Fringe: S04 Ep02 – One Night In October

What happened?

There have been a series of murders by brain-freezing Over There, but a break in the killer’s identity have posed the notion that they can get his counterpart from Over Here to provide insight into who he is, and more importantly where he is. Olivia takes Dr. John McClennan to the alternate universe, working alongside her counterpart Fauxlivia and other members of Fringe division there.

The investigation does lead them to find the killer Alt-John, whose deep unhappiness went unaddressed in comparison to Dr. John McClennan who had more love in his life. Unable to cope with his new sense of conscience, the killer commits suicide, but having performed the brain freezing technique on Dr. John his memory has been irreparably damaged (and thus his awareness of the alternate universe erased).

Meanwhile Walter has taken to covering all reflective surfaces and playing loud music to try and block out Peter. However, alone at night in his room, Peter’s voice can be insistently heard, telling Walter he is right there with him.

Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. There was an assurance about the whole thing that really shone through – from the acting to the pacing to the themes being explored. For what fundamentally amounted to mostly a standalone episode, too, and early on in the new season as well (when most shows usually trot out their weaker stuff) it was quite the pleasant surprise.

I really liked the dynamic between Olivia and Fauxlivia. The previous episode set up the antagonism between the two of them, but it was good to see that it had shifted by the end of this episode. Olivia’s more serious manner and rare smiles were more understood by Fauxlivia upon hearing that she had been abused by her stepfather and then subsequently killed him.

When the two of them are together on screen it’s easy to tell them apart, even if they have the same clothes and the same hair colouring. Anna Torv’s performance(s) are excellent, with her Fauxlivia’s cocksure ease with a smile and relaxed posture making her the more ‘fun’, but she’s not quite as ‘good’ as our Olivia. (I liked the bit where Olivia’s photographic memory trumped Alt-Astrid’s 13-hour analysis!)

I also liked how anatagonism between Over There and Over Here wasn’t quite as pervasive as the interactions between the two Olivia’s in the previous episode might have suggested. Both Broyles and Lincoln are alive in the other universe, and were far more accommodating and accepting of Olivia. Indeed, I got the impression that Alt-Lincoln and Olivia may be on course for some romance of their own.

Astrid made a remark to Olivia about their Lincoln being cute, which Olivia fired down. That might turn out to be ironic. But it was Lincoln, who we know has a major thing for Fauxlivia, making his remarks about liking blondes that felt loaded with potential. Considering that Fauxlivia in this version of the universe remains with Frank then it puts her off-limits; Lincoln certainly seemed friendly enough with Olivia and I can’t help but feel that this was all deliberate.

This is what I mean about how the episode had a confidence about its execution; comfortable with this array of characters. Barring a little bit of exposition from Walter at the beginning about the history of this universe to fill in one or two gaps Fringe has just got on with telling its story, sure that the audience will be capable of going along for the ride without having every detail painfully signposted.

The plot of the episode, as they tend to do in Fringe, fed back into the themes at play. John McLelland the killer was a man that had suffered as a result of what had happened to him as a child, but we could see from his alternate what a difference some love and compassion could make. (I’ll be honest, though, some of the memory flashbacks we saw in the barn totally went over my head. Either I missed something or it was badly edited.)

Clearly there’s parallels to be drawn with everyone and this world where Peter no longer played a part. Whilst for the likes of Alt-Broyles and Alt-Lincoln it’s worked out well (they’re alive!), Olivia is detached, Walter is a mess, and Olivia’s baby is non-existent. There is some give and take between what has been gained and what has been lost, but it seems to me that there are plot threads being picked up here (like Alt-Lincoln and Olivia’s potential romance) that suggest this universe, the one we are seeing, will be one that persists even after Peter returns.

The way I see it, Peter ought to eventually ‘pop’ back into existence, and although he will have full memories of the other universes, the other history, everyone else won’t. Peter could very well, once more, be a man out of place in the world. His voice at the end was certainly stronger, almost like he was able to see Walter. Is he only able to contact Walter? So far that seems to be the case – or it might be that Walter is the only one that is receptive to the loss so much that he alone is the only one wrestling with what no one knows they once had.

Two last points to make. The first, I am liking how Lincoln Lee may assume the role of new ‘wrong name reference’ from Walter. It used to be Astrid – getting called all kinds of things that weren’t her name. Now Walter, it seems, may refer to Lincoln by different kinds of presidential names other than, of course, Lincoln. It’ll be amusing to see that take shape (and, again, is another seed being planted to suggest this is a universe that is here to stay for a while).

Last point: I have absolutely no idea what the episode title means. By the time you’re reading this I’ll have probably read other stuff and found out but, right here and now, I don’t have a clue.

What was the best part?

A strong episode for Olivia and Fauxlivia leads me to conclude that the best part of this episode was their little chat in the car. For one it showed that Fauxlivia had softened her exterior a little to try and understand Olivia better since she was the one that offered her the ride and, by the end of the journey, I think it’s fair to say that her impression of Olivia has been suitably altered. There’s a reason Olivia is colder and more uptight – childhood abuse, killing her own stepfather, not to mention the Cortexiphan trials! I don't think they're going to be best friends, but the antagonism should certainly have eased.

What do I think will happen next?

Walter has surely got to start seriously investigating ‘Peter’ rather than trying to hide away from it. This might mean him reaching out to Walternate to aid him? Seems unlikely, considering how vocal he is in his dislike and distrust. But then I figure that this initial hatred will be part of his character arc and must surely soften and lead to acceptance as the season progresses in a similar manner to Olivia and Fauxlivia.

I also expect Alt-Lincoln to start making moves on Olivia. This will surely complicate matters further between those two, Fauxlivia and Peter (when he eventually shows up!).

Terra Nova: S01 Ep01 – Genesis Parts 1 & 2

What happened?

Earth in the 22nd century is over-polluted and oxygen-deficient. The Shannon family have contravened the laws that state only two children per couple, and the father Jim Shannon is locked away as a consequence. However, his wife Liz is granted passage to Terra Nova – a colony set up from a discovered crack in time and space leading to Earth 85 million years earlier. The Shannon family manage to all escape together to Terra Nova, and there set up life in the prehistoric compound.

