My Review of Revenge's 2x07: "Penance"

Written by Ellie Triedman
Directed by Colin Bucksey

Emily: “You were this close, Mason but you missed the one thing that’s been right under your nose the whole time. She’s not Amanda Clarke -,”
Mason: “– You are.”

Oh, Mason, if you had just kept your nose out of Emily and Amanda’s business, then you wouldn’t be sitting in a jail cell now hoping that the former will complete her vengeance and grant you enough mercy to get you exonerated, eh?

First off all – I really have zero sympathy for Mason. He might not be as bad as the Graysons but his actions have cost Emily and he’s proved to be more of a loose cannon over the last few episodes that short of Amanda caving his brains in with a crowbar, sending him to jail was the best way of dealing with him. It was also made even more painful given that he was sent to jail for a crime he didn’t commit.

Getting Nolan to sneak in the flight recorder along with all the other damning evidence was a brutal way of getting Mason out of the way but in all fairness, it was his own ego into writing the book he was meant to write that allowed Emily total power over him. I get the implausibility of Mason’s fate to a large degree but it certainly made for an interesting episode.

I do believe that Mason has genuine remorse for his part in ruining David Clarke’s life and his attempts to try and amend things with Kara by telling her that the Graysons got Gordon to kill him was sort of noble but it was also too little, too late. Mason’s own self-serving really is his defining characteristic, even when he’s attempting to be selfless. If I were Emily, I wouldn’t be too quick to exonerate him just yet.

Speaking of Kara, it was rather delightful seeing her really go bat shit crazy in this episode and try to kill both Victoria and Conrad upstairs while the Initiative and Daniel were mulling over their downfall downstairs in the Grayson manor. It’s a good job for them that Aiden was quick to apprehend her, though he took his sweet time in doing so.

I’m not entirely sure if it were wise for Emily to have revealed that she knew Aiden in this episode to Kara. Kara might be gone for the time being but eventually she will come back and I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s pieced the Emily/Amanda connection in a much quicker pace than Mason did (though Emily did out herself to him). In fact, I think I’ll be annoyed if somehow she didn’t.

As for Aiden – I’m starting to feel a little meh about him. I don’t care about him and Emily hooking up at all but I do care about his antipathy towards Nolan. I get the impression that Aiden seems a little threatened by the friendship that Emily and Nolan have and that his interest in her agenda may become corrosive as the season progresses.

I also don’t like the fact that as a part of Aiden’s ongoing scheming with Daniel to get the board at Grayson Global to overthrow Conrad that Nolan’s own company might be at risk too. Nolan really shouldn’t be another casualty in this whole messy saga and if he is because of Aiden, well that’s not good, now is it?

Last but not least – can this boring scheme of Kenny and his younger brother, Nate now end please? Aside from the fact that I wish Jack would wise up and do some background checks on the guy, I just cannot find any enthusiasm for the plot at all. On the plus side, at least things between Jack and Amanda seem a lot calmer now, so that’s something.

Also in “Penance”

This episode was originally entitled “Exposure”. I wonder why the title was changed at the last minute.

Emily (re Amanda): “I don’t choose my friends based by their network.”
Mason: “Then by what criteria? A shared history, perhaps?”

Even though Mason was rather lewd in the way he suggested it, I don’t think I’d be that shocked if Emily and Amanda actually had sex with each other at some point in their past.

Jack: “Are you sure you want to reopen up these old wounds?”
Amanda: “One last time, I promise.”

Nolan (re Emily): “Why are you doing this? What is she to you exactly?”
Aiden: “She’s someone who I once hurt very badly and now I’m trying to make it up to her.”
Nolan: “Hurt her again and I swear you will pay.”

Padma learned the error of going into Nolan’s office without shoes when she got cut by the glass from the frame Nolan broke to give Aiden the cheque from David Clarke. Nolan’s middle name is Mitchell as well.

Mason (to Amanda): “Confession they say is good for the soul and for book sales.”

Emily: “Choose your family.”
Amanda: “You’re making a huge mistake.”

The lady from the Initiative goes by the name of Helen Crowley and it seems that Daniel’s made himself a target as well. Victoria also looked she was going tell Conrad at the end about Daniel’s scheming.

Victoria: “Conrad, I have bad news.”
Conrad: “Yeah, that seems to be going around.”
Kara: “Shut the door.”

Kara: “I don’t know how to thank you.”
Emily: “Well, just keep yourself safe.”

Standout music: “Only One” by Smith Westerns and what is up with those Target ads being featured in the show?

Emily (to herself): “To properly do penance, one must express contrition for ones sins.”

Chronology: A few days since the events of “Illusion”.

I really enjoyed this episode. I wasn’t expecting “Penance” to actually go there with Mason or even for Kara to leave so quickly (though she’ll obviously be back) but this was another extremely enjoyable episode and I’m looking forward to the next one, even if I do have to wait two weeks for it.

Rating: 8 out of 10

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My Review of Wizards Vs. Aliens 1x02: "Grazlax Attacks"

Written by Phil Ford
Directed by Daniel O'Hara

Tom (to Benny, re Grazlax): "It didn't explode. It had kids."

Okay, second story in (or episodes three and four if you like) and this show is definitely fun to watch but at the same time has a feeling of familiarity about it. The Nekross might not have decided to capture Tom or his grandmother again but Lexi's idea of trying to please her father (the Nekross King) and outwit her brother with the use of the Grazlax was doomed to failure from the beginning.

Clearly, Phil Ford has possibly watched Gremlins one too many times because the basis of this story seemed to be the Grazlax trying to kill both Tom and Benny when they weren't multiplying all over the place. As aliens, they're blue, furry with teeth that look anything but razor sharp but at the same time, the sheer camp factor in Benny and Tom trying to outwit them was actually the highlight of the episode.

I don't know if it's entirely intentional but Scott Haran as Tom really did seem to up the camp factor in this story with a performance that seemed very reminiscent of a lot of 80's Doctor Who. Tom's still a likeable enough character, though clearly not always the most reliable in a sticky situation as it was Benny who seemed to figure out a lot in relation to defeating the Grazlax and a lot of that seemed obvious too in retrospect.

I will say that four episodes/two stories in, the show has succeeded in building a nice rapport with Tom and Benny. Both of them are outsiders due to one being magical and the other being a geek but as a team, they seem to work well together. That in of itself might be the show's biggest selling point and it's most successful one too.

- We met Benny's parents, Tricia (Nina Sosanya) and Richard (Don Gilet) for a bit in the first part of this episode. Benny's violin playing turned out to be useful, if not nice on the ears.
- Katie is clearly being set up as a love interest for Tom.
- I did laugh at Ursula's attempts of changing Benny's house back, especially with the gingerbread house mistake.
- The rivalry between Varg and Lexi has a lot of potential. I sense that perhaps Lexi isn't too comfortable with the idea of destroying humanity.

While it's hard to deny that this show isn't a massive step forwards for children's TV, it's still a lot more entertaining than it should be. Grazlax Attacks was an amusing story but I am hoping the show does get a little serious as it progresses in the next four stories.

Rating: 7 out of 10

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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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