TV REVIEW: Luther - Episode Four

It has now been over a week since Detective Chief Inspector John Luther (Idris Elba) graced our television screens for the last time and yes, I'm getting withdrawal symptoms. The finale saw Luther down a partner after Ripley (Warren Brown) was gunned down by the vigilante killer Tom Marwood (Elliot Cowan) and possibly a girlfriend after Marwood goes after Mary Day (Sienna Guillory). He's also still the subject of a rather ham-fisted investigation into his activity by DCU Stark (David O'Hara) and the now rather conflicted DCI Erin Gray (Nikki Amuka-Bird). However, as these threads begin to unravel and tie him up in knots, an old friend in the form of psychotic Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson) shows up to help out.

I'm still in two minds about this finale because it felt like an episode of two halves. On the one hand, you had the culmination of the Marwood plotline which followed directly on from the previous episode and featured some of the tensest scenes Luther has been involved in. On the other, there was the desire to wrap up Luther's story in a satisfying way to ensure that the fans got the ending that the character deserved. We also had this ongoing investigation into his methods, which by this point was weaving between the two narratives, but is very much a leaden weight to both. It's an odd mix and  Neil Cross managed to largely succeed in making both plotlines work, but not necessarily together.

First of all, the Marwood narrative is one of the more interesting ones tackled by Cross; the idea of a vigilante killer in Luther's messed up world poses some intriguing questions for both the audience and Luther, as discussed in last week's review. Yet in his brutal killing of Ripley, an innocent, Marwood crosses a line and in this episode, he crosses that line and then sprints some way into the distance. Thus ensuring that we know he's completely unhinged by kidnapping an innocent woman to persuade her husband into killing the imprisoned murderer of Marwood's wife. Elliot Cowan's performance has been excellent throughout; Marwood's a broken man trying desperately to get some recognition for what he's done.

It's that desperation that Luther latches on to and there is an absolutely brilliant scene in which he and Alice wear Marwood down, filming him with his own camera in order to puncture his vigilante hero reputation. Any scene between Cowan and Elba was a delight, but the extra spark of the excellent Ruth Wilson elevated it above the rest. It was one of two key scenes in Marwood's plot that stood out from the episode, the other being the confrontation on the top of Paragon Tower safe house in which he tried to force Luther to choose between Mary and Alice. The tensions was ramped up the right amount but came more from the fact I didn't really care about Mary but was desperate that Alice survived. Luther's clever decision picking Alice (who would've let Mary die) ensuring that Mary saved her was a good twist and provided a most satisfying ending for Marwood.

And then there was the other plot thread in which Stark's demented investigation continued, but managed to suck any tension out of the proceedings once the odd couple of him and Gray appeared onscreen. Arresting Luther for the murder of Ripley and attempted murder of Mary was just a bit ridiculous on both level of plot and in terms of the characters' decision. Plotwise, it seemed to be there just to continue the parallels to Zoe's death in the first series and to put Luther in an adverse position, which he sort of was already. Granted, it did introduce Alice back into the mix (and what an entrance), but it didn't feel necessary to the proceeding hour.

In fact, the investigation plot didn't feel necessary in these last two episodes full stop. O'Hara's performance became a grizzly one note that wasn't menacing, but irritating and I was curiously indifferent to the moment in which Stark got blasted away. Gray's sudden change of heart just felt like a last minute attempt to redeem the character. It was a plot that was wrapped up in the second episode with the declaration from Ripley in which it provided an interesting dynamic to the fetish killer narrative. Here, however, it was just a dead weight. I would have much rather have spent more time with Marwood's plot and allowed that to breathe more; it was the much more compelling storyline.

The performances in this episode were largely excellent, particularly Cowan as I have mentioned. Yet it is to the two starring roles that we must turn because, when all is said and done, Alice came back. A fascinating character in her own right, Wilson's Alice is so gleefully demented that she provides a great balance to Elba's darker introspection. The actors' chemistry is electric and this episode proved that the third series really missed the banter that passed between them. With rumours of a movie and an Alice spin-off, Luther's ending left it suitably open-ended, but one thing was absolutely clear; Luther and Alice were going off together.

And let's face it, that was the ending we always wanted. He could've kept the coat though...

- Becky

You can read Becky's review of the previous episode here.

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FEATURE: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Angel

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy's got the hots for Crypto-Guy, otherwise known as Angel, the Master still wants to kill her and Xander's crush on Buffy shows no signs of abating, despite Willow's obvious doe-eyed affection.

The Master's a little peeved that Buffy has pretty much killed off half his gang and so decides to send The Three after her, a trio of vampiric assassins with some natty threads and a penchant for violence. Buffy meanwhile is at The Bronze, oblivious to both her would-be killers and Angel, lurking characteristically in the shadows so the light just catches his amazing jawline and those cheekbones and... Ahem. Anywayyy, The Three are quickly dispatched and the episode gets down to business, specifically giving us some much needed explanation of who Angel is and just why Buffy probably shouldn't be that keen to get involved. Which she does anyway. Obviously.

I have a big soft spot for this episode for several reasons but first and foremost, this was the very first encounter I had with the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When it initially aired all those years ago on BBC Two, my parents deemed me not old enough to watch this sort of supernatural wickedness that might scar me for life. That didn't stop me however from recording the episodes on VHS in the lounge whilst we were all having tea in the kitchen and then getting up ridiculously early before school to watch them without the parentals finding out (sorry Mum and Dad). It may have taken me until halfway through the second season to convince them that this show was worth watching, but I was hooked instantly. And this episode was why.

It's not one of the best episodes certainly, but it was perhaps the first where the audience got a true sense of the scale that the show would reach with Angel's extended past. Yes, this is the moment in which the doomed nature of Buffy and Angel's relationship is revealed as they kiss all romantically and then he vamps out before leaping out the window and running off into the night. It sets up the constant torment that their relationship will one day become, hinting that it will always be Angelus who gets in the way. It also established that Angel is actually a man with a weighty guilty conscience. I love the scene between him and Darla where we find out just how far these two go back and Julie Benz is so fantastic in the role that you're genuinely sorry to see her dust at the end of the episode.