Liz Shannon is enlisted as a doctor, whilst Jim Shannon is at first given agricultural duties before his instincts as a cop prompt Terra Nova founder and leader, Nathaniel Taylor, to give him a badge and a gun. He needs it when he is called out to rescue his son, Josh, and a bunch of other kids that ventured outside the fence and got caught up with Sixers (a rogue faction of colonists that splintered from Terra Nova) and attacking dinosaurs.

Everyone is brought home safe, though the kids all discovered a secret that Nathaniel would rather remained unknown; an area of diagrams and equations that the Sixers believe was written by Nathaniel’s missing son, harbouring information about the truth of Terra Nova.

Thoughts

Ah, that tricky first episode. Carrying the burden of introducing new characters, a new world, a new concept, and having to make the whole thing quickly appealing, engaging, but also providing fertile ground from which the show can grow and develop. It’s no mean feat, and as such, so long as a show keeps my interest, I am prepared to overlook other deficiencies at first on the basis that with time the actors, writers and crew will all settle down into understanding what their show is, what its strengths are, and grow into itself.

Terra Nova definitely has room for improvement.

Main character Jim Shannon was rather problematic for me – I didn’t really take to him. He basically came across as a bit of a dork. That would be fine if that was his character, but instead he’s supposed to be straddling both the everyman and action man role (which he does also manage) so these douche-elements aren’t blending well.

His wife Liz fares better (helped by the fact that she’s gorgeous) in terms of her credibility, but she doesn’t escape the trap of being rather one-note. It’s a fate that the Shannon family share. Son Josh does petulant, the geeky daughter is really unsubtly sold as being brainy (much of the exposition falls to her but her shoehorned in dialogue ain’t as pretty on the ear as she is on the eye) and youngest daughter Zoe has little to do but look cute.

As stated, this is just the first episode so there’s time for these people to be fleshed out. And Terra Nova did do the smart thing in focusing on them for the majority of the time rather than deluge us with an extended cast. Keep it simple, let the complex stuff come later.

The only other non-Shannon family characters to get any kind of exposure were founding father, Nathaniel Taylor and hot girl with balls, Sky. The relationship between Sky and Josh felt rather unlikely (Sky’s group were altogether way too trusting of the new boy with their secret booze and rule-breaking exploits!) but that one moment where she looked over at Josh being hugged by his parents, given she had been orphaned, was a bittersweet moment that did more for her as a person than all of her previous screentime.

Nathaniel Taylor was the real star of the show. It was perhaps hard to shake off Quaritch from Avatar (gruff man in charge in a foreign environment!) at first but, eventually, his founding father role was slowly earned. However, shows like Battlestar Galactica and even the ill-fated Outcasts, which have dealt with similar premises of a small pocket of humanity forging a new civilisation, generally involve more political and social structure emphasis. I don’t see Taylor as being realistically capable of maintaining law, order, social structure, government as well as defending the camp – but whether the show really gets into other authoritative hierarchy is another matter (they do tend to get a bit boring and perhaps Terra Nova would rather avoid the political aspect).

The CG-effects were a major talking point of the hype for the show, mainly because any show that is attempting to have dinosaurs as a fundamental part of its world is going to have to work hard to not make them look dreadful. Whilst the dinosaurs themselves looked decent (not exactly Jurassic Park standard but better than your average television effect) in a pilot episode with a lot of money thrown at it, I would expect either the quality to diminish or there to be less direct dinosaur action on the scale of, say, the brilliant cars versus Carnosaurs sequence during the regular episodes. Hopefully my cynicism will prove unfounded as there’s no question that dinosaurs are cool and some top notch man vs monster action will go a long way to cover plot holes and bad dialogue!

Steven Spielberg’s presence as executive producer kind of worries me, especially because the show seems to be favouring a safer, more wholesome feel than the opening scenes on Earth might have suggested. Hopefully I am wrong, because what Terra Nova really needs is to retain some kind of raw edge to compensate for the cheesy dialogue and lack of genuine peril. (Was anyone under any illusions that any key character wouldn’t survive?)

There’s promising plot threads trickling through to give the series somewhere to go. Nathaniel’s long lost son was one, with the strange markings he was leaving that hint at a truth about Terra Nova clearly being pencilled in early to pave the way for big mysteries and revelations to come. The key question would be to challenge the validity of the claim that Terra Nova is in a different “timestream” to the Earth they left. Just because that’s the official story doesn’t necessarily make it so.

I’d be willing to bet there’s a good chance that they really are part of Earth’s history and the potential effects of that are yet to be revealed (like, for example, why they can’t go back!). Failing that, they may not even be on Earth at all. So far there’s been nothing to substantiate that ‘given’ (admittedly they would therefore have to be on Earth-like planet that also has a moon similar to our own, so the odds of this being an alien world are pretty remote!).

So Terra Nova opened with a fairly predictable ‘kids in danger’ plotline to get our heroes outside of the compound and face-to-face with dinosaurs, and Sixers. It was eventful, served as a good introduction but did nothing particularly daring or groundbreaking. Again, with a show that cost this much money, you have to wonder how ‘risky’ it’s willing to go (in its favour, there were some moments of violence and gore that were stronger than I might have expected).

Terra Nova survived the test of the pilot episode in that it kept my interest throughout and has done enough to keep me willing to come back for more. Fingers crossed it gets better because I am intrigued to see where it’s going.

What was the best part?

As good as Terra Nova looked, and as exciting as a couple of the dinosaur attacks were, the most arresting sequences were back on Earth. The Shannon family hiding their daughter, the advertising boards and smoke-filled air, and then the walk towards the portal – these all had atmosphere and drama that loaned proceedings a sense of edge. Once the family were at Terra Nova that level of jeopardy just wasn’t present; it was entertaining but it felt safe.

What do I think will happen next?

I would anticipate that the next few episodes probably won’t look too deeply at the ‘bigger’ mysteries of the show, and will hopefully instead concentrate on the characters and everyday life in Terra Nova. I would also expect the Sixers would retain their presence, if only to create conflict, but maybe we’ll get to see them in a more sympathetic light and uncover why they split and what they’re all about. Mostly I expect exploration of both family and new world in the immediate few episodes, and I think that is precisely what the show can afford to spend some time on.

An Idiot Abroad: S02 Ep2

What happened?

