Jekyll

Seriously, I might start considering moving to Britain. They know how to do Sci-Fi. American television lately has been woefully devoid of any sort of quality sci-fi. Not since the cancellation of Stargate: Universe has there been anything worth watching really. I mean, I liked Eureka and Warehouse 13, but when we got rid of cable and lost the SyFy (stupid moniker!!) channel I didn’t really feel the loss. SyFy is just about dead anyway… I mean really, Wrestling and Mansquito? Is that the best they can do? ugh! Anyway, back to my point. I was once again scraping the bottom of the Netflix barrel for something new to watch and I found the BBC series Jekyll, and whoa! let me tell ya it was awesome!

Written by Steven Moffat—the brilliant mind behind Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Sherlock—comes the continuation of the Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story. This isn’t a retelling or modernization of the story, it is actually about a guy named Tom Jackman who is the descendant of the mad Doctor. The series recognizes the existence of the Stevenson book, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as a work of fiction based on actual events. The show stars James Nesbitt as both Tom Jackman and Mr. Hyde. Nesbitt has been in a metric crapton of stuff I’ve never seen, and he will be seen in the upcoming Hobbit film (I’m sensing a theme here) as Bofur. It also stars the lovely Gina Bellman (Sophie Devereaux in Leverage), and the OMFG gorgeous Michelle Ryan (most notably seen in America in the short lived Bionic Woman series).

James Nesbitt is creepy as fuck as Mr. Hyde! The makeup change is very minimal—darker hair with a lowered hairline, shoes that make him a little taller, black contact lenses, and very small prosthetics in the chin and ears—but the true change comes from Nesbitt’s amazing acting. Nesbitt does an awesome job portraying two different men with extremely opposite and distinct personalities. Where Tom is quiet and almost submissive, Hyde is domineering, arrogant, creepy, and downright evil at times. You sometimes forget that you are watching the same man play two people and think that there are really two separate actors. He changes mannerisms, expressions, attitudes, and voice with incredible delicacy.

Jekyll is only one season consisting of six episodes and was filmed back in 2007. The series is a complete story arc and does a pretty good job of laying everything out and wrapping it all up at the end (with a twist ending I didn’t see coming at all!) so don’t worry about getting hooked on a good series that got cut short without any sort of resolution (Firefly, Dead Like Me, Caprica et al.).  Think of it more like a miniseries.

If, like me, you’re hankering for some good, quality supernatural/sci-fi then definitely check out Jekyll.

A Tale of Two Sherlocks

A few weeks back I found myself once again longing for British television. What can I say, I’m a sucker for the accent. Anyway, I ended up hitting up the BBC’s Sherlock, a modernization of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Obviously I know the basics of Sherlock Holmes. I read a handful of the stories back in school, I loved the Spielberg produced, Chris Columbus penned Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) movie as a kid, and I’ve seen the first Robert Downey Jr. film, but I was never a huge fan. I can honestly say that has changed now.

For the first few minutes I wasn’t exactly keen on Benedict Cumberbatch, the chap that plays the titular Sherlock, but once he started in on the deduction and blunt observations I quickly warmed up to him. I loved Dr. Watson, played by veteran Brit actor Martin Freeman, as a veteran of the Afghanistan war who was having difficulty readjusting to civilian life after being injured and honorably discharged. A leads to B and Dr. Watson meets Sherlock Holmes and ends up becoming his roommate and confidante. Throughout the first series there are hints and indications of the criminal mastermind and arch nemesis of Sherlock Holmes, Professor Moriarty. When he finally makes his appearance in the last moments of season one he is delightfully and unconventionally batshit evil.

It took me well into the second episode to realize that each of these episodes wasn’t your typical 45 minute episode, which is the average run-time of most television episodes minus commercials. Episodes of Sherlock clocked in at an hour and a half each which was just plain awesome! I loved that they were able to flesh out the story to the fullest extent without having to chop it and condense it into 45 minutes. The only downfall was that Netflix being Netflix they only had the first season (3 episodes). Once again I am hooked on a series and left hanging (see also: Torchwood and Dexter). I believe the series is up to season 3 already which means if Netflix doesn’t catch up I might just have to resort to “alternative measures” to catch up.

