Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Doctor Who #106: Priest of Death
"Besides, the bears there are French. They may not like to be sold."
TECHNICAL SPECS: Part 3 of The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve. It is missing from the archives. A reconstruction has thus been used (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Feb.19 1966.
IN THIS ONE... A failed assassination attempt on an Admiral leads to the execution of the Abbot of Amboise for incompetence. But is he the Doctor?
REVIEW: If the previous episode was high on historical politics and low on TARDISeers, this one is even worse. Steven gets hardly any scenes, and the Doctor is once again absent. That Hartnell plays the Abbot of Amboise only means that it feels like you're watching a period drama that also happens to feature William Hartnell. When he's on screen (which is very little anyway), we're STILL watching that period drama and not Who. Steven continues to believe the Abbot is the Doctor, and fandom continues to commend Hartnell for creating a wholly different character, but neither are correct. When the Abbot is murdered at the end of the story, we know it can't be the Doctor, and I'm afraid it means the Abbot hasn't been featured enough to call it much of a character. He had, what, two brief scenes in the entire story?
The Abbot's role is mirrored in that of the Queen Mother. From the existing pictures, Joan Young's Catherine de Medici is a powerful presence, and yet she doesn't say a single word in her first scene. Everyone else is speaking for her. She eventually gets a brief scene, and it's a good one. She's the overbearing mother disappointed in her royal child. But again, that all feels like it's from another production entirely. If the protagonists have any impact on the story - does Steven prevent the Admiral's death? Is history reasserting itself when his presence sparks a riot over the Abbot's body? - the audience can't tell because these events are from well-known or iconic. And the one element that seemed to drive the story for the series regulars, the double of the Doctor, is done away here without explanation (see Theories).
THEORIES: What is it with the Whoniverse and doubles? Obviously, in a long-running series, actors are bound to be reused, but Doctor Who goes out of its way to make the Doctor or his companions meet physical doubles of themselves elsewhere in spacetime. The first Doctor has the Abbot; the 2nd, Salamander; the 6th, Maxil; Romana looks just like the princess of Tara and then chooses the form of Astra for her second incarnation. Is the matrix involved in regeneration/looming and does is it, in part, hold a universal gene bank? Or is, as is explored in the Faction Paradox books, Gallifrey a template for the rest of the universe, and Time Lord forms echoed across the universe? However, this isn't solely a Time Lord phenomenon. Barbara and Lexa, Nyssa and Ann Talbot, Amy Pond and a Roman soothsayer (only Nyssa is noticed as a "double"). It's a big universe, especially when the 4th dimension is taken into account, and there seems to be a wide but limited number of body types. It's also possible that people who have bonded with the TARDIS lead the ship to times and places where similar genetics exist.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-Low - If the main characters were involved more, I'd concede a higher rating. As is, it feels like a complete diversion from the program I want to watch.
TECHNICAL SPECS: Part 3 of The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve. It is missing from the archives. A reconstruction has thus been used (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Feb.19 1966.IN THIS ONE... A failed assassination attempt on an Admiral leads to the execution of the Abbot of Amboise for incompetence. But is he the Doctor?
REVIEW: If the previous episode was high on historical politics and low on TARDISeers, this one is even worse. Steven gets hardly any scenes, and the Doctor is once again absent. That Hartnell plays the Abbot of Amboise only means that it feels like you're watching a period drama that also happens to feature William Hartnell. When he's on screen (which is very little anyway), we're STILL watching that period drama and not Who. Steven continues to believe the Abbot is the Doctor, and fandom continues to commend Hartnell for creating a wholly different character, but neither are correct. When the Abbot is murdered at the end of the story, we know it can't be the Doctor, and I'm afraid it means the Abbot hasn't been featured enough to call it much of a character. He had, what, two brief scenes in the entire story?
The Abbot's role is mirrored in that of the Queen Mother. From the existing pictures, Joan Young's Catherine de Medici is a powerful presence, and yet she doesn't say a single word in her first scene. Everyone else is speaking for her. She eventually gets a brief scene, and it's a good one. She's the overbearing mother disappointed in her royal child. But again, that all feels like it's from another production entirely. If the protagonists have any impact on the story - does Steven prevent the Admiral's death? Is history reasserting itself when his presence sparks a riot over the Abbot's body? - the audience can't tell because these events are from well-known or iconic. And the one element that seemed to drive the story for the series regulars, the double of the Doctor, is done away here without explanation (see Theories).
THEORIES: What is it with the Whoniverse and doubles? Obviously, in a long-running series, actors are bound to be reused, but Doctor Who goes out of its way to make the Doctor or his companions meet physical doubles of themselves elsewhere in spacetime. The first Doctor has the Abbot; the 2nd, Salamander; the 6th, Maxil; Romana looks just like the princess of Tara and then chooses the form of Astra for her second incarnation. Is the matrix involved in regeneration/looming and does is it, in part, hold a universal gene bank? Or is, as is explored in the Faction Paradox books, Gallifrey a template for the rest of the universe, and Time Lord forms echoed across the universe? However, this isn't solely a Time Lord phenomenon. Barbara and Lexa, Nyssa and Ann Talbot, Amy Pond and a Roman soothsayer (only Nyssa is noticed as a "double"). It's a big universe, especially when the 4th dimension is taken into account, and there seems to be a wide but limited number of body types. It's also possible that people who have bonded with the TARDIS lead the ship to times and places where similar genetics exist.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-Low - If the main characters were involved more, I'd concede a higher rating. As is, it feels like a complete diversion from the program I want to watch.
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Dial H for Devil
House of Mystery #173 is the last issue of the series to feature Dial H for Hero, but not the last we see of Robby Reed, don't worry. It's not that Martian Manhunter finally won the top slot, it's that House of Mystery stopped doing superheroes and became the beloved horror anthology hosted by Cain we remember today. So in this last regular Dial H story, we find Robby inside police headquarters, having won the Police Athletic Club's teenager of the year award. He's got full access for a month and hopes to learn how to do his own job better. Unfortunately, the Dial's about to go wrong...Case 16: House of Mystery #173
Dial Holder: Robby Reed
Dial Type: The Big Dial
Dialing: The frequency pitch from a newly-invented, experimental boat's jet booster has some strange effect on Robby, "reversing [his] thinking" and giving his superhero identities criminal urges. Each identity starts out fine, then goes bad, at which point Robby blacks out. He comes back to his senses before dialing out. Presumably, his thinking is reversed only while the jet boosters are turned on (or from on-panel evidence, a short while after they've been turned on).
Name: Gill Man (not the best underwater hero name I've ever heard, but it would be funny if his real name was, in fact, Gil)Costume: A scaly green ensemble with open-faced hood and fins on both his head and back. He has large webbed feet, like a scuba diver's, and thick gill flaps on either side of his head where the ears should be. On par with Legion rejects and Aquaman villain henchmen.
Powers: Gill Man can fly and swim at incredible speeds. Obviously, he has gills which allow him to breathe underwater, but can't breathe so well in air. To counter this weakness, he can super-suck water into his mouth from at least 20 feet away.
Sighted: At the Littleville racing track and a coastal highway. In preventing the Speed Boys to do so, Gill Man stole a racing horse worth millions of dollars called Whirl-o-Rama.
Possibilities: Thanks to the Dial malfunctions, we're allowed to imagine these guys as supervillains too, and that's where I see Gill Man - as a member of Aquaman's rogues gallery. Look at who's already in there and tell me he's not on the same level.
Integration Quotient: 12% (with his particular weakness and bad design, he wouldn't make it past one appearance even in as an Aqua-foe)
Name: Icicle Man (possible confusion with the Icicle)Costume: He's a dude made of ice with blue trunks (possible confusion with Marvel's Iceman).