Karl was sent to experience the Tran Siberian Express; one of the longest train journeys on Earth on a train that contains the most opulent and fantastic standards of travelling alongside third-class levels. En route he is taken to experience zero-g effects at a Russian astronaut training facility, meets a man that can stick metal to his body and finishes up in a Chinese dwarf village.

Thoughts

Well, it was better than last week’s! I felt like Karl was given a little more licence and freedom and there was less pre-arranged stunts or events for him to contend with. Again, like the bungee jumping last week, the one genuinely amazing experience put in front of him (of going up in the plane to experience true weightlessness in zero g conditions) he elected to wangle his way out of.

I know it’s his character, and he is being absolutely true to himself in not going ahead and doing stuff he resolutely doesn’t want to do just because he’s on television, but at the same time it’s plain annoying to watch. I don’t find it funny. I don’t find myself on his side. I find myself disliking him for squandering these amazing opportunities.

I never felt like that watching the first series. Throughout that one I was always sympathetic to his plight but, for series 2, this idiot abroad is only really being idiotically resistant. So instead of him on the flight we had to settle for a bag of Revels being flung about in zero g in his stead. That’s not good entertainment.

More entertaining was Karl being made to wrestle for the honour of some Mongolian tribe. Not only did he look ridiculous but his fed-up reaction to it was terrific. The difference here was that he actually did get on with it. He stayed with the people (joining in with their chanting singing!) and practised the wrestling and then turned up and competed. As he said, there was no surprise in that he didn’t win but at least he gave it a go! So long as he does that the show works – it’s when he just turns his nose up, folds his arms and refuses to play does it get frustrating.

On the plus side there was a lot more of this episode that felt like the first series, and was better for it. His arrival in Moscow, with the most grumpy taxi driver ever, was amusing. But better was the look on his face when he went into the bar and spotted a bunch of guys sat at a table wearing only towels; just that glancing expression of disbelief to camera when he had passed them was priceless.

It was also interesting to see him aboard the Tran Siberian Express, particularly when we followed him being moved through the train, down the class levels, into the nightmarish conditions of third class and his bed that was little more than a shelf. It was utterly contrived but made for good viewing, seeing him perched up there hating every second of it.

Where this show actually succeeds is in being a kind of anti-travel show. Normally such shows will seek out new places and far off lands and show them in the best light. In the first series of An Idiot Abroad the strength and freshness of it was in having Karl turn up at the pyramids and remark about how scruffy the place was, or arrive at the Great Wall of China and fail to see the wonder in a wall that had been patched up and re-built in the modern age. This episode had touches of that down-to-earth, this is how it is viewpoint with the unflinching look at how crap the third class conditions were; this is where the show validates itself and was something last week’s jungle-based expedition completely lacked.

Maybe it’s just the joke is wearing thin. It’s not a concept that can be spun out for much longer. Maybe. I’m not completely down on it because there was plenty to chuckle at and enjoy. Like the dwarf village was fascinating and weird, and it was a nice touch to have Karl contact Warwick Davis and discuss it with him. That Karl was, for once, positive about something that Warwick could see nothing positive about was typical: Pilkington remains a man forever at odds with popular perception!

What was the best part?

For all the centrifugal machinery and dwarf villages, the best part of the show is Karl being Karl. As such the best part of the episode for me was, having met the man that could stick metal to him, Karl was asked what kind of power he would like to have. The following little monologue about how he’d be ‘bullshit man’, turning up and remarking “bullshit” wherever anyone was talking crap, was absolutely genius.

What do I think will happen next?

Next week Karl is to go swimming with sharks. If there hadn’t been some clips with him actually in the cage, in the water with the sharks, then I’d have worried it would be another case of him being presented with another experience he’d refuse to properly take on. I still doubt how much of it he will do, but we’ll see. The episode does have the potential to have more contrivance, though, so my hopes aren’t particularly raised.

Fringe: S04 Ep01 – Neither Here Nor There

What happened?

It’s a world without Peter, with no memory that he ever existed, and the two realities of parallel worlds have been bridged (though knowledge of this happening has not been released to the general public). Whilst there is a form of truce between the two Fringe divisions, it’s a pact currently running on distrust from both sides.

Agent Lincoln Lee, in this reality oblivious to the world of Fringe Division, is on a callout with his partner when they run into a bizarre, translucent human. Lincoln’s partner is killed and, searching for answers, Lincoln is integrated into Fringe division where it transpires these translucent humans are a new form of shapeshifter, and considering that Walternate was responsible for the first shapeshifters Olivia and Walter are immediately suspicious that he may have a hand in these latest incarnations.

Meanwhile The Observers watch on and deem it essential that this world is never aware that Peter the boy became a man. But September, charged with erasing him from existence, falters over flicking the switch. Peter repeatedly appears in glimpses, struggling to bleed back into existence. . .

Thoughts

Good to have Fringe back, although if anyone thought the bridging of the realities and the removal of Peter would somehow give the show a kind of blank slate feel to re-build anew then they’ve got another thing coming. Right out of the gate this episode demands that the viewers are well up on their mythology and it was really only the re-introduction of Lincoln Lee as a ‘new starter’ to Fringe Division did the episode make a little concession for anyone coming in cold.

The episode wasted no time setting up animosity between the two Olivias. Considering this is a world where Peter never existed I can only figure the antagonism is down to the fact that Olivia was still kidnapped Over There, and replaced by Fauxlivia for a while, and this is cause for a rift. It was perhaps slightly irritating that these two level-headed, intelligent characters had defaulted to such opposition so early but, I suppose, this season needs to find its conflict from somewhere and just erasing the friction between both sides might have also felt just as irritating.

It was interesting to see that without Peter, Olivia hasn’t progressed much from the person in the Pilot episode. She still lost her partner but never found a replacement, and instead was the one to release Walter and take responsibility for him. Walter, too, is a slightly different beast. Afraid to leave the lab, more untethered to reality, and the one being ‘haunted’ by visions of Peter.

The Observers discussed amongst themselves a few bits and pieces that were interesting. The general idea seems to be that September – the Observer we usually see – intervened in the way the course of events was supposed to run when he saved Peter’s life. This re-written universe has it, I presume, that Peter as a child died.