And for those of you keeping up, Martin Freeman will be seen in Peter Jackson’s upcoming The Hobbit as the young Bilbo Baggins. Benedict Cumberbatch will also be in The Hobbit voicing the dragon, Smaug.

Then the other day I go to see Spider-man and there is a trailer before the film for an upcoming CBS show called Elementary which follows the modernized exploits of one Sherlock Holmes, only now he is a Brit out of water working in NYC.

I love Lucy Liu (Lucky Number Slevin… all I’m saying). And I’m absolutely and completely okay with the gender bend in making Dr. Watson female. I even love Jonny Lee Miller—as outdated as it is now, Hackers is still one of my favorite movies. I just don’t know why this show needs to happen when there is an excellent Sherlock Holmes show already in production. On the other hand, Elementary looks like it will be fun, and being on American television (and on one of the few channels we still have since cutting the cable) it will most certainly be more accessible than its BBC counterpart.

Supernatural

Ever since I plowed through Doctor Who and Torchwood—well, all the Torchwood that Netflix has to offer which means I still haven’t seen season 4—Ive been looking for something to fill the gaping void in my heart for campy British sci-fi. What I ended up settling on was campy American sci-fi in the form of the CW’s Supernatural. So far I’m up to season 5.

Supernatural is typical CW fare filled with young and attractive actors and actresses with nary a homely person in sight. The target demographic for this show is obviously young, and I imagine predominantly female. Watching Supernatural kind of reminds me of when I was watching Smallville. At some point it went from being a good idea to being just plain mediocre and sometimes downright awful. There are a lot of things I like about Supernatural, but there are also a lot of things I cant stand about the show as well.

I love the basic premise of the show. Two brothers cruising the country in a classic muscle car listening to rock anthems and hunting down the things that go bump in the night. And while I am not a religious person I honestly don’t mind the angels and demons mythology that the show follows, particularly in the later seasons. The problem I have with the show is that it tends to lean more toward the cheesy horror tropes and shies away from the more edgy and dark places it could go within the genre.

Another thing I can’t stand is the relationship between Dean and Sam. I mean, I get the whole sibling rivalry thing, and the brotherly bickering, I just wish the writers would ease up on it once in a while. It seems like there is hardly ever an episode where these two don’t degenerate into a squabbling mess that involves one or the other of them throwing a temper tantrum and storming off. In fact, I can’t stand Sam at all. He is a whiny little bitch to be honest. Dean I’m okay with. I like his attitude. I love when he drops lines like “I’ve got a GED and a give ’em hell attitude, I’ll figure something out” and “whoah, whoah, last time you zapped me somewhere I didn’t poop for a week. We’re driving.”

While I’m on the I hate Sam soapbox, dude… get a fucking haircut!

In the end, Supernatural is just an okay romp through a mediocre mythology but it does well enough to keep me coming back for more. I only have 2 seasons left on Netflix and then I’ll have to find something else to dig into. I’m open to suggestions if you know anything on Netflix that is worthy of watching.

Revolution!

The important part of this post is that you get a mental image planted firmly in your brain before reading any further. For this to be as awesome as it needs to be you have to understand that I am a 280 lb bald guy. I’m bald, goateed and broad of build. I look mean and gruff. I can often be mean and gruff. Mostly though, I’m just a giant dork… but that isn’t important… what is important is the big, bald and mean. Why is this important? Because when I tell you that while I was feeding the cats mere moments ago I just happened to walk past the television in the living room and this happened.

I saw “From the Director of Iron Man” and “Producer J.J. Abrams” and  stopped in my tracks. Here is where the mental image is important. I squeed. Yes squeed! and did a weird and impromptu little dork dance in the middle of the living room while the cats sat there and stared at me wondering why I was dancing around like an idiot instead of putting their food down (crazy human!).

