforementioned vessel. (I do happen to recall watching this when it was first aired so I know it’s not the actual Titanic as it may first appear here!)

Doctor Who: S03 Ep12 – The Sound Of Drums

What happened?

Using Jack’s vortex method of time travelling, The Doctor, Martha and Jack land in London just in time to see Harold Saxon – The Master – having won his election (via subtly shifting the public perception in his favour by a low level drumming pulse embedded in mobile phone signals!) and become Prime Minister. His plan, 18 months in the formation, is to grab the world’s attention before unleashing billions of killer beings upon the planet.

The Doctor, Martha and Jack infiltrate his floating ship where he is staging the grand reveal to thwart him, but The Master is wise to their plans. He utilises aging technology on The Doctor, making him elderly, tortures Jack by killing him so he can rise again, and only Martha is able to escape whilst leaving her kidnapped family behind. She vows to return, as the aliens rain down on the planet and decimate a tenth of the population. . .

Thoughts

This mid-section of the three-part finale to the end of the series felt problematic to me. It just didn’t seem to flow right, or feel right – especially when set against the previous episode and the kind of edge and unease it generated. I suppose one key question that keeps cropping up with every episode that is set on Earth is: Why Earth? What is it about conquering that planet and attempting to wipe out the human race that is so compelling for all manner of aliens across the galaxies!?

It was explained, of course, that The Master had only been able to travel to Earth at the point when the TARDIS was last there but that was about all that made logical sense about The Master’s behaviour during this episode. He had got himself elected Prime Minister and immediately wiped out his cabinet, kidnapped Martha’s family, and announced to the world a new alien race was going to make its appearance the next day.

His grand plan, so far it seems, is purely to have got to the position he was in so he would have a televised audience watching him unveil his spherical alien race and see him kill the USA President and launch the attack decimating the planet. I have to assume this is so he can show the world who he is, what he’s done, so they will literally know he is The Master!

It felt rather convoluted. The mobile phone pulse to capture minds to vote in his favour just to destroy these same people just seems silly. But there is still a part 3 in the balance here, and presumably more revelations to come, that might answer some of my questions so far. Though I’m not holding my breath that there’ll be an answer to why he strapped a bomb to the back of Martha’s television. (If he could predict she’d be there why not just have his men capture her like the rest of her family? Again, seemed silly.)

The Master himself continued to provide good entertainment value, mind. His playful, cocksure psychosis makes for a very enjoyable villain, though it does come with the cost of sacrificing the sinister menace he possessed during those brief moments at the end of the previous episode in his awakened, older incarnation.

The Doctor, Martha and Jack weren’t really up to much during this episode. Their plan to thwart The Master wasn’t particularly clear (was the plan to put one of those things around his neck to stop his pulse signal to, what, snap the brainwashed masses out of the hold he had over them? So what? That time had passed!) but at least the idiocy of it was duly met with him turning the tables on them all.

Only Martha managed to escape, with a determined remark about how she’ll return, which I fully expect she will. Meanwhile The Doctor got hit with an aging process (courtesy of technology from Dr Lazarus, which was a half-decent attempt at tying previous episode’s events into proceedings here) that was uncomfortable to watch (something about the rudimentary effects employed made it seem horrible – I’ll give whoever was responsibly credit and consider it deliberate rather than a side-effect of low budget!).

The alien spheres that were unleashed were intriguing. The Master made a remark to The Doctor about how he knew what they really were. For some reason I wondered if they weren’t Daleks; it was just the idea that The Master would have allied himself to the very race that wiped out the Timelords could have been one that would so appal. Couple that idea with the strange ‘paradox machine’ that had been used on the TARDIS, which has perhaps been a part of explaining how the Daleks could be brought back, and that’s basically where my logic runs out. Beyond that I have no evidence for such a spurious pondering.

This mid-section episode really was about putting our characters in dire circumstances, defeated, before the final instalment will see them eventually triumph. It very much felt like a second act – robbed of the intriguing set up (even the climax to the previous episode was casually dodged by Jack warping all of them through time with barely a flinch) and lacking a climactic finish, it was an uninspiring halfway house that left me hoping they’d saved the good stuff for the last instalment.

What was the best part?

Probably the brief overview of life on Gallifrey, showing some of the trials the young Timelords went through. The mention of how they appear to have been self-entitled, so The Doctor called himself as much because he wants to help and save people – could have done with more elaboration, as that felt like a major revelation. The Doctor is always adamant that people just call him The Doctor, to be drip-fed information that suggested it was a name he provided for himself as part of his own moral ethos deserved more examination.

What do I think will happen next?

The Master will surely get thwarted, and I can’t help but feel like the exact nature of the alien spheres have greater significance. I’m still banking on Daleks! Otherwise I expect Martha will somehow return to the action and stage a rescue and perhaps The Doctor will snub her in some way, or something will happen to her family, and make her decide there is no way she can continue with him.

Doctor Who: S03 Ep11 – Utopia

What happened?

Landing in Cardiff to make a pit stop for the TARDIS, The Doctor notices Jack racing towards them and tries to elude him. However, Jack grabs the TARDIS and propels them trillions of years into the future, to a dying universe, where the last vestiges of humanity survive on a barren world, dreaming that the rocket under construction there will one day take them to Utopia.

A man known as The Professor is working on this rocket, unsuccessfully, but with The Doctor on hand a plan is forged to get it going. Utilising Jack who, as a result of Rose’s last act as ‘Bad Wolf’ is now immortal, frozen as a constant in time, they engage the rocket and it launches. However, Martha makes a discovery that The Professor has a pocket watch similar to one The Doctor used to store his consciousness in – and once opened The Professor’s true identity is revealed.

He is a Timelord. The villainous Master. He regenerates in a youthful form and escapes in the TARDIS, leaving The Doctor, Martha and Jack apparently stranded on the desolate planet whilst savages infiltrate the place and beat at the door. . .