Walter made a remark about how a person can die twice, so I have to conclude that his original son, Peter, died from illness like he always did. And Walter then crossed over and kidnapped the other Peter. The difference here is that Peter wasn’t saved in the car crash that September once got involved in? That’s my best guess. So Walter has had to live with losing his own son, and then kidnapped Peter’s alternate and seeing him die also. No wonder he’s messed up.

September being sent off to permanently erase Peter is bizarre (God knows what the heck that thing he gathered bits and pieces together for was going to do!) but I get the feeling he is going more ‘rogue’, perhaps curious about the extent to which he can effect the course of events (and the consequences of doing so). Perhaps he’s just curious about Peter, and how he manages to still bleed through.

Still not really any closer to knowing what The Observers fundamentally are, mind, but then this is one of Fringe’s biggest and most enduring mysteries (it’s their Black Smoke!) so I don’t expect that to be explained anytime soon.

I enjoyed Lincoln Lee in this episode. The bespectacled version of him is a likable and yet admirable character. He shows he’s got the smarts, and the action skills, but mostly he’s got amazing acceptance of whatever’s going on. Walter hands him a dead pigeon that springs to life, flies around, and then drops to the floor – Lincoln barely bats an eyelid! It’ll be interesting to see if Alt-Lincoln is on the scene Over There, and whether he retains a ‘thing’ for Fauxlivia (I would suspect he’s still dead, though).

All in all it was a more measured return to the fold. It was good in the sense of showing rather than telling, drip-feeding information about what this world was and currently is as a result of Peter’s absence. It’s perhaps a sharp point, but I didn’t find myself missing Peter. I did want to pick up more with Fauxlivia and Walternate and see where they were really at (I hope Fauxlivia still retains a sympathetic side to her rather than the sneering person we saw here).

Of course, Peter will return. The big question has to be: When he does return, will he return to this world, or will the worlds shift once more – and if they do, what will it be like? It’s big, heady territory for Fringe but the show has been good at straddling bold ideas in a sophisticated manner so far so there’s no cause for concern at present.

What was the best part?

Whilst there was a lot of strong interplay between these established characters displaying the subtle differences between their ‘old’ versions and their ‘new’ versions, for me the best part of the episode was the transition from Lincoln and his partner talking in the kitchen to giving chase to the shapeshifter. It was a cool cut, with an energising music cue that also involved Lincoln showing some sweet, fast moves when he apprehended the guy he was chasing despite the guy having a gun to his head! In a subdued episode it was the one real pulse-raising sequence (though hats off to the scene where Olivia and Lincoln bagged a shapeshifter each, that was good too).

What do I think will happen next?

I expect we’ll get a perspective on how things are with the ‘Alt’ characters; Walternate, Fauxlivia and the rest. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next episode shifted focus onto their side in a similar way to how it alternated sides during Season 3. As for the question of whether Walternate is responsible for the new shapeshifters, that’s a tough call given we’ve really no understanding about what kind of man this ‘new’ version of him is. My gut, however, says the alternates are not directly involved in the sense that they are trying to wage war with the other side.

The big question, of course, is about Peter. I fully expect that he will get ‘remembered’ and bleed back into reality. I also expect this to happen around about episode 4 or 5 (can’t see a lead character like his being left out longer than that). I suspect that the Observer, September, will be a pivotal part of that – perhaps further disobeying his orders to erase Peter and instead choosing to do the exact opposite.

Doctor Who: S03 Ep07 – 42

What happened?

The Doctor and Martha are propelled onto a cargo spaceship in dire distress; plunging into a sun and, at the time of their arrival, there’s approximately 42 minutes left to impact. With the TARDIS confined to a red hot ventilation shaft, The Doctor, Martha, and the handful of crew must somehow restore the ship’s damaged engines and auxiliary system in the short time available.

As if the situation wasn’t difficult enough, some strange entity is taking over members of the crew and with a fearsome cry of “Burn with me” is picking off the remaining people one-by-one. The Doctor eventually realises that this strange entity is the sun itself, attacking the ship for pillaging its energy as fuel.

The Doctor is almost killed by this energy but Martha is on hand to save the day, venting out the fuel and returning it to the sun before he dies. She is rewarded with her own key to the TARDIS in addition to the earlier gift she received; a universal telephone. Using this phone she had spoken to her mother and arranged to go and see her, unaware the call was under surveillance by people working for the illusive “Saxon”.

Thoughts

Let’s just say this now: Best episode of Doctor Who I’ve seen so far. Not just of this series, but stretching back to when Christopher Ecclestone was the main man (I don’t have any real awareness of Doctor Who prior to its modern revival). Aside from some fringe elements regarding Martha’s call home and Saxon, this was a stand alone episode that rarely relented from the moment it started and reached a near feverish level of intensity.

The title 42 referred to the number of minutes remaining before the ship crashed, which basically meant the episode ran in real time, adding to the drama. It’s a well-worn premise, seen countless times in films and TV: small group of people in a confined, contained position of jeopardy , getting picked off one by one to keep tightening the dramatic noose. It’s well-worn because, when done right, it makes for a top notch thrill ride.

What really helped this episode sail through was that the crew were a hardy, likeable bunch. We joined them at crisis point and they quickly accepted the sudden appearance of The Doctor and Martha and put them to use whilst they tried to save themselves. Between the devoted captain and wife, the lonely, disconsolate young man and the glass-half-full engineer they seemed varied and managed to bring a sense of history to their cookie-cutter collection of caricatures.

The monster of the week was more compelling when it wasn’t fully-explained. If the episode had a weak point then the monster itself, and most particularly the explanation as for why it was taking down the crew, was definitely it. The notion that this ‘sun’ was a living entity I was OK with, but the scooping out of its heart by this ship mining it for fuel and it then possessing them to drag them back to it. . . That was a bit hard to swallow.

I think it was the energy being classed as its heart that I got most hung up on. It’s not like my enjoyment was totally destroyed it just jarred me a little. But otherwise the ‘monster’ possessing the crew and intoning the deep-throated “burn with me” was imposing. Although it did become a little laughable that the threatening gesture of attack was a hand poised at the eye shield visor!