Gellar and Boreanaz always have a fantastic chemistry when onscreen together and the development of their relationship is actually quite sweet, building on the antagonistic flirtation that we have seen in previous episodes. Their confrontation in The Bronze is the first of many, but it still remains one of my favourite Buffy/Angel moments, simply because it plays on the duality of Angel's character and the role which Buffy plays in teasing both of them. Of course, Darla gets it all wrong; it won't be killing Buffy that turns Angel back to his demonic side, as hinted at in this episode when they kiss for the first time, but let's not get ahead of ourselves eh? 

There are other relationships that are hinted at throughout this episode too, alongside the central ones. We already knew that Darla hung around with The Master for a long time, but that Angel did too and he and Darla were heavily involved with each other. On the human side of things, one of the show's big, snarky rivalries is hinted at between Xander and Angel. They've not shared much screen time yet, but Xander reacts badly to him straight away as a rival for Buffy's affections. This animosity becomes a running theme throughout the show and will lead to some hilarious moments, as well as some heartbreaking ones.

"Do we even own a barbecue fork?"

The relationship stuff is the meat of the plot in this episode, but that doesn't stop some other silly stuff getting in the way. We have The Bronze's pre and post-fumigation parties to get rid of the cockroaches whilst Joyce's injuries are explained away by a barbecue fork which may or may not exist. Then there is The Three. The Three make for one of the least terrifying set of villains in Buffy's entire rogues gallery; the only threat they seem to pose is that they can walk menacingly and pull off body armour. That and there is three of them. That seems to be about it as they are quickly shrugged off by both Buffy and Angel before being dusted by Darla a few minutes later. For all the bass and emphatic music, The Three are actually a bit useless.

Establishing a big part of Angel's character, his soul, quickly and effectively whilst advancing his relationship with Buffy, Angel is a special episode for kicking off one of the most famous pop culture doomed romances. I have yet to work out the physics behind the whole getting a cross burned into his chest from Buffy's necklace though. I'm fairly certain it's physically impossible to do.

Next Time: I Robot, You Jane

Quote of the Week: Angel: "You've no idea what it's like to have done the things I've done... and to care"

Demonology 101: This episode establishes the vampires must be invited rule in the show's vampire mythos - this is going to crop up a lot in relation to Angel.

Sunnydale Who's Who: Darla may be dusted for now, but she proves to be a consistently influential figure in the Buffyverse and will return in the second season via the handy medium of flashbacks.

- Becky

You can read Becky's look at The Pack here.

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FILM REVIEW: Pacific Rim

An inter-dimensional breach deep in the Pacific Ocean has led to huge monsters, nicknamed Kaiju, to wreak havoc on the human race. In response, we build Jaegers, giant mechanised warriors operated by two pilots to do battle with the Kaiju. As the attacks keep coming and the situation gets desperate, Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) brings back a disgraced pilot, Raleigh Beckett (Charlie Hunnam) to help him with the few remaining Jaegers he has left. 

A film from Guillermo del Toro is always going to be visually arresting and right from the first trailer, Pacific Rim has never looked like bucking the trend. The film's excellent viral campaign has been building this world for us for months now and that meticulous attention to detail makes Pacific Rim totally immersive. From small details like pin-up paintings on the side of a Jaeger to city architecture building around Kaiju skeletons, every aspect of this ravaged earth feels authentic with a weight and a history behind it. There is also the multicultural aspect that del Toro has created, blending cultures and people together to create a vision of humanity pulling together against a common enemy.

It is a real shame then that the same level of attention hasn't been paid to achieving some sort of gender balance with the characters seen. Yes, one of the best characters in the film is female (and we'll get to the awesome Mako Mori soon), but there are very little female faces elsewhere. In fact, there is just one other female speaking role and she doesn't really carry any screen time. Many of the other minor roles aren't gender specific and it doesn't really make a lick of sense why, when a fair amount of countries are represented, the same can't be said for the women of this battered earth. It's been a bad year for female characters in blockbusters and sadly, Pacific Rim has done nothing to buck that trend. 

It also doesn't help that the characters are thinly drawn and barely extend beyond their particular archetype. Somehow though, this sort of works and it helps that most of the cast lend a certain credibility to the clunkier aspects of the script. Elba brings a gravitas to his role as the impressively monikered Stacker Pentecost and is clearly destined for more roles of the authoritative variety, giving Pentecost a weariness that plays well into the decaying world around him. Even Robert Kazinksy as the Iceman substitute, Chuck, whilst cartoonish, manages to add a little more drama to the human focused scenes and his relationship with father Herc (Max Martini) provides another emotional dimension to the proceedings.

The light relief of Charlie Day and Burn Gorman's exposition characters can get a bit wearing, especially as Day seems to operate on a permanently SHOUTY level, but they have a couple of funny moments between them and allows for a Ron Perlman appearance to boot. Kikuchi meanwhile is the character granted the biggest arc (though that's not saying much) as Mako Mori, an intriguing mix of vengeance and ambition. She's easily the best thing in the film and it's refreshing to see a female character not simply there just to facilitate the hero's development or just strip unexpectedly down to her pants.

Pacific Rim does not, however, have a convincing lead. Charlie Hunnam certainly looks the part and there are plenty of shirtless moments for girls and guys who are so inclined to have a cheeky gape at. But a well defined set of abs does not a leading man make. Lacking in the charisma that is usually mandatory for this kind of disgraced former genius pilot role, Hunnam is seemingly incapable of varying his line delivery and proves to be a bit of a vacuum at the centre of the film when he should have been the heart. It's also a shame that his relationship with Mako is never really developed, especially considering they are supposed to be mentally compatible enough to pilot Gipsy Danger. Nevertheless, the film does just enough to make sure that you care and it's the first film in a long time where they actually feel in genuine peril for at least the final act.

