My Review of Dexter's 7x06: "Do The Wrong Thing"

Written by Lauren Gussis
Directed by Alik Sakharov

Hannah (to Dexter): “Do what you gotta do.”

How do you make an inevitable moment in a show into a shocking event? Well, if you’re this show, it’ll involve setting Hannah McKay up to be killed but will end up in her being shagged by Dexter in the last five minutes of this rather interesting episode.

It was pretty inevitable that Dexter and Hannah were going to sleep together with each before he’d kill her off. I didn’t however expect them to go on a date which resulted in Hannah winding up on a kill table but actually surviving the damn thing by coercing Dexter into sleeping with her.

It’s not like Hannah was all that persuasive. She didn’t seem to emotionally blackmail Dexter into sparing her life, she didn’t overpower him or even make an attempt to escape. In fact the thing that seemed to save her for now was her giving Dexter permission to kill her. I guess the more interesting question was why did Dexter not go through with it?

Even as a gay man, I get that Yvonne Strahovski is gorgeous but this episode went quite the length to justify Dexter’s suspicions about Hannah being something of a serial killer off her own bat and it did seem like in this episode that she was targeting Dexter every bit as much as he was with her.

She might have accused Dexter of stalking her with the amount of visits he made to her but it didn’t stop her from pursuing him as well. Who else would show up to someone’s apartment in the middle of the night to give them a blood spatter flower? Hannah’s certainly no dumb blonde but it does seem like Dexter is letting her get under his skin and that can’t be good.

If Dexter’s evidence wasn’t enough to prove that Hannah wasn’t a baddie, then the arrival of Sal Price certainly seemed to confirm that Hannah isn’t be trusted. Worse still, for both Dexter and Hannah is that Sal managed to get to Deb and made sure that she realised that Hannah is far from the victim that she’s let Miami Metro believe for all these years.

The more interesting part of these strands then seemed to be Deb and Dexter coming to blows over the latter previously helping out Lumen with the barrel murders as well. I liked the continuity to that particular chain of past events but Dexter knows well that Hannah is no Lumen, so this who storyline cannot end well, especially for the rather nosy Sal, who’ll probably be dead within the next few episodes if not sooner.

Keeping with the danger, I’m not surprised that jail didn’t prove to be a deterrent for Isaak at all. Columbian prison mates couldn’t threaten him and the still pretty bland George managed to make sure that Quinn’s investment in Nadia’s safety got the bent detective into getting rid of evidence. Morally that’s bad but at the same time, I am looking forward to some more scenes with Isaak and Dexter over the next few weeks.

Also in “Do The Wrong Thing”

I found it rather interesting this week that Harry kept giving Hannah the benefit of the doubt. I guess Dexter really want to believe that he could be wrong about her.

Dexter: “Hannah.”
Hannah: “Great, you’re a stalker.”

Poison seems to be Hannah’s main method of killing her victims – her husband, her mentor in Beverly Grey (former owner of Hannah’s current business) and a counsellor as well who abused her.

Harry (re Hannah): “She poisons rabbits, Dexter, doesn’t mean she poisons people. Why are you so convinced she’s still a killer?”

Sal: “Are you always this defensive?”
Deb: “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be defensive. I’m just not in a dating mode.”

Sal Price was played by Heroes/Merlin actor, Santiago Cabrera. I found Dexter pretending to be fan of his work kind of amusing.

Dexter: “How did you find me?”
Hannah: “Google.”
Dexter: “Now who’s the stalker?”

Deb (re Lumen/Rita): “You moved your girlfriend into the house where Trinity murdered your wife, so you could be together?”
Dexter: “It wasn’t like that. I felt guilty about what happened to Rita.”

Maria definitely is catching on big time with the Bay Harbour Butcher, given that she connected it to the Barrel girls incident and Jordan Chase. Plot wise, it’s better than Angel’s new found desire to retire and open a restaurant.