Minor niggles though, because for the majority the episode shone (pun intended) as a terrific jolt of adrenaline; it hit the ground running and then worked up to a breathless sprint. Even The Doctor seemed to get swept off his feet by it, with some interesting character traits fired out from him when he became possessed by the sun monster. He panicked when he was being put into the freezer, admitting that he was scared even, before trying to say something to Martha about his capacity for regeneration (frustrating, really, that it wasn’t quite clarified what he was trying to put across).

Perhaps most interesting was his strange manner at the end of the episode, back in the TARDIS. Martha was jubilant and rightly making a truthful joke about the fact that she had saved the day again and it was thus worthwhile her being around, but his reaction was momentarily cold and distant. Again, it was hard to gauge where his head was at during this moment.

Given this moment of coldness came just before he handed Martha the key to the TARDIS I can only figure it was almost like he’d been hit by a blast of realisation, that a) Rose was definitely gone and b) He had gone and found a replacement. In short, he was officially moving on from Rose.

Whilst that’s the best explanation I can summon, I must say I found his stern expression difficult to rationalise with that interpretation. Odd.

The episode closed out with another ‘cliffhanger’ surrounding the identity and purpose of this mysterious “Saxon”. Whilst I expect there’s going to be big reveal about this I have to say I am not as blown away by these Saxon-related stings as the show seems to think I should be. I simply cannot be stunned or excited by something or someone I don’t know anything about!

Martha has made arrangements to go and meet her mother on Election Day, but luckily she can travel in time so there’s room for a few more episodes of adventures yet, I am sure, before she drops by on that same day and, presumably, walks straight into whatever this Saxon character has waiting for them.

What was the best part?

The moment where Martha and the other guy crammed themselves into an escape pod that was then jettisoned prompted one brief moment of eerie silence. As the pod drifted helplessly towards the inferno, Martha and The Doctor looked at each other through the porthole windows, calling out to one another. It was a classy, emotional punch running counter to the high-octane pace of the rest of the episode.

What do I think will happen next?

Almost certainly The Doctor and Martha will return to Martha’s mother, on Election Day, as they discussed on the phone. There they will encounter these people that rerpresent Saxon, and presumably Saxon himself. Whilst I didn’t closely watch this series of Doctor Who when it was first-aired (in fact, having been re-watching, I am actually startled as to how few of them I watched originally – less than three so far) I am reasonably sure that this Saxon fellow will turn out to be The Master (though, I’ll be honest, his significance in the Doctor Who universe isn’t one I am aware of).

An Idiot Abroad: S02 Ep01

What Happened?

Having traversed the Seven Wonders of the World, Karl Pilkington's new globe-trotting agenda has focussed on him experiencing selected items from a 'Bucket List'; a list of things to do before you die. In this episode he is sent to the South Pacific where he gets to spend a whole night alone on his own desert island (but not before he is offered opportunities to bungee jump, and landjump with tribal natives. . .).

Thoughts

I was always of the opinion that An Idiot Abroad was at its best during the first series when there was less 'forced' event and more of Karl Pilkington being documented experiencing the things he came up against that were not prompted or predicted. It's for this reason I felt this opening episode of the new series felt just too forced, felt like it was trying too hard, and it just didn't translate as naturally well.

For example, in the first episode of the first series, when Karl visited China, there was a period of time where he was left to his own devices to go and walk around and explore the place. It was during that time he came across the various stalls selling crazy food, and saw a guy walk by carrying his own toilet seat amongst other things; it was like a little treasure trove of insights about what things are really like there that offered amusement and some genuinely interesting views of a country you've probably never been to presented in a way most travel documentaries don't dwell on.

It was refreshing.

This episode didn't capture that refreshing vibe. As I said, it felt like it was trying too hard, constantly throwing pre-arranged stuff at Karl as though afraid that letting him just be left alone to show us where he was through his eyes would be too boring for the audience. The very thing that I thought was the show's biggest strength is the very thing the show creators seem too afraid to fall back on. And so seeing him forced into ingratiating himself to tribes, and barely want to adopt their customs, dress and practices simply made for uncomfortable viewing rather than the feel of 'one of us' reacting to life 'over there'.

Admittedly there was the funny moment, when he was refusing to wear the leaf pants of the natives, where Karl acknowledged to the crew behind the camera that it was awkward - only for the native, 'Jon', to push on and insist that it was going to happen anyway. But that amusement was tempered by the feel that Karl was probably being rather insulting to these people; his belligerence and stout English mentality wasn't translating as humour and more like narrow-minded ignorance. Not cool. I know it's very much Karl's character to be resistant to new experiences but, fact is, he was in their tribe with a film crew all around him and to just point blank refuse to get involved became tiresome.

Same goes for the bungee jump at the beginning. To be fair, Karl had said he definitely would never do such a thing. But then why get all trussed up for it, camera mounted on his helmet, and have the bungee guys all urging him on, only to refuse to do it? It made for infuriating viewing. I really wanted the bungee guy just to put a boot on Karl's back and shove him off the ledge because, as Ricky Gervais was saying in one of his phone calls, there's every chance he'd have found it more of a thrill and a rush than his fears were screaming at him. As viewers, we wanted to see Karl take the jump and be amazed and enthralled by the experience of it - instead we got him backtracking.

The landjump was similarly disappointing, though it did yield the amazing rarity of Karl in fits of laughter afterwards when even he realised how utterly pathetic his small five foot 'fall' into mud had been in comparison to the thirty foot plus jump he was supposed to attempt (in fairness, leaping off the rickety scaffold to practically land headfirst in the ground with your fall broken only by a special vine didn't look very health and safety conscious!).

So from a tribe that worshipped Prince Phillip (I shared Karl's confusion about how such a thing happened) to sliding down the side of a volcano on an arseboard (didn't look like much fun since there appeared to be more pushing than sliding) we finally arrived at the climax of the episode; a night on a desert Island. It certainly looked miserable. Pissing down with rain, sitting on shingle sheltered only by palm leaves, eating some miserable potato-like vegetable slow-roasted over the embers of a dismal fire. This, of course, is what An Idiot Abroad wants to be about this series; pushing Karl into conceptually amazing experiences and converting them into the most arduous and embarrassing and fun-sapping results. It's a good pitch but, incongruously, it demands more set up and pre-arrangement and that drains the vitality that the first series possessed.