From the moment the first trailer punched its way on to the internet, Pacific Rim promised huge, bone-crunching action and it really delivers. The CGI used to create the Jaegers and the Kaiju is simply fantastic, a real testament to its quality in an age when all special effects are scrutinised heavily. Both adversaries move with a credible weight, making a visible impact on the locations even when they aren't smashing into buildings and bridges. The sequences are frenetic and largely, it's possible to discern what's happening, but there are occasions when the shots are badly lit or the camera moving at such a pace that it's best to just sit back and wait for the audio to let you know what's happening.

Despite these gripes, Pacific Rim is actually just a huge amount of fun from start to finish and for that reason, it gets away with having a less than stellar script, mostly one-note characters and the odd shaky-cam faux pas. It's a film that is just happy to be a loud, live-action cartoon of many a childhood fantasy and as someone who grew up watching Power Rangers, the action sequences here are what those episodes with the Megazord always promised but could never quite deliver. For that alone, I loved it.

****

- Becky

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TV REVIEW: Luther - Episode Three

Just as he finds a little romance and bromance in his life, Luther is faced with a vigilante, a man determined to exact his own justice as publicly as possible and the stakes get personal extremely quickly.

The episode begins in a typically Lutherian brutal fashion; two young people have been out with friends and romantically get together in the car on the way home. The happiness won't last though as the pair are attacked by a gang of hoodies, but a figure appears out of the dark with a sawn-off shotgun and blasts the ringleader away. Said figure is Tom Marwood (Elliot Cowan), a self-proclaimed vigilante killer out to make the criminal world pay for the horrific rape and murder of his wife. Luther (Idris Elba) gets on the case and, now reunited with Ripley (Warren Brown), must track down the killer before he strikes again.

The vigilante aspect of the killer makes for an intriguing change of pace from the previous two episodes in which the fetish killer was all about silence and taking his time in killing and arranging the bodies. In contrast, Marwood is loud, violent and most of all, in the public eye. It produces a different level of discomfort for the audience because the build-up this time isn't about where the killer is, but who he is going after and why. And in a canny use of the internet, Marwood captures his own audience and goes after the most public hate figures he can. It's viral violence, a vigilantism that garners support almost instantly.

Unlike previous killers, in which we automatically know they're completely in the wrong for murdering young women in their beds, the morality surrounding Marwood is immediately a nasty shade of grey. As Luther observes when the pair confront each other, it's not his motive that is wrong, it's his means. But this is also a sympathetic figure; the man lost his wife and was failed by the criminal justice system. He is also a man that will publicly hang people and therefore not to be approved of. The scene between Elba and Cowan was wonderfully constructed, facing each other across the canal bank, forming two sides of the argument with only the disparity of the gun between them.

The episode also takes a big step in the development of Luther as a character; he begins with Mary (Sienna Guillory) in his flat, he introduces Ripley is his friend and everything seems to be going swimmingly. But a happy Luther is not an interesting Luther and it's not long before it all goes to pot. From the minute that they decided it was a good idea to get the victim of a paedophile to plead for her tormentor's life in a live press conference, it was apparent it was all going to go completely wrong and poor, brave Ripley paid for it with his life.

Brown's performance in his final scene was just excellent, calmly refusing to let Cowan go and the moment packed an emotional, though not wholly unexpected punch. Structurally, the moment bore remarkable similarities to the death of Zoe Luther (Indira Varma) in the first series with Luther arriving too late and huddling over the body. It's clear it's going to have a massive impact on the character, losing his only friend to a vigilante who had previously only targeted criminals. It marks a massive shift for Luther over the course of the episode and psychologically speaking, he's never been the most stable. With the promised return of Alice (Ruth Wilson) next week (YAY), I'm hoping for a finale with the same amount of impact and drama as the one from the first series.

The only duff note in an otherwise strong episode is the continuation of the internal investigation into Luther's methods by the impossibly gruff-voiced Stark and the now morally conflicted Erin Gray. Quite why she thought this was a good idea to begin with when Stark is clearly deranged is never broached by the show, nor does it feel as if their inclusion is necessary now Ripley has confirmed that Luther hasn't done anything illegal. Their pursuit of Mary lacked any sort of impact because we don't know the character well enough - my criticism of this stands for the end of the episode too. I was still distraught about Ripley to worry about someone I met a couple of weeks ago. The 'whirlwind' speech was an excellent moment however.

What it does do, albeit in a rather oblique and unsuccessful way, is ask the question of what is going to happen to Luther now Ripley, his moral compass of sorts, is out of the picture. Will he go off the rails? Probably. Will he run off into the night with Alice before returning for the next series? Let's hope so.

- Becky

You can read Becky's review of Episode Two here.

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FEATURE: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Pack

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: This episode's fairly standalone so not much going into this one other than Xander has masculinity issues still with Buffy being around and Willow's crush on Xander continues to be unrequited.

Following a trip to Sunnydale Zoo (the first of many Sunnydale size inconsistencies*), Xander becomes possessed by the spirit of a hyena along with four of the school's meanest teens. They begin to stalk across campus like a pack, picking on the weak, feasting on the school mascot and laughing like loons at just about anything. They also get their very own badass slo-mo walk. Xander does his level best to fracture his relationship with Willow whilst going all sexual predator on Buffy, but Giles remains sceptical to say the least. However, when the new school mascot, Herbert the pig - sorry - Herbert the terrifying Razorback - is eaten, even Giles is forced to admit that something supernatural is going on. The gang manage to sort everything out, but not before Principal Flutie is erm... eaten.

The Pack explores the concept of bullying and does so rather well through the 'winged monkeys' as Buffy terms them, of Kyle, Rhonda, Tor and Heidi, four people who live to prey on the weak. The hyena laughing gets a bit wearing, but there's no doubt as to what message the writers, Matt Keine and Joe Reinkemeyer were going for, particularly in the Dodgeball scene. The animalistic nature is realised well in the way the possessed start cackling and in their physicality; there's also the neat moment in which they recognise instinctively that Buffy is too strong from them to take on and turn back to a previous victim. It also acts as a metaphor for the whole hormonal process that teenage boys tend to do go through as focalised by Xander, in which they become moody and just not fun to be around. Again, the metaphor isn't explored all that deeply and just offers a superficial circumstance which the characters must navigate, but it does lead to some great scenes.