Powers: Icicle Man is literally made of ice and is in constant danger of melting. Somehow, he's still cold enough that he can freeze metal to make it brittle, or create limited ice structures like ice ropes. He can also turn himself into dry ice by standing in carbon monoxide like car exhaust. Can someone check the science behind all this? Oh, and he can fly.
Sighted: At the Littleville testing grounds. When the Speed Boys steal an experimental race car, Icicle Man steals it from them.
Possibilities: A character that might melt before the end of an issue? This is the kind of guy who might fight Mike Barr's Outsiders for one issue (and almost win), but that's about it.
Integration Quotient: 3% (we've already got a character like this in the DC Universe, and he doesn't have a chance of melting)
Name: Strata Man (old school, but remove the Man and you might have something)Costume: Horizontal layers of earth tones, with a corrugated one near the top of the head just so it kind of looks like he's wearing a sweatband. The mix of purples, greens and browns is pukeworthy.
Powers: Each of those layers represents a different mineral strata. In so few pages (less than 2), Strata Man doesn't have the time to use very many, so his full potential is unknown. However, we do know he can fly (natural gas) and shoot power blasts (uranium).
Sighted: At the Littleville city pier. Strata Man prevents the Speed Boys from stealing an experimental boat, though its jet booster sinks to the bottom of sea.
Possibilities: Hey, how about putting him in Primal Force? He might even have become an earth elemental some day.
Integration Quotient: 10% (in need of a major redesign before he can be allowed to even think about maybe getting into the proper DCU)
If you think the Dial H adventure is over, think again. See you next week for more!
Doctor Who #105: The Sea Beggar
"You see shadows where there is no sun."
TECHNICAL SPECS: Part 2 of The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve. Absent from the archives, a reconstruction was nonetheless available (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Feb.12 1966.
IN THIS ONE... When the Doctor fails to make his rendezvous, Steven tries to meet the Abbot of Amboise who is a dead ringer for is friend and hears of an assassination plot.
REVIEW: There sure are a lot of scenes of various historical personages talking about history in closed rooms in this episode, and that's where it fails. Not that they are badly done - BBC actors were by then very comfortable with this kind of material - but as Doctor Who viewers, we want these scenes to be over so we can get back to the protagonists. To be fair, Steven does have an impact on history from the fringes, his presence leading some to wonder if protestant overtures have been made to England, but it's still like watching a version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead where we see a whole more of Hamlet. The culmination of that idea is that the celebrity historicals get the cliffhanger, with neither of the program's heroes present.
The Doctor is, of course, completely absent from the proceedings. We learn that his germologist friend Preslin has been in jail for two years, so doubtless, he was captured by the man he thought was Preslin. And though Hartnell plays the Abbot, he appears in only one scene (pre-taped?) and has no dialog. The script casts some doubt as to whether or not the Doctor has taken on the role - none of the other characters had met him before yesterday - but it's a red herring. The main function of the Abbot subplot is to make things difficult for Steven. Suddenly, he's not to be trusted because he claims to be friends with the Abbot. It does lead to a nice stand-off between Steven and the volatile Gaston who draws a sword on him. We can't see the sword fight today, but I like that Steven isn't written as Ian here. He doesn't have the skill or the will to fight Gaston and runs after some timid defensive exchanges. The Doctor DID tell him not to cut himself with his sword.
The role of the female companion is played by the servant girl Anne, whose loyalty to Steven is admirable. Through Anne, we also see how the goodies aren't any better than the baddies in this story. Catholic, protestant, both sides have an unfriendly disposition towards her. France is a country not just divided by faith, but by class, and Anne is on the very lowest rung of that ladder.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium - Steven Taylor is slumming it in one of the BBC's historical productions, and the Doctor is nowhere to be seen. It's all quite well done, but is it Doctor Who?
TECHNICAL SPECS: Part 2 of The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve. Absent from the archives, a reconstruction was nonetheless available (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Feb.12 1966.IN THIS ONE... When the Doctor fails to make his rendezvous, Steven tries to meet the Abbot of Amboise who is a dead ringer for is friend and hears of an assassination plot.
REVIEW: There sure are a lot of scenes of various historical personages talking about history in closed rooms in this episode, and that's where it fails. Not that they are badly done - BBC actors were by then very comfortable with this kind of material - but as Doctor Who viewers, we want these scenes to be over so we can get back to the protagonists. To be fair, Steven does have an impact on history from the fringes, his presence leading some to wonder if protestant overtures have been made to England, but it's still like watching a version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead where we see a whole more of Hamlet. The culmination of that idea is that the celebrity historicals get the cliffhanger, with neither of the program's heroes present.
The Doctor is, of course, completely absent from the proceedings. We learn that his germologist friend Preslin has been in jail for two years, so doubtless, he was captured by the man he thought was Preslin. And though Hartnell plays the Abbot, he appears in only one scene (pre-taped?) and has no dialog. The script casts some doubt as to whether or not the Doctor has taken on the role - none of the other characters had met him before yesterday - but it's a red herring. The main function of the Abbot subplot is to make things difficult for Steven. Suddenly, he's not to be trusted because he claims to be friends with the Abbot. It does lead to a nice stand-off between Steven and the volatile Gaston who draws a sword on him. We can't see the sword fight today, but I like that Steven isn't written as Ian here. He doesn't have the skill or the will to fight Gaston and runs after some timid defensive exchanges. The Doctor DID tell him not to cut himself with his sword.
The role of the female companion is played by the servant girl Anne, whose loyalty to Steven is admirable. Through Anne, we also see how the goodies aren't any better than the baddies in this story. Catholic, protestant, both sides have an unfriendly disposition towards her. France is a country not just divided by faith, but by class, and Anne is on the very lowest rung of that ladder.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium - Steven Taylor is slumming it in one of the BBC's historical productions, and the Doctor is nowhere to be seen. It's all quite well done, but is it Doctor Who?
Monday, March 05, 2012
Some Jokes Are Too Easy to Make
So I refuse to make them.
Oops. Ah well.
(Blame Mike Sterling's Twitter feed.)
Oops. Ah well.(Blame Mike Sterling's Twitter feed.)
Doctor Who #104: War of God
"No doubt you visit this tavern because the air is clearer of rigid Catholic dogma?"
TECHNICAL SPECS: Part 1 of The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve, a story completely missing from the archives. I've listened to the BBC CD narrated by Peter Purves, but for purposes of these reviews, I'm using a reconstruction (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Feb.5 1966.
IN THIS ONE... The TARDIS lands in religiously divided 16th-century France. Steven makes friends in a tavern, while the Doctor hunts down an apothecary he really wants to meet.
REVIEW: France on the eve of a massacre. A people divided along protestant (Huguenot) and catholic lines. A monarch trying to unite them through a cross-religion marriage. It's not the most well-known piece of history available, but the story might be able to use it to its advantage to foster unpredictability. As in many historicals, the dialog is rather witty, and because some of it is predicated on religious intolerance, its themes are more adult than most. With John Wiles now the producer, and Donald Tosh now script editor, is it possible there was a push towards more adult fare? This story comes on the heels of a companion being turned to dust, after all. Tosh notoriously tinkered so much with Lucarotti's script, he tried to disown it. What IS a hallmark of the Wiles era is the Doctor getting sidelined (he and Hartnell didn't get along), so the Doctor leaves on his little mission to meet historical celeb Charles Preslin, the (fictional? or else extremely obscure?) discoverer of germs and leaves Steven to his own devices.
