Modern DOCTOR WHO Seasons: Worst to Best

August 27, 2018

Since it’s revival in 2005, Doctor Who has become one of the BBC’s most prominent exports and managed to please long-time fans and newcomers alike. It is a show that has been able to reinvent itself – the modern version of the shows has had two showrunners – three actors playing The Doctor and seven characters as the companion and Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whitaker set to take over the show as showrunner and the title role.

Over the course of 13 years, the show has had ten seasons, a series of specials and amassed 134 episodes. With this amount of content there are of course ups and downs, so let’s look at all the modern Doctor Who seasons from worst to best.

11. Series 8

The eighth season of the modern Doctor Who is easily the worst. This season was Peter Capaldi’s first as the famous Time-Lord, and he was ill-served by the material he was given. The season started off strongly with indie-director Ben Wheatley directing the first two episodes, and there was a level of intrigue with the idea of beings trying to find The Promised Land.

However, the season was bogged down with uninspired elements, and it had two of the worst episodes in the modern show’s canon, “Kill the Moon” and “In the Forest of the Moon.” It was a season made out of apathy.

The worst element of the season was Clara’s role. The season looked more toward Clara’s life on Earth, working as a teacher, forming a relationship with Danny Pink and her students. The show focused on Clara instead of the Doctor, sinking the season because Clara is a boring character. The use of the school setting was a backdoor route to making the Doctor Who spin-off The Class.

10. Series 7

Peter Capaldi had a rough start as the Doctor, and Matt Smith end wasn’t much better. The seventh season was split into two parts, the first focusing on The Doctor’s final adventures with Amy and Rory, the second focusing on who is Clara and why she kept appearing in different periods and dying when the Doctor was around.

The first half was the stronger, having a fun opener with the Doctor having to go into a Dalek insane asylum and the show pulled off a great surprise by introducing Jenna Coleman as Oswin. Amy and Rory’s final moments had plenty of emotion when Rory is trapped time fix time, and Amy sacrifices herself to be with him – a sacrifice that brings the Doctor into a great depression.

This half of the series did have a disappointment with the episode “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship.” The title suggested a lot of genre fun and had comedic double-act David Mitchell and Robert Webb voice a pair of giant robots. Yet it did not live up to the hype. It was an episode written by new showrunner Chris Chinball.

The second half of the series was when it truly faltered. It was a season bogged down by forgettable episodes like “The Bells of Saint John,” “Cold War,” “Hide” and “Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS” and the Neil Gaiman penned “Nightmare in Silver” is hated by the fandom. The saving grace was “The Name of the Doctor” where Clara goes into the Doctor’s timestream and protects him throughout his many iterations. It could have been a great final episode for Clara, but Steven Moffat is scared to kill off main characters.

One of the significant issues with the series was Clara – she was a boring character. There were two great versions in “Asylum of the Daleks” and “The Snowmen” – Coleman gave these characters a lot of check and spunk and was intelligent enough to be able to help the Doctor. But the real version of Clara was a bland young woman from modern day Britain.

9. Series 10

Now we have gotten past the two worst series in Doctor Who everything from this point on ranges from good to great. The worst of the best is the most recent season of Doctor Who, Series 10.

Series 10 was the last season to star Peter Capaldi and be produced by Steven Moffatt, but weirdly made as a soft-reboot of the series and act as an entry point for new viewers. The first episode “The Pilot” acted like a pilot episode for a new show and Bill was an audience surrogate. Series 10 did have excellent episodes in the form of “Oxygen” and the season finale had some gutting punching moments, or they would have been if the BBC didn’t reveal them in the trailers. The finale was a great send off for Capaldi as the Doctor as he fought off an army of Cybermen.

Pearl Mackie was a terrific find as Bill, a fun, upbeat presence who acted like a fangirl and was the first lesbian companion. Bill’s presence also allowed for the show to offer some commentary about prejudice. Yet her sexuality was handled maturely, she’s gay, deal with it. It was a shame she only had one season.

However, the series was at times on autopilot, with episodes like “Smile” rehashing ideas from previous seasons.

8. Specials

The Specials as the name says special episodes that were made between Christmas 2008 to the New Year in 2010. These specials were the last episodes to star David Tennant and written by Russell T. Davies. There were four stories (one of them being a two-partner) of various quality, and there were all over 60 minutes instead of the usual 45.

The best special was the horror-themed “The Waters of Mars” with the Doctor on the first human colony on Mars where the astronauts are inflected by a waterborne virus and tests the Doctor because he was interfering with a fixed time event. It was one of the best Doctor Who horror stories, being an exciting, fast-paced episode and the ending gave audiences a hint of what The Doctor could be like if he acted without impunity.