Nicholas Brendon balances the joker and the predator in Xander well, completely transforming himself into the latter when required and the scene where he forces himself on Buffy makes for uncomfortable viewing. The star in this episode though is Alyson Hannigan, granted some meaty scenes in which to develop Willow beyond merely the lovesick sidekick. Beaten back by Xander's harsh words, Willow takes a lot in this episode, but then there is the scene between them in the library in which Willow manipulates Xander into revealing his true current mental state. It's like a practice run for the scene between Black Widow and Loki, but the lack of medieval English swearing means it doesn't quite pack the comic punch. It does deal a few emotional blows though and is a great insight into just how strong a character Willow is.

Thanks to the subject material, it's not one of the first season's funnier episodes and the focus is much more on the dramatic which Buffy has always excelled at. However, the denouement isn't perhaps as strong as it could be with a reveal that is easily foreseen. It's all a bit rushed and after the excellent action in the previous episode, just lacks a little of the thrill that has slowly started to creep in to Buffy's more violent moments. I did enjoy Giles getting knocked out though - is this the first time it happens in the series? It certainly won't be the last.

A largely solid episode then that is made much stronger by its focus on the character development as a result of the central metaphor, rather than the central metaphor itself. 

*Sunnydale rapidly goes from a 'one Starbucks town' to having its own zoo, a gazillion graveyards/churches and eventually its own university campus. Still only one nightclub though.

Next Time: Angel

Quote of the Week:

Giles: Xander has taken to teasing the less fortunate?
Buffy: Uh huh.
Giles: And there is a noticeable change in both clothing and demeanour?
Buffy: Yes.
Giles: And otherwise all his spare time is spent lounging about with imbeciles?
Buffy: It's bad isn't it?
Giles: It's devastating. Xander has turned into a 16 year-old boy. Course you'll have to kill him.

Let's Get Trivial: This is the first episode in which the library cage has been used to trap anyone; it'll get some use next season with Oz's transformations, as well as being used to trap members of the Scoobies by evil ne'er-do-wells. I should use that word more often.

Sunnydale Who's Who: Eion Bailey, who plays Kyle, is one of those character actors who seems to pop up just about everywhere; look out for him in Band of Brothers or more recently, Once Upon A Time (coincidentally, a project involving major Buffy contributor Jane Espenson).

- Becky

You can read Becky's look at previous episode, Never Kill a Boy on a First Date here.

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TV REVIEW: Luther - Episode Two

Following on from last week's nailbiting terror of an episode, Luther (Idris Elba) finds himself investigating the murder of the woman and her husband and attempting to track down the fetish killer before he strikes again. He also had a successful date with Mary Day (Sienna Guillory), though spends most of the episode trying to get back in touch with her. DS Ripley (Warren Brown) is still working with DCI Erin Gray (Nikki Amuka-Bird) and DSU Stark (David O'Hara) to bring down Luther by observing his unorthodox methods and reporting back to the pair of solemn investigators. Ripley is also trying to wrap up the murder of Jared Cass on his own whilst Luther busies himself with the other killer.

Anyone worried that the second episode of Luther couldn't live up to the sheer thriller that was the opening needn't have bothered. The same tension was not present at the beginning of the episode but writer Neil Cross and director Sam Miller kept up the chilling atmosphere throughout before ramping it up to near-unbearable levels once again as we followed the two nurses around their home, knowing that the killer was in there. Miller is an assured hand and let the lengthy POV shots speak for themselves, lingering on the victims and teasing the audience for what seemed like an age before the killer reveal. 

The link back to the previous cases proved to be an interesting development and the scenes between the fetish killer and cancer-suffering murderer William Carney (Ned Dennehy) were creepy to say the least. It also leant an interesting development to Paul Ellis, the killer, and rather than being the silent absolute of a serial killer, the audience was granted an insight into his past as well as his current life. Clearly we are never meant to empathise with him (the dependence on murdering women in their homes puts paid to that), but it is always refreshing to find villains presented as multi-dimensional characters too, building into the believability of Luther's already heightened version of reality. 

Elba is, as ever, the dependable centre of the show, brings such presence to Luther; he's the strong centre of the show, yet, as evidenced here, that comes with a certain level of self-doubt. His relationship with Ripley has been the one constant throughout the three series and watching it fracture in last week's episode was an odd development, as I discussed previously. However, it seems that my fears were unfounded as Ripley, recorded on a dictaphone, gave an impassioned defence of his boss. Elba's performance in this particular scene was wonderfully understated and his sense of relief is palpable. 

Speaking of Ripley, Warren Brown's performance over the last two episodes has been excellent, particularly in this instalment as he faces pressure to wrap up the Jared Cass murder as well as rat on his boss. His scenes with Lucian Msamati as the grieving and now one-handed Mr Barnaby were the calmest moments in the episode, yet imbued with that same sense of dread. It takes someone very special to be able to deliver a line like "your hand is now with our forensics team" and not even blink. 

Elsewhere in the episode, we also had the developing romance between Luther and Mary, who thankfully toned down the Manic Pixie Dream Girl aspect of her character this week, just enough for me to start liking her. However, it is also looking likely that she has something to do with the vendetta that is keeping our DCU Stark so dogged on the trail for Luther. The women in Luther's life are always an interesting study, though it seems we've finally escaped the shadow of his deceased wife Zoe. I'm still rooting for Alice to appear though because Mary may be lovely, but there is nothing like the chemistry between Elba and Ruth Wilson.

- Becky

You can read Becky's review of Luther's first episode here.

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FEATURE: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Never Kill A Boy On A First Date

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy has largely been getting the life-slayage ratio right recently, Xander's crush on Buffy continues whilst Angel has been lurking in the shadows.