Hannah: “I’m just trying to do the right thing.”
Dexter: “Do the wrong thing.”

Chronology: Sometime in December, given that Dexter took Hannah to a Santa’s Adventure place.

This was an excellent episode. I know some fans didn’t like the ending but “Do The Wrong Thing” for me was a turning point moment. This season has been good, this episode however was similar to some of the bigger heights in the first few years. A new favourite of mine.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

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Doctor Who - Series 7 Returning Monsters

It's the penultimate episode and for Series 7, it's the return of the ...

... Cybermen. Yeah, okay, I'll admit that I would rather see the Master at this point (50th anniversary please?) but it seems that when he isn't writing impressive stories about the TARDIS (boy, does Stephen Thompson's episode have a lot to live up to this year), Neil Gaiman is also penning ones about the Doctor's second deadliest of foes. The best part about this story will be the fact that it's set on a mysterious planet. Finally, we get a Cybermen story that isn't set on Earth in the modern series.

The episode will have a slew of guest stars including Calvin Dean (Tormented) playing a character called Ha-Ha and Tamzin Outhwaite (EastEnders) playing Captain Alice. There's also the likes of Jason Watkins (Being Human) and Warwick Davis (Willow) as well, though the nature of their roles haven't been confirmed beyond them all being a band of misfits that the Doctor (Matt Smith) and Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) encounter in the episode.

Neil Gaiman himself has recently been praising newcomer, Jenna-Louise Coleman as well - I’m telling you nothing about Jenna. Other than I loved writing dialogue for her, and I loved hearing her say it at the table read. Speaking of the actress, fans next week should tune into Children In Need on BBC1 around 8.30pm on Friday, November 16th as an exclusive scene and a trailer from this year Christmas special will be airing. Hopefully this means that Moffat and company will not only confirm the name of this year's special (rumoured to be loosely based on The Snowman) but also the name of the companion at long last.

BBC Press Release: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/Confirmed-for-2013-Cybermen-and-Stellar-Cast

Doctor Who returns on Christmas Day with the second half of Series 7 due to air in Spring 2013.

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My Review of Wizards Vs. Aliens 1x01: "Dawn Of The Nekross"

Written by Phil Ford
Directed by Daniel O'Hara

Benny (re chamber of Crowe): "Narnia, Tim Burton style."

I wasn't going to but I've decided to do some reviews for this series after all. With The Sarah Jane Adventures no longer with us, I have to give both Russell T. Davies and Phil Ford credit in trying to come up with a decent replacement by mashing up the genres of magic and extraterrestrials with this series. Watching this opening two part story, it's something of a mixed bag but there's potential here.

Scott Haran may not have the same charisma as Daniel Anthony's Clyde Langer but he makes for a sympathetic and engaging enough lead character. Tom Clarke is a regular sixteen year old boy who happens to be a wizard and it's something that runs in his family tracing to his deceased mother and very much alive grandmother, Ursula, brilliantly played by Annette Badland.

Within the two parter, Tom's secret is exposed to nerdy fellow student, Benny (a likeable but stereotypical geeky character), ably played by Percelle Ascott as the two unlikely new friends band together in order to save Tom's grandmother as well as another wizard and his son from the Nekross.

The Nekross are the villains of the piece - an alien race that feeds on magic and Earth is the last place that has it in abundance, with Brian Blessed playing a face version of them - quite literally. They're not strictly defeated in this episode, which means that we've got them as a recurring bunch of villains for the series. Stylistically, they look good, are somewhat more campy and OTT than threatening but serve as solid enemies. Whether or not, they're a sustainable threat though is hard to tell but so far, they do have some promise.