The weakest episode was the forgettable “Planet of the Dead,” whose most prominent feature was the casting of Michelle Ryan as the Doctor’s one-time companion. It was met with average reviews which is a fair summary of an average episode.

“The Next Doctor” did tease audiences with what a David Morrissey could have been like and “The End of Time” brought back John Simm as The Master and the Time Lords as a whole. Tennant was given a long goodbye as he revisits all his companions before his regeneration which was made into an epic moment.

7. Series 9

After the poor showing that was Series 8, Doctor Who needed a big comeback – especially to save Peter Capaldi’s run as the Doctor. Fortunately, Series 9 was able to do this, bringing the focus back on the Doctor and allowed Capaldi to shine as an actor – he had an impassioned anti-war speech in “The Zygon Inversion.”

The series brought in Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams for a role as Ashildr/Me, a young woman from a Viking village who The Doctor curses with immorality. Williams appeared in four episodes, and her character had some powerhouse moments like at the ending of “The Girl Who Died” and the reveal that her children died during the Black Death.

The series strongest episode was “Heaven Sent” and it is one of the best modern Doctor Who has produced. It was an ambitious and creative episode showing the various versions of Doctor living the same scenario over-and-over again. Capaldi had to act around as he fought for survival, tried to figure out a message and overcome his grief. The montage when the Doctor utters “The Sheppard Boy” poem was Doctor Who at its finest.

The series still had some problems. The series opener was overly complicated and needed an encyclopedic knowledge of Doctor Who lore to understand it at times and the episode “Sleep No More” had a good concept but hampered by revealing that the monsters were made out of eye gunk. The worst aspect of the series was the series finale “Hell Bent” because it undercut Clara’s death and The Doctor’s fight to get revenge. Moffat didn’t have to gut to keep a companion dead.

6. Series 1

Back in 2005 the return of Doctor Who was seen as a big risk – the 1996 TV film was a flop, and the BBC was hesitant at bringing back the show. It was a big budget update of a show that was known for cheap costumes and special effects and came from a man who was a big fan of the original series.

The aim of the new series was to introduce the Doctor to new audiences while still honoring the continuity of the classic era. The first season manages to walk this delicate tightrope by having the Time War – an event that gave the modern series a clean break but still in the same continuity. Classic villains were introduced, and the modern series gave longtime fans some Easter Eggs. The first episode, “Rose” was told through the new companion’s eye so acts as the new audience members’ surrogate.

The first series gave us classic episodes like “Dalek” which shows how threatening one Dalek could be and revealed The Doctor’s pain, and the two-parter “The Empty Child”/”The Doctor Dances,” was one of the great horror themed episodes – it scared my cats. But there were some clunkers in the form of “Aliens of London”/”World War Three” which was too reliant on juvenile humor believing this was what the show needed to do to appeal to kids. Like many first seasons of a show Doctor Who was finding its feet.

Christopher Eccleston was solid in his only season as The Doctor, but he was stronger in the dramatic moments than the comedic ones. Fans would have wanted at least one more season with Eccleston. The show helped turn Billie Piper from teen pop star to a popular actress in the UK, and John Barrowman’s Captain Jack was an entertaining character.

5. Series 6

Series 6 was Steven Moffat’s second season as showrunner and the first of two that had a mid-season break. It is also his second best season.

Series 6 big storyline involved the Doctor being killed by the Impossible Astronaut and figuring out River Song’s real identity. Moffat also created his second monster, The Silence, suited aliens whose people forget their existence when they look away and have been secretly controlling the human race. The name even changed the meaning of the arc in the previous season.

“A Good Man Goes to War” was a big, bombastic episode where the Doctor and his allies fight an army of cleric soldiers and headless monks and Moffat was able to turn his fan theory that people that The Doctor was given his name by the people he saved into official canon. Episodes like “The Doctor’s Wife” and “The Girl Who Waited” were underrated stories.

However, the series does suffer from some bad episodes. The episode “Let’s Kill Hitler” was a huge disappointment because it was meant to be the first time River met The Doctor and ended in a hokey way because she gave up all her regeneration energy to save him. The pirate-themed “The Curse of the Black Spot” was the definition of a filler episode and was utterly forgettable.

4. Series 3

The third season of modern Doctor Who marked a changing of the guard, the first time they changed the companion with Freema Agyeman playing Dr. Martha Jones. Series 3 was a season of two halves, the first being pretty weak while the second half was much more ambitious and creative.