Peter Purves takes up the challenge well enough, making fast friends where the Doctor gets a colder reception. Through his new friend Nicholas, Steven learns of the era he's in, its politics and dangers, and affably navigates his unfamiliarity with the setting. When a young girl called Anne runs by, chased by the Abbot of Amboise's guards, they take her in and find out there's a massacre in the offing, turning Steven's bit of tourism into a chance of more serious adventure. The girl's lost her father in a prior religious cleansing, and now she's heard something she shouldn't have and is in danger of joining him. To Steven's credit, he does try to keep out of history's way as per the Doctor's directives, but sometimes history is coming straight at you. You know how it is.
Of the Abbot of Amboise, we hear a number of things, none of them endearing, and of course, the big twist at the end of the episode is that the Abbot looks just like the Doctor. I don't know if anyone thought he WAS the Doctor, playing some kind of game, but the fact all the Abbot's men recognize him and have known him for a while means this was never the intention. Still, it's an odd thing to have happen in a historical that seems otherwise meticulously researched.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium - Historicals are the best part of the Hartnell era, and again we get a strong script with good dialog. The choice of historical event is a bit obscure and dark, but the focus on Steven is welcome after the neglect of the last story.
TECHNICAL SPECS: Part 1 of The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve, a story completely missing from the archives. I've listened to the BBC CD narrated by Peter Purves, but for purposes of these reviews, I'm using a reconstruction (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Feb.5 1966.IN THIS ONE... The TARDIS lands in religiously divided 16th-century France. Steven makes friends in a tavern, while the Doctor hunts down an apothecary he really wants to meet.
REVIEW: France on the eve of a massacre. A people divided along protestant (Huguenot) and catholic lines. A monarch trying to unite them through a cross-religion marriage. It's not the most well-known piece of history available, but the story might be able to use it to its advantage to foster unpredictability. As in many historicals, the dialog is rather witty, and because some of it is predicated on religious intolerance, its themes are more adult than most. With John Wiles now the producer, and Donald Tosh now script editor, is it possible there was a push towards more adult fare? This story comes on the heels of a companion being turned to dust, after all. Tosh notoriously tinkered so much with Lucarotti's script, he tried to disown it. What IS a hallmark of the Wiles era is the Doctor getting sidelined (he and Hartnell didn't get along), so the Doctor leaves on his little mission to meet historical celeb Charles Preslin, the (fictional? or else extremely obscure?) discoverer of germs and leaves Steven to his own devices.
Peter Purves takes up the challenge well enough, making fast friends where the Doctor gets a colder reception. Through his new friend Nicholas, Steven learns of the era he's in, its politics and dangers, and affably navigates his unfamiliarity with the setting. When a young girl called Anne runs by, chased by the Abbot of Amboise's guards, they take her in and find out there's a massacre in the offing, turning Steven's bit of tourism into a chance of more serious adventure. The girl's lost her father in a prior religious cleansing, and now she's heard something she shouldn't have and is in danger of joining him. To Steven's credit, he does try to keep out of history's way as per the Doctor's directives, but sometimes history is coming straight at you. You know how it is.
Of the Abbot of Amboise, we hear a number of things, none of them endearing, and of course, the big twist at the end of the episode is that the Abbot looks just like the Doctor. I don't know if anyone thought he WAS the Doctor, playing some kind of game, but the fact all the Abbot's men recognize him and have known him for a while means this was never the intention. Still, it's an odd thing to have happen in a historical that seems otherwise meticulously researched.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium - Historicals are the best part of the Hartnell era, and again we get a strong script with good dialog. The choice of historical event is a bit obscure and dark, but the focus on Steven is welcome after the neglect of the last story.
Sunday, March 04, 2012
This Week in Geek (27/02-04/03/12)
Buys'n'Wins
Well, I won the Oscar Pool for the second year in a row, with 15 correct answers on Oscar wins, and that means I've scored a big box of DVDs. Thankfully, the rules allowed me to give away what *I* put in the box (so long, EZ Money!) and anything I already owned to the second and third places. Still, that's 17 new DVDs on the shelf, and not all of them "wanted". There are things that look really bad, like Dr. Doolittle: Million Dollar Mutts, Quebec's À vos marques... Party!, and stupid comedies Don't Mess with the Zohan and Step Brothers. And then there are total abominations like the "original and yet Greedo shoots first" Star Wars trilogy, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and the movie that made me give up on Tim Burton films forever, his Planet of the Apes. There's even age-inappropriate material with two Brave Little Toaster DVDs, and the format-inappropriate Silence of the Lambs in (ugh) full screen. So my hopes for entertainment fall on Predator (awesome), Hancock (doubtful), Crank 2: High Voltage (why not), Lovely Bones (Peter Jackson) and Spice World (dark horse!). In the "Buys" category, those Amazon sale discs are still trickling in, this week in the form of Finding Neverland and Mongol.
"Accomplishments"
DVDs: The second season of Parks and Recreation, clocking in at a full 24 episodes, is well, awesome. The mark of a great comedy, for me, is not just that it be funny, but that it manage to touch me as well. P&R did that for me. Though it is shot and written in much the same way as The Office (the U.S. version of which I do not watch), Leslie Knope isn't a fool like that show's boss. Her enthusiasm for government work and for her values makes her a smart woman who nonetheless gets in over her head. The characters are comic caricatures, but they don't go where you think they will, and the growing respect between them and desire to do the right thing according to their evolving values is turning this into the local government comedy equivalent of The West Wing. Rob Lowe showing up at the end only confirms this. The DVD has almost full cast commentary on a few key episodes, a couple of producers' cuts, deleted scenes APLENTY (and very funny too), a gag reel, behind the scenes stuff mostly for giggles, Olympics promos, and more. Good deal.
Kung Fu Dunk is the Shaolin Soccer of basketball... or is it? I wasn't expecting much based on online reviews, and it's true that it's not on Soccer's level. Although the "Chinese rules" basketball is appropriately ridiculous, it takes too long to get there, is largely repetitive, and doesn't quite rise above the level of most sports movie plots. However, the awesome Eric Tsang (Sam in Infernal Affairs) elevates the material to surprising levels, actually making the end of the film poignant. I love Eric Tsang. And the movie's got a rockin' score that's rather infectious. Definitely better than expected... let's do Shaolin Hockey next, ok?
Audios: I'm so used to Marc Platt's Doctor Who stories to be dense metaphors, his 6th Doctor Big Finish audio Paper Cuts seems rather tame. It's a good one, delving much deeper than ever before into Draconian culture, throwing some weird and fun concepts around like living origami soldiers and an orbital Heaven, as well as juggling the Charley/Mila subplot. India Fisher does a good job of playing a spin on her usual character. If I have to list a negative, it has to be the variable Draconian accents. Some of the actors force a sibilance on their lines that's just a step away from annoying, and then there's the cockney Draconian peasant.
The Charley/Mila arc, and Charley's story for now, ends in Nicholas Briggs' Forgotten Blue Planet, another outing for the Viyrans, this time, in some indeterminate part of Earth's future. There's a certain timey-wimeyness, and India Fisher playing two characters, and an ending that's pretty sweet while also allowing for Fisher to return to Big Finish in either guise. I was hard on Briggs' first part to the trilogy last week (Patient Zero), but the overall story has been rewarding. The 6th Doctor audios continue to be the shiniest jewel in Big Finish's crown.