- Michael Higgs plays the role of Tom's father, Michael, the only non Wizard of the family. It seems that Helen (Tom's mother, Ursula's daughter) was quite powerful.
- The Chamber of Crowe and it's guardian really were something that came out of Harry Potter. I think a bit more subtlety could've gone into that design.
- I found the driving back to Earth in the car scene both magical and cringe worthy. Pretty much a rip off of flying the TARDIS home as well from a certain Doctor Who story.
- Originally, there were plans for this series and The Sarah Jane Adventures to run alongside each other. What are the odds that a crossover would've happened if circumstances had been different?

Not a bad start to the show. The tone is pretty lighthearted but that's to be expected with a series opener though. Hopefully though the show does have a couple of surprises up it's sleeve, so it doesn't become too formulaic but either way, Dawn Of The Nekross is a good start to the show.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

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My Review of Revenge's 2x06: "Illusion"

Written by Michael Foley
Directed by Bobby Roth

Conrad: “For a moment you had me worried you weren’t coming.”
Victoria: “Like you said, til death do us part.”

Sadly for Victoria, that just happens to be one vow that Conrad seems incapable of delivering on. Their wedding might have been an exhibition in the farcical but at least Victoria and Conrad are now placed in another unfortunate position due to Emily finally getting scheming groove back on.

I find it a little disturbing even for Emily that she would have Gordon Murphy’s body store somewhere but it turned out to be rather handy upon framing Conrad for his death and using the eternal loose cannon that is Mason Treadwell in order to do it. However, Emily seriously underestimated two twists of events in this one.

First of all the Initiative and the scary female figurehead they seemed to have managed to get Conrad away from a jail sentence by forcing his hand yet again and secondly, Victoria managed to inadvertently throw Mason back into Emily and Amanda’s direction once again. Even when she isn’t trying to cause trouble, Victoria manages it so well.

I think it’s a safe assumption that Mason has figured out that Emily and Amanda have already swapped identities. He didn’t really seem to buy Amanda’s story about her scar removal and hearing about Emily’s previous record seemed to slot everything into place for him. Of course, the last person who realised that these ladies were living each other’s lives ended up dead. Something tells me that a similar fate awaits Mason now.

It’s almost a shame to lose Mason as a character. He’s so sly and his vitriol towards the Graysons has been entertaining to watch but the show’s purpose, I guess we do have to lose him as a character. Still, it’s been fun seeing him as a spanner in the works but now I guess it’s up to the Initiative to take the fore.

I’m not sure what Conrad will have to be forced into doing but the thinly veiled threat he gave to Victoria was rather masterful. The two of them might bring out the worst in each other as people but at the same time, they truly deserve each other and the consequences they’ll have to face for their crimes.

As for the rest of the episode, Kara is still a good addition to the series. I enjoyed her moment discussing the Graysons with Emily as well as her scenes with Jack and Amanda but at the same time, she’s letting her supposedly friendly facade slip. Victoria came pretty close to realising that Kara had feelings for Gordon and something tells me, she’ll figure it out soon enough if Kara isn’t careful.

As for the quadrangle surrounding Emily, Aiden, Daniel and Ashley, it was rather interesting to watch it unfold here. Emily pointedly rejected both Daniel and Aiden’s advances during and after the wedding and Ashley seemed more than a little jealous and suspicious of both men’s interest in Emily.

I’m not really sure if Emily should be with either of these guys or Jack but I did love seeing her trying to look out for Nolan with Padma. Padma seemed to quickly reveal that she was more well being than backstabbing with Nolan over the David Clarke stuff, which is actually a relief. I want to like Padma but I do feel that the relationship with her and Nolan is a tad rushed to be honest.

Also in “Illusion”

Kara is something of a painter/drawer and we saw her probing Emily on it too. I hope Amanda has some skills in that department too.

Emily: “We can allow ourselves to be deceived by false realities or we can use them to hide our true intentions.”

Emily talked about meeting Ashley six years ago because was an easy target. Aiden seems to think there’s more to Ashley, which could be interesting if true.

Kara (to Victoria): “A second chance at love doesn’t happen very often, but a third and a fourth? You must cast quite a spell.”