Thoughts

What began as a fairly knockabout, faintly silly episode of Doctor Who ultimately unfurled itself to be one of the edgier instalments I’ve seen so far. I can’t quite put my finger on why but it managed to be unsettling in places; it’s not like I was scared, but unnerved might be a more precise description.

The silly aspect of the sharp-toothed human savages wasn’t overly convincing, with the production values of the episode really not selling them as a viable tribe. They were there to cause some trouble and get our heroes to the base, and then create mayhem during the rocket launch, but ultimately they weren’t the big draw here, which is just as well.

Setting the episode at the end of the universe was a good move. The Doctor’s fake panic about being that far ahead in time, at a point when nearly all life had been and gone, was probably a key reason why the episode contained such an unsettling vibe. The Doctor maybe powerful but even he can’t combat the end of the universe. I’ll be interested to learn where it is the rocket bound for Utopia was really headed!

The business with Jack initially confounded me. The fact that he appeared to be invulnerable had me confused since, the last time I saw him, I didn’t recall this being a part of his character. I remember him getting killed! I thought that maybe there was something I had missed, but then it got explained during the episode.

It was during that scene of explanation, with Jack, despite being immortal, seeming vulnerable as he handled the deadly radiation that The Doctor had a menacing edge to him. His wariness of Jack because he was an impossible fixture in time was an interesting idea, and there was a just an unsettling tone to The Doctor suggesting that another Jack might still be around in the universe, further emphasised by him questioning if Jack had ever wanted to die.

I actually find the character of Jack irritating – his constant flirting and arrogance are somewhat tiresome – but with this he’s being taken in an interesting direction that certainly makes him a more interesting proposition.

The Professor turning out to be The Master was another fine part of the episode, in its reveal of the pocket watch arriving after the his talk of “the sound of drums” that had been in his head all his life. Again, I’m not sure if this episode pre-supposes some former knowledge of The Master, because his announcement of himself certainly landed with dramatic weight. As far as I can tell he is a Timelord, but not a good one. (Arguably The Doctor isn’t strictly ‘good’, but he tends towards the preservation of life as his moral compass and, in that sense, adheres to what he believes is right.)

I can hazard an assumption at a backstory: The Master was hounded by his own people, presumably for being bad, and so went and hid himself into the far reaches of the future where he could not be found. To hide all traces he secreted his consciousness in the watch, like The Doctor once did, and there even forgot to himself who he really was. Only now he has awoken, now as one of only two remaining Timelords (The Doctor told him this, which is what forms my assumption he was a part of their species before the Time War). Now he has the TARDIS he can go back to whenever he wants – though I think we already know he goes back to Martha’s time, calling himself Saxon, since she made a remark that his voice was familiar.

God knows how The Doctor, Martha and Jack are going to get out of the situation they are in. But then that’s what makes for a great cliffhanger. Possibly The Doctor will recall the TARDIS somehow? Or maybe the ‘other Jack’ will show up and save the day? Maybe even The Doctor’s severed hand will somehow be used!

I did enjoy The Master once he had regenerated, too. There was a deliciously, devilish spiteful quality to him that relished wreaking evil. His remarks to The Doctor about enjoying the end of the universe with a chirpy ‘bye bye’ before exiting were entertaining. And it was also good to see the final words of the Face of Boe finally get some meaning, though I’m in two minds if the ‘YANA’ name being an anagram of You Are Not Alone was a stroke of genius or an irksome contrivance.

What was the best part?

It was two scenes that kind of merged together close enough for me to regard them as one best part. The first was The Doctor speaking with Jack, about how he was immortal, and whether he wanted to die. Tennant played the scene with a quiet darkness about his Doctor that I’d never seen before and it really worked well; I wondered if he was about to do something particularly harsh, especially when he asked Jack if he wanted to die.

Martha’s startled reaction to the pocket watch and the revelation that here was the ‘other Timelord’ the Face of Boe had once alluded to was also excellent – it was a well-executed reveal that I didn’t see coming and totally delivered a showstopper of a surprise.

What do I think will happen next?

I really don’t know how The Doctor and co are going to escape their predicament, but we can be sure they do. Furthermore The Master apparently expects it, since he was investigating The Doctor via Martha’s mother (if, indeed, he really is this Saxon fellow, which I am certain he is). Possibly The Master has got himself set up and, having learned that The Doctor is the only other Timelord, seeks a showdown? (If his goal is to be the only Timelord, however, then I can’t imagine he’ll do something to ‘rescue’ The Doctor so they can meet face-to-face.

However The Master and The Doctor confront one another, I suspect the notion that The Doctor is not too far removed from The Master will be played out, to make sense of this somewhat more reckless and destructive quality he has displayed throughout the series.

American Horror Story: S01 Ep4 – Halloween Part 1

What happened?

Halloween is apparently a time when the dead spirits can roam freely for one day. As such life for the Harmon family at the house they are desperately trying to sell seems more over-run with activity than ever. The ghostly twins are seen throwing eggs, and a dead gay couple return to argue and offer advice about changing the look of the place. At the end of the episode Ben’s dead ex-mistress even turns up knocking at the door!

Meanwhile the man in the gimp suit is constantly lurking around and, by the episode’s end, may have taken Violet away. Ben and Vivien are looking for her when they return home, having been at the hospital after an argument. Vivien had demanded that Ben leave but then had pains like her baby was kicking. When the nurse checked it on a monitor she collapsed, apparently shocked.

Moira was allowed freedom to go and visit her mother, and she turned off the machine keeping her alive. Her mother’s spirit told her to come with her, but a tearful Moira had to say that she was unable to. Elsewhere Addy had been given a mask and a dress to go trick or treating as a pretty girl, but then she ran into the road without looking and was hit by a car. A devastated Constance tried to drag her back to the house but eventually stopped and sobbed over the body.