The first half of the season’s episodes were a mix of forgettable to maligned. Episodes like “The Lazarus Experiment” and “42” are particularly criticized by fans. After “42” the season saw a massive improvement. The most famous and celebrated episode was “Blink” – one of the best-written episodes and introduced The Weeping Angels. The season has a three-part finale which saw The Doctor, Martha and Captain Jack Harkness going to the end of the universe and seeing the return of The Doctor’s nemesis, The Master. It was a varied finale, but the resolution was incredibly cheesy.

The two-parter “Human Nature”/”The Family of Blood” was a strong entry showing what The Doctor could be like if he could live a normal life because his fob watch turned his biology into a human. Martha and eventually The Doctor had to face a creepy set of aliens who have overtaken human bodies who are after The Doctor.

The biggest shame of the season was losing Agyeman after one season, but she did get to return in the fourth and in Torchwood.

The season gave actors like Andrew Garfield, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Carey Mulligan early roles.

3. Series 2

The second season of modern Doctor Who was when the show was finding its stride. David Tennant had taken over the role as The Doctor, and he was the complete package – he was funny and witty, had moments of darkness and could give an epic speech. He is my favorite actor in the role.

The series had some great episodes like “Rise of the Cybermen”/”The Age of Steel,” a two-partner that reintroduced a classic villain, “The Impossible Planet”/”The Satan Pit” where the Doctor got to battle Satan and the finale gave audiences a war between Daleks and Cybermen. Fans of the classic era were given a blast from the past with “School Reunion,” bringing back the former companion Sarah Jane Smith and had one of the darkest moments in Doctor Who history where alien eats a child.

However, the season has two black stops – “Love & Monsters” and “Fear Her.” “Fear Her” was a filler episode – made on a low budget since most of the episode takes place on a housing estate. The biggest issue was it became outdated very quickly – the episode was set in 2012 just before the London Olympics. The episode started with a stupid joke where the recent X-Factor winner, Shayne Ward, was advertising his greatest hits – he wasn’t known outside the UK, and most people now would have either forgotten him or didn’t know who he is. The Olympics also played a part in the narrative – an event that was only six years away when the episode was first broadcasted.

“Love & Monsters” was for a long time considered one of the worst episodes in the show’s run. It had a solid concept – looking at the people who had come into contact with the Doctor and attempted to find him but devolves into stupidity when they gave up on their mission and formed a band. The episode was mandated to star a monster created by a child who won a competition and the episode shows by shoehorning the creature. The worst moment was when the episode ends with an oral sex joke.

However, the good outweighs the bad.

2. Series 4

The fourth Season of Doctor Who was Russell T. Davies’ last full season as showrunner and he certainly went out with a bang, giving us his best offering. The season has the best long-running arc in Davies’ run, the threat of coming darkness and has the most consistent collection of episodes during the Davies era. It was a season that reintroduced classic villains like the Sontarans and the Doctor’s nemesis Davros, creator of the Daleks.

Highlights included the two-parter “Silence in the Library”/”Forest of the Dead” which introduced the world to the River Song, “Midnight” a taut bottle episode where the Doctor and a group of passengers are trapped in the middle of crystal planet and my personal favorite “Turn Left.” “Turn Left” was a Donna focused episode where she makes a decision different which has a huge knock-on effect. It was an unusual and ambitious episode.

“The Doctor’s Daughter” is often considered the worst episode in the series and some have called it one of the worst episodes in Doctor Who’s modern era. This is a harsh reaction because it was a perfectly serviceable episode and the worst this season had to offer was something being less memorable.

The finale, “The Stolen Planet”/”Journey’s End” did come across like fan fiction – it saw the return of many of the characters in the Davies era – created a second Doctor so that Rose could live with him in a parallel universe and the Donna becoming the ‘Doctor Donna.’ This was where the season was at its weakest.

I went into Season 4 with a lot of hesitation because of the return of Catherine Tate as Donna Noble. Donna had an irritating introduction, and Tate was famous at the time for her self-titled sketch show that relied on lowest-common-dominator humor. But give credit where credit’s due because Donna grew as a character, Tate showed she was more than a comedic actress, and she was the only female companion in the Davies era who didn’t feel attached to the Doctor romantically or sexually.

1. Series 5

Topping this list is Doctor Who‘s fifth season. The fifth season marked a fresh start for the show, Steven Moffat took over as the showrunner having been seen as the best Doctor Who writer – he had episodes like “The Empty Child”/”The Doctor Dances, “Blink” and “Silence in the Library”/”Forest of the Dead” to his name. The fifth season took a big risk casting then unknowns Matt Smith and Karen Gillan as The Doctor and his companion.

