FEATURE: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Halloween

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spike has arrived in town with a determination to kill the Slayer, Cordelia is still vying for Angel's affections and the Scoobies have various issues of their own to contend with.

Halloween finds the gang forced into taking around groups of children on a trick-or-treating mission around Sunnydale and having to dress up too, they get their costumes from a new shop in town, Ethan's. Setting up one of the best minor running gags in the series, Buffy mournfully observes that this was supposed to be her night off as demons and vampires don't really go in for Halloween though assumes it will still be a quiet night. However, Ethan turns out to have other plans, casting a spell that sees his customers transform into the costumes that they are wearing. Spike catches wind of this and spies an opportunity for mischief.

In last week's review, I did give you an advanced warning that there would be much enthusiasm in this post because Halloween is one of my favourite episodes, possibly number one on that list (which I'm sure will appear here one day). It was one of the first episodes I possessed on VHS and whilst I was still struggling with parental approval/sneaking into the lounge to watch episodes on BBC2 when my parents didn't realise, I watched Halloween a lot. And for me, it typifies everything that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is about; there's empowerment in there (for both genders), witty, endlessly quotable dialogue and a plot hinged on such a simple yet intelligent plot. What happens when you get to be someone else for a night?

I'm a sucker for episodes in series that upset the status quo, placing characters in situations they never usually find themselves in or completely changing who the character is in the first place, as in Halloween. And what dawned on me this time was that Halloween isn't just a throwaway monster-of-the-week, but an episode that is crucial for the development of the characters, particularly the central four of Buffy, Xander, Giles and Willow. Played by the late, great Robin Sachs, Ethan Rayne becomes one of Buffy's best sporadic villains; each episode he appears in advances the show in some way, be it character or revelations. He's also a writer's dream character because he literally worships chaos which means pretty much anything could happen once he shows up. In this case, it's a manifestation of 'be careful what you wish for' that sees Buffy, Xander and Willow become the costumes they wear for Halloween, a 17th century noblewoman, a soldier and a ghost respectively. 

First of all, Buffy who is suffering from major longing to be someone else after spying Cordelia drooling over Angel in The Bronze. She's not confident in herself, that she could be the type of girl that Angel would like. After sneaking a look at Giles' secret Watcher Diaries, Willow and Buffy see the kind of girl from Angel's time and when the opportunity arises for Buffy to dress up as someone equally 'coiffed', she takes it. Therefore when Ethan's spell takes hold, she becomes completely helpless and forgets all of her usual violent tendencies. Sarah Michelle Gellar clearly has a ball playing this version of Buffy who says things like "I want the man with a musket" and screams 'a demon!' at passing cars. Not only does it completely subvert everything that Buffy is, it also makes her realise that actually, she's ok with being the girl who thinks about beheadings and ambush tactics, even if it does mean a bad hair day once in a while. In short, she finds the confidence to be herself, something which is affirmed by Angel at the end of the episode.

For Xander, issues of masculinity and confidence in the face of Buffy's superiority has been an internal conflict from the very beginning. It flares up again here after Buffy takes down Larry after he picks on Xander. Naturally, Xander goes off in a huff and picks the most masculine costume he can think of, a soldier, and whilst in this guise he gets to rescue the girls and beat up Larry. It's at this point his future relationship with Cordelia is hinted towards and his strength of relationship with Willow is affirmed. Not because he's become more manly, but because he has become more confident in himself. It won't be the first time that Xander goes through this crisis and it is a series long journey to realising that he is the supportive role of the group, the watcher in all but name. This soldier trip is just the beginning of that. He also gets some crucial military knowledge which stands him apart from the rest of the gang and gives him something unique to contribute, calling on this when necessary for the rest of the series.

However, in this episode, it's perhaps Willow and Giles who undergo the biggest changes, the ones who will develop most as a result of the unmasking that takes place. Character development for Giles hasn't really existed up until now, something which didn't really occur to me until rewatching these early episodes. Not a huge amount is known about Buffy's watcher aside from his sense of responsibility towards his role and towards Buffy herself. Ethan constantly stands as a symbol of what Giles could have become had Ripper been the identity he took into adulthood, rather than of Watcher. His arrival in Sunnydale kickstarts revelations about Giles' past, particularly about the darkness of the character that hasn't really been seen up until now. Rather than being beaten up, it is Giles inflicting the violence, Giles going to extraordinary lengths to protect Buffy and her friends. The character will go much darker in the future (The Gift anyone?), but this is the first time that we as an audience get to see any of that.

Willow's future darkness isn't at all apparent yet, rather, like the other teenage characters, this is about her finding the confidence to be herself. Buffy and Willow's friendship feels at its most real here, their conversations about Buffy's relationship woes and Willow's confidence issues ring true for anyone who happens to have been a teenage girl. Buffy would never succeed in getting Willow to dress sexy, despite her persuading skills, as Willow doesn't see herself in that way. Her self-image is manifested in her costume, a ghost, incorporeal and inconsequential. However, the events of the episode force her to take on the leadership role usually reserved for Buffy in the sexy clothes that she previously rejects wearing (though with no reason to worry - look at those abs!). When she returns to herself at the end of the episode, she throws off the costume and strides across the street, completely comfortable in her body and once again catches Oz's eye. If you ever doubted, Willow is awesome and well on the way to discovering that for herself.

Even with all of this going on, Halloween is just a massively fun episode with a wicked sense of humour. Note Cordelia's costume for example; she's a cat and catty with it, insulting everyone she can and in this episode, she offers a distinct contrast to the three who do change with their costumes. On a symbolic level, Cordelia doesn't need to transform into anything else because she's completely comfortable in her own skin. Elsewhere, Spike gets some cool moments; 'Well this is just... neat." Then there's the various expressions that David Boreanaz gets to pull as he reacts to the double whammy of the amorous Cordelia and the helpless Buffy.