Thoughts

Right. OK. It’s time to start asking some hard questions about this show, because it sure is starting to ask some seriously confusing questions of me. The first and most obvious question has to be: How many of the main cast members are ghosts? I mean, apart from the ‘ghosts of the week’ that show up (although I hope Zachary Quinto shows up again because his performance here was a delight) I know that Moira is a ghost. She’s a confirmed. Outside of the Harmon family (and, for now, I am assuming they aren’t dead and don’t know it because they are so free to come and go from the house) there’s Tate, Burns Man, Constance and Addy. Constance has aged since her flashback, but then Moira veers from old to young depending on who sees her so that’s no reliable marker. However, for now, I am going to believe she’s not a ghost.

Tate I am definitely not sure about. It seems crucial that he’s never away from the house. There’s the added suggestion that he’s also the figure in the gimp suit. The last part I am not so sure about – but him being a ghost makes sense. He’s had visions of himself in a gory state, so maybe that’s just his own appearance when he died that ‘haunts’ his psyche. Gimp suit man seems like a bigger mystery waiting to be unveiled.

Addy is confusing. There was some remark made this episode by Constance, about how she had looked after her for 35 years. I think it was 35 years, anyway. At first I didn’t think much of it, to be honest, I just sort of figured that Addy was much older than she looked (without sounding mean I’ll just say it’s difficult to tell how old people with Down’s Syndrome are) and that was her age. Mrs. Comet, however, seemed to believe this confirmed she’d been around longer than her age and so must be a ghost.

The ending was interesting in that regard. It was almost like she was a ghost that could be killed by virtue of it being Halloween and her able to move more freely. And yet Constance trying to drag her back to the house raised the suggestion that getting her there would allow her to ‘live’ again – as in surviving indefinitely – and to that end maybe she really was a ghost. This is uncharted territory for me, firstly in establishing if Addy is a ghost and now also contesting the idea of what happens to a ghost that ‘dies’!

You know, for now, I am going to assume that Addy wasn’t a ghost. That the remark about 35 years was how I interpreted it. And that Constance trying to drag the body back to the house was so that she could become a ghost in the event of her death. That’s what I think for now.

Burns Man is another that appears to be free to come and go wherever he pleases so I don’t believe he is a ghost. He does really want that thousand pounds very badly, though. He’s definitely a totally bizarre character, and now he’s taking a serious turn for the nasty all bets are off about what he’s capable of. I suspect Ben might just end up finding a way to placate him, but I am confident he won’t be off the scene for long no matter what happens.

The opening scene once again repeated the tradition of showing a piece of the house’s history where someone got killed, this time a gay couple that met a bad end at the hands of the man in the gimp suit. For the record, I think the man in the gimp suit is the grown form of the dead baby that was pieced together by the doctor. That was a grim backstory and no mistake, and it’s hard to imagine much worse than a kind of zombie-dismembered baby that grew up, and took to wearing a tight-fitting gimp suit (maybe it’s the only thing that keeps all the pieces tightly compact together!).

Ben and Violet’s relationship is in a bad way, though the baby becoming restless (and there’s no doubt that it’s not going to take nine months to pop out and it’s definitely not going to be a normal bouncing baby!) seemed to happen as a result of their argument and Ben being taken away. The suggestion is that Vivien must remain in the house and, furthermore, the family need to be there together otherwise it’s not a happy foetus.

I can’t help but wonder if the spirit of the mistress turning up might present Ben with the opportunity to confess one or two things to his wife that will, at least, stop her from thinking he’s cheating on her. That does seems like an awful lot of revelation to come this early in a show’s lifetime, but on this show anything goes and the thing is so busy rattling along with half a dozen other outlandish plotlines then it could take that kind of bombshell right in its stride.

It still continues to impress, how it’s just so rapidly going at it full tilt. The one thing American Horror Story is not quite hitting the mark with is with the characters. It’s just such a stylised show, hyper-real, that the characters aren’t quite landing square. Vivien is faring the best, and remains the one I turn to as an emotional anchor. Ben is either sexually troubled and upset about it, or just stressed out by the number of secrets and pressures he is inundated with. Violet has a great fearless attitude, but we haven’t got beyond that so far. I can’t even gauge what it is she feels about Tate beyond someone to hang out with and be subjected to weird stuff, with a roll of the eyes and an insouciant walk away.

Don’t get me wrong, I like them – but I am watching them with a detached air. I am not living their experiences with them. I am watching them experience stuff.

Addy getting hit by the car was a brutal shock, mind. The image of her in the mask and costume, flat on the road with her limbs splayed awkwardly was a twisted vision. Trouble is with this show that everyone comes back so seeing a character get ‘killed off’ doesn’t quite contain the same level as shock value as other show’s might. Still, it contained a heck of an impact – lame pun intended. And Constance’s pernicious veering from horrible mother to all-caring sobbing wreck over her daughter’s body makes her a complicated, fascinating creation.

I am absolutely loving this show. The pace of it stops it being boring, and it still manages to generate really great moments of horror and what feel like overwhelming sequences that mark it out as quite unlike anything else I’ve seen on television. It’s got it’s issues with making its main characters relatable, but because it’s so entertaining as a compromise then the quality of the show wins the day. (That last statement always carries the caveat that its fast-pace and entertainment value is spot on now, but forever feels prone to wane or get old fast – let’s hope the show keeps dodging that seemingly inevitable eventuality.)

What was the best part?

The moment where the Burns Man was banging on the door, when Violet was home alone, with her father on the phone. . . it was just a moment of increasing intensity and madness that for a few seconds just threatened to feel totally overwhelming. And then there was that cool reveal of the Gimp Suit Man stood in the room behind her and that sealed off an already fraught situation just getting a whole lot worse.

What do I think will happen next?