Hyperion to a Satyr posts this week:
III.ii. The Mouse-Trap - Olivier '48
Well, I won the Oscar Pool for the second year in a row, with 15 correct answers on Oscar wins, and that means I've scored a big box of DVDs. Thankfully, the rules allowed me to give away what *I* put in the box (so long, EZ Money!) and anything I already owned to the second and third places. Still, that's 17 new DVDs on the shelf, and not all of them "wanted". There are things that look really bad, like Dr. Doolittle: Million Dollar Mutts, Quebec's À vos marques... Party!, and stupid comedies Don't Mess with the Zohan and Step Brothers. And then there are total abominations like the "original and yet Greedo shoots first" Star Wars trilogy, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and the movie that made me give up on Tim Burton films forever, his Planet of the Apes. There's even age-inappropriate material with two Brave Little Toaster DVDs, and the format-inappropriate Silence of the Lambs in (ugh) full screen. So my hopes for entertainment fall on Predator (awesome), Hancock (doubtful), Crank 2: High Voltage (why not), Lovely Bones (Peter Jackson) and Spice World (dark horse!). In the "Buys" category, those Amazon sale discs are still trickling in, this week in the form of Finding Neverland and Mongol."Accomplishments"
DVDs: The second season of Parks and Recreation, clocking in at a full 24 episodes, is well, awesome. The mark of a great comedy, for me, is not just that it be funny, but that it manage to touch me as well. P&R did that for me. Though it is shot and written in much the same way as The Office (the U.S. version of which I do not watch), Leslie Knope isn't a fool like that show's boss. Her enthusiasm for government work and for her values makes her a smart woman who nonetheless gets in over her head. The characters are comic caricatures, but they don't go where you think they will, and the growing respect between them and desire to do the right thing according to their evolving values is turning this into the local government comedy equivalent of The West Wing. Rob Lowe showing up at the end only confirms this. The DVD has almost full cast commentary on a few key episodes, a couple of producers' cuts, deleted scenes APLENTY (and very funny too), a gag reel, behind the scenes stuff mostly for giggles, Olympics promos, and more. Good deal.
Kung Fu Dunk is the Shaolin Soccer of basketball... or is it? I wasn't expecting much based on online reviews, and it's true that it's not on Soccer's level. Although the "Chinese rules" basketball is appropriately ridiculous, it takes too long to get there, is largely repetitive, and doesn't quite rise above the level of most sports movie plots. However, the awesome Eric Tsang (Sam in Infernal Affairs) elevates the material to surprising levels, actually making the end of the film poignant. I love Eric Tsang. And the movie's got a rockin' score that's rather infectious. Definitely better than expected... let's do Shaolin Hockey next, ok?
Audios: I'm so used to Marc Platt's Doctor Who stories to be dense metaphors, his 6th Doctor Big Finish audio Paper Cuts seems rather tame. It's a good one, delving much deeper than ever before into Draconian culture, throwing some weird and fun concepts around like living origami soldiers and an orbital Heaven, as well as juggling the Charley/Mila subplot. India Fisher does a good job of playing a spin on her usual character. If I have to list a negative, it has to be the variable Draconian accents. Some of the actors force a sibilance on their lines that's just a step away from annoying, and then there's the cockney Draconian peasant.
The Charley/Mila arc, and Charley's story for now, ends in Nicholas Briggs' Forgotten Blue Planet, another outing for the Viyrans, this time, in some indeterminate part of Earth's future. There's a certain timey-wimeyness, and India Fisher playing two characters, and an ending that's pretty sweet while also allowing for Fisher to return to Big Finish in either guise. I was hard on Briggs' first part to the trilogy last week (Patient Zero), but the overall story has been rewarding. The 6th Doctor audios continue to be the shiniest jewel in Big Finish's crown.Hyperion to a Satyr posts this week:
III.ii. The Mouse-Trap - Olivier '48
Doctor Who #103: Destruction of Time
"The one thing that Sara lived for was to see the total destruction of the Daleks. Well, now it's all over. Without her help, this could never have been achieved."
TECHNICAL SPECS: Part 12 of the Daleks' Master Plan. Missing from the archives, I've used a reconstruction (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Jan.29 1966.
IN THIS ONE... The Daleks destroy Mavic Chen, the Time Destructor destroys the Daleks, Kembel and Sara Kingdom, and the Doctor destroys the Time Destructor. It's the one with all the destruction.
REVIEW: It finally ends! And harshly at that. After the ridiculous runarounds of The Feast of Steven, you've had time to forget Katarina and Bret's unceremonious deaths in the first couple chapters of The Daleks' Master Plan and may not be ready for Sara's. While we have pictures from the sequence, we don't know exactly how it would have looked. However, even as a pictures and sound reconstruction, it looks like a harrowing scene. As time lashes forward, both the Doctor and Sara are aged and the jungle around them turns to a dusty desert. Epic and dramatic! The Doctor survives this ordeal (see Theories), but Sara is turned first into an old crone, then into a skeleton and then... dust. That is a violent and shocking end for a character that had been assimilated into the TARDIS family and was being written as a companion. Suddenly, no one traveling with the Doctor is safe. We're less sure how the Daleks' regression to embryonic stage might have looked (after the Time Destructor is set on reverse), especially with the script mentioning a humanoid mid-stage, but that's an interesting ending for them as well. While they are defeated, it all ends on a bit of a downer, doesn't it? (Don't worry, the next story will cheer you up - oh wait, it's The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve.)
Mavic Chen goes completely loopy in this one and ends up quite dead. His megalomania is such that he believes he's in charge and can't understand why the Daleks ignore his orders. The fact they choose to remain silent when he starts to rant and rave is unsettling and demeaning at the same time. He's also paranoid the Doctor wants to take his place in the alliance. He's completely deluded. I can't help but think he was more interesting a character when he was a sane, if misguided, politician though. Kevin Stoney excels at taking Chen over the top, but it's so big, it takes us too far into Saturday matinée territory. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but Terry Nation wrote him as a more subtle and three-dimensional character than Spooner did. What helps sell his madness is Tristram Cary's demented music, which underscores his unbalance. Cary is also responsible for the insane "tic toc" music that accompanies the Time Destructor's effects. A huge help to the episode.
THEORIES: Affected by the same regression of time, Sara and the jungle are turned to dust, but the Doctor survives? This is the first clue we get that the Doctor may be longer-lived than humans are. He still gets older, though the effects are slightly reversed by Steven's flipping of the time direction on the Destructor. The visible effects anyway, because we're not TOO far from the first Doctor's regeneration now. And you've also got a potential answer to the problem of the Doctor's age. In The Tomb of the Cybermen, he tells Victoria he's about 450 years old. That's the first figure we get. By his 7th incarnation, he's 953 (Time and the Rani). when the Doctor returned to our screens in 2005, he was only 900 years old though, and has been aging at a rate of 1 year every year. So it's possible some of the lower figure is his chronological age, while the higher is his body's age accounting for the Time Destructor's stolen years. In other words, it's relative, and at some point, the Doctor's vanity took over and he started playing down the accumulation due to the Time Destructor's effects (and possibly those of other time-shenanigans).
VERSIONS: The serial was adapted as a charity stage production in October 2007 by Interalia Theatre in Portsmouth, UK, as a finale to their highly successful run of previous Doctor Who stage shows.[citation needed] It was adapted and directed by Nick Scovell and produced by Rob Thrush. Scovell starred as the Doctor, as in the company's previous productions. Nicholas Briggs guest starred as the voice of the Daleks and also, briefly, as the Doctor following a regeneration scene at the play's end. There is also a Target novelization, or rather, two because the story was so long (subtitled Mission to the Unknown and The Mutation of Time). In it, it is explicitly said Sara Kingdom traveled aboard the TARDIS for a number of months (in between the books), and the Daleks enjoying some down time in their rest area(!).