Never Kill A Boy On A First Date not only has one of the best episode titles of the entire series, it also happens to be one of my favourite episodes for Season One; it's an episode in which the humour hits some really great highs, it captures the awkwardness of teen dating whilst also dealing with a prophecy.  The episode opens with one of Buffy's prophetic dreams which turns out to herald the arrival of the Anointed One, a key figure for the rest of the season. However, Buffy sets her sights on local heartthrob Owen and decides that dating him is much more important than a prophecy which may or may not come true. Alas, come true it does and Buffy finds herself at the Sunnydale funeral home with Owen, Xander, Willow and Giles in tow and a monologuing vampire to stop.

It's not the strongest episode in terms of the overarching plot despite its links to the Master narrative. We've not yet learnt the importance of the Anointed One (in fact, I don't think we do until the season finale) so there's no real reason to become invested in whether Buffy kills him or not. However, I'd argue it's a very important episode for the development of Buffy herself and particularly her relationship with Giles. Before this, Giles functions as exposition, giving us the lowdown on the feature creature, but here he starts to move into his role as Buffy's father figure. His pep talk at the end is the first of many and also one of the sweetest as he doesn't so much lecture Buffy on duty and sacrifice, but merely hints at it and lets her do the rest.

This is also a very funny episode on a lot of levels; Cordelia and Buffy verbally sparring never gets old, but here there is the added tension of both Own and Angel in the mix. Charisma Carpenter's face when she sees Angel for the first time and then her reaction upon his walking over to Buffy are both priceless. The standout is guest star Christopher Wiehl as the object of Buffy's affections, Owen, a tall sensitive type with a penchant for Emily Dickinson and living a staid life. He is gifted some cracking lines throughout the episode and delivers them with the right timing and sense of bewilderment. We also get the sight of Angel's jealousy for the first time when he discovers Buffy's dating; Boreanaz is still finding his feet with the character but Angel's envy is always the stuff of laughter.

Sadly, the villain isn't wholly memorable and the trope of the religious-text spouting vampire was already worn out with the Master in the first episode. Still, I enjoy the fight sequence in the morgue at the and the build-up to it is suitably atmospheric. The episode also manages a decent twist which took me completely by surprise the first time I saw it; the Anointed One is the creepy child we saw on the bus at the beginning of the episode. Whilst he is yet to go all Omen on us, the Anointed One still glowers with a believable horror and moves us ever closer to the season's big finale.

No it may not be of the highest quality, but I do really love this episode. It's the first episode that starts to hint at the jump in quality we'll see when we get to the second season, particularly when it comes to the developing relationships of the Scooby Gang.

Next Time: The Pack

Quote of the Day: Buffy - "If the apocalypse comes, beep me." (Well, it had to be didn't it?)

- Becky

You can read Becky's look at Teacher's Pet here.

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FEATURE FRIDAY: Man of Steel - A Wasted Opportunity

Today's Feature Friday is a guest post from The Wide Eye writer Alex Blott who recently went to see Man of Steel and had some thoughts to share for us here at Assorted Buffery. Major spoilers throughout.

If you're looking for a fan's review of Man of Steel then turn away now. As far as prior knowledge goes I'm a Marvel man through and through, so I brought very little fan knowledge to the film. I didn't even know that 'Pa' Clark is to Superman what Uncle Ben is to Spiderman. Regardless, I was excited when I saw the first Man of Steel trailer. It looked great, with traces of Tree of Life in the camera work, and I thought that perhaps where Batman had gone the way of shadows Superman would paint an optimistic and uplifting picture for its audience. These two opposites could then be pitted interestingly with one another in the inevitable Justice League. Unfortunately, and perhaps predictably, that is not the case.

I'll start with what I liked: I saw this film at the IMAX and it looks GOOD. The set and costume design is great and there are some genuinely beautiful shots. Unfortunately, as I'll cover later, the film's 3D gets in the way of that. I know it largely goes without saying at the moment, but avoid this film in 3D. I won't say avoid this film altogether because this is the POSITIVE section. My second bit of praise for this film is that the scene where Clark Kent first dons his costume and learns to fly is pretty spectacular. The whole thing is handled very well and captures the euphoria any one of us would feel upon realising we can break the sound barrier. Unfortunately by the end of the film we've seen Superman fly into/out of so many things that the sense of spectacle is largely lost. There are elements of a good film in Man of Steel, but they are few and far between and what's wrapped around these moments is deeply disappointing.

Here endeth my limited positivity.

Lets begin with Pa Kent. Costner plays a man afraid of what the world will do if Clark was revealed as the alien he really is. There's an interesting story there but its not really explored. Instead the idiot Pa decides to tell his son off for saving a bus full of children. There's no, 'you should be more discreet Clark.' or 'We need to be careful now.' Instead he just tells a child that he should have let these kids die. Yeah sure it made for an interesting line in the trailer, but there's no depth to what he's doing in the actual film, he's just an annoying obstacle. And his death scene, which is so clearly designed to tug at heart strings but falls so laughably short, only succeeded in frustrating myself and the others who saw it. Not to mention turning Clark into a brooding 'Man of Feels' for a large section of the film. Perhaps if he'd only taken some time to pause at one of the many IHOPs he exploded through in one of the films fight scenes, and grabbed something from their fantastic menu then he might have cheered up a bit sooner. There are a lot of IHOPs in this film, and Nokias are apparently incredibly popular in Metropolis city; the product placement is frankly out of control to the point of being distracting. I understand that films need to get their money from somewhere and sponsorship is a great way to do that, but the way that several big brands are all regularly splashed across the screen is pretty ridiculous. I'm frankly surprised Superman didn't buy his suit off the rack in Sears.