Halloween night is set to play out, so that ought to bring some clarification over Addy’s fate. I am going to figure she is dead, but Constance’s reaction to it might allow better understanding about the nature of what it is to be dead, or die, around the house. Meanwhile Ben and Violet are surely to be concentrating on the hunt for Violet. No doubt she’ll turn up alive and well, and maybe Tate will have intervened along the way for that. I’d be amazed if it didn’t involve a trip to the basement! However, there’s the dead mistress for Ben to contend with, now. If he didn’t believe in ghosts already he most certainly will have to now, and if he confesses all to Vivien then she will, too.

Boardwalk Empire: S01 Ep04 – Anastasia

What happened?

Jimmy has hooked up with Al Capone in Chicago. Although claiming to be just passing through, Jimmy is embroiled in the gangster goings on to the extent that the prostitute he has taken a shine too is mutilated as a retaliatory act to Al Capone’s brute force attempt to take over the area.

In Atlantic City it’s Nucky’s birthday. He invites powerful movers and shakers to his party to discuss terms about building better roads into Atlantic City but his eye is momentarily taken off politics, and his girlfriend, by Margaret’s appearance (there to provide a dress from the boutique).

Margaret is evidently swept up in the heady world of Nucky’s, too, dancing with him and impressing with her intelligent responses. Yet by the next day she is brought back to Earth, to work, seeing Nucky strolling with his girlfriend Miss Danzinger, and on a whim she steals an item of clothing.

Chalky is allowed a personal audience with the leader of the local Klu Klux Klan, hauled in as chief suspect to the hanging of Chalky’s man. After unseen torture, and the removal of a finger, Chalky determines that this is not the culprit after all.

Thoughts

An extremely strong episode. I thought the multi-strand story approach worked well, with each of the main characters having their own nearly self-contained stories playing out alongside each other. It was probably my favourite episode so far and if the rest of the season plays to these kinds of strengths then I can see it really catching hold.

I think Jimmy and Capone’s relationship and story is my most enjoyable part; whilst Jimmy’s reserve and near-dreamer qualities didn’t ring quite true with the guy that was cold and immune after his war experiences from the first episode, he is a terrific foil for Capone’s mercurial character. It’s just strange that Jimmy could seem so at ease given the illusions of Nucky have been shattered and he’s just left his wife and kid behind! And his mother, too!

Jimmy’s mother having a dalliance with one of Rothstein’s men might just be a subplot too far in a show that is still finding its feet, but maybe its planting a seed for now that will grow into something crucial later. I did warm to Jimmy’s mother’s spark and guts in standing up the gangster at her door, and clearly he did, too! But beyond that there’s not really anything about the pair of them getting together that interests me since it seems too out of the sphere of the main events.

Far better and meatier was the introduction of the Klu Klux Klan. It’s in stuff like this where Boardwalk Empire has fertile ground to grow new and interesting things that are fresh to the genre. A collection of racists that are not breaking any laws is a stain on American history, but it’s right that it be included and addressed in this period piece. This is a show, to me at least, about America finding its criminal identity (and with the healthy political investments here, perhaps making intriguing statements about how government and the criminal world were tight bedfellows at the turn of the century). This in turn extends to the characters, struggling to find their place in Prohibition-era America; a period of change both for better and for worse, where only the best able to adapt will survive.

Like Margaret being taken on to the dancefloor by Nucky. It would have been all too clichéd for it to have been a scene all about her having a taste of the ‘good life’, the money and the fine-living, before being dumped back out into her real life like Cinderella making a run from the ball. But it was just as much a flight of fancy for Nucky, who gazed longingly past his crazy hot girlfriend to the prim, above-it-all figure of Margaret behind her.

Chalky almost took the honours for best scene, with his menacing dialogue to the KKK leader about his father that was tricked into a rendezvous with a waiting lynch mob. It was good, injected some cool for sure, but it wasn’t anything you hadn’t seen done before. I do like that Chalky has been invested with some grit and wit, walking out of the room with a finger and the sure knowledge that he hadn’t got his man; it wasn’t quite Omar swinging a shotgun, whistling a tune, but he’s laid down his card as a man not be trifled with.

So four episodes in and Boardwalk Empire is collecting quite an array of characters – Nucky, Jimmy, Capone, Chalky, Van Alden, Margaret – that are filling out and presenting fascinating revelations about who they are and, more importantly, what they do when they encounter one another and whoever gets in their way. The only struggle the show may have is in servicing them all fully and still maintaining a unified momentum.

What was the best part?

I really loved the scene with Jimmy and Capone talking with the gangsters. Jimmy trying to temper Capone’s hot-headed, brute force approach worked for about three seconds before he shot his mouth off and started making outrageous demands. It was a nice touch at the end of the scene with Capone thinking it had all worked out well whilst Jimmy had taken the precise opposite view. It was a good scene for entertainment value, but also highlighted how Capone, at least, will find Jimmy a useful advisor and how the pair of them could make a formidable duo – brains and brawn.

What do I think will happen next?

I envisage Jimmy and Capone being, shall we say, ‘inspired’ by the attack and be looking to turn the tables back in their favour and regain total control over their territory. Violence will ensue. I also suspect Margaret and Nucky’s burgeoning relationship will continue to gather pace (though quite what Margaret will make of Nucky and his world is interesting). And I also imagine that Chalky is going to continue looking for the lynch murderer, but quite where his allegiances will fall should Rothstein and his men go on the offensive again I can’t quite say. Van Alden was absent for this episode, so I suspect to see him again next episode though he’s such a wildcard at the moment it’s hard to predict what his involvement will provoke.

American Horror Story: S01 Ep03 – Murder House

What happened?

Vivien’s attempts to move are thwarted by the realisation Ben’s handling of their finances has rendered them unable to leave without selling the house. Then she learns that the house is a notorious horror home, even featuring as part of a tour, and is known as the “murder house”. A couple used to live there performing abortions, but the doctor wasn’t just killing the unborn foetuses and was performing all manner of bizarre and grisly experiments.