What makes Series 5 the best modern Doctor Who season is it has the best running plotline and is one of the most consistent seasons. The running plotline involved the coming silence, a mystery threat that left cracks throughout the universe and anything that’s sucked in is erased completely – no one remembers their existences.

The season has some great episodes like “The Eleventh Hour,” “The Time of Angels”/”Flesh and Stone” and the highly emotional “Vincent and the Doctor.” The season also has the best Doctor Who finale in the modern run with a triumphant feel to it. There were a couple of clunkers, “Victory of the Daleks” was made to sell toys and “The Vampires of Venice” was forgettable but they are far from the show being at its worst.

Smith and Gillan were great finds for the show. Smith took on the impossible challenge of following up David Tennant as the Doctor, making the role his own and got to give some beautiful speeches while Gillan was funny and dramatic and suffering from sadness but not knowing why. Both have become big stars because of the show and found successful afterward.

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Jennifer Garner Explains The Insanity Of PEPPERMINT

Matthew Sardo

August 27, 2018

In the video above, Jennifer Garner explains all the chaos involved with making a high octane action film like Peppermint.

Time makes your memory forgetful, but in a time before DVRs and On Demand, Garner was one of the most badass women in Hollywood from 2000 to 2006 with Alias, Daredevil, and Elektra. Say what you want about the film, but Garner got Elektra Natchios on the big screen in a solo movie before Iron Man and the rest of the Avengers.

About the film:
Riley North awakens from a coma after surviving a brutal attack that killed her husband and daughter. When the system shields the murderers from justice, Riley sets out to transform herself from citizen to urban guerrilla. Channeling frustration into motivation, the young widow spends years in hiding — honing her mind, body, and spirit to become an unstoppable force. Eluding the underworld, the police, and the FBI, Riley embarks on a deadly quest to deliver her own personal brand of punishment.

Peppermint stars Jennifer Garner (Love, Simon, Dallas Buyers Club, Alias), John Ortiz (Silver Linings Playbook, Fast & Furious 6), John Gallagher, Jr. (10 Cloverfield Lane, Short Term 12, The Belko Experiment), Juan Pablo Raba (Narcos, The 33, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Annie Ilonzeh (American Horror Story, Empire, All Eyez on Me), Jeff Hephner (Interstellar, Chicago Med), Pell James (Only the Brave, The Lincoln Lawyer), and Cliff ‘Method Man’ Smith (Keanu). The film is directed by Pierre Morel (Taken, The Gunman) and written by Chad St. John (London Has Fallen).

Peppermint hits theaters on September 7.

Are you going to see Garner kick-ass on opening night? Comment below with your thoughts.

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Review: ‘BLACKKKLANSMAN’ Is A Powerful, Funny And Remarkably Relevant Story

Kieran McLean

August 27, 2018

In the latest episode of Kieran’s Movie Space, Kieran discusses and reviews one of his most anticipated movies of the year, Spike Lee’s BLACKkKLANSMAN. Is this the best Spike Lee Joint yet? Is it one of the best movies of the year? Listen to the full review below and find out!

More – ‘The Equalizer 2’ Review: Denzel Washington Leads This Action-Packed Sequel

Kieran’s Movie Space is an insightful, fun and reliable new podcast for fans of all things cinema. Host Kieran McLean delivers in-depth reviews of the latest movie releases, from small indie movies to massive blockbusters.

Listen to the episode below:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KKAgcGdo54[/embedyt]

It’s the early 1970s, and Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) is the first African-American detective to serve in the Colorado Springs Police Department. Determined to make a name for himself, Stallworth bravely sets out on a dangerous mission: infiltrate and expose the Ku Klux Klan. The young detective soon recruits a more seasoned colleague, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), into the undercover investigation of a lifetime. Together, they team up to take down the extremist hate group as the organization aims to sanitize its violent rhetoric to appeal to the mainstream.

BLACKkKLANSMAN is directed by Spike Lee and stars John David Washington, Adam Driver, Topher Grace, Laura Harrier, Corey Hawkins, Ryan Eggold, Jasper Pääkkönen, Ashlie Atkinson and Robert John Burke.

Make sure you hit the like button, subscribe and review the podcast! Alternatively, you can subscribe to the Monkeys Fighting Robots newsletter to be notified when new episodes are available, plus amazing content!

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Get Your First Look At GAME OF THRONES Season 8

Matthew Sardo

August 27, 2018

Sunday night, HBO released a sizzle real for 2018 and 2019 featuring the first look at Season 8 of Game of Thrones.

According to early reports, the earliest fans might see Season 8 could be May 2019.