The only minor problem with the episode, and it is minor, is the convenience of the ending, which does feel a little over-egged. This is particularly the case with how long it takes Spike to gets to Buffy's neck once he has her pinned down. Although killing Slayers is a big thing for Spike so it makes sense he would take his time, it does get a bit silly towards the end as Giles takes an equally long time to smash the statue and end the spell. It's also odd that Buffy actually lets Spike just run off without even attempting to pursue. Though I suppose with that dress, sprinting was probably going to be an issue. And the episode was never really about the battle with Spike anyway, it's about the battle each character has with themselves.

After the disappointment that was Reptile Boy last week, I'm really happy that Halloween was every bit as good as I remembered it to be and so much more besides. Not to mention the excellent timing of getting this post out to you all actually on the 31st October. 

Happy Halloween everyone! Be seeing you.

Next Time: Lie To Me

Quote of the Week: Buffy - "You know what? It's good to be me."

Inventive Kill: Buffy stakes a vamp with a Joe's Pumpkin Patch scene. Even Spike comments on her resourcefulness.

Demonology 101: This is just to say how cute are those mini-demons?!

Sunnydale Who's Who: Larry is played by Larry Bagby III who you may also recognise from Halloween classic Hocus Pocus in which he also played a teenage bully, four years prior to his appearance in Buffy. Tubular. 

- Becky

You can read Becky's look back at Reptile Boy here.

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TV REVIEW: Atlantis - White Lies

This week, Ariadne receives a message from her exiled brother and asks for Jason's help to find him before Pasiphae finds out that he still lives.

A messenger breaks into the palace in Atlantis and delivers word to Ariadne of her exiled brother Therus (Darwin Shaw). The messenger is caught and reveals his mission to Pasiphae who promptly charges her co-conspirator Heptarian to track Therus down as he could reveal something about his exile that would shake the foundations of the royal family. Ariadne employs Jason, Pythagorus and Hercules to help get her to her brother and must choose where her loyalties lie. And there's a subplot about a racing beetle. I kid you not.

The royal family have been a rather distant element to Atlantis so far; Ariadne has been there to glance alluringly at Jason, Pasiphae plots evilly in a corner and Minos gets to be imperious. So, therefore, it's about time that we get an episode devoted to them, even if it is only to confirm what we already knew in terms of Pasiphae's scheming. Sarah Parish once again gives a grand performance and her scene with Juliet Stevenson's Oracle was just about the best thing Atlantis has done. The romantic plot between Ariadne and Jason was also quite sweet too, finally giving the two actors a chance to actually do something with their respective roles. In fact, Jason even got to do some emoting and talking, two things he's not done a whole lot of in between all the slow-motion fighting.

Yes, Slow Motion Jason didn't actually appear in any great prominence this week which was mightily refreshing. Although his back story (ie. time travel, dead father) seems to have entirely disappeared from the realm of his concern for a while now which seems a tad strange, this episode did much more than any other to endear me to the character. He's not interesting yet, but at least his attempt to clean up the table and subsequent awkward conversations with Ariadne were rather amusing and showed he's more than just an action man. In fact, his only action sequence was a tad disappointing as it took place almost entirely in the dark and with both Shaw and Jack Donnelly possessing curly dark hair, it was impossible to tell who was who. Still, that was only a minor problem in the scheme of things.

Speaking of other problems, the intrusive score does little to ramp up the tension and there were several points where the woman wailing over the percussion sounded like she was in so much pain that I wanted the episode to switch and help her instead. That's nothing though compared to the bloody beetle plotline which drained away any enthusiasm that was building for this episode. Why the writers keep insisting on including this ridiculous humour is beyond me. I'm aware that it is a family show but they also have the responsibility to tell a good story and that will capture children's imagination too. That should be where the focus lies, not in whatever Hercules is doing to make an idiot of himself. I don't know about anyone else, but I just kept wanting to shout STOP TALKING ABOUT THE BEETLE.

An episode that promises all the elements that make up Greek tragedy; family secrets, subsequent squabbles and a bit of bloodshed, White Lies takes steps to give us a tense mystery around the exile of the Prince Therus. It doesn't quite manage it but it is a much better episode than last week's nightmare. However, the plot with the beetle was just ridiculous.

- Becky

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

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TV REVIEW: The Paradise - Episode One

Just over a year since it first premiered on BBC One, with all its lovely frocks, beards and mix of Scottish and North East accents, finally, FINALLY The Paradise is back. I know, I know, they kept us (me) waiting far too long. (Alright, it hasn't actually been all that long, but I'm still very excited).

As we re-join John Moray (Emun Elliot)’s lavish department store around a year later in real time, the man himself is distinctly absent, having been banished from the country by his now deceased landlord, Lord Glendenning (Patrick Malahide). Old flame Katherine Glendenning has inherited the shop, co-owning it with her new husband Tom Weston (Ben Daniels), leaving Miss Audrey (Sarah Lancashire) and Mr Dudley (Matthew McNulty) to run the show in their boss’ absence. Denise (Joanna Vanderham) is missing Moray rather a lot, but isn’t too sure where their relationship could be headed. In the meantime, she and old rival Clara (Sonya Cassidy) have become firm friends, and have been joined by new characters Susy (Katie Moore) and Myrtle (Lisa Millett), the foul mouthed new cook. Peter Wight’s Edmund Lovett, Denise’ uncle, still runs the little clothes shop across the road, and is still very much in love with Miss Audrey. Also in love are new kids on the block Susy and Fenton (Adrian Scarborough), but is he all he seems?