Vivien does experience some bleeding but, though the doctor considers it harmless “spotting”, it seemed to get better when she returned to the house. The wife of the murdering doctor also appeared, apparently as a potential buyer, although Vivien never noticed the huge wound in the back of her head before she disappeared into thin air.

Ben had a bad time, experiencing blackouts drawing him to a patch of land in the garden he felt compelled to dig up. When one of his patients disappeared initial worries that he killed her turned out to be that she had killed herself after he had been blanking her. Whilst dealing with that and his Vivien’s pregnancy scare he missed an appointment with his mistress, Hayden, who wanted to keep the baby and tell Vivien everything. The burned man showed up and killed her, and buried her in the hole Ben had dug.

In the hole already were the remains of the housekeeper, Moira, and Constance slyly remarked that she was now stuck there after Ben built a garden feature over the grave.

Thoughts

The sheer size of the ‘what happened’ section above says it all – there was just so much going on this episode (and I kept it as brief as I could). No one can accuse the show of holding back or taking its time. Straight out of the gate the mystery behind Constance’s remark to Moira, about how she had killed already, were clarified in the opening scene set in 1983.

I don’t know if it was make-up, good lighting, CGI or a combination of some of those things that de-aged Constance for that scene but it was a flawless effect. And certainly interesting to see that Moira was a young woman when she was killed. There was a later remark about how women see the soul of the person, and men see only what they want to see. It was established here, by Ben and the detective, that when they look at Moira they see her as a sexy, flirtatious young woman. Women, meanwhile, see her as a withering, fussy old lady, which is apparently what her real soul appears to be.

I did enjoy the scene where Ben argued for Moira to be removed from the house, whilst Vivien defended her. The innate comedy as Ben described her coming on to him when we know that, to Vivien, he’s talking about this rather unpleasant and puritanical old woman was highly amusing.

The matter of her bones being buried in the grounds seemingly linked to her inability to be free is a curious one. Could it possibly be that all of the ghostly folk lurking around the building are there because their remains are dotted about the place (perhaps in the basement?). Hard to imagine that, since I fully expect there to be a whole host of other people to be killed in the murder house and appear as a spirit as the show goes on.

I’d imagine there will be a re-appearance from Constance’s husband before too long, for one thing. Just another plot line thrown into a whole stew of the things.

As I sort of expected, the selling of the house and moving out is not going to be easy, and without it the Harmon family are not going to be able to move. The moment where Vivien’s unborn baby seemed to be imperilled when she was away from the house, and calmed when she returned to it, might become something that really anchors her to the place. Once she makes a firm connection that the life of her child demands she remain at the house then there she will surely stay.

The history of the murder house was an interesting one, shedding some light on the jars of baby parts and strange splices sometimes seen in the basement. There’s the possibility that the thing in the basement is a product of the murderous abortion doctor’s experiments but right now I don’t feel like I know anything near enough to hazard further speculation.

This episode seemed to be tapping into the vibe of Stir Of Echoes, just as previous episodes have hinted at the likes of The Strangers (intruders in the house) and The Shining (ghostly twins). There are no doubt numerous other intentional movie references, as though American Horror Story wants to distil as many American horror movie inferences into its DNA.

Ben had a lot of hassle to contend with this episode, when he wasn’t inexplicably zoning out and being drawn to Moira’s burial place, he had blood on his hands, a mistress becoming increasingly uncontrollable, temptation issues with his hot maid and Burnt Face Man haranguing him for money so he can plough on with his ambitions of making it on the stage (possibly the most demented plot in the show so far!).

It’s unclear to me why Ben was so possessed to start digging the hole. There was no obvious suggestion to what was motivating him. But then there’s a lot that’s not known. Like what Burnt Face Man really wants with Ben (he seems to be helping him but twice now he’s displayed a sinister smile that suggests he’s up to no good). And what did the wordless exchange between Constance and Tate signify? And, and, and. . . well, I could go on and on.

If anything, American Horror Story potentially runs the risk of losing its character humanity beneath the intrigue, secrets and supernatural goings on. There was very little Violet this episode, so really I had to hang my empathy with Vivien and Ben. Ben I enjoy watching, though I certainly don’t identify with him and I can’t say I particularly like him. Vivien, however, I do like – I think the actress playing her really sells her as a forthright, fragile and fully-realised person and it’s perhaps the fact that she, a woman, seems to be taking the leading role that is all the more startling – in a good way. Make me care about all the Harmon family as much, if not more, than I just care for Vivien right now and this is a show that could really be something special.

What was the best part?

Hard to better the opening scene, with a more youthful Constance taking brutal (and rather unjust) revenge against Moira and her cheating husband. The shootings were remarkably cold – one through the eye for Moira (loved how Constance would later be delighted by what a crack shot she had been!) and several in the chest for her husband. Even the close out of the scene, shifting to the present day, making you think Vivien was about to walk in on the gruesome scene was nicely done.

What do I think will happen next?

Some clarity about the trinity of Constance, Tate and Moira is needed. Previous notions that Tate is Constance’s son don’t easily shake off, but how acquainted they are with ghosts and what their larger agenda is all about are sure to be ongoing concerns. It’s tempting to think all three of them are ghosts, but I don’t really see Constance being one. Moira is, Tate might be. If Tate is, maybe Constance was also responsible for his death!

Doctor Who: S03 Ep10 – Blink

What happened?

Sally Sparrow, a relatively ordinary young woman, finds herself weaved into the fabric of The Doctor’s life when she wanders into an old house to take photographs and finds messages directed to her. She takes her friend, but her friend has a run-in with the Weeping Angels – statue-like beings that only move when not being observed – that sends her back in time, permanently.