Victoria: “Learn to take a joke, Conrad, seeing as we’re perpetrating one.”

I still really don’t like Kenny in this episode and his attempts of being too buddy like with Jack were somewhat grating as well.

Declan: “What about your parents wedding?”
Charlotte: “I’ll catch the next one.”

Daniel (re wedding): “So, this was almost us, huh?”
Emily: “Almost.”
Daniel: “Ever think about it? What might have been like if we hung in there?”

Daniel and Aiden’s plot to overthrow Conrad didn’t make too much progress in this episode either, Declan and Charlotte had sex and Jack proposed to Amanda.

Nolan (to Emily): “Having Conrad arrested for murder at his own wedding? Now what a revenge all star opportunity.”

Victoria (re Gordon): “The man was a killer. He kidnapped me and threatened my family. Now if you’re insinuating that I had anything to do with his murder, I promise you are mistaken.”
Kara: “Your promises don’t hold water with me anymore.”

Standout music: Massive Attack’s “Paradise Circus” at the end of the episode.

Victoria (re Initiative): “What did you promise them?”
Conrad: “I don’t think I’ll know until it’s too late. Sleep well, darling.”

Chronology: Not long from where “Forgiveness” left off.

I’m not really getting the hate this season for the show. I might not like every plot and the Initiative storyline is one I’m taking with some trepidation but these last few episodes have been cracking and “Illusion” certainly was another one.

Rating: 9 out of 10

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Enter The Asylum

And here's the second TV jumble blog I promised ...

American Horror Story: Asylum: FXUK finally got around to premiering the second season of Ryan Murphy's eerily fucked up horror drama and going from a show about ghosts in a haunted house to a 1960's asylum with sadistic nuns and doctors, alien abductions and a plethora of interesting inmates and plot strands, this show hasn't lost it's edge. Already, I'm compelled by Bloody Face, rooting for our heroes in Kit and Lana, intrigued and horrified by Sister Jude (Jessica Lange on fine form again) and Dr Arden (James Cromwell exuding menace and then some) and being similarly grossed out during some of the more visceral scenes as well. Oh and poor present day couple in Leo and Theresa. One episode in and already they're regretting fooling around in Briarcliff.

Arrow: I just caught the pilot last week and I plan to try and watch the second episode tonight but so far, I am liking this series. If the CW wanted a natural successor to Smallville, they've got it with this show and Stephen Amell does make for a good Oliver Queen/Green Arrow as well. The backstory for Oliver does feel a little similar to what we've seen with Emily in Revenge but not by a whole lot. That being said, watching this opening episode, you can easily see why it's become a big hit for the CW.

Misfits: Like Being Human, I embrace the idea of a new cast and while both newcomers Finn and Jess seem like interesting characters, I really don't think they were well served in an episode like this. The whole plotline with the corrupting briefcase just felt unpleasant and I could've done without an infected Rudy getting hacksaw happy. Plus without Kelly, Seth really doesn't have a point on this show given that he really doesn't bond with either Curtis or Rudy. The new probation officer is interesting and the reveal with Finn at the end did raise an eyebrow from me. Overall, a disjointed opening episode but here's hoping it's a minor blip for the usually excellent show.

The Vampire Diaries: An interesting start to the fourth season. Hopefully though, as a vampire, Elena will eventually get into the groove of things because with the first three episodes, she's needed help and I don't want that to be a repeat plot thread. I do think there was a missed opportunity with the preacher from the first episode and while I still can't stand Klaus's continued presence on the show, at least we still have Rebekah and I'm intrigued by vampire hunter, Connor and The Five. So far, this year has started off rather well.