I mentioned earlier that the film is visually impressive, and it is, someone put in a lot of hard work and produced some beautifully detailed work. I'm a big fan of the new suit and when Jor-El explains the history of the Kryptonian race there are some interesting visuals. Superman's dream of what will happen to Earth if Zod is successful is compelling as well and our introduction to Krypton at the beginning of the film was a treat for the eyes. Unfortunately a lot of these treats were spoiled for me by the 3D, which made the otherwise beautifully rendered backdrops too blurry to appreciate as the camera swung around and over them. Worse were the static shots where the background was completely out of focus (I assume this was a side effect of the 3D and not just a poor choice by Snyder.) Most of the visuals which I love are restricted to the first half of the film however, after which the film reverts to CGI landscape type for Superman to be thrown/throw others through. And he gets thrown through a LOT of things, it's been said a lot so I won't dwell on it, but you'd think Superman would think to fight people a little further away from a city so filled to the brim with people it's named Metropolis. Disregarding the damage done by the Superbattles, the fight scenes themselves left me feeling somewhat bored. The early fight scenes had some variety to them but in the end there was little in terms of interesting combat. With the exception of his brief, but exciting, bout with Zod's second in command, superman's big fights normally consist of him making holes in several buildings at once. This is perhaps a problem presented by Superman as a character, he's pretty much unkillable, so it's hard to have him go toe to toe with anyone and make it interesting. As I understand it some of the best Superman comics pit him against a hugely intelligent opponent who can negate or take advantage of his powers through cunning, and I saw none of that in this film.

Finally, the greatest source of frustration for me was how shallow the whole thing felt. There is plenty of laughable, on the nose dialogue to choose from in this movie. The most notable of which for me was an American general summing up what had already been said by the actions of those around him: "This man is not our enemy." You think, Chief? It all felt clunky to me, and worse than that, serious emotional moments fall completely flat because they haven't been built on enough, if at all. There's a whole separate story thread in the final third of the film which puts the staff of the Daily Planet (themselves an impressive collection of talented actors) in mortal peril. And I didn't care because I hadn't spent enough time with them to even think of them as their characters rather than Morpheus and that guy from House of Cards. Laurence Fishburne is stood there, desperately tugging at some rubble to save his co-workers life and I can't even remember her name or what she does. I don't know if there's a whole other storyline sitting on the cutting room floor or if they just had to give these actors a certain amount of face time to get them on board, but there just wasn't enough there to make it compelling. On top of that, the Superman/Lois Lane romance was so completely undeveloped that the final kiss was honestly a little ridiculous, especially peppered as it was with cheesy one liners. There hasn't been so much as a flirtation between these two throughout the film and then suddenly, sloppy make-outs. Pair this with several false endings and I was getting pretty fed up by the end of the film. What could have been at least a huge finale was blunted and dragged out. The same can be said for Clark's childhood, which is chopped up and fed to us piecemeal in tandem with the moments which it is meant to resonate with. Superman needs to step up and help the people of earth? Here's a clip of his father explaining why he can't. Lois asking Clark to reveal himself to the world? Here's a clip showing his father dying to save him from doing so. It's as though the film makers don't trust the audience to get there on their own, and as a result they neuter the film.

I wouldn't say I had high hopes for Superman, but I was interested to see what they were going to do with it. This film was really Superman's chance to convert me into a fan and I think that's my biggest disappointment with it. I was so excited by what the early trailers promised only to be disappointed by the complete work. Hopefully those involved will understand this and take action before the second film comes out. Having seen it I think that there is something there, that much is obvious just when you consider the popularity of Superman as a character. But I think that the franchise really has to be put into the hands of a fanatic, someone who knows about what it means to be Superman, and knows how to challenge him on a level deeper than strength. I do wonder if perhaps a successful Superman film doesn't need to go smaller before it goes big. And I'm not sure that's what we'll get if the current film makers stay on for the next one. 

- Alex

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TV REVIEW: Supernatural - Episodes One and Two

Supernatural's eighth season returns to Sky Living in the UK. It appears they'll be double-billing the episodes so I shall take a look at both each week in these reviews. So are you ready for the return of the Winchesters?

We Need To Talk About Kevin

Dean (Jensen Ackles) dies a lot. We have seen him die plenty of times before and at the end of last season, we saw it again as he got zapped into Purgatory with exploding Dick, the previous Big Bad. And we knew the series had been renewed for a new season so it was fair to say that Jensen Ackles would return. Return he did, escaping from Purgatory, but not without his usual gruff demeanour worsened by his time spent being hunted down in the big forest. Meanwhile, Sam (Jared Padalecki) has been living the domestic life complete with girlfriend and dog, but drops everything to return to his brother once he knows he is alive.

As season openers go, it's not the strongest from Supernatural, lacking a spark and forward momentum that really could kick it off with a bang. It does set up the big plot drive for the season, the Word of God that could seal all demons in hell for eternity and thus putting the brothers out of a large part of their job.  Their reunion is always a good moment, but the two have been split from each other by death/disappearance so often that it doesn't have the same impact it once did when the show was under constant threat of cancellation. In recent years, this has abated so it no longer carries the same weight it once did. 

That being said, it's not a bad episode; we get a few flashbacks for each of the boys from the previous year, setting up the central conflict between the brothers as they head back out on the road. We also get a nice Dean-related travelling montage to the strains of Styx's Man in the Wilderness harking back to the show's classic rock roots that seem to become increasingly rare though still great when they crop up (the brothers' rendition of Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive is one of the show's finest character moments). It's also a welcome return for prophet Kevin (Osric Chau) who proves that he's learnt a fair amount in his time on his own. 

And then there's Crowley, one of the best villains on television performed with glee by Mark Sheppard. He's as much a part of the Supernatural landscape now as Castiel is or Bobby was and it's always a thrill to see his name appear for an episode. Still in position as the King of Hell following the entrapment of the Devil, Crowley dogs the brothers' steps all the way and performs some pretty horrific acts in this episode, mainly killing Kevin's girlfriend as he drives away. 

We Need To Talk About Kevin provides a strong foundation for the rest of the season but sadly it is little more than that. There are a few good small moments like Dean's reunion with a burger and his reaction to finding out there had been a dog in the Impala, but it lacked a little of that spark that usually makes Supernatural so watchable.


What's Up Tiger Mommy?