Sally eventually finds messages from The Doctor embedded in DVDs, informing her about how the Weeping Angels are after her and that she needs to get to the TARDIS. The Weeping Angels close in on her, also keen on harnessing the power of the TARDIS, yet it disappears as they encircle it, catching them into looking at each other and freezing them in stone.

Thoughts

Now this is top notch stuff. This is the kind of episode that crops up during a series that stands out as being superior than the rest. Obviously I haven’t finished watching this series yet, but I find it hard to imagine an episode being better than this. Blink is perhaps the first great example of an episode of Doctor Who you could show to a total non-fan that they would enjoy immensely, despite themselves!

The Doctor, and Martha, being at the periphery of events is something that would make it easy for a newcomer to get involved as we see things from the perspective of just one of the people The Doctor meets in his life. It was a stylish way of telling the story, and it certainly helped that Sally Sparrow herself was so gorgeous in an innocuously cute way. When The Doctor and Martha did appear in person, at the end, it was amusing to catch them in the middle of another crazy adventure (presumably one we’ll never focus on directly during the show, making the assumption that The Doctor and Martha see and do things beyond what we witness during the series).

So the episode’s real strength was in presenting real people, identifiable and likable, and exerting the world of Doctor Who upon them. That exertion came in the form of the Weeping Angels that were a supremely simple yet fascinating creation. Having a foe that is harmless so long as it is being observed generated the impossible stalemate situation of having to stare at it, without blinking, to remain safe. In the space of a blink the Weeping Angel could dart forward, closer and closer. Very cool.

And their manner of despatching their victims neatly sidestepped the usual instant death scenario – casting a person back in time was a neat idea and one that was employed very well (even if it did have a Back To The Future-inspired feel to it all in people living out good lives in the past and sending messages by courier to the present day).

I know that Steven Moffat wrote this episode and he went on to become the showrunner for later series, and it’s clearly with an instalment like this that he distinguished himself. The characters and dialogue had that extra zip about them, a better layer of savvy . Doctor Who has a tough enough time selling itself as credible and cool, and I think it therefore needs to work extra hard at being sharp, harder than other shows might have to, in order to sell itself in this regard.

Doctor Who is always fast-paced and yet this episode still managed to find time for emotional interest to hold the pace, no more so than when Sally went to the bedside of the man she’d only just got a phone number for, to wait with him whilst he died. It was a bittersweet moment that was tenderly addressed. Again, I feel like it’s this extra sophistication that only benefits the show. I appreciate that Doctor Who is a family show, and it’s got younger viewers to cater for alongside the adults, but I think there’s scope for it to stray away from the cartoon japes and monsters for emotional depth.

I do believe that the Weeping Angels became a big favourite with the audience and they feature again, though not during the David Tennant-era. That’s good. It’s not hard to envisage them escaping their deadlocked stare in the basement; all that needs to happen is for them to be discovered and moved, for example! Or, more likely, for the lightbulb to go out and plunge the room into darkness once more to unleash them.

If the episode had a weak point it was in the bum note ending, that rather lamely flashed up images of various real statues, insinuating that these things you see on buildings and streets everywhere could really be these threatening ‘Weeping Angels’ just frozen whilst you look at them. Other people might not have minded but I found it a bit heavy-handed and undercut the subtlety and slickness of all that had preceded it. Hardly ruined things, mind.

New best episode ever? Yeah, I’d say so.

What was the best part?

The episode maintained a strong standard pretty much throughout, though I think the best part had to be the climax of the piece when Sally and her future boyfriend were in the house, staring off the Weeping Angels, before being pursued into the basement. They were fine whilst they kept looking but then, of course, the lightbulb started flickering on and off. . .

What do I think will happen next?

I’d like to be able to say we’ll see more of Sally Sparrow in future instalments – she was so lovely in both manner and appearance! However, alas, I suspect we’ll be back with The Doctor and Martha in more regular fashion, where the ongoing dynamic with Saxon and Martha’s feelings for The Doctor will continue to come to the boil.

Doctor Who: S03 Ep09 – The Family Of Blood

What happened?

The Doctor, believing he is a human named John Smith, manages to escape the initial trap of ‘the family’ and holds up at the school, commanding the boys to take arms and mount a defence. Timothy, a boy holding the watch that contains The Doctor’s consciousness, returns the timepiece to The Doctor and he wrestles with the decision of ‘killing’ John Smith and abandoning the potential life he could have with the nurse to become a Timelord again.

In the end he chooses to become The Doctor, and cruelly punishes ‘the family of blood’ by interring them in various prisons that leave them permanently trapped in time, living forever like how they planned but not in a way they would have wanted. The Doctor and Martha then return to the TARDIS and leave 1913, the nurse and the human world, behind.

Thoughts

A bit of a surprising episode, in some ways, and not all of them I am quite willing to say married very well together. There seemed to be quite a lot of ideas being thrown into the mix all at once and that had the effect of suddenly making the last five or ten minutes of the episode cluttered and weighty.

The actual business of the plot was relatively lightweight. ‘The Family of Blood’ were given very little further explanation beyond their motivation to become eternal and so grow and spread out across the universe. They were rather easily outwitted in the end, with The Doctor pretending to be human and stumbling around pushing buttons on their ship before making a run for it.

Whilst it was a thrilling moment once he revealed himself as The Doctor (that switch between ‘John Smith’ and The Doctor characters was really good work by David Tennant) the manner by which ‘the family’ were so easily bested makes you wonder why The Doctor considered them so deadly he had to hide his consciousness away in the first place.

As I expected, Martha didn’t fare very well here – entirely unjustified, too. She was an absolute heroine; stayed behind to allow everyone to make their escape, persuaded The Doctor to return, even declaring her love for him, and all for what? To be given a thank you and a hug at the end before off they went again.