I may have mentioned previously that I am a HUGE fan of J.J. Abrams. I am also a big fan of Favreau as well. Add into the mix that Eric Kripke (creator of Supernatural…which I have been using to fill the Netflix void left by the good Doctor) and Bryan Burk (Lost) are involved and I am now super excited to watch this series!!!

Back before we cut the cable chord I used to love that documentary series Life After People on The History Channel and this is like that only with an Abrams twist (and… you know… people).

ZOMG!

 

Doctor Who: Series 5 and 6

Okay, I ended up plowing through both series in pretty rapid succession.

My first thought about this is that I absolutely, unequivocally, and positively adore Amy Pond. Sure, Sure, I might just be saying that because I have a soft spot for gorgeous redheads with Scottish accents, but that’s only because I have a soft spot for gorgeous redheads with Scottish accents. Beyond that, I just loved her character. She was strong, but vulnerable. She was defiant and smart. And did I mention unbelievably hot?

***The Next paragraph contains spoilers***

My second thought: I am a huge fan of Rory! I know some fans disliked him, but I honestly found him much more engaging than the Doctor in this series. I mean, the dude gets to marry (and make a baby with) Amy Pond! That right there gets him mad credit. Then he dies to save the Doctor, gets reincarnated as a Roman Centurian, spends 2000 years as the Last Centurion protecting a frozen and imprisoned Amy, and he is, like his predecessor Donna Noble, often the voice of reason and compassion aboard the TARDIS. And then, of course, there is the fact that he is a fucking badass motherfucker! When The Silence kidnaps Amy, Rory and the Doctor go a-looking. Rory walks onto the deck of a Cyberman Fleet command ship and this happens:

Seriously?

Seriously!?

Did I not tell you… Badass!

As for the Doctor, well, I said I would give Matt Smith a fair shake. I did. And the conclusion I came to was that I remained pretty indifferent to him. As I mentioned, I thought Rory was the bigger hero over the course of the last two seasons. Rory would tear time and space apart to protect Amy. Matt Smith’s Doctor, while not as unlikeable as I first found him, was kinda like ugly wallpaper—you might not like it, but you have to look at it if you want to sit in the room.

Both series had some great episodes. The Weeping Angels made a comeback, Neil Gaiman wrote an episode, and most amazingly of all,*cue trumpets and fanfare and confetti* the Daleks only had 1 episode out of both seasons. While series 5 was just okay, series six was fantastic. So many questions answered, primarily the identity of River Song (my lips are sealed). In the first episode of Series 6 the Doctor dies, but he is a Doctor who has lived 200 years more than the current Doctor—a Future Doctor—and the Present Doctor and his companions spend series 6 combating The Silence, a religious order bent on the destruction of the doctor and are responsible for his death. All in all series 5 and 6 were great, with the exception of a lackluster Doctor at the helm of the Timey Wimey TARDIS.

So now I’m caught up. Now I have to wait for the Doc to reappear in real time. This sucks.

On the plus side, I do have this to look forward to…

…even if that does mean I lose Amy and Rory. 😦

Doctor Who: Series 4

Just finished Series 4.

Okay, okay… I’ll take it back. I totally changed my mind about Donna Noble. Sure, she had her naggy moments, but over-all I found that she injected a human compassion that the Doctor needs to pull him back from the edge of the abyss. In The Fires of Pompeii, When the Doctor resigns the people of Pompeii to their historical fate, it’s Donna who begs him to spare just one life. In the episode Planet of the Ood, Donna is horrified by the enslavement of the Ood and helps the Doc free them.In Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, Donna gets imported into the Library’s data core and lives out her life. When she realizes it’s all fake she loses her family, who although not real, were real to her. I got choked up when her children disappeared before her eyes.