Kevin is now in the company of the Brothers Winchester but keen to find out how his mother is after running away from her more than a year ago. Reluctantly Sam and Dean agree to swing by his house to check on her before running into a demon guarding party. Linda Tran (Lauren Tom) ends up going on the run too, proving to be more than a match for the brothers' lifestyle - the tattoo line was fantastic, particularly Dean's reaction to it. However, the tablet is in the hands of the god Plutus and about to go to auction in which Crowley is also a bidder.

Now this episode is more like; building on the first episode's tablet storyline, it's a reunion of the Trans and Lauren Tom is the standout in this instalment. Linda Tran is not a mum you want to mess with as she helps the Winchesters track down the tablet with her son. Encompassing everything that a parent should be - unexpected, embarrassing and fiercely protective - Tom's performance is the heart of this episode and makes the sad conclusion just that little bit more heartbreaking.

Elsewhere in the episode, I really loved the auction aspect of the show, complete with the odd bargaining chips and protective spells. It all adds to the world of Supernatural, particularly the return of other gods who have been plaguing the brothers for a while. There were also some neat icky moments, particularly the cold open in which a poor girl was butchered in a bank. 

We also got to see some more flashbacks about the two brothers, including what may have happened to Castiel in a brief moment. With Dean still sniping at Sam for leaving Kevin and hunting behind, there's a fair amount of tension between the brothers which could get worse if it transpires that Dean had something to do with the angel's demise. I just hope it doesn't become the defining dynamic between the brothers; they work much better as characters when getting on with each other. That's where the comedy comes from and the entertainment.

Two solid opening episodes then for the Winchesters and co. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Castiel narrative develops, but by the looks of things, we're back to monster of the week episodes next time so we may see the main narrative arcs put hold on for a bit. But that's ok, it means we just get to see more of the Impala.

- Becky

You can read Becky's Feature Friday on Supernatural here.

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FEATURE: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Teacher's Pet

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy is now settled into school, but her arrival has had an impact on insecure Xander who is struggling with both a crush on his friend and his own neuroses.

Teacher's Pet focuses in on Slayerette Xander to provide a little bit of character development on what has been a mostly comic relief role so far. Opening with a dream in which he heroically saves Buffy from a vampire before performing a killer guitar solo on stage at The Bronze, it's clear Xander's having a little masculinity crisis now Buffy is around. Sadly, he awakes during biology class and is forced back into reality, particularly when the biology teacher turns up dead. Thankfully, substitute teacher Miss French is there to step in with her winning smile and predatorial shoulder pads to help cover biology and give Xander a sense of sexual prowess. Well, at least for a second.

The student/teacher fantasy has long been a staple of teenage boys on screen, particularly in the 90s by the looks of things. It also crops up on the first season of Dawson's Creek (which appeared on the same network as Buffy) with Pacey and his English teacher so there was clearly something in the water back then, though that storyline lacked decapitation. Having never been a teenage boy, I can't speak from experience but television tells me it is so and therefore it must be true. Buffy tackles this by taking the victim/predator dynamic to the extremes because it turns out that Miss French is just a great big bug. The episode sends up just about every cliche associated with this narrative; the awkward meetings in classrooms, the self-delusion and the convenient meeting at the teacher's home.

It leads to some amusing moments, particularly when Xander is trying desperately to be cool in the face of teasing jock Blaine, who maintains the illusion that he has a sexual history to rival Don Juan. However, there isn't a whole lot going for this episode outside of that. It's nice to spend some time with Xander and learn a bit more about him as a character (including middle name Lavelle), but other than that, the episode is definitely not one of the most memorable aside from setting up Xander's character traits.

The budget clearly went on recreating a giant praying mantis for this episode because both episodes we see staked don't dust but hit the ground with a thump, upsetting the show's continuity slightly; even if they dust off screen, we usually hear it. Also, notice the stake in Xander's dream which isn't so much aiming for the heart as it is the appendix.  I'm nitpicking yes, but for a show that develops a very specific mythology and usually has an eye for detail, it just smacks a little of carelessness. 

But seriously, guys, check out all the velvet clothing! Possibly one of the most 90s episodes of the first season's run, this episode features some classic shiny, soft jumpers worn by both Xander and this week's bait Blaine. Willow also gets a look in on the velvety action at The Bronze whilst Buffy opts for a 60s style mini-dress and Angel's leather jacket. Yes, the hulking Cryptic Guy shows up again this week in a flattering vest and said jacket combo warning Buffy about a Fork Guy and sporting three not-so-flattering wounds on his arm.

Angel and Buffy's relationship is developing slowly in the background of the episodes and though interaction is slight so far, Boreanaz and Gellar's chemistry already sparks. Likewise, the ensemble dynamics between the four main characters is great and I really enjoy revisiting the earlier library scenes in which Giles is hilariously technophobic, Buffy actually does some homework (though doesn't know how to find books) and Willow displays some early computer hacking skills. The research scenes will quickly become the staple of a Buffy episode and it's fun to see the trope developing.

Like Witch, Teacher's Pet is mostly a filler episode, a monster of the week that doesn't really further the season beyond developing Xander's character a little more, but it's just a tad too silly to be wholly memorable.

Next Time: Never Kill a Boy on a First Date

Quote of the Day: Xander - "I wonder what she sees in me? It's probably the quiet good looks coupled with a certain smoky magnetism"

Sunnydale Who's Who: Natalie French is played by Musetta Vander who also appeared as a Siren in O Brother Where Art Thou? She clearly has a penchant for luring males to their doom.

- Becky

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TV REVIEW: Luther - Episode One

Luther returns to our screens, two years after the last series aired, walking out of a burning building dragging a suspect behind him, not even stopping to pause as an explosions rips through the doorway he has just moved away from. Of course he does. It's a great opening for one of the gruffest detectives around and a welcome return for Idris Elba in the role. Neil Cross' series about the titular police man with a dark and tortured past has never been anything but gripping and whilst the change in format for the second series didn't quite match up to the brilliance of the first, it remains here. The current run is four episodes consisting of a pair of two-parters, allowing for some lengthy character development and also, some nasty, nasty crimes.