Hopefully it'll get better. It's still an amusing show, and still one to have recorded on series link to ensure you don't miss it, and for sure it'll be one that people will be talking about at workplaces all over the land on Monday morning. But, for me, being so excited about it, it's return to the screen was marred with more disappointment than entertainment.

What was the best part?

Karl discussing with Ricky his accomplishments with the landjump, and breaking down into laughter when he realised how pathetic his efforts had been. It wasn't so much the subject matter that was so funny, it was more just the sight of Karl laughing hard. Whether it's a well-cultivated demeanour he maintains, or whether he really rarely laughs, or whether the first series just edited out such giggly glee previously, it was hard not to laugh along with that miserable sod as he cracked up.

What do I think will happen next?

Given this is a documentary and not a drama it's not really essential to make speculation about what I think will happen next. I know from the 'next week' preview that Karl will be venturing aboard the Transsiberian Express and, from the few clips shown, it looked like a lot more interesting and engaging subject matter. Hopefully it'll be the return to the feel of series one and re-capture that magic.

Doctor Who: S03 Ep06 – The Lazarus Experiment

What happened?

The Doctor is on the verge of finally dropping Martha off back home when they both see on the television that her family are to attend an event being run by an elderly man named Lazarus who claims to be all set on unveiling something that will change mankind forever. Unable to resist seeing, The Doctor accompanies Martha to the ceremony.

In front of his assembled audience Lazarus gets into a machine that fundamentally changes his DNA and makes him step out of it again much younger. Such tinkering, however, comes with side-effects; an abrupt metamorphosis into a giant, bug-like creature with an appetite for human flesh.

As the beast within Lazarus begins to take over it’s up to The Doctor, Martha and her sister to face him and stop him, culminating in a showdown at a church where a sonic effect in a belltower sends the monster plunging to its death. Another adventure over, Martha demands that if she’s to come along with The Doctor in the future she doesn’t want to be hanging on the promise of “one more trip” and instead wants to be his full-time companion. He agrees, and off they go.

Thoughts

Another solid ‘monster of the week’ episode of Doctor Who, although events were bolstered by the sense of progression in Martha being returned home and confronting the crushing sense of disappointment that her adventures were over, only to have herself eventually established as the ‘new Rose’. Indeed, the suggestion was that Martha wasn’t so much saddened to be left out of the travelling through space and time as she was to be apart from The Doctor. This series has been pushing her attraction towards him and, whilst at times it’s seemed a little forced, the point has carried over.

If anything it’s her open affection being rebutted by The Doctor that has painted him in a less than flattering light. He appears rather callous and I’m not sure it’s really being portrayed as entirely his absent-mindedness simply not noticing. Had Lazarus not appeared on the television would he really have not returned for Martha? The scene was played for a lighthearted joke, with The Doctor compelled to return because he just couldn’t resist seeing what Lazarus was up to, but there was the very real matter of Martha being pretty much dumped with little regard – albeit briefly.

And, again, at the end his casual disregard for her feelings when he asked her if she wanted to come along for another trip further displayed a rather arrogant and frankly boastful aspect to his character. It’s odd, because on the flipside – usually in moments of peril – he displays genuine concern for her safety and rousing admiration for how reliable and resourceful she can be in thwarting danger and surviving.

No wonder she’s confused with those kinds of mixed messages he’s sending out!

I enjoyed seeing Mark Gatiss take up the role of Lazarus; I’ve been a fan since his League Of Gentlemen days and I know he’s been a part of the writing ensemble for Doctor Who (having been a massive fan of the older shows). The only disappointment, I suppose, is that this would appear to be the one and only time he’ll ever be in it. It’s a shame – I would have hoped that an actor of his talent and standing on the programme might have seen him bag a more substantial, recurring role. Oh well.

I thought his performance as the old Lazarus was especially good; talking with his wife and really selling the age (all too often young people in old make-up look pretty much as they are: young people in old make-up!). Then, again, when talking with his wife as young Lazarus and coldly dispensing of her both emotionally and then physically was terrifically nasty.

Martha’s mother featured here and I thought her character wasn’t particularly well-handled. When she first met The Doctor she was immediately distrustful and pretty much outright hostile towards him. Fair enough, but in light of the fact that she would eventually be told in secret stuff about The Doctor that would cause her alarm for her daughter’s safety I thought it might have been more effective to have her be charmed by The Doctor first to make her panicked conversion more dramatic.

It is mentioned that a “Mr. Saxon” had informed Martha’s mother about The Doctor, though we don’t know who he is or what he said. It was only here, with his name given greater significance, do I recall that there have been previous brief references to Saxon. There was a poster in one episode stating ‘Vote Saxon’ and I am fairly sure he got a mention in The Runaway Bride Christmas episode. Maybe there have been other references to, and this Saxon is the equivalent motif of the “Bad Wolf” refrain that populated earlier Doctor Who series.

What was the best part?

Easily the scene between Lazarus and his wife when he was young. His coldness towards this woman we have to figure has been by his side for many years and who clearly doted on him was quite shocking. Whilst the scenes of the Lazarus monster weren’t actually bad, and above standard in both special effect and dramatic effect, chasing and eating people is run-of-the-mill compared to the evil cruelty Lazarus delivered upon his wife before he then killed her.

What do I think will happen next?

Well, Martha has been officially elevated to companion status which might settle some of those insecurities but, again, can only allow those affections she has for The Doctor to grow stronger. Also now ticking along is this “Saxon” element – probably a person and probably some kind of formidable foe that will present himself (I’d guess for the series finale). I’ll be looking out for any other references to him that might crop up.

Doctor Who: S03 Ep05 – Evolution Of The Daleks

What happened?

The Dalek-human hybrid marshalled plans to create more of his type. However, his leniency towards The Doctor, enlisting him to help realise his dreams, fostered mutiny amongst the remaining 3 Daleks who turned against him and set about their age-old plans of conquering and destroying.

The Doctor, Martha, and a few other people managed to prevent the Daleks from generating their own army, which resulted in two of the Daleks being killed. The Doctor confronted the last Dalek, offering him help to save their race, but the Dalek refused and made an escape into space and time. The Doctor and Martha left, with The Doctor certain he would meet that Dalek again, eventually.