With so many new characters, not to mention the rose tinted setting of The Past, the nostalgia levels are as high as ever in The Paradise Series Two. There are elements of mild peril as already shady seeming character Tom Weston has plans to sell the shop to the highest bidder, and Katherine is being suspiciously, well, “nice”, as Denise aptly puts it. What are the two up to? How much does Katherine really know about her new husband’s plans? Only the rest of the series will tell. Again, as ever though, the levels of peril are only ever mild, as in swoops Moray in the nick of time, full of enough ideas and good old fashioned showmanship to save the day. His return means some rather sweet and 100% PG, if not U rated reunion scenes with his adorable bright spark, Denise, with Elliot and Vanderham playing the innocence and cutsey-ness for all it’s worth.

Clara, meanwhile, is just as canny as in Series One, although it’s surprisingly pleasing to watch her blossoming new friendship with Denise, as the two roll their eyes behind Miss Audrey’s back, and share suspicions about Katherine.  Ben Daniels is a fabulously sneaky addition as Mr Weston a man with what seems to be rather a dark past, and Susy is a charming, if not altogether satisfactory replacement for good old Pauline (Ruby Bentall), whose friendship with Sam (Stephen Wight) will be sorely missed. Myrtle, the impertinent new kitchen worker, however, is a less welcome new character, as, despite being a new enemy for Miss Audrey to spar against, doesn’t really add anything too the show besides something of an irritation factor.

Despite a few gripes, though, it really is lovely to be back in The Paradise. Like Heartbeat before it, it goes perfectly with a Sunday night, a hot chocolate and an early night.

Next on, tonight, BBC One, 8pm.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00vhpsv

Jen

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TV REVIEW: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Girl in the Flower Dress

Well that was much better wasn't it?

This week harks back to the show's pilot as the Centipede serum, designed for making super soldiers, makes a reappearance along with the Rising Tide and a blast from Skye's past. When a street magician Chan Ho Yin (Louis Ozawa Changchien) displays his ability to create fire in his hand and attracts the attention of both SHIELD and the titular girl in the flower dress, Reina (Ruth Negga). It's not long before things take a darker turn as Chan finds himself with Raina working to persuade him to become a superhero. What she is in fact doing is harnessing his power to improve the Extremis based serum.

Yet another vast improvement on the previous episode, Girl in the Flower Dress was the first episode where most aspects of the show came together to produce something worthy of the hype that the show received. Often the show has struggled with the central characters and whilst there is still little development outside of Skye's role, the team seem to have settled into an easy dynamic. Little moments like Skye and FitzSimmons waving at Agent Kwan whilst the other remain stoic highlight the age and professional differences and the Battleships scene had the kind of easygoing humour that SHIELD has been aiming for from the start. I also really liked the scene between May and Coulson as they fought with Chan; "Ah crap, they gave him a name" was great.

The episode also helped to further the relationships that have been building throughout the season so far, particularly Skye and Ward and then Skye and Coulson. Ward still may be a little bland but Brett Dalton has a nice chemistry with Chloe Bennet and the scene in which he discovers that she has been betraying them had a sense of disappointment that was almost palpable. In fact, it was this scene when the team are going through Miles' apartment that was probably the strongest we've had yet. I loved the quieter moment between Fitz and Simmons when the former can't quite comprehend why Skye has lied to them. Foundations for the paternal relationship between Coulson and Skye has been laid down from the start, but it was in this episode that it really found its feet. 

Clark Gregg's deadpan performance gave way to something more emotional, yet just as reserved here as he was faced with his possible mistake in recruiting the Rising Tide hacker. The final scene between the pair was an emotional payoff as we learn just why Skye has been digging around in SHIELD and not telling anyone about it. Parental motivations may be an age-old plot device but it felt much more satisfying than Skye babbling on about freedom of information or civil liberties, two things she was quick to dismiss once joining SHIELD. And now we have a reason why. With Skye still on the team, it's the perfect moment in which to start exploring the other characters. This episode was an excellent starting point, but now I want to know more about Ward in particular, but also FitzSimmons, who I just adore.

Elsewhere in the episode, the central narrative was another plus point, linking to the Extremis super soldier thread that has been building since the pilot. With the reappearance of Debbie, the scientist, and her subsequent fiery demise (a tad gory for a pre-watershed show maybe?), we now have Reina to take us through this narrative arc. Ruth Negga made a compelling presence in the episode, a quieter form of villain perhaps, but one whom carried the necessary gravitas to make the Scorch origin story convincing. The sting scene was also intriguing, not only hinting towards the idea of precognition (called that last week), but also a potential Big Bad for at least the mid-season finale if the super soldier serum is nearing readiness.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this episode though, was the moral ambiguities it explored in pitching Centipede versus SHIELD, both dealing with gifted people in remarkably different ways. For SHIELD, the method is containment, convincing these people not to use their powers but let them live a nearly normal life. Yet SHIELD's methods are called into question by Skye's ex Miles, another hacker who believes in freedom of information until someone offers him a nice fat cheque. Not only is the idea of information leaking prescient in this age of Wikileaks, but there is also the idea of prevention rather than punishment and how much control the state should have over the privacy of its citizens. This is something that the Captain America: The Winter Soldier trailer has hinted towards (a crossover is also rumoured) and has been an underlying theme in this series; just how far is too far when it comes to the protection of citizens?

This unit has been remarkably detached from the wider SHIELD agency so far and as such, the organisation still feels very much in the shadows, endlessly resourceful yet very much with its own agenda. If there is a crossover with Captain America, at least in theme, it would become a very interesting moral dilemma for our characters. Skye is seen constantly defending SHIELD in this episode, but what she's actually doing is defending the actions of her team, rather than what the rest of the agency is up to. We know they had something to do with bringing Coulson back from the apparent dead of course, but other than that, they remain as distant as they do in the cinematic branch of Marvel.