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - An engrossing final act that is highly dramatic and powerful even without the accompanying pictures. Not quite worth the time wasted in the middle of the story, but satisfying nonetheless.
STORY REWATCHABILITY: Highly variable - The Daleks' Master Plan is an efficient, hardcore, gritty, political, adult 4-parter that sees the death of not one, but three temporary companions (and a planet). Sadly, it serves as the bread to a nonsense sandwich modeled after the worst Dalek story of all time, The Chase. Imagine if the season had done DMP in 4 parts, a Meddling Monk in Egypt 4-parter with some meat on its bones, and then spent the other 4 parts on a proper plot. We'd have three whole stories instead of a meandering mess. By all means, feel free to skip the 8 episodes in the middle of this.
TECHNICAL SPECS: Part 12 of the Daleks' Master Plan. Missing from the archives, I've used a reconstruction (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Jan.29 1966.IN THIS ONE... The Daleks destroy Mavic Chen, the Time Destructor destroys the Daleks, Kembel and Sara Kingdom, and the Doctor destroys the Time Destructor. It's the one with all the destruction.
REVIEW: It finally ends! And harshly at that. After the ridiculous runarounds of The Feast of Steven, you've had time to forget Katarina and Bret's unceremonious deaths in the first couple chapters of The Daleks' Master Plan and may not be ready for Sara's. While we have pictures from the sequence, we don't know exactly how it would have looked. However, even as a pictures and sound reconstruction, it looks like a harrowing scene. As time lashes forward, both the Doctor and Sara are aged and the jungle around them turns to a dusty desert. Epic and dramatic! The Doctor survives this ordeal (see Theories), but Sara is turned first into an old crone, then into a skeleton and then... dust. That is a violent and shocking end for a character that had been assimilated into the TARDIS family and was being written as a companion. Suddenly, no one traveling with the Doctor is safe. We're less sure how the Daleks' regression to embryonic stage might have looked (after the Time Destructor is set on reverse), especially with the script mentioning a humanoid mid-stage, but that's an interesting ending for them as well. While they are defeated, it all ends on a bit of a downer, doesn't it? (Don't worry, the next story will cheer you up - oh wait, it's The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve.)
Mavic Chen goes completely loopy in this one and ends up quite dead. His megalomania is such that he believes he's in charge and can't understand why the Daleks ignore his orders. The fact they choose to remain silent when he starts to rant and rave is unsettling and demeaning at the same time. He's also paranoid the Doctor wants to take his place in the alliance. He's completely deluded. I can't help but think he was more interesting a character when he was a sane, if misguided, politician though. Kevin Stoney excels at taking Chen over the top, but it's so big, it takes us too far into Saturday matinée territory. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but Terry Nation wrote him as a more subtle and three-dimensional character than Spooner did. What helps sell his madness is Tristram Cary's demented music, which underscores his unbalance. Cary is also responsible for the insane "tic toc" music that accompanies the Time Destructor's effects. A huge help to the episode.
THEORIES: Affected by the same regression of time, Sara and the jungle are turned to dust, but the Doctor survives? This is the first clue we get that the Doctor may be longer-lived than humans are. He still gets older, though the effects are slightly reversed by Steven's flipping of the time direction on the Destructor. The visible effects anyway, because we're not TOO far from the first Doctor's regeneration now. And you've also got a potential answer to the problem of the Doctor's age. In The Tomb of the Cybermen, he tells Victoria he's about 450 years old. That's the first figure we get. By his 7th incarnation, he's 953 (Time and the Rani). when the Doctor returned to our screens in 2005, he was only 900 years old though, and has been aging at a rate of 1 year every year. So it's possible some of the lower figure is his chronological age, while the higher is his body's age accounting for the Time Destructor's stolen years. In other words, it's relative, and at some point, the Doctor's vanity took over and he started playing down the accumulation due to the Time Destructor's effects (and possibly those of other time-shenanigans).
VERSIONS: The serial was adapted as a charity stage production in October 2007 by Interalia Theatre in Portsmouth, UK, as a finale to their highly successful run of previous Doctor Who stage shows.[citation needed] It was adapted and directed by Nick Scovell and produced by Rob Thrush. Scovell starred as the Doctor, as in the company's previous productions. Nicholas Briggs guest starred as the voice of the Daleks and also, briefly, as the Doctor following a regeneration scene at the play's end. There is also a Target novelization, or rather, two because the story was so long (subtitled Mission to the Unknown and The Mutation of Time). In it, it is explicitly said Sara Kingdom traveled aboard the TARDIS for a number of months (in between the books), and the Daleks enjoying some down time in their rest area(!).
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - An engrossing final act that is highly dramatic and powerful even without the accompanying pictures. Not quite worth the time wasted in the middle of the story, but satisfying nonetheless.
STORY REWATCHABILITY: Highly variable - The Daleks' Master Plan is an efficient, hardcore, gritty, political, adult 4-parter that sees the death of not one, but three temporary companions (and a planet). Sadly, it serves as the bread to a nonsense sandwich modeled after the worst Dalek story of all time, The Chase. Imagine if the season had done DMP in 4 parts, a Meddling Monk in Egypt 4-parter with some meat on its bones, and then spent the other 4 parts on a proper plot. We'd have three whole stories instead of a meandering mess. By all means, feel free to skip the 8 episodes in the middle of this.
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Siskoid Radio: Geek Out! - March 3rd
"If you left a sonic screwdriver pen at my place last week, you might be a geek..."Episode 7 and my 4000th post! As usual, two things: 1) #GeekOut is the hashtag on Twitter for the silliness of following a radio show live, and 2) if you couldn't listen or understand the French interventions, here's the episode's playlist, with You-Tube links where available.
Intro tune: Doctor Who IX - Murray Gold
Introductions
Man or Muppet - Jason Segel & the Muppets
Geek News: The headlines included legal news on the newest Tintin au Congo decision and MacFarlane vs. Gaiman, as well as obituaries for Golden Age artist Sheldon Moldoff, and Monkee front man Davy Jones.
The Monkees Theme - The Monkees
Comics round-up: What starts as a few of the week's tweeted comic book reviews turns into a rant about Justice League.
Henchman - Kirby Krackle
Comics recommendation: Robert Kirkman's Irredeemable Ant-Man (more in my most recent edition of Old 52)
Foux du Fafa - Flight of the Conchords
Film recommendation: Hirokazu Koreeda's After Life
The Fly - Les Mouches (not surprisingly, this indy Quebec song is not available on the 'Net)
Geek Band: William Shatner!
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - William Shatner
Real - William Shatner
Major Tom (Coming Home) - William Shatner
Kung Fu Dunk Theme - Jay Chou
Les Cryoliens arrivent en ville - L'Orbital Spoutnik (another indy song from Quebec, a short ska piece, that isn't on the web)
Geek 101: Audio plays, in particular, Big Finish's Doctor Who-related audio stories (I played a clip from Marc Platt's Spare Parts and the song following as examples)
Gallifreyan Buccaneer - Colin Baker (from the Big FInish audio Doctor Who and the Pirates by Jacqueline Rayner, somebody did a nice montage for it on You-Tube too!)
Psyché Rock - Pierre Henry (the original Futurama song!)
Astérix est là - Plastique Betrand (a druidic two-fer)
Le chant des druides - Manau
Goodbyes and your Doctor Who theme remix of the week:
Whorythmics - JeX
The show's on CKUM Radio every Saturday between 7 PM and 8:30 PM Atlantic Time (-4 GMT) on 93,5 FM in the Moncton area, or online, while capacity isn't exceeded, HERE.