Thoughts

A better episode to cap off this two-parter compared to the previous one. Whilst I did find I had some problems with it overall it managed to entertain me and restore some dignified menace to the notion of Daleks being The Doctor’s ultimate nemesis.

The biggest problem I had with the episode was The Doctor once again willing to sacrifice his own life. It’s arguable he took a calculated gamble in the first episode of this series in trusting Martha would save him, but here he offered himself to the Daleks and practically screamed at them to kill him.

He had absolutely no guarantees that the hybrid Dalek would intervene – indeed he was the most surprised of everyone that the unthinkable had happened. So this, for me is a somewhat troubling aspect to his character; his being so quick to press the self-destruct button on himself. Is this just bad writing on the show, or a planned and intended aspect to his character that will eventually be addressed?

Is the pain of losing Rose causing him to no longer have as much regard for his own life? Even though he is the last of his race, a point that he made such a big fuss about so much in this episode he was willing to help the last Dalek, the race that wiped out all his own kind. If this really is some new character flaw that will get picked up then this is terrific stuff; a sophisticated seeding of a deeper psychological insight.

I’ve got serious doubts that is what was happening, though.

The Doctor did save at least one ‘race’ from extinction in this episode though: the unfortunate human-pig slave Laszlo! I’ll be honest, if I was him, I’d rather have died. Instead The Doctor saved him and offered him a life in the slums of Hooverville where he could be stared and sneered at for the rest of his life. Gee, thanks!

The episode did have its good moments, though. I really liked the part where the leader of Hooverville gave a courageous speech to the Daleks, imploring them to find peace and co-operation, only to be greeted by the iconic “Exterminate!” and vapourised in a cheap special effect. It felt brutal, like old-style Doctor Who, undercutting cheesy expectations with nasty consequences.

How the Daleks were once again given a bit more power and respect was welcome here, as well. I thought the previous episode had rather undermined their stature and this episode went some way to regaining it. The confrontation scene with The Doctor and the last Dalek was good stuff. A last face off before the Dalek batted away any helping hand.

No doubt this lone Dalek has now gone off to hatch plans to generate more Daleks from somewhere and once again try to exterminate their way through worlds and destroy The Doctor, and I’ll look forward to seeing it/them again.

I’d be surprised if we see another Dalek in this series, mind.

What was the best part?

Easily the scene where the leader of Hooverville took a stand and made a speech to the Daleks and asked for their response. He got one. “Exterminate!” Classic.

What do I think will happen next?

Back to some stand alone episode, I should think. The ongoing issue with Martha and The Doctor’s relationship seems to continue to be one-sided and, as the episodes roll by, I don’t see much happening to stop that trend. Potentially there’s going to be something of a frustrated despair for Martha at how The Doctor won’t return her feelings. I know she’s not going to remain his companion for the next series so I anticipate their parting will be due to her just not being able to stand his inability to reciprocate her feelings.

Doctor Who: S03 Ep04 – Daleks In Manhattan

What happened?

The Doctor and Martha are transported to Depression-era New York, with construction of the Empire State Building almost finished. Investigating the disappearances of people, they discover that the Daleks have been taking humans and conducting experiments upon them. The majority of people have been turned into these slave, pig-like creatures, but the masterplan is to mould human flesh with the material Dalek form to create new human-Dalek hybrid creatures to allow their race to adapt and survive.

Thoughts

The revived Doctor Who has, I’ve thought, made a good fist of trying to remain faithful to the staples of old Doctor Who whilst bringing fresh things to a new generation. Sometimes I think they’ve been too slavish to the old material, and for me the continued re-appearance of the Daleks as the most formidable foe for The Doctor remains problematic.

The show can’t really dispense with them easily, of course. This is the race that wiped out all of the Timelords and have cropped up in some form or other in every series. The trouble is that the Daleks aren’t the terrifying force for audiences like they used to be and, in truth, they look and sound ridiculous. The moment they are on-screen it’s like the whole show is being dragged backwards, being taken down several notches in both sophistication and credibility.

Like the part in this episode where the Daleks were scanning people to determine if they were intelligent or not. It might have played out like a tense selection process. Instead it was just a line of people reacting to having a toilet plunger waved in their faces.

And, yes, the ending to the episode was also ridiculous. With the human-Dalek hybrid stepping out of the robot shell to announce itself, full on to camera – I just could not take it seriously. Fundamentally I think I was supposed to take it all really seriously, like this was a shocking new development in Doctor Who but the whole thing just felt overcooked and lacking in dramatic effect.

The idea that Martha has developed strong feelings for The Doctor was also being casually pushed along here, too. This is certainly something we’re being told about rather than shown, this time with Tallulah the dancer saying it was obvious from the way Martha looked at him there was something there. Only Martha’s retort about how he didn’t notice her sold the current state of affairs between them for me.

The construction work on the Empire State Building, with the top spire piece needing urgent completion, being coated with distinctly Dalek-like panelling. Outlandish as it seems, I can’t help but wonder if the plan isn’t to make the entire building into one enormous Dalek-shell and thereby convert all the people inside the building into Dalek-human hybrids. It’ll surely be something on a large scale for the Daleks to achieve their goals of domination.

Maybe, in fact, the Empire State will serve as some kind of generator pulsing out something across great distances that achieves the same conversion effect to produce Dalek-human hybrids?

Anyway, this was definitely one of the weakest episodes I’ve seen. It’s a shame, really, because absurd as they are anything to do with Daleks ought to see Doctor Who firing on all cylinders at the top of its game. Maybe the second half of this two-parter will deliver the punch that was lacking here.

What was the best part?

Curiously, the introduction to Hooverville as The Doctor gave Martha a quick history lesson over the plight of Americans stricken with poverty was really good. I’d never known anything about this before so I found that rather interesting. In fact I’d rather have seen the episode remain there and deal with the forgotten people living in the shadow of the looming Empire State as that appeared to be far meatier subject matter.

What do I think will happen next?

As stated, the Daleks will have some kind of plan for perfecting their evolutionary process onto a wider scale which, surely, must involve the ‘renovations’ they are undertaking on the Empire State building. The Doctor will surely thwart their grand plan. However, the Daleks here are the last few remaining so I’d be very surprised of The Doctor beat and destroyed them here, effectively wiping them out of the universe (again!). So, on some level, perhaps in their evolved form, at least some of the Daleks should escape to fight another day.