Right from the opening scenes, everything felt much more cohesive and balanced than it has done in previous weeks. Overall, an absolute scorcher of an episode (sorry...).

One more thing; writers, please stop trying to make 'hactivist' happen. It's not going to happen.

- Becky

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

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FEATURE: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Reptile Boy

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy is struggling to balance her Slayer life with her normal life, a fact which is highlighted by her relationship with Angel.

Another monster-of-the-week episode, Reptile Boy deals with that apparent high school rite of passage, if Heathers is to be believed, the frat party. Actually, Heathers is a worthy comparison here that sees Buffy's odd couple, Buffy herself and queen bee Cordelia, head off in search of college boys and a wild night away from everyone else. Whilst Reptile Boy doesn't feature a sequence anywhere near as good as the Veronica-Heather argument ("lick it up baby"), it's hilarious to see Buffy deal with Cordelia's backhanded compliments. The frat party leads to many thematic developments so, despite this being a fairly ordinary outing for the Slayer, there's certainly a lot going on.

Relationships between genders is the focus here, how they should and shouldn't be conducted and also a fair amount of they both act in remarkably different ways. Largely, it's unproblematic and more to do with subverting gender stereotypes than adhering to them. Angel even points to this; 'this isn't some fairytale. When I kiss you, you don't wake up from a deep sleep and live happily ever after'. Cordelia in particular spends a large part of the episode trying to be the 'perfect' girlfriend but ends up making a complete fool of herself with a ridiculous fake laugh. The frat boys are all macho and manly until Xander, who they have humiliated by dressing him up as a girl (because being a girl is just AWFUL, duh), then gets one over on them and beats up his tormenter whilst the rest get their asses kicked by Buffy.

There's also a huge amount of the dangers of judging on appearance; the frat boys are all rich, preppy types which naturally Cordelia falls for and Xander hates. From what I can gather about American fraternities (and yes this is largely garnered from television shows and films like Animal House and Van Wilder - I have no idea if it's actually a thing) frat boys are dicks. They drink, they do weird ritual things and generally treat everyone who isn't pretty or in the fraternity like crap. It's not a stretch to have them as the bad guys in a Buffy episode and the inclusion of a giant woman-eating half-man/half-snake has more than a hint of metaphor about it. Yep, Machida's a penis.

However, this leads to a really odd moral dynamic to the episode that is way more problematic in hindsight than it was when I was watching it in my younger and more naive days. Buffy and Cordelia head to the party, they drink, wear short dresses and end up getting their drinks spiked, they black out and end up nearly getting fed to a giant snake. It's basically one big date-rape metaphor that leads to Buffy being admonished by Giles for going out in the first place. Now, obviously the lying aspect is definitely wrong, but if we to are extend the metaphor, having a go at her for getting drunk at a party and being attacked is practically victim-blaming. For a show so focused on the empowerment of women, this was more than a little uncomfortable when re-watching it.

It's also not the greatest of episodes in its own right and feels like a bit of a retread of previous ground. Buffy and Angel are still having trouble, Xander's jealous of anyone who Buffy pays attention to, Willow is largely the moral compass. Nothing really develops here, beyond that which we've already seen in the first season. That said, the episode is more important for how it feeds into the rest of the second season and David Greenwalt, this episode's scribe, does that well, particularly in terms of the loss of innocence, themes of sexuality and Buffy and Angel's relationship. It's just a shame the rest of the episode is remarkably iffy.

This has probably been the biggest disappointment for me so far on this rewatch as this was an episode I used to really enjoy. Xander has some great lines, Willow has one of her rants (see Quote of the Week below) and Giles has some heartwarming paternal moments. Well, before he becomes the wagging finger of the patriarchy.

Next Time: Halloween (one of my all time favourite episodes, prepare for much enthusiasm)

Quote of the Week: Willow (showing early signs of awesomeness) - "[To Angel] Well why do you think she went to that party? Because you gave her the brush-off! And you! [Giles] never let her do anything except work and patrol and I know she's the Chosen One, but you're killing her with the pressure! I mean, she's sixteen going on forty! And you! [Angel] I mean, you're gonna live forever! You don't have time for a cup of coffee?! Ok... I don't feel better now and we've got to help Buffy..."

Inventive Kill: Buffy severs Machida in half with a lovely looking sword.

Who's Who in Sunnydale: Who spotted Jonathan now named? Still odd that Cordelia would date him.

- Becky

You can read Becky's rewatch of Inca Mummy Girl here.

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TV REVIEW: Atlantis - Twist of Fate

This week, Atlantis turns into Three Men and a Baby, Jason grows a large moustache and impersonates Tom Selleck whilst Pythagorus does a great Steve Guttenberg impression.

Just kidding. 

Well it is a Three Men and a Baby deal as Jason, Hercules and Pythagorus discover an abandoned baby in the woods whilst on a hunting trip. Naturally, this being Ancient Greece and wonderfully heteronormative, they have no idea what to do with the baby and call on Medusa to help who, being a woman and all, knows exactly what to do with the child and sorts it all out for the helpless menfolk. D'aww. The reason for the child's abandonment also gives Jason a chance to challenge customs once again and upset the status quo. Seriously, have the guards not figured out who is causing all this mischief? Elsewhere, a visiting King Laius of Thebes and his Queen Jocasta are entertained at the palace, upsetting the apple cart a tad as Pasiphae and Ariadne clash a little bit. Donald Sumpter also appears. He's always welcome.