- Political Animals will not be returning for a second season.
- James D'Arcy and Chloe Sevigny will be appearing in the upcoming series, Those Who Kill.
- Brendan Fraser has quit his role in the upcoming Howard Gordon series, Legends.
- Stephen Merchant's series, Hello Ladies has been picked up for a full run on HBO.
- Michael Madsen and Jennifer Beals will both be appearing Mob Doctor.
- Both Scandal and The Neighbours have received full season orders from ABC.
- Grant Gustin will be reprising his role as Sebastian in a few episodes of Glee's fourth season.
- Hell On Wheels has been renewed for a third season but the creators won't be returning.

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Hooked In

And here's a look at some of the shows I've been watching. Expect another one tomorrow.

Downton Abbey: A good set of episodes. This series definitely seems to have become more of an improvement to it's last one and the fallout from Sybil's death has been good to watch. It's nice for the show to find a way to keep Branson on board and the consequences of Thomas getting the wrong end of the stick with Jimmy should be interesting to see in the finale. I'm also liking that Edith is getting more to do, though some of the scenes with Matthew and Robert over running the estate have been less interesting to watch.

Homeland: This show is definitely not suffering from difficult second album syndrome. The last ten minutes of the episode, New Car Smell (I have to catch up with episode 5) were some of the tensest moments the show has produced and the resulting consequences of Carrie and Brody meeting up in the latter's hotel room once again, just a masterclass in excellent writing and acting from both Claire Danes and Damian Lewis. Oh and the subplots with Dana and her new love interest's father are also interesting to watch too.

Merlin: I'm finding myself a little less interested in this current series. Four episodes in and not much of real note has actually happened. Mordred has been a background character, the Knights - decent guy candy but not much else and there's a surprisingly amount of sparse interaction between Arthur and Gwen. The return of Uther seemed like a missed opportunity in some respects too while Morgana's continued scheming has gotten tedious to watch. I wish Merlin would just take her out though. I did like seeing Mithian again, though she wasn't as well served as her debut last series.

Once Upon A Time: Yes, I'm still enjoying this series. The last three episodes certainly haven't been boring, especially with the debuts of Lancelot and Hook, the reveal of Dr Whale (pretty obvious in retrospect) and Cora proving that she's a nastier piece of work than her daughter. That being said, much as I like that Regina is definitely making a concentrated effort to redeem herself and the bonding scenes with David/Henry and Emma/Mary Margaret, the show does need to dial down the need to connect virtually every backstory to Rumples at this rate because it's getting a little implausible. That being said, this season is shaping up nicely.

Switch: I know this show isn't a masterpiece in any way, shape or form but I find myself really enjoying it nonetheless. It might be a bit too fluffy at times but three episodes, I like the majority of the main characters (Jude, I'm a little mixed on) and the lack of big, complicated or existential storylines hasn't really deterred my enjoyment of it either. The last episode focusing on Stella getting over her antichrist of an ex-girlfriend was particularly funny and I'm not hating the triangle of sorts between Jude/Jerry/Grace but I think Hannah is still my favourite of these four particular witches.

- Felicia Day is returning to Supernatural for an upcoming episode. Here's hoping they don't kill her off.
- Arrow will introduce the comic character of Firefly in an upcoming story arc, played by Andrew Dunbar.
- CW drama, Cult will premiere on the station in January.
- Dallas will not be bringing back Pamela Ewing according to producers. The second season of the show premiere in January on TNT.
- Sarah Shahi will be appearing as a love interest for Taylor Kinney's character in Chicago Fire.
- NBC have not only decided to end The Office after nine seasons but they won't be picking up the proposed spin-off, The Farm either.
- Grant Gustin will be appearing as a privileged kid in an upcoming story arc for 90210.
- Burn Notice has been renewed for a seventh season.

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My Review of Dexter's 7x05: "Swim Deep"

Written by Scott Reynolds
Directed by Ernest Dickerson

Isaak: “I don’t know who you are.”
Dexter: “If you ever find out, you’ll regret it.”