Heading up the Serious and Serial Crime unit, you always know the criminals in Luther aren't going the of the fluffy bunny variety and so it proves again. Tell me, did you check underneath your bed last night and make sure all the doors and windows were locked? I certainly did, because those two murders in last night's episode were terrifying. A testament to Sam Miller's direction, the first sequence with Emily Hammond was torturously slow and took place in complete silence before some screeching strings that frightened the life out of me as the fetishistic murderer's head popped out from underneath the bed. I already knew he was there thanks to the long, lingering shot of Emily's feet from under the sheet, at which point I was already shouting at the television telling a fictional character to get out of their house (Luther does this to me).

The suspense didn't end there though and the playing with horror conventions worked really well throughout the episode to ramp up the tension to the point of it being almost unbearable. This was particularly effective with the closing murder scenes of the episode, playing like a house invaders narrative, albeit with less build up than something like The Strangers. The murderer again hiding in the house, though this time in plain sight under a dust sheet in the attack. Again, Miller takes his time with the set up, allowing the husband to get perilously close in near silence before the murderer struck loudly and violently. This was another shouting at the television moment, I'm not ashamed to admit. 

One aspect that Luther has always handled well is the multiple strands to each story that is presented. Whilst Luther and the ever-dependable Ripley (Warren Brown) were investigating the Hammond murder, they were also given the murder of Jared Cass, an internet troll and now part of a post-mortem graffiti exhibition. This led to one of the finest scenes in the episode as the pair were led to the Barnaby family, whose daughter had been killed and later defiled on the internet by Cass. Lucian Msamati's grieving father was heartbreaking to watch and made even more painful by Luther's decision to warn him obliquely that they knew he was the killer. As the blender was plugged into the wall, I hid behind a cushion and shouting at the television once again. This episode put me through the wringer.

However there was another plot strand that didn't work, or at least wasn't allowed the time to develop that it perhaps should have been. With the antagonising DCI Erin Gray (Nikki Amuka-Bird) returning with a big ole grudge for Luther and hiring an unhinged DCU Stark to work the corruption charge she's just been dying to hit Luther with. They do this by recruiting Ripley to their cause. Yes, the same Ripley that risked his career and life back in the first series because he believed that Luther hadn't been the one to kill Zoe. The same Ripley that has been by Luther's side loyally for a huge amount of time. Apparently, all it took to turn him was a bit of casual strangulation. 

Now Ripley has always been Luther's moral compass of sorts, tasked with reining him in when the DCI gets a bit violent or unhinged and I can understand that that would take its toll on a person. Yet it was unbelievable in such a short space of time, with little to no development leading into it. It's a character moment that jarred and whilst Brown has performed excellently, I can't help but feel this could be a bit of a bum note in the series, designed to add yet another menace to Luther's progression. On a positive note though, the interaction between Elba and Brown in the scenes where their relationship starts to fracture was deftly handled with just a couple of quick glances to let you know of Luther's suspicion or Ripley's shifty attitude. It just could have done with some more build-up.

Finally, in amongst all this death and tension, there was also a nice bit of light relief as Luther met someone who was labelled 'love interest' from the moment her bumper clashed with our detective's old banger (not a euphemism). Sienna Guillory's Mary Day emerged from her car (told you it wasn't a euphemism) in a slightly Manic Pixie Dream Girl-ish way, but I won't hold that against her just yet as I liked her scenes with Luther. A nice bit of banter between the two about his name, which also provided some neat character analysis, was a welcome break from the episode's darker moments.

I can't be the only who is missing Alice already though right?

- Becky

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TV REVIEW: Dates - Week 3: Episodes 6 & 7

Moving on to Episodes 6 and 7 of Channel 4’s latest Brian Elsley creation, Dates, and we’re beginning to see some elements of character development and dramatic justice. This will presumably bring us rather nicely up to the final shows. I mean dates.

Episode 6 took us off once again for dinner with Erica (Gemma Chan).  This time, however, having admitted her sexuality to her brother, she has been packed off on a date with a man by the name of Callum (Greg McHugh). Loutish, arrogant, opinionated and seemingly not the sharpest knife in the cutlery drawer, their Chinese restaurant meeting gets off to a bad start. His constant referrals to the Chinese restaurant staff as ‘these people’ doesn’t exactly help matters, and that’s before you even consider the fact that Erica doesn’t actually fancy men. As we’ve by now come to expect from the series, though, a bad start to a date does not necessarily mean a bad end. And, sure enough, surprisingly understanding about Erica’s situation as he is, Callum teaches her how to stand up for herself a little more. Thus, as with Episode 5’s date with David and Ellie, an odd sort of friendship emerges.

Episode 7 was a little more unusual, not quite following the format of previous storylines. Stephen (Ben Chaplin) took centre stage once more, as he waited for Mia (Oona Chaplin) to join him at a swanky hotel penthouse for what the Buffery team can only assume to be a jolly good game of Scrabble. It soon becomes clear, however, that Mia has changed her mind, and won’t be turning up after all. This throws the slightly controlling Stephen off guard, causing him to gatecrash the hotel’s conference in search of ‘an adventure’. He finds precisely that adventure with an attractive stranger, getting up to all sorts of hijinks in an attempt to forget about the beautiful Mia. Smarmy and selfish character that he is, though, he doesn’t entirely get his own way. In fact, she gives him rather a run for his money.

These were two sharply contrasting episodes, with the first showing a stronger side to one recurring character, whilst the second showed the weaker, sleazier side of another. The developing friendship between the stereotypically meek Chinese girl and loud Scot in Episode 6 was heartwarming and touching to watch, as it was clear both were gaining genuine life lessons from the other’s company. Episode 7 mainly served to re-cast would be lothario Stephen in a less favourable light than before, perhaps giving us a useful insight into the reasons behind Mia’s decision.

Both episodes, however, reflected the fact that by now we’ve come to like the show’s recurring characters, and are emotionally invested in their stories and futures.

Tonight’s episode sees Jenny (Sheridan Smith) give dating one more try as she meets Christian (Andrew Scott). 

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dates

Jen                                                                     

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