Marginally better than last week's bull leaping episode, Twist of Fate tones down some of the bombastic stuff in favour of some more emotional development though sadly we don't escape the terrible attempts at humour. More on that later. Mark Addy finally gets something more to do than just be a bit bombastic and his scenes in which he confesses his love for Medusa to the baby and later, when confronted with the baby's mother, are miles ahead of anything else he's done for the series. Although his desire for a relationship with Medusa carries a very loud dramatic irony klaxon, it was welcome to see Addy pushed beyond drunkenness, if only for a bit.

Elsewhere in the episode, the action sequences carry a bit more fizz than they have done in previous weeks, largely because they relied on practical men running around than terrible CGI creatures that Jason slow-motions himself over. Speaking of Slow Motion Jason, he appears once again, this time with a shirt (sorry ladies and gentlemen so inclined) and leaping across rooftops with a baby nestled into his oft-seen sculpted chest. I do feel a bit sorry for Jack Donnelly as he is once again saddled with a bland role in the proceedings, one that is only memorable for his action prowess. I'm fairly sure if he was actually given anything to work with, he could prove himself a decent leading man, but so far, Jason is about as memorable as a dishcloth.

The dialogue also continues to be vastly infuriating. Though not quite on the clunky standards of last week, there are some moments where you just want to take the writers aside and ask them what period in history they think they're writing for. After three episodes of characters making faux-grandiose statements about eyes boring through people or Jason's far-off destiny, having Pythagorus exclaiming that Hercules was punching above his weight suddenly swung it completely the other way. If the decision was taken to go for some Spartacus: Blood and Sand style historical dialogue, then fine, make it work. If you want to make it modern and all down with the kids, then again, go for it. But mixing the two is bizarre and is by far the worst aspect of the series.

And so we must turn to the humourous aspects of the series, or rather, the lack of them. The level of humour has been so low so far in the series I'm surprised it took this long for the toilet variety to get a look in. An obvious get out clause, Hercules' farting in front of the guards was almost certainly aimed at the younger generations watching the show, but it's a pity that the writers seem to only be catering for that particular demographic. Well, that is until the name of the baby was decided. Kicking myself slightly for missing it, what with the names of the King and Queen and all, but it turns out that this was the origin story for that most infamous of Greek heroes, Oedipus. Yes, that one who murdered his father, married his mother and thus kicked off one of the most famous complexes in history. That's certainly one for the adults.

Probably the best episode of the series so far, though that isn't quite the praise it sounds like, Twist of Fate finally gave us some hint of the emotional aspects that could drive the show forward. Now if only we could get a little more character development and a little less flatulence, Atlantis might be all right.

- Becky

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

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TV REVIEW: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Eye Spy

A blast from Coulson's past appears to be behind a spate of heists across the world, but he's not convinced that everything is as it seems.

SHIELD could hardly be described within the horror genre with its glossy visuals and comedy thriller sensibilities, but there were several aspects of Eye Spy that I found quite chilling, particularly the central plotline of a hijacked person. Not to mention any scene in which an eye was injected or operated on. I was with Fitz. The cold open with the red masks and the drone-like behaviour of the security agents was bad enough, but then we were introduced to who looked to be their target but was in fact their assailant, Akela Amador (Pascale Armand). Another mission, another personal connection to Coulson, it turns out that Amador was a former protege of the deadpan super spy. A former SHIELD agent who seems to have initially gone rogue, it turned out Amador was actually being controlled with an ocular impact complete with killswitch if she went off mission. 

There was some great misdirection as Skye makes the not illogical leap to Amador perhaps developing superpowers like precognition. Although May is quick to jump in and say there is no scientific basis, I can't help but think that we will have psychic abilities before this season is out. In this case though, it was entirely technological. That thought of not only being controlled but of having someone watch your every move was really quite terrifying. Then again, as Coulson so wryly observes, we're in a society where we all surveil ourselves. It was a humourous aside within the episode, but the parallels are clear; we're making sure people can see our every move. It's not a big step from there for someone to be doing this for us. 

The central narrative was perhaps the strongest we've seen so far, building around the central mystery of just what has happened to Amador. It may have been simple, but there was enough misdirection around what she was doing or how she was doing it. It also seems to be part of the ongoing secret antagonist that we don't seem to know about yet; could it be the Rising Tide? Far from wrapping up neatly, the reveal that her handler was also being controlled in a similar fashion could have been an anti-climax, but it managed to feel much bigger than that, developing the mystery further. There is also the intriguing final moment with Amador as she questions what has happened to Coulson; she notices that he behaves differently, reminding us all that we still don't know how Coulson came back. Well, apart from resting in Tahiti; it's a magical place.

The connection between Coulson and Amador led to some decent emotional beats, particularly the verbal scrap between May and Coulson as she calls him out on his personal connection to the case. I really love that although everyone is working together much better as a team, there is still conflict and tension there, particularly between the 'Mum' and 'Dad' of the group. Skye's relationship with Coulson is also developing nicely as the comparison is made with Amador. Everyone seems to have settled into the humourous aspect of the show too, the dialogue mining natural humour out of the characters rather than trying to force them into signposted one-liners. I particularly enjoyed Ward's response to the 'seduce him' command. Even he managed to be more interesting this week, given things to do other than reprimand Skye. Though of course that happened. The lack of clunky Marvel references has also ensured that the dialogue flows much better when characters aren't having to shout 'Captain America!' to connect it all back.

Another improvement on the previous episode, SHIELD continues its run with an intriguing tale of hijacked people and questions of autonomy. It's building well and I find myself actually looking forward to the next instalment. Let's hope it keeps going in an upward direction.

- Becky

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

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FEATURE: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Inca Mummy Girl

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Xander still has absolutely no idea about Willow's love for him and still crushes on Buffy who is also still trying to keep her secret identity secret.