Mmm, I’m not so sure if Isaak is going to be quaking into his boots just yet, Dexter. After all, this is a guy who managed to kill several people in a rival club without breaking a sweat. Even behind bars, Isaak is definitely something of an impressive enough threat.

I really liked that this episode didn’t waste time with Dexter and Isaak. Both of them managed to unnerve and outsmart each other in different way that I doubt jail is going to be a permanent destination for Isaak. After all, there’s an interesting collision course to be had with these two.

I might have tuned out during Isaak’s speech about his great uncle and grandfather but the one thing I did learn is that Isaak’s a patient man and he’ll definitely will do his best in order to get Dexter back for killing Viktor. I mean, he was conceited enough to even talk about taking out Deb and anyone else in Miami Metro who might have had a hand in killing Viktor as well for good measure.

I was hoping that there would be more of a reveal about Isaak’s grievance over Viktor’s death but this episode seemed to imply they were just friends and that was it. Still, I did enjoy the phone exchanges between the two of them and even Dexter letting Isaak know in no uncertain terms that he’s a serious threat too.

I’m glad that Isaak has emerged with a personality because the rest of the mobster/trafficking related elements of this season’s Big Bad arc are pretty uninspired to watch. George is still little more than a lifeless lackey and Quinn’s continued involvement with Nadia hasn’t exactly been compelling viewing to watch either.

Something that has been compelling however has been Deb’s reactions to learning more about Dexter’s other life. If last episode implied that she was accepting the Dark Passenger side of her brother a little too quickly, then this one confirmed that she actually does have issues with Dexter taking the law into his own hands.

She was disgusted with herself for realising that she had helped cover up more of Dexter’s killings and really annoyed with learning the truth about Mike’s real killer. It also didn’t help that she purposely had to get Angel to back down over the Alex suicide from last week and also watch Maria when it came to the latter’s private looking into a victim of the Bay Harbour Butcher.

Jennifer Carpenter gave one of her best performances in this episode and it was really hard not to feel for Deb, given that her loyalties to Dexter are compromising her own ethics and ability as his boss too. Dexter might want to try and keep things sweet with his sister but the cracks are definitely becoming wider with these two.

Last but not least – Hannah McKay’s a killer! I guess that makes her more similar to Lila than it does to Lumen but she’s also the best new character this season has offered and her scenes with Dexter continue to get interesting as well.

I loved seeing Dexter suss her out and I also loved seeing Hannah defiantly keeping up the charade of her innocence as well. That being said, it does look like she’s going to end up becoming a big threat to Dexter as the rest of the season continues.

Also in “Swim Deep”

I actually don’t remember Philip Barnes as one of Dexter’s victims. I’m gonna have to see what season his death came from again.

Dexter: “Life can be less complicated now.”
Harry: “You don’t believe that.”
Dexter (re Deb): “Why not? She didn’t abandon me.”

Isaak wasn’t exactly shy on informing Dexter about Louis’s death, though the latter had already done his research on that bit.

Dexter: “So you killed Louis?”
Isaak: “We had a conversation that ended abruptly.”

Dexter: “I have a plan, yes.”
Deb: “Does it involve you killing someone?”
Dexter: “I’m not killing anybody.”

The couple that Miami Metro had found on the beach, Dexter realised that Hannah had murdered the woman in an excited frenzy.

Hannah: “Look at us, talking blood and gore. Like we’re on a date, sharing our first sexual experience.”
Dexter: “I’ve got work to do.”

Dexter: “Everything you said is a lie.”
Hannah: “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”
Dexter: “And you don’t even care?”

We got some scenes with Harry in this episode as well as Dexter and Deb discussing old family vacations in this one.

Deb (re Isaak): “So we’re looking for the fucking Terminator?”

Chronology: Not long from where “Run” left off.

Another solid episode. “Swim Deep” definitely had some great moments, especially with Dexter, Deb, Hannah and Isaak. I am really enjoying this show once again.

Rating: 8 out of 10

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