Other shows featured were Veep, Big Little Lies, The Deuce, Room 104, and new series Camping and The Shop.

About Camping:
The half-hour comedy follows married couple Kathryn (Jennifer Garner) and Walt (David Tennant), who have planned a delightful weekend “back to nature” for Walt’s 45th birthday. But when the camping trip gathers Kathryn’s meek sister, holier-than-thou ex-best friend, and a free-spirited tagalong in one place, it becomes a weekend of tested marriages and woman-on-woman crime that won’t soon be forgotten.

About The Shop:
The series features a lineup starring four-time NBA MVP LeBron James and Maverick Carter. Among the headliners on the first show are rap icon Snoop Dogg, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, three-time NBA champion Draymond Green, two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker and Peabody and Emmy winner Jon Stewart.

The Shop gives viewers a one-of-a-kind barbershop experience, which for many provides a sanctuary for free-flowing and spirited discussions. The series will visit barbershops around the country to gather distinguished individuals who can speak honestly on sports, music, pop culture, world events, business and other culturally relevant topics.

How excited are you for the return of Game of Thrones? Comment below with your thoughts.

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Warner Bros. Eyeing Oscar Isaac For Mystery Role In THE BATMAN

Jackson Hayes

August 27, 2018

Matt Reeves’ The Batman is moving forward full steam ahead. According to Omega Underground, Warner Bros. has met with Star Wars actor Oscar Isaac about a role in the upcoming Dark Knight solo film.

Before anyone gets excited, the source tells us that the mystery role is not Bruce Wayne. Of course, current Batman actor Ben Affleck is expected to vacate his spot to make way for a younger actor as Reeves’ film is set to be a prequel. It will take place during the first couple years of the Caped Crusader’s tenure.

With the titular role being ruled out, there’s still a world of possibilities for Isaac. Next up would be the villain in the film. There have been rumors that Penguin will faceoff against the Batman, so could Warner Bros. be looking at Issac for Oswald Cobblepot? Only time will tell. Other options include Hugo Strange, Carmine Falcone, and Two-Face.

Isaac has become no stranger to tent-pole movies. In the last three years, he has appeared in two Star Wars films, with the third set to hit theaters next year, and as Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse. He’s also appeared in critical darlings such as Ex-Machina, Inside Llewyn Davis and A Most Violent Year. Making another move into comic book films could be a smart move for the highly sought-after actor.

The Batman is said to be a noir-driven Batman story that will show us the criminal underbelly of Gotham. Director Matt Reeves promises that the film will be different than ones we’ve seen in the past. Reeves’ track record speaks for itself so as long as this film makes its way into production audiences are promised something special.

What role would you like to see Oscar Isaac play in The Batman? Let us know in the comments below!

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DAREDEVIL #607 Review: It Just Makes Sense

Dispatchdcu

Matt Murdock’s twin, mind reading Inhumans, dog kidnapping, and the Trapster all in this week’s DAREDEVIL #607 as Charles Soule resurrects a fake persona of Matt Murdock’s from the 60’s while creatively figuring out how to bring it into continuity. Let’s take a look at Soule’s genius!

WRITTEN BY: Charles Soule

ART BY: Phil Noto

LETTERS: Clayton Cowles

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

DAREDEVIL #607 SPOILERS TOO!

To see what happened last issue, click on the writer’s name below.

Summary

Daredevil finds his fake identity from the 60’s standing across from him at a bar. Confused beyond belief, Daredevil throws out scenarios as to who this could be, but nothing seems to stick. So, after a bar fight with Trapster, Speed Demon, Overdrive, and White Rabbit, Daredevil knocks out Mike Murdock and takes him to an Inhuman telepath.

The telepath searches Mike Murdock’s mind and notices that this guy genuinely believes he’s Matt Murdock’s twin. Continuing to have no answers, Daredevil takes Mike Murdock back to the hideout of the team he created the last issue to stop the Kingpin. It turns out; the Reader accidentally created him by reading a line of text from Matt Murdock’s journal. Oops! If things couldn’t get worse, Mike Murdock breaks out of the hideout kidnaps Reader’s dog, and escapes in a crowd. The issue ends with Mike Murdock confronting Foggy Nelson in his office.

The Goods

Soule is stunningly creative in this issue. He took a throwaway story from almost 50 plus years ago and weaved it into continuity. This wasn’t any old concept. Soule figures out a way to create an evil twin brother of Matt Murdock from a fake identity Matt used to stop people from thinking he was Daredevil. Soule is freakin’ nuts! Who thinks of that? Better yet, who thinks LIKE that?