The Doctor is actually starting to get on my nerves in this regard. When he had returned as The Doctor he still had the audacity to go to the nurse and basically invite her to come travelling with him as his companion. He said he would like that! I kept waiting for her to say she couldn’t, that he was already ‘with’ someone, but that didn’t get a mention. But she turned him down anyway, and so then he just strolled back to Martha with a hug and thank you and off they went!

Perhaps this is deliberate. They are making The Doctor behave so objectionably towards Martha as part of a series arc. If this is the case then I hope they justify it because, otherwise, I’m finding it really difficult to warm to The Doctor when he’s behaving so ignorantly disrespectful.

Better was the idea being explored here that The Doctor was a terrifying monster of a person, as well as being so wonderful. Timothy’s frightened reaction was also mixed with awe (and an eventual thankfulness by the finish) as he glimpsed images of The Doctor wreathed in fire and dispensing cold-hearted punishment. Indeed, the justice he meted out to ‘the family’, binding them in eternal, tormenting prisons seems way more monstrous than just killing them (or, in the least, letting them die as they were supposed to very shortly).

Is his treatment of Martha and the use of his powers as he sees fit being used here to paint a portrait of The Doctor as a kind of anti-hero? I see all this stuff and I am forced to wonder if it is intentional or just the product of what the particular writer of that episode was doing. It’s hard to imagine such scathing depictions were just allowed to slip through the net so I will have to assume it’s part of the direction the show is taking.

Of course, with the next episode, the reset button might just get pushed and The Doctor and Martha will get along like before as though none of this ever happened. That can sometimes be the danger with Doctor Who as a serialised drama that also caters heavily on standalone episodes.

The last thing to discuss probably encapsulates my general enjoyment mired in confusion this episode left me with overall. The moment where The Doctor, as John Smith, touched the nurse and allowed them both to see the life they could have had together was moving and yet incomprehensible. At least to me. The Doctor had a family with her, grew old and then lay on his death bed having apparently had a great life. It was a touching, interesting sequence – I just don’t understand what caused it, what it was supposed to be or what we were supposed to glean from it. It felt less like a glimpse into a possible future and more like a flight of fancy.

It seemed absurd. And yet I liked it. That’s pretty much my overwhelming feeling towards this episode.

What was the best part?

Whilst The Doctor’s glimpse of a happy human future was emotive stuff, and his ‘ta-da!’ reveal as really being The Doctor amidst ‘the family’ was sparkling stuff, the best part of the episode arrived at the end. Timothy, in World War I, managed to avoid his death. Somewhat mawkish, but in an episode that came laden with heavy referencing of the futility of war (way too overdone for my taste) the ending coda, with Timothy as an old man, a war veteran, paying respects on remembrance day was absolutely lovely.

The Doctor and Martha dropped by, just to catch him there, with Martha putting a poppy in The Doctor’s lapel. Timothy saw them, and smiled, and in that nice little wordless exchange a more powerful and touching chord was struck that the rest of the episode couldn’t get near.

What do I think will happen next?

No references to Saxon in this two-parter, so the only ongoing thread is the matter of Martha and The Doctor. She announced she was in love with him here, taking things up a notch. She was cool enough to play it down afterwards though I suspect there’s going to come the crunch when that coolness evaporates and she breaks down under the impossible strain of her feelings for him not just being returned but pretty much being bluntly disregarded. The girl is gonna fall hard.

Doctor Who: S03 Ep08 – Human Nature

What happened?

As a result of being pursued by an alien enemy calling itself ‘the family’, The Doctor is forced to turn himself human and hide in 1913, assuming the role of a teacher at a boarding school. With only dim recollections as to who he really is, it is up to Martha to keep her eye on him and open the timepiece watch, which will return all his memories, should a crisis emerge.

A crisis does emerge. ‘The family’ manage to overtake the bodies of various people around the school and village and stage an ambush at the dance. With the timepiece in the possession of a small boy with peculiarly intuitive instincts, Martha, The Doctor and the nurse he is striking a relationship have their lives held in the balance. . .

Thoughts

An extremely enjoyable episode that as well as offering up a refreshing twist on The Doctor’s character basically turns its attentions on Martha, and her relationship with him. It’s something the series has been clicking away with from the beginning and that’s really reaching a peak here.

Indeed, the scene where Martha bemoaned the fact that the one human The Doctor had decided to fall in love with wasn’t her pretty much nailed down what it is she wanted and what she’s never likely to get. I fear she’s in for a rather sad conclusion to her time as the The Doctor’s companion; unable to reconcile being with him on adventures to wanting more than he is willing, or even able, to provide in return.

I liked how the episode quickly threw us into the action – almost like we were coming in at the end of a previous episode with the two of them escaping into the TARDIS, dodging shots fired at them. Then the last ditch measure, that was barely explained, before we were snapped into 1913 England and The Doctor, with just one heart, fully in-character and oblivious as a teacher.

Only his book of stories and drawings gave away his subconscious understanding of who he really was. And I liked how Martha was integrated into proceedings – it wasn’t immediately apparent if she was also living under the same illusion as The Doctor, and was really of the belief she was a servant of the school.

Once it was clear that she was the same old Martha working undercover, and had been doing so for two months, it really helped settle the episode down and further defined her character. Considering the racist remarks she endured (the line about how she couldn’t tell things were clean due to her brown skin was deliciously nasty), alongside the frustration of seeing The Doctor she knows (and loves?) treating her as a nobody clearly display a genuine fortitude and strength.

‘The Family’ were a curious alien. The performances of the actors who were ‘inhabited’ really sold the otherworldliness of them, particularly the snooty schoolboy. The eerie cocking of the head to one side and deep sniffing were managed well; what could have looked silly worked out looking unnerving. Hopefully there will be more explanation about what they are beyond a nebulous form that, for some reason, The Doctor had to hide away from so drastically rather than somehow confront and thwart like how he does every other kind of enemy race!