When she isn’t being naggy or compassionate she is a take-no-shit boss! I came to love her “oi!” and her in-your-face attitude. She wasn’t afraid to stand up to anyone or anything. Which is why it broke my heart when she took on a part of the Time Lord essence and the Doc had to erase all of her memories of him or it would burn up her brain. To go from the Doctor’s companion back to a life of mundane Donnahood when all she wanted was to stay by his side was tragic. So Donna, I’m sorry I wished you would trip into a black hole. And I wish you well.

Again, the fourth series hosted some great episodes, many of which I mentioned above. What I didn’t mention was the mystery that is River Song. Doctor River Song shows up during the course of Silence in the Library. She somehow knows the Doctor and alludes to a bit of a love affair across time with him. She proves that he can trust her by whispering his real name in his ear. Can’t wait to see where this story goes! Of course, the Daleks came back AGAIN!!! What I wouldn’t give for an entire season without the friggin Daleks popping up and being all annoying. The one good thing about the Daleks showing up was that it brought the whole gang together for another big showdown. I squeed, literally squeed, when I saw the trailer at the end of Turn Left when it showed Jack Harkness, Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, and Sarah Jane Smith (whose spin-off series I have not yet gotten into) all back together again. I was so happy to have Rose back I can’t even explain. And then to have her and the Doctor (sort of) finally be together was just icing on the cake. The only sad part is that it felt like a truly final parting for Rose this time.

So Rose back in Pete’s World with the Doc (sort of) and Donna back to being just-Donna, and the Doctor out there all alone again. Then I started Series 5 and Netflix fucked my brain all to shit. They went from the xmess special The Next Doctor right into The Eleventh Hour. What’s the big deal you ask? Just this: At some point between those two episodes there was some sort of special episode in which David Tennent (my favorite Doctor) died and transformed into a new Doctor, and in doing so severely damaging the TARDIS. So we leave the Tennant Doctor happily accepting an invitation to xmess dinner and instantly join the Smith Doctor hanging out of a banged up TARDIS that is hurtling toward Earth. So yeah, fuck you Netflix! Fuck you right in your face!

Anyway… I’m not quite sure about Matt Smith yet. I hate the bow tie and I don’t like his face. His neanderthal brow and emo hair kinda freaks me out. I mean, he looks more like Rocky Dennis than he does Doctor Who. But seeing as how I was unsure of Christopher Eccleston and ended up liking him, and I was (foolishly) apprehensive of David Tennent and LOVED him, and I was callously dismissive of poor Donna Noble, I will give Matt Smith a fair shake. It’s the least I can do to make up for my previous misjudgements.

My final thought going into Series 5 is that this should be the mandatory uniform for Ms. Pond for the remainder of her tenure aboard the TARDIS.

Doctor Who: Series 3

Before I sat down to start writing this I realized I should probably put a spoiler warning on these things just in case anyone ever reads it and doesn’t want the ride spoiled. So be warned… I talk about shit that might give away shit that you dont want to know about so read ahead at your own peril.

So anyway, I’m tearing through them! The other day I finished series 3 of the new Doctor Who series. David Tennant has cemented himself as my favorite Doctor thus far. I love his antics and his whole chucks-with-a-suit look. The first thing I have to say about series 3 is that it starts off with the special Christmas episode “The Runaway Bride” which picks up immediately after we lose Rose to an alternate dimension. I don’t know if it was that the wound was still too fresh for me or if it was because she was ab-fucking-noxious, but I instantly hated Donna Noble and wanted the Doc to kick her out of the TARDIS and into a black hole. She does nothing but nag, nag, nag, nag, nag the entire episode. And then he offers to have her join him as a companion! Seriously dude? Do you really want some horse-faced harpy nagging you to pick your nickers up off the TARDIS floor after you just saved the world AGAIN! Ugh. Fortunately she passed on the offer and we soon pick up Martha Jones. I loved Martha, and I kinda felt bad for her at the same time. She was in love with the Doctor and all he could think about was Rose. I also felt a little guilty for continually comparing her to Rose. But Martha turned out to be a great companion (and not hard to look at).