Boardwalk Empire: S01 Ep03 – Broadway Limited

Despite attempts by Nucky’s brother to kill the surviving witness of the robbery, prohibition agent Van Alden steps in and tries to deliver him to Rothstein in New York. En route the witness takes a turn for the worse so Van Alden is forced to stop at a dentist’s, ply him with drugs, and then apply torture techniques to extract the information that one of the robbers was Jimmy.

Rothstein learns that Jimmy was one of the men responsible for the robbery and murders and sends one of his men to go and find out who else was involved before killing him. Pre-empting this, however, Nucky has already told Jimmy to leave. And so Jimmy boards a train and leaves Atlantic City, and his wife and child, behind.

Nuckly meanwhile brokers an arrangement with bootlegger Chalky, but their operation is evidently not without resistance when one of the gang is found hung. Nucky, with his brother, decides to make it appear like he was shot in an argument to keep the peace and prevent a race war breaking out.

Thoughts

It’s curious that when recapping what happened in the episode it transpires that so much ‘big’ event occurred when, whilst viewing, it seemed sedate and pedestrian and rather more of a ‘ticking over’ instalment. That’s definitely the nature of events, things slowly coming to the boil, but it’s tricky to explain why even major activity on this show can feel muted and detached.

Van Alden marked himself out as the standout here. His ribbon-stealing antics of the previous episode gave way for a whole new lease of crazy. It’s tricky to know what his original plan was by delivering the witness to Rothstein; I can only assume he figured the witness would be more likely to tell what he knew before he died to his own people. As it was, Van Alden had to take more drastic measures in the dentist chair using cocaine and a well-placed couple of fingers in an open wound.

Van Alden was then seen reciting damning Bible verse at the witness once he was dead, apparently unfazed by the room full of people watching him. And furthermore we were given one small scene as he sat eating with his wife at dinner; a picture of uncomfortable sterility. There are clearly layers to his puritanical yet twisted mindset to be peeled back that make him highly interesting and a far richer character than your usual do-gooder lawman.

The history between Nucky and Jimmy was revealed a little, with it transpiring that Nucky knew Jimmy as a small boy and appears to have been watching over him his whole life. Indeed, I am wondering whether Nucky is actually Jimmy’s father. There were some clues tucked away to suggest as much.

There was the exchange between Nucky and Jimmy’s mother, where she felt she could come to Nucky to make sure her boy was OK.

There was Nucky and his girlfriend, and her saying that she would bear a child for him if that’s what he wanted, and him skittishly deferring the matter until after the election.

There was Nucky reminiscing about Jimmy as a boy, and how he thought he held so much potential and would go on to do great things – before it somehow all went wrong.

There was Nucky’s brother remarking about how he wonders if Nucky would have been as lenient with him as he was being with Jimmy – clearly Nucky has a soft spot.

All little pointers, yes, but furthermore there was Jimmy himself having doubts over whether he was really the father to his son, or whether it was the photographer his wife and boy seemed so familiar with. Thematically it could be something resonating through both Nucky and Jimmy. The episode played it so that it was impossible to know the truth of what, if anything, had gone on with the photographer. Once Jimmy left his wife seemed to effortlessly get on with the business of getting on quickly enough – to the extent that she was even using the vacuum cleaner!

Probably there was something symbolic to interpret out of that. Maybe that the boy wasn’t scared of the vacuum cleaner, rather Jimmy’s presence, so once he was gone it was fine to be used? Or perhaps more simply it was because the cleaner was more efficient, like Jimmy said, and his wife now using it merely demonstrated her taking a more pragmatic approach to life.

Where is Jimmy headed? If the episode did state this information I didn’t catch it. My best guess would be to figure he’s headed for Chicago, to Al Capone. But the truth is he could be headed anywhere; I don’t even know if he’s going to disappear from events for a while or if we’re going to keep following him. I hope for the latter.

Margaret’s sideline subplot continues, as Nucky got her a job in a French clothing boutique. Gratuitous nudity abound when Nucky’s wife showed up (certainly not something I didn’t enjoy – she’s a fine specimen) but I don’t really know what that scene was about. I figure that Margaret and Nucky will have more involvement with one another and that this scene offered juxtaposition between the two women who will be in his life.

Chalky White looks to be a character with his head screwed on. He was quick to up the terms of the deal with Nucky in return for keeping the murder of one of his men from instigating larger problems. Whether that larger problem is one that will continue to remain suppressed remains to be seen. I am not actually sure if we’re supposed to know who was responsible for the murder. Given the meeting Rothstein’s men had with the former bootlegger, the implication is they did it.

I was also slightly confused about how it was Rothstein found out about Jimmy being the person the witness named. Does this not suggest that Rothstein has an inside man, either with the prohibition agents or with the Atlantic City police? Could it even be Nucky’s brother? Again, I didn’t quite pick up on whether this was a purposefully hidden conceit to create mystery or I just wasn’t following things accurately.

Strange then, for what felt like a low-key episode, there was so much incident and intrigue! I did actually enjoy it, to be fair – perhaps it was even the most enjoyable episode so far. I still feel like it’s keeping a lot of characters and plot threads in the mix without quite the level of definition and sense of belonging that would make the show more compelling but I do feel more drawn in to Boardwalk Empire than I previously did.

What was the best part?

Van Alden’s interrogation and torture scene was absolutely the highlight. The shift in tones during such a short sequence was adroitly handled; the comedy of the dentist only knowing one place to administer drugs (the mouth, obviously!), to the witness’ initially foul retort, before Van Alden turned medieval on him to get the information and then outdid his otherworldly intensity with that Biblical eulogy.

What do I think will happen next?

If Jimmy is going to Chicago then I expect he will hook up with Capone and really roll his sleeves up and become ingratiated into the world of organised crime. I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t follow Jimmy for a few episodes and then perhaps his return will be marked with an extended flashback of what he got up – that would be cool.

Otherwise it’s all about Rothstein and his gang exerting pressure on Nucky and his organised crime infrastructure. At some stage you feel that things are going to come to the boil and a showdown of sorts is on the cards.