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Raven, what are you doing?
Jun. 12th, 2025 09:57 amThey really brought in Philip Akin as a new character? And they really killed him off AGAIN? What even.
Three shows
Jun. 10th, 2025 09:26 am1. My mother gifted me the complete Penny Dreadful on DVD. Judging by trailers, I will definitely not be watching this while I'm eating, but it looks very promising. Please chime in with opinions if you've seen it!
2. More of The Raven and the writers clearly decided Nick was not going to fit the Duncan mode after all, as his appreciation of culture clearly died with Claudia and in the two following episodes he's a total dick. He's rude and belittling, heavy-handed, oafish, angry, uncouth and occasionally drunk. He breaks down Amanda's door and then doesn't even hold his gun properly on entrance (I laughed, and I don't think I was supposed to). His bangs keep getting in his eyes. He bitches and moans and is stubborn as a mule and won't listen to reason. He's been catapulted into a world whose rules no longer make sense and he is Not Happy about it. He's hysterical to watch. I want popcorn.
Then there's episode four, where the writing steps up and Nick's interactions with Amanda become less eyebrow-raising and more human. Plus: Amanda showing off her emotional perceptiveness. Minus: Amanda not winning her swordfight on screen. I wanted to know what New Age Abacus Man's last words were.
3. Just watched the 2015 Doctor Who Christmas special 'The Husbands of River Song.' I got choked up three times, and the final scene... I don't do happy-sad crying (or at least I never used to, but who knows now). The only episode which has ever wrung such a response from me was 'The Prom' on Buffy. 'Husbands' attains the same rank. Quite striking, as it goes from screwball comedy to an acknowledgement that happy endings do not last but are still profound experiences. River treasured the memory of their night on Darillium and the Doctor doesn't try to take that away from her, honoring her final moments and (even without memory of Clara) her refusal to have her memories removed. Everything ends, and he's able to deal with that in a healthy manner for... Possibly the first time in NuWho?
I needed this episode.
2. More of The Raven and the writers clearly decided Nick was not going to fit the Duncan mode after all, as his appreciation of culture clearly died with Claudia and in the two following episodes he's a total dick. He's rude and belittling, heavy-handed, oafish, angry, uncouth and occasionally drunk. He breaks down Amanda's door and then doesn't even hold his gun properly on entrance (I laughed, and I don't think I was supposed to). His bangs keep getting in his eyes. He bitches and moans and is stubborn as a mule and won't listen to reason. He's been catapulted into a world whose rules no longer make sense and he is Not Happy about it. He's hysterical to watch. I want popcorn.
Then there's episode four, where the writing steps up and Nick's interactions with Amanda become less eyebrow-raising and more human. Plus: Amanda showing off her emotional perceptiveness. Minus: Amanda not winning her swordfight on screen. I wanted to know what New Age Abacus Man's last words were.
3. Just watched the 2015 Doctor Who Christmas special 'The Husbands of River Song.' I got choked up three times, and the final scene... I don't do happy-sad crying (or at least I never used to, but who knows now). The only episode which has ever wrung such a response from me was 'The Prom' on Buffy. 'Husbands' attains the same rank. Quite striking, as it goes from screwball comedy to an acknowledgement that happy endings do not last but are still profound experiences. River treasured the memory of their night on Darillium and the Doctor doesn't try to take that away from her, honoring her final moments and (even without memory of Clara) her refusal to have her memories removed. Everything ends, and he's able to deal with that in a healthy manner for... Possibly the first time in NuWho?
I needed this episode.
My sum total knowledge of this show going in:
1. It's the much-maligned Amanda spinoff, with an imdb rating of 5.2 (I don't think I've ever seen a show get less than 6.0 over there, so ouch).
2. It was a disaster behind the scenes and the two leads hated each other's guts.
3. The other lead is an angry cop called Nick with 90s action man stubble. He's pre-Immortal.
4. Lucy is a fan favorite.
5. There's also a priest somewhere in the mix.
6. A lot of the salty reviews seem to blame the show for not being season five of Highlander and for not being about Methos. However, I don't expect it to be the former and am alone in thinking a Methos spinoff would only have succeeded in diluting the character's intrigue, so...
7. The cop emphasis was also present in the first season of the parent show, which many people dismiss but which I always found really charming, so seriously, how bad could it be?
It took a couple of tries to get into this episode, mostly due to external factors. I have watched the parent show my entire life, so it's strange and at this point emotional to see new footage of Amanda. Second attempt turned into a live blog of sorts, which I'll just leave as first impressions.
( Read more... )
1. It's the much-maligned Amanda spinoff, with an imdb rating of 5.2 (I don't think I've ever seen a show get less than 6.0 over there, so ouch).
2. It was a disaster behind the scenes and the two leads hated each other's guts.
3. The other lead is an angry cop called Nick with 90s action man stubble. He's pre-Immortal.
4. Lucy is a fan favorite.
5. There's also a priest somewhere in the mix.
6. A lot of the salty reviews seem to blame the show for not being season five of Highlander and for not being about Methos. However, I don't expect it to be the former and am alone in thinking a Methos spinoff would only have succeeded in diluting the character's intrigue, so...
7. The cop emphasis was also present in the first season of the parent show, which many people dismiss but which I always found really charming, so seriously, how bad could it be?
It took a couple of tries to get into this episode, mostly due to external factors. I have watched the parent show my entire life, so it's strange and at this point emotional to see new footage of Amanda. Second attempt turned into a live blog of sorts, which I'll just leave as first impressions.
( Read more... )