Really fun episode, overall. Initially confusing but so fast-paced all you could do was hold on and take it in before frustration could set in. And then explanations emerged and before too long aliens had people hostage and The Doctor was forced into a difficult decision.

What was the best part?

It was really a short, near blink and miss it moment, but I really enjoyed when the small boy appeared to glimpse his own death in the trenches of World War I. What I really liked about it was his premonition actually took into account the fact that he had had the premonition! That, at the moment of his death, he knew it was about to happen because he had already seen it; we were just seeing the moment he first learned of it. I liked that detail.

What do I think will happen next?

An absolute certainty is this: The Doctor and Martha will both survive and get out of this situation! I suspect the only way out of the immediate standoff (and letting The Doctor off the hook of choosing Martha or the nurse) will be the smaller boy coming into the mix and opening the watch. From that point The Doctor should be back and he can then thwart ‘the family’ in some way before there’s a bit of heartache involved with him leaving the ‘human’ life and going back to the TARDIS.

It’ll be of most interest to see how Martha reacts. Maybe she’ll even bring up the point that he had fallen for a human woman? I envisage she’ll wind up feeling more despondent than ever, despite a successful escape!

American Horror Story: S01 Ep02 – Home Invasion

What happened?

When Ben receives word from the girl he cheated with that she is pregnant he goes to be with her whilst she has an abortion. Despite apparently dealing with it maturely it is evident she still has feelings for him and he, meanwhile, is still wrestling with repressed sexual urges that are creating turmoil within.

In Ben’s absence, Vivien and Violet are alone in the house when a trio of murderer enthusiasts break into the house and attempt to recreate a murder that happened in the property during the 1970s. However, with the girls staging a fightback and Tate inexplicably being in the house, the murderer’s meet their comeuppance by a variety of grisly ends.

Ben returns to find his family somewhat traumatised but alive. Pregnant Vivien, however, fearing for the life of her unborn child and the wellbeing of herself and her family, has a determination to sell the house.

Thoughts

This second episode did feel like it had allowed itself to loosen the throttle after the riotous first instalment, but it did so without feeling like there was a lessening in intensity or misplacing the intrigue. Quite the opposite. It was a more standalone affair, self-contained, yet still kept a lot of weirdness ticking along.

I rather liked how it started with another flashback to an appalling occurrence in the house. It made me wonder if every episode will begin in this way – calling back to yesteryear to show some horrific moment. In that sense it would be a little like Six Feet Under, with a little pre-credits mini-story that then feeds into the rest of the episode but also serves as an enjoyable vignette all by itself. Fingers crossed that’s the case.

The weakest part of the episode, and also a bit confusing for me, was Ben’s away trip to meet his ‘mistress’ and perform the abortion. For some reason, and I’m not sure why, I was under the impression that Ben had his affair and got caught quite some time before they eventually moved house. I’m prepared to accept that’s the case and I’ve just got it wrong, but it did initially make me wonder if this wasn’t someone else he’d been playing around with. However, with her speaking about who she was to him and so forth I have become convinced she was the same girl he cheated with but the timings all felt off.

Clearly she is still in love with him and wants him for herself, and even more clearly he’s a man bubbling with sexual repression issues. Is he a sex addict? Or is it simply that the sheer lack of sexual activity with his wife has left him a troubled mess? It’s hard to figure that not getting any action would reduce him to sobbing under a public bridge during a jog, so I await further details on his particular psycho-sexual problems.

Ben being out of the way did allow for the episode’s most intense sequence as there came a knock at the door. . . I assumed something supernatural was occurring when the girl showed up with blood on her head, like a recreation of the opening scene it felt like this was some strange entity using a familiar method to get into the house.

Turned out the intruders here were real people (two episodes in and already normal, human being villains feel refreshing!). It didn’t take long for the bizarre to kick in, however, with Tate appearing in the house – tellingly the question of what he was doing there wasn’t revealed.

Constance did mention that she had a son. I wonder, then, is Tate her son? Only Ben did seem to be talking on the phone with Tate’s parents so that seems a little off. In the freaky world of American Horror Story I wouldn’t have been too surprised to learn that the hunky young man Constance was ‘entertaining’ turned out to be her son! In reality he might just be the man in the gimp suit, or he’s a character being loaded now to be introduced later.

Whatever or whoever Tate is (he did remark that he has bloody visions, as we saw in the previous episode, so for now I am sticking with the notion that he is a living flesh and blood person!), he was once again imploring Violet to lure people down to the basement. The twins were the ‘ghosts of the week’ last episode, this time it was the murdered girls made to dress as nurses. I get the impression that before this first season is even done the house is going to be apparently teeming with the restless dead!

The fact that they must surely remain in the house for the season does render the ending statements of intent to move rather empty. Either Vivien will have a change of heart, or circumstances will dictate that they can’t leave even though they want to. I am plumping for the former – the latter seems a bit extreme at this stage!

Certainly a strong episode, though, and considering how hard an act to follow episode one was I am all the more impressed. I still have a slight question mark pondering how long a show like this can sustain itself just being continuously like this, but beyond that it’s the most exciting and interesting show I’ve been introduced to. When it’s on you just can’t afford to take your attention away in case you miss something.

What was the best part?

The scene where one of the murderers rang the doorbell and recreated the original murderer’s ruse to gain entry into the house was genuinely unsettling stuff. I also liked how Vivien showed guts and guile and refused access, but all the while there were other figures in the house already. . . Yikes!

What do I think will happen next?

As stated, I don’t believe that Vivien will get her ambition of selling the house and moving out to fruition. Circumstances or a change of heart will dictate that she doesn’t achieve that end and the family will remain exactly where they are to endure whatever horrors are presented to them. If they survive, they’ll probably just become slightly stranger as a consequence – like Constance and Tate!