Soule’s idea behind creating a doppelgänger of Matt should have been convoluted and made absolutely no sense at all. However, Soule lays it out masterfully with exact detail and reasoning as to why and how this happened. Granted, it’s comic books, but it makes sense. I seriously left this issue laughing because I bought it. Soule is thorough, concrete, and gives supportive evidence in the issue to make this work.

Heck, the easy solution would have been to use a shapeshifter, life-model decoy, or some magic but Soule goes above and behind to make this work without the easiest solutions. Plus, Soule introduces the obvious options at the beginning of the issue when Daredevil screams those possibilities at Mike Murdock but again takes a detour on that idea leaving the readers awestruck as to what’s going on. After reading this issue, writers are probably jealous of Soule’s imaginative storytelling. This plot was crazy-good!

The Art

Phil Noto’s art always appears so casual and smooth. Also, his characters facial expressions are fantastically detailed and set the tone of the narrative so well. On page 6, readers can feel how angry Daredevil is through the issue as well as see every crinkle and texture on the characters faces.

Occasionally, Noto’s art appears more like a portrait while his panels seem stationary making it difficult to judge the movement of the characters. That said, Noto’s lines are always clean and clear while his colors blend so well together grabbing the reader’s attention.

His colors are perfectly chosen to help depict Daredevil’s perspective, visualize his powers, and introduce past events in the timeline. Between Noto’s art and Clayton Cowles lettering, fans are never lost or confused from panel to panel or time frame to time frame. Furthermore, how could anyone complain about a guy (Noto) who did touch up work for THE LION KING and POCAHONTAS? Seriously!

Should you buy this issue and/ or add this to your pull list?

Yes! Daredevil has had its ups and downs from issue to issue, but Soule‘s run has been consistent. Overall, this comic is always exciting and fun to read. Noto’s art is never off and fans know exactly what they’re going to get. So, readers should absolutely add this to their pull list.

As for this single issue, you need to buy it. Even if you haven’t been following along with this comic, it’s still total genius watching Soule connect a made-up identity and morphing it into a real character in the Marvel Universe who could be around forever. However, I recommend buying DAREDEVIL #606 with it to get the full effect. Excellent job to everyone involved in this issue.

What did you guys think of DAREDEVIL #607? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @dispatchdcu. If you would like to read more of my reviews, click HERE!

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Review: JACK RYAN Delivers An Action Packed Explosively Entertaining First Season

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

Amazon Prime’s Jack Ryan delivers white-knuckle levels of excitement and heart-pounding action sequences easily making it the best new TV series to debut this fall.

Rather than relying on the iconic characters past, show creators Carlton Cuse and Graham Roland forged a different path examining the metamorphosis one undergoes when you go from being CIA desk jockey to a field agent.

How does an idealistic ex-marine and Doctor of Economics become our nations greatest asset? John Krasinski is cast in the title role and brings a refreshing dose of duality to the character. On one side, we see the all-American boy with devilish good looks. Ryan is the type of guy which any daughter would want to bring home to meet the family. On the other side, we have a naive genius who wants to save the world but isn’t sure how exactly to go about it. It’s the confliction Krasinski bring to the role which makes this show unique.

The narrative in season one centers around the word ascension. Ryan’s knowledge of Economics allows him to track down suspicious terrorist activity occurring in Yemen, which draws praise from CIA brass. His boss James Greer (Wendell Pierce) begins to see what the young Dr. Ryan has been alluding to and aides in their pursuit of the terrorist suspects. The show also focuses on the rise of Suleiman (Ali Suliman) and his wife Hanin (Dina Shalibi). Suleiman is initially scarred for life by the bombing of his home in Beruit by American fighter jets. Over the years, his anger grew more and more causing a family man to become a zealot wanting to act on his rage. Hanin grew up in a word where women in her country were often silent and told not to utter a sound. During the show. She’s forced to take on a new role which is quite invigorating but scary as hell.

Jack Ryan stays from many of the tropes associated with the character’s past allowing this show to blaze its own trail. Cuse and Roland keep the writing tight so even though the narrative is intricate, the show is fast-paced. Amazon’s latest hit contains some of the best action sequences that I’ve seen on television in 2018. There’s a closing sequence in the show’s first episode that will have people jumping out of their seats with excitement. Jack Ryan has brought some very experienced directors to help with the development of these first few episodes. At times you forget that this is meant for television and not a feature-length film.

Krasinski and Pierce are indeed outstanding in their respective roles. Krasinski can outwardly project to audiences just how conflicted Mr. Ryan is about what has transpired. The chemistry between these two agents evoked images of Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon. However, the performance the stood out the most in this series came from Dina Shihabi. Shihabi was so commanding on screen and provides the emotional backbone for Jack Ryan’s first season.