Reign of the Supermen #415: The Blast
Source: Brilliant #2 (2012)
Type: Analog/Tribute
The Action Comics #1 cover rides again! This time in a digital comic that inspires one of the kids from Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley's Brilliant to use his powers to fight crime.
I'm highly critical of Bendis' Avengers comics (I find them tedious and unreadable), but Brilliant, about college geniuses who invent super-powers, is actually pretty cool. Yes, it's got his trademark conversational style, but the story actually moves along, with various kids doing different things with their powers. It's Chronicle without the angst with a good dose of comic book mad science. Check it out. A couple issues are already out under Marvel's Icon imprint.
Type: Analog/Tribute
The Action Comics #1 cover rides again! This time in a digital comic that inspires one of the kids from Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley's Brilliant to use his powers to fight crime.I'm highly critical of Bendis' Avengers comics (I find them tedious and unreadable), but Brilliant, about college geniuses who invent super-powers, is actually pretty cool. Yes, it's got his trademark conversational style, but the story actually moves along, with various kids doing different things with their powers. It's Chronicle without the angst with a good dose of comic book mad science. Check it out. A couple issues are already out under Marvel's Icon imprint.
Doctor Who #102: The Abandoned Planet
"Although we are all equal partners with the Daleks on this great conquest... some of us are more equal than others."
TECHNICAL SPECS: Part 11 of the Daleks' Master Plan. Again, a missing episode, but we have reconstructions to keep us warm at night (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Jan.22 1966.
IN THIS ONE... Everybody's back on Kembel. The Daleks and Mavic Chen finally betray the delegates. Freed by Steven and Sara, they leave to hopefully turn their forces against the Daleks.
REVIEW: So we get back to Kembel and the story basically picks up from where it left off to do a sequel of The Chase (because that story was soooooo good). The Monk's directional unit burns out, so there's no gain for the heroes, though there is for Mavic Chen and the Daleks, now back in control of the teranium core. (Have them recapture the core before the Doctor makes a copy, and you've just about got a 4-episode story.) And though the A-plot reasserts itself, there STILL isn't a whole lot happening, mostly due to the Doctor being absent for most of it. So Sara and Steven focus on finding him, even of their plan to do so isn't very well thought out - call the Daleks to the control room with the loudspeaker and hopefully, they've got the Doctor in tow and then, what, jump the Dalek timeship and race to warn Earth of the impending invasion?
But this is an episode full of strange plots and plans that don't stand up very well to scrutiny. I continue to wonder what the Galactic Council is all about, acting like the Parliament and surprised Mavic Chen would draw a gun and kill one of them. Chen reassures them they will have control of their own galaxies, but will report to him and the Daleks. I thought they already HAD control of their own galaxies, so why join the Daleks at all? Or did the Daleks help them conquer their galaxies in the first place? But if they did, and the dialog don't confirm that, why is it such a pain to conquer the Earth system with their combined forces? Do they really need a time destructor? Can't conventional warfare, the element of surprise and an inside man at the very top do the job? And then why would the Daleks imprison the delegates? Why make an alliance with them at all if you're just going to betray them? Or indeed, why not kill them when you're done with them? Now they're all gonna go back to their fleets and turn on you...
As for Chen, dude's insane, so that's pretty much the only explanation I can find for his behavior. He gets trapped with the delegates after shooting one, pretends to feel betrayed by the Daleks, destroys his own ship to fake his death, and then shows up again on the Daleks' side minutes later. I hope it pays off for him.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-Low - The show has been on Chase mode for so long now, it seems to have forgotten how to tell a coherent story. Just counting the minutes until Master Plan is over.
TECHNICAL SPECS: Part 11 of the Daleks' Master Plan. Again, a missing episode, but we have reconstructions to keep us warm at night (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Jan.22 1966.IN THIS ONE... Everybody's back on Kembel. The Daleks and Mavic Chen finally betray the delegates. Freed by Steven and Sara, they leave to hopefully turn their forces against the Daleks.
REVIEW: So we get back to Kembel and the story basically picks up from where it left off to do a sequel of The Chase (because that story was soooooo good). The Monk's directional unit burns out, so there's no gain for the heroes, though there is for Mavic Chen and the Daleks, now back in control of the teranium core. (Have them recapture the core before the Doctor makes a copy, and you've just about got a 4-episode story.) And though the A-plot reasserts itself, there STILL isn't a whole lot happening, mostly due to the Doctor being absent for most of it. So Sara and Steven focus on finding him, even of their plan to do so isn't very well thought out - call the Daleks to the control room with the loudspeaker and hopefully, they've got the Doctor in tow and then, what, jump the Dalek timeship and race to warn Earth of the impending invasion?
But this is an episode full of strange plots and plans that don't stand up very well to scrutiny. I continue to wonder what the Galactic Council is all about, acting like the Parliament and surprised Mavic Chen would draw a gun and kill one of them. Chen reassures them they will have control of their own galaxies, but will report to him and the Daleks. I thought they already HAD control of their own galaxies, so why join the Daleks at all? Or did the Daleks help them conquer their galaxies in the first place? But if they did, and the dialog don't confirm that, why is it such a pain to conquer the Earth system with their combined forces? Do they really need a time destructor? Can't conventional warfare, the element of surprise and an inside man at the very top do the job? And then why would the Daleks imprison the delegates? Why make an alliance with them at all if you're just going to betray them? Or indeed, why not kill them when you're done with them? Now they're all gonna go back to their fleets and turn on you...
As for Chen, dude's insane, so that's pretty much the only explanation I can find for his behavior. He gets trapped with the delegates after shooting one, pretends to feel betrayed by the Daleks, destroys his own ship to fake his death, and then shows up again on the Daleks' side minutes later. I hope it pays off for him.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-Low - The show has been on Chase mode for so long now, it seems to have forgotten how to tell a coherent story. Just counting the minutes until Master Plan is over.
Friday, March 02, 2012
Kung Fu Friday Moments: The Invention of Tai Chi
Used to seeing senior citizens practice Tai Chi at the park? Looks pretty lame? Not when Jet Li INVENTED it in Tai Chi Master!
Exploding barrels of fun for the whole family!
Exploding barrels of fun for the whole family!
Doctor Who #101: Escape Switch
"Will the Daleks never learn that all things do not work to a pattern - that flexibility can also lead to conquest?"
TECHNICAL SPECS: Part 10 of the Daleks' Master Plan. This is the last of the three surviving episodes from this story, included on the Lost in Time DVD. First aired Jan.15 1966.
IN THIS ONE... In Ancient Egypt, the Monk delivers Sara and Steven to the Daleks, and the Doctor must trade the taranium for them.
REVIEW: It's nice that this episode exists in the archives so we can see the sets, props, costumes and models, but Ancient Egypt remains in the background for most of the story. The Egyptian point of view is presented in broad strokes - they question the divinity of all these advanced people running around and call the Daleks war machines (but not THOSE war machines) - before they commit to a well-timed attack that leads to their own massacre. Good to see them adapt and start blocking Dalek traction with rocks, but they're in over their heads. In the end, the continuing characters will leave the setting behind and the Egyptians' story, for what it was, will just end there. Otherwise, it's just a nice place for the Doctor to wear a hat, or for the Monk to get wrapped in cloth to make us think a mummy attack is pending.
The villains in this are really they're own biggest enemies, consistently passing the buck to one another, none of them conceding that another may be superior. The Monk's loyalties are especially supple, but it's hard to stay mad at him. His ultimate fate as another owner of a time-lost TARDIS is fitting and not over-harsh, and it's really too bad he never returned to the program. Mavic Chen, for his part, is a pale shadow of his former self, prone to bluster as a mouthpiece for the Daleks. His strength is as a political maneuverer, not as a traditional SF villain, clearly. Kevin Stoney does have his moments, such as when Chen delays telling the Daleks he recovered the taranium core, just to see them freak out a little more. The Daleks have one strong moment too, in which they say they don't mind the Doctor's hostage exchange conditions requiring a single Dalek to be present because "One Dalek is capable of exterminating all!" - shades of the new series Daleks - but they immediately undo this badassery by breaking the deal and showing up in numbers. Boo.