After last week's rip-roaring episode, Inca Mummy Girl is a bit of a come down. It's by no means a bad episode, but going from Spike as your villain to a reanimated Inca mummy who just wants to be loved is a tad disappointing. Yet as monsters-of-the-week go, Ampata is an interesting one because it is one of the first times that we have a villain who doesn't want to be evil; she is just trying to survive. Unfortunately, how she does that is by sucking the life out of people. It throws up some interesting moral issues, particularly with regards with Buffy who identifies strongly with Ampata's fate, a young girl picked by her society to sacrifice herself. Ampata is a tragic figure and treated as such in the show. No one actually kills her, she just simply decays once again and re-mummifies. Well, and Buffy throws her across the room...

The episode is also remarkable for a couple of introductions to characters who will go on to have a huge impact on the series. First up, Jonathan! He's the cowboy Ampata nearly mummifies at the Bronze and though not named until later in the series, he's arrived. He spends most of the second season getting into peril with Buffy saving him a lot. Then he actually gets his own character and goes on to be a bit evil... but we'll ignore that bit for now. And then there's Oz, who is quite possibly one of my characters in the series. His deadpan wit isn't quite there yet, but he'll get some fantastic lines and be at the centre of one of this season's best episodes, not to mention dating Willow. 

This episode marks a key development in the relationship between Willow and Xander in that Willow finally starts to realise that she and Xander may not actually happen. It takes her a long while to get there, but it's a start. For Xander, he has yet another disastrous relationship with a woman; last time it was a praying mantis, this time a mummy. His dysfunctional relationships become a running theme across the series and it's not hard to see why he develops this pattern. Xander doesn't do 'normal'. That said, he still picks Willow over Ampata. I also identify with Willow so much at the dance. I too am the kind of person who aims for a kickass memorable costume rather than a sexy one (I once went to a party dressed as Adam Ant). I too used to get ignored and feel incredibly self-conscious. But Willow, I thought you made an awesome eskimo and hey, you caught the eye of Oz so it can't be all that bad.

The overall episode is a bit plodding; we already know who the mummy is and it gets boring watching the gang not guess who it is until the last possible second. However, it is full of great little moments that make up for the dull plot. I particularly love the moment in which Joyce and Buffy glare at each other, it's a perfect mother-daughter look. Xander's costume is a treat, Buffy's beating up of Giles in training until he lets her go to the dance and Willow's exchange with Rodney Munson about the elements in the cold open. There's also the Sven speaking English reveal, Devon's description of the kind of girl he goes for; 'she doesn't have to talk'. It's a shame these moments don't add up to a great episode, but it just never really seems to get going.

And finally, did anyone else notice that sucking the life out of people seemed to result in a perfect face of make-up? I'm quite impressed with the lipstick application.

Next Time: Reptile Boy

Quote of the Week: Buffy - "Oh, I know this one... 'Slaying entails certain sacrifices - blah blah bliddy blah - I'm so stuffy, give me a scone."

Let's Get Trivial: Though mentioned in the Pilot, this episode marks the first appearance of Oz's band, Dingos Ate My Baby who use the music of Four Star Mary (a band I still love).

- Becky

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

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TV REVIEW: Downton Abbey - Episodes Three and Four

This post contains major spoilers - please don't read if you haven't seen the episodes yet.

Dear reader, I've been really struggling to put down my thoughts on Downton's third episode. It was an episode that started out well enough. A country party was taking place at the Abbey; there was gambling, light flirting and a world famous singer came to stay in the form of cameoing Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. And then the episode came to a close with one of the most shocking scenes in the show's history as Anna was raped by Nigel Harman's Mr Green.

Suddenly, the rest of the episode fell away. It didn't matter that Mary was flirting with another man in the wake of Matthew's death. It didn't matter that Evil Edna was about to seduce a rather drunk Branson. It didn't matter that one of the most famous opera singers in the world was appearing on a Sunday evening period drama. Because Anna (one of the most beloved characters with frequently the darkest storylines) was raped.

Downton Abbey is no stranger to dark moments, the most recent of which saw Matthew apparently fly headlong from a car to his death. Before that, there was his paralysis after his service in the Great War or Sybil's untimely death after the birth of her child. William died slowly and in great pain after an explosion in the trenches. A returning soldier committed suicide. I could go on really because, despite the fact that Downton's most common association in the minds of the public is one of comfort, it is important to remember that there has been a dark streak in the series right from the beginning which began with the sinking of the Titanic. 

However, in all of these moments, however conveniently placed they might have been, they all felt essential to the developing plot. At no point did I ever think that Sybil dying was a shock tactic; it wasn't. It was a timely reminder of the historical period when medical knowledge wasn't what it is now. It has also proved essential in the development of Branson's character and his ongoing discomfort in a world in which customs and traditions are simply alien to him. 

In contrast, the rape scene felt cheaply constructed to exhibit the exact shocked reaction that it was clearly intended to do. The otherwise genteel proceedings in the rest of the episode was wrenched apart with the shocking violence of the scene. The deliberate combination of the operatic singing and Anna's screams as the scene's soundtrack was emotionally manipulative and frankly insulting to the viewer. Joanne Froggat's performance was, it must be said, outstanding and just as heartwrenching as it should have been. But the key to this scene was the development from it in the next episode.

Downton Abbey is one of the most-watched shows on television and this was a real opportunity to explore the issue of rape sensitively in a historical context that is removed enough from our own to allow for reflection. Instead, Fellowes has given us the most simplistic view of rape he possibly could; Green is your stereotypical 'bad' man who no-one knows, attacks Anna out of the blue and scarpers before there are any repercussions. To put it simply, and in awful terminology, this is a traditional rape where a man leaps out of the metaphorical bushes and forces himself on some poor unsuspecting victim. Rape is a far more complex issue and to not even delve into that, but to present it in such a base and simple way, is a terrible decision.