Overall, Jack Ryan is a roaring success and is set up rather nicely for a lengthy run on Amazon. There’s much more to Ryan’s eventual evolution into a full-time field agency left to explore, and it appears that’s what is on the horizon. Anyone who is on the fence about watching this series needs to watch the pilot, and I’ll guarantee that you’ll be hooked.

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PREACHER Feature: “The Light Above”

Joshua Versalle

August 26, 2018

Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidy have been racing towards three separate confrontations for much of Preacher’s third season and “The Light Above” is where those courses lead. So, it should come as no surprise that there’s some roadkill left behind in the dramatic, action-packed season finale.

Preacher Feature is a weekly look into the AMC show Preacher based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. In this column, Josh Versalle gives a breakdown of the events from the show (including how they relate to the comics), and speculates as to what’s going on and what might be coming up. That means SPOILERS are bound to follow, so if you haven’t watched the episode yet, turn back now.

If you’re feeling lost, here’s a refresher course on the bloody road that led us to tonight’s season finale.

“A constructive, non-violent solution”

TC’s suggestion of “a constructive, non-violent solution” is hilarious since we know that on Preacher, these sort of solutions don’t exist. The violence and horror inflicted on Jesse and his parents by Marie, Jody, and TC can only be ended with more violence.

After using Genesis to get past TC, Jesse could have easily killed Jody using the Word, but after all the misery Jody has inflicted over the years, he’s got something a bit more prolonged coming to him. For better or worse, Jesse Custer wouldn’t be the man he is today without Jody. The goodness and kindness in his soul come from his parents, but his toughness, fighting prowess, and outright meanness all got beaten into him year after miserable year by Jody. Jesse takes his time dismantling the super-humanly tough Jody, all while a conflicted TC watches. In his own twisted way, TC loves “little” Jesse as much as he does Jody or Miss Marie. TC recognizes the wickedness in them as he recognizes it in himself, but they are nonetheless all the family he has ever known. The moment when Jesse looks down on TC with a mixture of pity and contempt, offering him a chance to leave, and TC responds that he’s decided to stay and die with Angelville was a fine and surprisingly sad one.

The Fall of the House of L’Angelle

Now that Jesse’s done exorcising two demons from his past, it’s time to take out a third: his Gran’ma Marie. She may look feeble, but she’s lived for a 100+ years because she’s cunning and shrewd (and because she eats souls). She’s lets Jesse know she’s traded his soul to Satan and if Jesse kills her, he will be damned when he dies. She’s a cruel manipulator and seems to have Jesse in check, but she’s pushed him too far this time. He tells her to destroy all the souls that were supposed to stave off her death. He watches as she sobbingly obeys his Word.

Before he gets away from Angelville, Jesse (with a little help from the childhood self) decides that even the peril of damnation will not stand in the way of his vengeance. He goes back, straps Marie in her own soul extractor device, and drains the lives out of her until she is nothing but a dried out husk.

The Wheels on the Bus

The fight sequence on the overturned bus was a fun and original one. While the undercard (Eugene versus Hitler) was funny, the main event was Tulip kicking the shit out of a bunch of Nazi wannabes, using her surroundings to the fullest, culminating in her shooting the last two through the bus seats.

Of course, there’s still the matter of the Nazi tank. It fires a shell at the Saint of Killers and Angel of Death standing in front of the bus, when suddenly time stops. For a split-second, it looks like Eugene suddenly developed the mutant power to freeze time, but then we see that it was God Himself who stepped in. He talks to Tulip once again, telling her he is a loving God, that he will remove the O’Hare curse if she will just convince Jesse to leave Him alone. Having heard this all before (in “Angelville”), Tulip calls God on His holy bullshit. God sends her back with a warning that her friend Cassidy is in grave danger.

“Betrayal, when committed by a loved one, cuts most deeply.”

When Eccarius gets back to Mrs. Rosen’s house, things are so sombre that it almost seems that God forget to start time back up. When he talks about betrayal, he’s referring to Cassidy (Eccarius has killed a lot of Les Enfants Du Sang and blamed his most recent victims on Cass). Cassidy tells Eccarius he’s ready to repent, and Eccarius invites Les Enfants to celebrate. It turns out to be a surprise party, though, as Mrs. Rosen and the rest know of Eccarius’s cruel deeds. They are all vampires now and they turn one their former leader, feasting on him the way he had feasted on so many of their friends.