With so many villains in the picture, it's a wonder our heroes have any room to move at all. The Doctor, in fact, spends a good deal of time walking around the pyramid site far from the action, but I love his utter contempt of Mavic Chen, a man who would betray the human race to the Daleks. And while he loses the taranium core, he does rescue his friends and defeats the Monk. Not a bad day's work. Sara Kingdom has become completely integrated into the TARDIS crew, that is to say she's become an episodic cipher. She trusts Steven and the Doctor implicitly, and laughs at the absurd bits as if she hadn't just killed her brother Bret what must be hours ago from her perspective. Though Jean Marsh has said it was never the intention for her to be a "companion", that's how she's written. You wouldn't think she's part of the Year 4000 story being told. Steven, for his part, could use a good script right about now (spoiler: he gets it with the next story).
REWATCHABILITY: Medium - I'm no doubt more sympathetic to this episode because we can actually SEE it, and it has its moments, but it's still largely a set piece towards the end of The Chase II, with a disposable setting and characters that deserved better.
TECHNICAL SPECS: Part 10 of the Daleks' Master Plan. This is the last of the three surviving episodes from this story, included on the Lost in Time DVD. First aired Jan.15 1966.IN THIS ONE... In Ancient Egypt, the Monk delivers Sara and Steven to the Daleks, and the Doctor must trade the taranium for them.
REVIEW: It's nice that this episode exists in the archives so we can see the sets, props, costumes and models, but Ancient Egypt remains in the background for most of the story. The Egyptian point of view is presented in broad strokes - they question the divinity of all these advanced people running around and call the Daleks war machines (but not THOSE war machines) - before they commit to a well-timed attack that leads to their own massacre. Good to see them adapt and start blocking Dalek traction with rocks, but they're in over their heads. In the end, the continuing characters will leave the setting behind and the Egyptians' story, for what it was, will just end there. Otherwise, it's just a nice place for the Doctor to wear a hat, or for the Monk to get wrapped in cloth to make us think a mummy attack is pending.
The villains in this are really they're own biggest enemies, consistently passing the buck to one another, none of them conceding that another may be superior. The Monk's loyalties are especially supple, but it's hard to stay mad at him. His ultimate fate as another owner of a time-lost TARDIS is fitting and not over-harsh, and it's really too bad he never returned to the program. Mavic Chen, for his part, is a pale shadow of his former self, prone to bluster as a mouthpiece for the Daleks. His strength is as a political maneuverer, not as a traditional SF villain, clearly. Kevin Stoney does have his moments, such as when Chen delays telling the Daleks he recovered the taranium core, just to see them freak out a little more. The Daleks have one strong moment too, in which they say they don't mind the Doctor's hostage exchange conditions requiring a single Dalek to be present because "One Dalek is capable of exterminating all!" - shades of the new series Daleks - but they immediately undo this badassery by breaking the deal and showing up in numbers. Boo.
With so many villains in the picture, it's a wonder our heroes have any room to move at all. The Doctor, in fact, spends a good deal of time walking around the pyramid site far from the action, but I love his utter contempt of Mavic Chen, a man who would betray the human race to the Daleks. And while he loses the taranium core, he does rescue his friends and defeats the Monk. Not a bad day's work. Sara Kingdom has become completely integrated into the TARDIS crew, that is to say she's become an episodic cipher. She trusts Steven and the Doctor implicitly, and laughs at the absurd bits as if she hadn't just killed her brother Bret what must be hours ago from her perspective. Though Jean Marsh has said it was never the intention for her to be a "companion", that's how she's written. You wouldn't think she's part of the Year 4000 story being told. Steven, for his part, could use a good script right about now (spoiler: he gets it with the next story).
REWATCHABILITY: Medium - I'm no doubt more sympathetic to this episode because we can actually SEE it, and it has its moments, but it's still largely a set piece towards the end of The Chase II, with a disposable setting and characters that deserved better.
Thursday, March 01, 2012
The Old 52: The Irredeemable Ant-Man
If you haven't read it, it's new to you. Every month I try to supplement the New 52 with a series from the Old 52. Series I've never read, but have always meant to.
When it was new: Running 12 issues between December 2006 and November 2007, this Marvel series was written by Robert Kirkman with art by Phil Hester for 10 of the 12, with Cory Walker subbing on issues 7 and 8.
Premise: Eric O'Grady is a rather bad SHIELD agent who steals Hank Pym's new Ant-Man suit and uses it, well, mostly to look at naked chicks in the shower.
A small package: I'm of course a fan of Robert Kirkman's Invincible, Super Dinosaur and, most recently, Thief of Thieves, but somehow, I'd completely missed that he was the writer of Irredeemable Ant-Man. I was initially attracted to it for the Old 52 Project by Phil Hester's art (and of course, its length), so... bonus! Though only 12 issues, Ant-Man does tell a complete and satisfying story, that of a less than scrupulous man's journey towards becoming a good superhero... and not sort of kind of making it. Because of Mark Waid's Irredeemable, one might imagine this Ant-Man to be some kind of killer, or extreme anti-hero, but he's not. He's a flawed human being, selfish, greedy, lascivious, scared of commitment, and maybe even friends with one of Spider-Man's less evil villains. Nevertheless, Eric O'Grady has some measure of bravery, is a masterful liar, and though he makes a lot of bad decisions, he really WANTS to do better.
The brilliant thing about Irredeemable Ant-Man is that it uses a lot of small, claustrophobic panels when it isn't doing bold superhero action. It makes for a dense reading experience - you get a lot of story for your buck - but it's also thematically perfect for a book about a tiny superhero. The "smallness" of Eric O'Grady as a man gives way to bigger splashes when he goes into action, contrasting his pettiness with the epic nature of his adventures. He's also a man trapped by circumstances, on the run and flying by the seat of his pants. Those tight panels work to the book's advantage in a number of ways. And as a small cog in the Marvel Universe's machine, this Ant-Man becomes the perfect guy to reflect on (and take the piss out of) Marvel's big crossover events, whether that's how "Civil War" was really more of a street fight, or having Ant-Man crawl into the Hulk's nose during the Green Goliath's fight with Iron Man in World War Hulk. No wonder Ant-Man becomes a member of Damage Control (which had a similar function).
And then there's the recap ant that begins every issue with an amusing rendition of what has gone before, each recap funnier than the next. Other than the ant, the book never feels like a spoof. People get hurt, we cheer Eric's ethical successes, and shake our heads at his failures. He's a great trickster archetype. As I was reading the series (neatly collected), O'Grady seemed to be killed in Secret Avengers. Though it would be a tragic and appropriate end to his journey, having just read its opening chapter, it makes me want to see it continue longer.
Trade in for one of the New52? If Blue Beetle is intent on retelling an already told story, why not go bug-for-bug and give Irredeemable Ant-Man a chance? It's also a "becoming a hero" story, but it zigs where others zag.
When it was new: Running 12 issues between December 2006 and November 2007, this Marvel series was written by Robert Kirkman with art by Phil Hester for 10 of the 12, with Cory Walker subbing on issues 7 and 8.Premise: Eric O'Grady is a rather bad SHIELD agent who steals Hank Pym's new Ant-Man suit and uses it, well, mostly to look at naked chicks in the shower.