 

The series boasts some really great episodes, and again, some not so great episodes, but nothing as abysmal as the last series flops I mentioned previously. Some of the stand-out episodes include another pair of  “Oh my God! The Daleks are still alive!? WTF!?” episodes that take place during the great depression in NYC. The Daleks from the Cult of Skaro that escaped from the battle of Canary Wharf show up and use genetic manipulation to become Human-Dalek hybrids. The leader of the Cult of Skaro, Dalek Sec, succeeds in becoming part human and ends up developing emotions and a desire for peace. The rest of the cult isn’t having none of that hippy shit so they kill everyone and peace out.

The episode “42” is another great race-against-the-clock episode. The Doc and Martha arrive on a spaceship that is falling into a sun after they experienced some technical difficulties. The Doctor has only 42 minutes to figure out who sabotaged the ship, why, and how to stop it from getting cooked in the sun and killing everyone. The episodes “Human Nature” and “The Family of Blood” has the Doc become human to hide from a family of bloodhound aliens out to steal his Time Lord essence so they can live forever. These episode deal with some great emotional and ethical issues. The man the Doctor becomes has no memory of his life as a Time Lord and when it comes time to change back he essentially has to kill himself so that the Doctor can come back. Great episode.

The Episode “Blink” was probably my favorite episode of the series. We meet Sally Sparrow, an urban exploration photographer who sneaks into an abandoned house to take some pictures. While in the house she sees some wallpaper peeling off the wall revealing some words behind. She peels it off and incrementally reveals a message written to her from the past. The episode features some creepy gargoyle type aliens and a great story that had the Doc stuck in the past without his TARDIS sending cryptic messages to Sally in the future. The Doc and Martha barely get any screen time in the episode, which usually bothers me in a serial series (I watch shows to see the characters I love, not for single-serving secondary characters) but it was actually really well done in this episode. When it was all over I found myself rather attached to Sally Sparrow and sad that she wasn’t going to be tagging along.

Sally Sparrow and a creepy Angel-Statue alien

The Series wraps up by fulfilling the “You are not alone” prophecy given to the Doc by the Face of Boe by introducing the antagonist and Doctoral antithesis, the Master—an evil sumbitch of a bastard Time Lord—over a 3 episode story arc (Utopia, The Sound of Drums, and The Last of the Time Lords). This arc reunites Doc with Captain Jack Harkness (hooray for Torchwood crossover!). After revealing himself as the Master and regenerating, the Master steals the TARDIS and strands Doc, Jack, and Martha at the end of the universe trillions of years in the future.  Before the Master can make his escape in the TARDIS Doc zaps it and locks it so that the Master can only go back to London of the Present. Still, using his bad-assery and technical know-how the Master brainwashes London into making him the new Prime Minister. When the Doc manages to get back to the present (thanks to Jack’s Time Cop decoder bracelet) the Master unleashes hell on earth, kicks Doc’s ass, tortures and kills Harkness over and over, and rules with tyranny and bloodshed for an entire year. Buuuuut, the Doc does his Doc type shit and saves the day. Martha decides that she needs to stay and take care of her family, and Harkness drops a bombshell about the possible identity of the Face of Boe. HOLY SHIT!!!

Anyway, great series.

Side note: I did start watching Series 4 already and, as I’m sure you faithful Who fans already know, fucking Donna Noble comes back as the new companion. fml. Hopefully there is still a chance she accidentally trips out the door and falls into an imploding dwarf star.

Doctor Who: Series 2

I just finished Doctor Who series 2 on Netflix.

I have to admit, David Tennent totally grew on me as the Doctor. I friggin love his comic delivery and wise ass comments. This season had some seriously awesome episodes. Sadly, it also had some really stupid episodes as well. The buzzword for series 2 was Torchwood. In the episode Tooth and Claw, the Doctor and Rose meet the queen and save her from a werewolf entity. She creates Torchwood to protect crown and country from otherworldly enemies. It was nice to see the origins of Torchwood and get a little history. This season cleared up a few of the questions I had from watching the show Torchwood, like who was Ianto’s cyberwoman girlfriend and what was the battle of Canary Wharf?