The fourth episode in the series' run may not have had quite the same shocking scene in one place, but the horrific treatment of female characters just kept on coming. Now I understand that this is taking place in a historical context and must therefore be considered as such, but really, so much was wrong with this episode that I don't even really know where to start.

Probably best to continue with the aftermath of Anna's rape. Anna is internalising the blame for the rape and Mrs Hughes tries to convince her to go to the police, but Anna refuses on the grounds that she is saving Bates. She's forced to sit next to Green at breakfast and does nothing to tell the truth of the situation to anyone. We're clearly being set up for the big dramatic fallout scene, a narrative development that will do nothing to silence the protests against this particular storyline. It's so frustratingly simple and doing absolutely nothing to challenge or explore. Anna is punishing herself. Nobody is punishing Green.

Elsewhere, there were plenty of secretive affairs going on all over the place that were of the morally questionable variety. Ivy and Jimmy were finally revealed to be kissing and Daisy started accusing Ivy of giving herself up all too easily. Nothing to Jimmy. Rose was seen dancing with the band leader of the jazz club, Jack, and admonished slightly for her forthright behaviour. Nothing to Jack. Edith finally has a dalliance with Gregson and returns to Aunt Rosamund's early in the morning who promptly rages at Edith for being so wayward. Nothing to Gregson. Then Mrs Hughes rains down fury upon Evil Edna who, after sleeping with Branson, is claiming she is pregnant in order to trap him into marriage. Branson gets a bit of an earful, nothing major.

It is this last narrative development that is definitely the most problematic. Granted, Branson is recognised as being at fault, though the blame is laid entirely at the feet of Evil Edna. Evil Edna is about as pantomimey a female villain as we'll get on Downton, but following on from the rape, her scene with Mrs Hughes was woefully insensitive. Not only does she embody the myths around women who exploit their sexuality to entrap men, but she is again another frustratingly simple character. There's not even an attempt to provide motive. Mrs Hughes was patronising and forceful, literally threatened to imprison Edna, hold her down and strip her naked to prove that she wasn't pregnant. Seriously Mr Fellowes? Did no one at any point during this process think that that might not be the best way in which to phrase this? 

Downton Abbey has carved a reputation for comforting Sunday night television that allows a cathartic cry once again at the untimely demise of a beloved character in amongst endless witticisms and fretting about dinner jackets. In these past two episodes though, there has been nothing comforting about it.

This is the last time I call for any madcap plot twists.

- Becky

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

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TV REVIEW: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - The Asset

After last week's fairly run of the mill episode in which the team were established and Skye feels a little more at home, The Asset focuses on watching the team work and sees them taking on multi-billionaire Ian Quinn to rescue one of their own.

The Asset opens with one of the best set pieces of the short series so far with a SHIELD agent trucker transporting precious cargo across country before it is hijacked by a mysterious shooty-uppy-in-the-air thing which later turns out to be gravitonium (a name marginally better than vibranium and whole worlds ahead of unobtainium). The truck reveal was a great switch and a nice reminder of SHIELD's reach across the world and the wide variety of agents they must have in their employ. It works to demonstrate that, although May and Ward's fears in the previous episode about the quality of the young agents on Coulson's team, their hiring isn't so out of place with SHIELD's overall make-up.

The previous cargo is one Dr. Franklin Hall (played by special guest star Ian Hart), a name familiar to those with an extensive knowledge of Marvel comics. I've had to research it a bit, which is quite honestly, endless fun for me. In the comics, Hall is a physicist working with gravitonium who accidentally becomes fused with molecules of the element, developing the ability to manipulate gravity and taking the rather impressive Graviton as his new identity. Now we don't see too much of that here until the final sting of the episode, a rewrite of the character's history but one that ties Hall inextricably with Coulson. Fury's appearance may have been funny, but that hand reaching out to the screen was positively spine-tingling.

The climactic confrontation between Coulson and Hall was the first scene where SHIELD really hit a high note with both Gregg and Hart excelling their respective roles. A particular highlight was their initial exchange in which Coulson went to outline the exit strategy only for Hall to respond that he's already in the right place. Gregg's brilliantly dry delivery of 'I'll be honest. Our strategy did not take into consideration you saying that" was a real laugh out loud moment. And then there was the scene in the rotating room, the characters clambering over furniture, walls and ceilings as the gravitonium shifted the gravity in the room. 

It was an impressive scene not only in visual terms, but also in the themes that it brought to the fore. Rather than the outright villain straight away, Hall was trying to prevent his work from falling into the wrong hands, including SHIELD's. I commented in the review of the pilot that a common theme of Whedon's work was dealing with shady corporations handling technology that they didn't know how to control and it once again crops up here. SHIELD have already brought an alien invasion, as Hall rightly points out, and they are an organisation famous for going after technology they don't understand. Coulson's decision to shoot away the glass, killing Hall in the process, is another tally for SHIELD being the bad guys and something that Coulson will have to deal with. The re-working of Graviton's origin will have massive implications now not only for SHIELD but for Coulson himself.

The episode is not without its low points; Ward is still a fairly dull prospect with a lame back story, Ian Quinn was a suitably bland villain and if he appears more, they're going to have to make him more interesting. If he's going to be a TV bad guy version of Tony Stark then they need to run with that rather than just making him a charisma vacuum in a suit. However, there was also lots to love; Skye getting caught almost immediately in her first mission, Coulson in his suit in the attack on the compound, Fitz's monkey, the glare that Fitz got after his suggestion that Skye was using her 'assets' on Quinn, the lack of references to the MCU and Melinda May promising to get back into the action.