A small package: I'm of course a fan of Robert Kirkman's Invincible, Super Dinosaur and, most recently, Thief of Thieves, but somehow, I'd completely missed that he was the writer of Irredeemable Ant-Man. I was initially attracted to it for the Old 52 Project by Phil Hester's art (and of course, its length), so... bonus! Though only 12 issues, Ant-Man does tell a complete and satisfying story, that of a less than scrupulous man's journey towards becoming a good superhero... and not sort of kind of making it. Because of Mark Waid's Irredeemable, one might imagine this Ant-Man to be some kind of killer, or extreme anti-hero, but he's not. He's a flawed human being, selfish, greedy, lascivious, scared of commitment, and maybe even friends with one of Spider-Man's less evil villains. Nevertheless, Eric O'Grady has some measure of bravery, is a masterful liar, and though he makes a lot of bad decisions, he really WANTS to do better.
The brilliant thing about Irredeemable Ant-Man is that it uses a lot of small, claustrophobic panels when it isn't doing bold superhero action. It makes for a dense reading experience - you get a lot of story for your buck - but it's also thematically perfect for a book about a tiny superhero. The "smallness" of Eric O'Grady as a man gives way to bigger splashes when he goes into action, contrasting his pettiness with the epic nature of his adventures. He's also a man trapped by circumstances, on the run and flying by the seat of his pants. Those tight panels work to the book's advantage in a number of ways. And as a small cog in the Marvel Universe's machine, this Ant-Man becomes the perfect guy to reflect on (and take the piss out of) Marvel's big crossover events, whether that's how "Civil War" was really more of a street fight, or having Ant-Man crawl into the Hulk's nose during the Green Goliath's fight with Iron Man in World War Hulk. No wonder Ant-Man becomes a member of Damage Control (which had a similar function).
And then there's the recap ant that begins every issue with an amusing rendition of what has gone before, each recap funnier than the next. Other than the ant, the book never feels like a spoof. People get hurt, we cheer Eric's ethical successes, and shake our heads at his failures. He's a great trickster archetype. As I was reading the series (neatly collected), O'Grady seemed to be killed in Secret Avengers. Though it would be a tragic and appropriate end to his journey, having just read its opening chapter, it makes me want to see it continue longer.Trade in for one of the New52? If Blue Beetle is intent on retelling an already told story, why not go bug-for-bug and give Irredeemable Ant-Man a chance? It's also a "becoming a hero" story, but it zigs where others zag.
Doctor Who #100: Golden Death
"I have an old score to settle with him. But I'm sure yours is the prior claim."
TECHNICAL SPECS: Part 9 of the Daleks' Master Plan. It is missing from the archives, and I've used a reconstruction (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Jan.8 1966.
IN THIS ONE... The Doctor and co., the Monk and Mavic Chen and the Daleks all find themselves in Ancient Egypt.
REVIEW: We finally stop running and stick to one setting for more than an episode - Ancient Egypt! It's a fantastic and evocative idea, and by all accounts well realized, though I can't help but feel it is a waste of its potential as a historical that could have been on par with The Aztecs. Though something cultural is made of the Egyptians' dragging of the TARDIS into the tomb, the time travelers could really be anywhere in space and time. The focus isn't on the setting, but on various confrontations between the various factions.
The Monk of course tries to sell the Doctor out to the Daleks, weasel that he is, though I suppose it's possible he was playing them for fools (this IS before the Daleks became the Time Lords' blood enemies though). No, the Monk vs. the Doctor is where it's really at, Hartnell and Butterworth once again getting a nice to play off each other, and the Doctor playing some tricks on the Monk, giving as good as (or better than) he got. His sabotage of the Monk's TARDIS, turning it into a police box (and a few random things along the way, different in the reconstruction than the script, though each has at least one weird thing that would make you wonder where the door is - a camel and a motorcycle) will only play a role in the next episode, but one can see where it's heading. The Monk's melting of the Doctor's lock (tediously still an issue in this episode) is comparatively lame. A medieval monk with modern sunglasses walking around a pyramid building site is incongruous, but with the Daleks also coasting around, that doesn't seem all that novel. The Doctor looks pretty dapper in his new hat though.
The Daleks make Mavic Chen responsible for retrieving the taranium, but then follow him around like an armed escort, so that part of the script could use work. Steven and Sara, meanwhile, are kept out of the main action, captured by Egyptians, though they do get to blow off some steam when they inevitably escape. What's fun is that Sara is a better fighter than Steven is, though the fact they're both physical characters might make them redundant in the long run. For now, it only makes them autonomous from the Doctor.
THEORIES: Whether you can still believe the Doctor and the Monk know each other of old depends on who you interpret the Monk's answer to that effect, "in a manner of speaking, yes... and again, in another manner of speaking, no". The most likely interpretation is that they met in "The Time Meddler", but they don't even know each other's true names. However, you could make a case for it meaning that they DO know each other of old, but the Monk has regenerated since then and is a "new man".
REWATCHABILITY: Medium - The setting makes a change from Dalek ships and savage planets, and the Doctor and the Monk are always good together. The Daleks' presence break the spell though.
TECHNICAL SPECS: Part 9 of the Daleks' Master Plan. It is missing from the archives, and I've used a reconstruction (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Jan.8 1966.IN THIS ONE... The Doctor and co., the Monk and Mavic Chen and the Daleks all find themselves in Ancient Egypt.
REVIEW: We finally stop running and stick to one setting for more than an episode - Ancient Egypt! It's a fantastic and evocative idea, and by all accounts well realized, though I can't help but feel it is a waste of its potential as a historical that could have been on par with The Aztecs. Though something cultural is made of the Egyptians' dragging of the TARDIS into the tomb, the time travelers could really be anywhere in space and time. The focus isn't on the setting, but on various confrontations between the various factions.
The Monk of course tries to sell the Doctor out to the Daleks, weasel that he is, though I suppose it's possible he was playing them for fools (this IS before the Daleks became the Time Lords' blood enemies though). No, the Monk vs. the Doctor is where it's really at, Hartnell and Butterworth once again getting a nice to play off each other, and the Doctor playing some tricks on the Monk, giving as good as (or better than) he got. His sabotage of the Monk's TARDIS, turning it into a police box (and a few random things along the way, different in the reconstruction than the script, though each has at least one weird thing that would make you wonder where the door is - a camel and a motorcycle) will only play a role in the next episode, but one can see where it's heading. The Monk's melting of the Doctor's lock (tediously still an issue in this episode) is comparatively lame. A medieval monk with modern sunglasses walking around a pyramid building site is incongruous, but with the Daleks also coasting around, that doesn't seem all that novel. The Doctor looks pretty dapper in his new hat though.
The Daleks make Mavic Chen responsible for retrieving the taranium, but then follow him around like an armed escort, so that part of the script could use work. Steven and Sara, meanwhile, are kept out of the main action, captured by Egyptians, though they do get to blow off some steam when they inevitably escape. What's fun is that Sara is a better fighter than Steven is, though the fact they're both physical characters might make them redundant in the long run. For now, it only makes them autonomous from the Doctor.
THEORIES: Whether you can still believe the Doctor and the Monk know each other of old depends on who you interpret the Monk's answer to that effect, "in a manner of speaking, yes... and again, in another manner of speaking, no". The most likely interpretation is that they met in "The Time Meddler", but they don't even know each other's true names. However, you could make a case for it meaning that they DO know each other of old, but the Monk has regenerated since then and is a "new man".
REWATCHABILITY: Medium - The setting makes a change from Dalek ships and savage planets, and the Doctor and the Monk are always good together. The Daleks' presence break the spell though.
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