With their disgraced leader gone, Les Enfants are left directionless, but most of them won’t have to deal with existential despair for long. Hoover shows up, with the Grail in tow. They use a helicopter to move the house, letting the sunlight in to burn most of the newly-turned vamps into ash, and once again abducting Cassidy.

Tulip arrives to find the carnage and learns from Kevin and Mrs. Rosen (who were luckily taking naps in their coffins, thus being saved a fiery death) what the Grail has done. Tulip can see that God wasn’t just bluffing about Cassidy. She heads to Angelville, where she and Jesse are reunited and share a tender moment, but a moment is all they have. They’re off to rescue Cassidy and put a stop to the Grail.

“Get yer ass outta yer head, dufus. God’s gone.”

Back in Hell, glass-half-full Eugene tries to have a heart-to-heart with Satan and is rewarded by getting slapped and knocked unconscious. The Saint of Killers is finally reunited with his weapons. Once again whole, the Saint confronts Satan about whose idea it was to kill his family. Satan admits that he was “in the meeting”, but the idea itself was God’s. The Saint kills Satan and walks out of Hell. Trailing him is Eugene, who is just now finding out that after sending him to Hell, Jesse is still alive and hasn’t come back for him. With a vacancy left in Hell’s corner office, Hitler takes over. In the paperwork on his new desk, Adolph spies the contract for Jesse’s soul.

“We’re going to need a new, uh, Hoover.”

Now in the Grail’s fortress Masada, Starr snatches the umbrella hat from Hoover’s vampire head, exposing him to the sun and seemingly killing him. He tells Featherstone (or Flufferman, if you prefer) that he no longer plans to use Jesse as their Messiah, he only wants revenge.

Say Goodbye to the Bad Guy(s)

Jesse understandably hates Gran’ma, Jody and TC for what they’ve done to him and his parents over his life, and this wouldn’t be Preacher if he weren’t able to exact a bloody vengeance on his sadistic family. With that being said, I know I’m not the only fan who’ll be a bit sad to see Betty Buckley, Colin Cunningham, and Jeremy Childs go. Each brought life into these memorable characters from the comics and added something new to their respective roles. There are plenty of insane characters left to visit in Preacher (starting, from the sounds of things, with Frankie the Eunuch), but we the audience lost three characters tonight that helped build the Preacher world into a fuller, and creepier one.

Easter Eggs and Connections

The location (The Tombs) didn’t exist in the comics, but much of the final, bloody, cathartic battle between Jesse Jody took place just as it did in the comics. Writer/Director (and self-described fan of the comics) Sam Catlin, made a lot of fan’s days by keeping the tone of this important confrontation. Jesse decides not to “cheat” by using Genesis to finally defeat, hand to hand, the man that had killed his father and tormented him for years. Jody as the abusive father figure saying “Hope for you yet, boy” was scene I’d always remembered from the books and it doesn’t lose any of it’s power being translated to the screen.

One thing even the wonderful artwork of Steve Dillon couldn’t do was add the stomach-turning squelching sound effect to the scene when Jody pulls the nails out of his cheek. I don’t think I’ll ever have another sinus infection without flinching at the thought it.

The “Fuck Communism” lighter, which features prominently in the comics (the comics took place in the ’90s and the lighter was the one memento Jesse had of his father, who got the lighter when he was a marine in fighting in Vietnam), makes a return appearance in tonight’s episode.

What’s Next?

The big question is: will there be anything next? A fourth season of Preacher has not yet been announced, but fans can take heart that the announcements from AMC typically occur in October.

Assuming we get to see more Preacher, it looks like Jesse and Tulip are heading to the Grail stronghold Masada to kick ass and retrieve one wayward vampire.

Speaking of vampires, is this the end of poor Hoover? When Starr removed that ridiculous umbrella hat, it seemed like Hoover may have perished. The fact that we didn’t see a charred corpse, combined with the abruptness of this scene, makes me think the underappreciated Hoover may not be done yet. With all the shit that gets dumped in his lap, having him survive to meet up with the equally Job-like Eugene would be fitting.

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TRUE DETECTIVE Season 3 Teaser Trailer – Whoa!

Matthew Sardo

August 26, 2018

HBO dropped a teaser trailer for True Detective Season 3 Sunday night.

About Season 3:
The third season of the show tells the story of a macabre crime in the heart of the Ozarks, and a mystery that deepens over decades and plays out in three separate time periods. Mahershala Ali stars as Wayne Hayes, a state police detective from Northwest Arkansas.

Ali leads the series with Carmen Ejogo, Scoot McNairy, Mamie Gummer, and Stephen Dorff.

True Detectivereturns January 2019.

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