The Asset is the first episode that has really gelled for me; a blend of origin story, heist movie and character piece all rolled into one that hints at big things for the series. That final post-credits scene had me sold. Do we have a Big Bad?

- Becky

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

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TV REVIEW: Atlantis - A Boy of No Consequence

After tussling with an equally glowering and strapping young man, Jason, Pythagorus and Hercules find out they've offended Poseidon and they are left to the mercy of the bulls. Yes, the plot this week is based on leaping bulls.

Once again, Jason's time travel becomes a convenient excuse to get him into trouble as he leaps to the aid of an old man who was being smacked around by said glowering young man, Heptarian (Oliver Walker), a servant of the god Poseidon and nephew of the Queen. This series of unfortunate events leads to expositioning abound as every character has to bring both Jason and the audience up to speed with such wondrous customs as the favour of the Gods (a huge thing in Greek mythology though given little weight here) and bull leaping. Yes. Leaping bulls was actually a thing. At least we can't criticise Atlantis for not teaching us anything. Naturally, the fact that Jason et al. saved Atlantis from the minotaur is, as Hercules points out, is conveniently forgotten. 

The amount of times people say that Jason is a 'natural born bull leaper' with a straight face has to be commended, particularly Sarah Parish who is just about wonderful in anything she does, even with lines like that. She gets to do some nefarious plotting this week and is the subject of some brilliantly stilted dialogue. In fact, the dialogue this week is so laughably terrible that it actually became painful to watch. When Pythagorus isn't saying obvious things like "or maybe you thought that was the only way to get us to work as a team", Jason is saying ridiculous statements like "it's as though her eyes burn right through me". I know the writers need to convey that this is a different time period, but it's getting ever so grating listening to characters say sentences that no human being could ever say naturally.

The thing with this episode is that I spent the entire time thinking that it would be far more interesting if it was gladiatorial combat or Greek wrestling or anything remotely interesting. Obviously this is a Saturday evening show and is therefore limited on how much gore they can show, if any at all, but the inexpensive special effects and lack of peril drew any tension out of the bull-leaping scenes. The fact that they try to equate these scenes with the importance of the gladiator battles seen in the likes of Ridley Scott's film or even the ludicrous Spartacus: Blood and Sand (which takes bad dialogue to a new level, but somehow it works), just makes them seem all the more inferior. Of course, they did mean that Slow-Motion Jason could appear, sans shirt and with curly hair wafting softly in the breeze.

I'm trying desperately to find good points in this show beyond 'it looks really pretty' because the concept is interesting and the actors deserve better. However, it's just dull and borderline uncomfortable to watch. The humour falls flat, the characters rarely seem actually in danger and even Merlin and Robin Hood had more going for them at this stage in their admittedly awful first series.

For the love of the Gods Atlantis, please get better.

- Becky

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

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TV REVIEW: Masters of Sex - Episode One

 As a part, albeit a very different part, of the seemingly endless parade of sex themed shows on Channel 4 at present, Masters of Sex, starring Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan (Janice from Mean Girls everyone!!!!)  tells the story of the Sexual Revolution- capitals necessary.

Back in the 1950s, obstetrician William Masters (Sheen) , whilst stuck in a barren marriage himself, seemingly spending his every waking moment desperately trying to provide as many women with the means to procreate as possible. One evening, and this is where we join Masters of Sex, he ducks out of a benefit event early to go and watch a prostitute and her client through the keyhole. Don’t worry, the prostitute had consented to this. Afterwards, over a burger, he is shocked to learn that not only did she fake her orgasm, but that this is very much common practice, not only amongst prostitutes but amongst women in general. Greatly perturbed by this discovery, he resolves to launch a study into peoples’ physiological reactions to, er, stimuli, come hell or high water in terms of his university's backing. He is joined in this mission by his secretary turned assistant, sexually free thinking ex-nightclub singer Virginia Johnson (Caplan).

Episode One saw the pair watching volunteer ‘couples’ get it on from behind two-way mirrors, battling with the impact on their personal lives as well as widespread disapproval from their peers in the process. Apart from the peers who happen to also be volunteers of course, they’re all for the project, funnily enough. Graphic as all this sounds, and the show certainly leaves little to the imagination in terms of what the test subjects are getting up to, this is nothing like Sex Box (also Channel 4, surprise, surprise) - everything is very tasteful, non-gratuitous and is in keeping with the rest of the programme. It’s even quite tender and sweet in parts, as one volunteer asks his female partner if he is allowed to kiss her, whilst she remembers a brief meeting at a party they may once have had. The love lives of Masters and Johnson are incorporated well also, with Johnson branded a whore for her attitude that love and sex can be entirely separate, and Masters viewed as a pervert for his scientific interests.

 The two themselves are played well by Sheen and Caplan, with both capturing the awkwardness of the time and contemporary attitudes to their work, as well as the excitement and discovery of the study they are embarking upon together. Sheen in particular captures the slightly controlling, almost a tiny bit sinister elements of his character, especially in contrast to the conveniently different personality of Caplan’s character.

Ironically, little of Episode One really, ahem, stood out for me. The script isn’t especially titillating and the revolutionary aspects of the work Masters and Johnson were doing is lost an overall feel of hospital administration, hygienic looking sets and general dullness. It just doesn’t feel exciting enough, despite the casts' best efforts, and no amount of, admittedly stunning, 1950s costumes and quaint turns of phrase in the script is going to really highlight just how amazing what they were doing was, unless the two come across more opposition than just a slightly grumpy professor in future episodes.

Ever the optimist, I’m going to keep going. I’ll let you know if the climax is worth the slog.

Jen

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