As mentioned, there were a few standout episodes that blew me away. First and foremost was a two-parter called The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit. Doc and Rose arrive on a planet that is orbiting a black hole. There is a mysterious energy source holding the planet in place and keeping it from being sucked into the black hole. There is a research team there trying to discover what this energy is by digging into the core of the planet. Long story short, the Devil was imprisoned in a pit at the core of this planet millennia ago (before time) and is now trying to escape. The two-part episode was so well written and executed that it felt a lot like watching a feature length horror film.

Unfortunately, they followed up this amazing featurette with a couple really bad episodes like Love and Monsters about a group of Doctor enthusiasts that meet in a basement and then get eaten by a lame alien reminiscent of Mike Meyer’s Austin Powers character Fat Bastard.

And the episode Fear Her about a little girl possessed by an alien that lets her kidnap children by drawing them.

The Show redeems itself with another two-part episode with Army of Ghosts and Doomsday which acted as the season finale. I honestly got choked up (and maybe got a little teary-eyed) at the end of Doomsday when Rose and the Doctor are forever separated after Rose is sucked into an alternate dimension. I loved Rose! Not just because she was amazingly attractive, but because she was just a fun character and complemented the Doctor so well.

(I just got choked up again rewatching the clip)

I’m going to really miss Rose. But this is Doctor Who and I know it wont be the end of her. I’ve started the 3rd series (couldn’t stand Donna) and so far like Martha Jones.

What a ride!

Doctor Who?

I remember growing up and occasionally watching the original Doctor Who with my dad. I was too young to really remember much about it beyond a vague impression.

Fast forward some 20-odd years and I am just now delving into the Who-verse via the new series. I got started a little off center by first watching Torchwood (Doc Who spin-off) on Netflix (PS. Dear Netflix… more episodes now please kthxbye). I loved the pomp and swagger that Jack Harkness offered and I kinda developed a bit of a crush on Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper; she just has that odd British hotness despite some off dentistry.

Eve Myles in Torchwood

Once the Netflix episodes of Torchwood dried up (seriously Netflix… come on!) I found myself wanting more, so I bit the bullet and hid in the closet and watched the first (new series) season of Doctor Who. Keep in mind I had no knowledge of the series beyond my faint childhood recollection.

I remembered Christopher Eccleston from Heroes (You know… from before the writers fucked it up beyond any hope of survival), Gone in 60 Seconds, 28 days later, and G.I. Joe, so I was excited that he was the Doctor. His oddball behavior took a while to grow on me and I found I really liked him. As with Eve Myles, I found a similar adoration for Billie Piper (so hot… despite some off dentistry).

Billie Piper as Rose Tyler

At the time of this writing, I am just starting the second season of Doctor Who on Netflix. As any fan of the series knows, when the good Doctor suffers any sort of fatal injury he is capable of regenerating and becoming a new person with an entirely new personality, but retaining all of his previous memories. At the end of season 1 (without too many spoilers) such an event occurs and This was the moment I knew I had rounded a bend in my path to true geekdom… I was PISSED that Eccleston wasn’t going to be the Doctor anymore. He turned into some goofy looking dude (David Tennent). Who the hell was this interloper! How could he even hope to compare to the leather wearing bad-assery that was the Eccleston-Who!?

Now, now… don’t hate on me yet die-hard Who fans… I am new to the series and hadn’t yet experienced the scene that turned it all around for me with David Tennent!

From then on all was forgiven!

That’s about as far into the Who-verse as I have yet ventured. I am a big fan of ruining things for myself though so I have done some reading and know a little of what’s to come. What am I most excited for you ask?

well this of course!

Karen Gillan as Amy Pond

A hot, Scottish, fiery ginger companion! Hells yes please! Sign me up!