GOTHAM - The Complete Third Season

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'Gotham - The Complete Third Season' on Blogcritics.

Despite the failures of the big screen DC efforts of the past decade, there are some really good shows representing that comic company on the small screen. Gotham is a DC show that sometimes baffles me because it has some really cool elements and can be quite gripping at times, while other arcs are lackluster and plodding. Three years in, it seems like the series is pulling itself together, as I would argue that Gotham – The Complete Third Season has many of the best episodes of the show, and certainly the strongest run when taken all together due to its complexity, the cast becoming more comfortable in their roles, and writers’ ability to still surprise.

Gotham‘s third season begins with two major developments: Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) is no longer an officer with the Gotham City Police Department, and Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) and Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) are best friends. The first of those is important because Gordon’s role with the GCPD is a vital part of his identity, and dictates the daily activities of the most central character of the ensemble. The latter makes a difference because those are two very formidable villains, Nygma more so as the season goes on and he becomes The Riddler, so they are in a position to cause much trouble indeed when their forces are combined.

These elements also echo a greater trend. The subtitle for the first past of the season is Mad City, and Gotham certainly falls under that descriptor. Penguin is elected mayor early on. The mysterious Court of Owls is seen to be pulling the strings of both sides of the law for their own purposes. Law enforcement is in chaos, unable to contend with the bad guys who seem to keep multiplying. With the metropolitan area under such pressure and conflict, what can be done to right the ship?

Well, while the villains are gaining the upper hand, there are a number of signs that things will come around, starting with the subtitle for the end of the season, Heroes Rise. Gordon, as we know he must, does go back to the GCPD. Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) inches ever closer to becoming Batman, something that seems poised to happen in season four. Lucius Fox (Chris Chalk) plays a larger role in these episodes. That tells me that, as bad as things are, there is help on its way.

Gotham is a show with an extremely large cast and a lot of subplots intertwining at once, so it would be impossible to get into everything that happens in season three in this review, even just looking at the lead characters. However, there are a few things worth mentioning about The Complete Third Season. Barbara’s (Erin Richards) growth, furthering her independence, is quite pleasing. This season brings the return of Jerome (Cameron Monaghan), Hugo Strange (BD Wong), and Carmine Falcone (John Doman), who all seem to have plenty of potential left in them. Villain Jervis Tetch (Benedict Samuel, The Walking Dead) would work better as a guest character, rather than artificially keeping him around all year. New, grown-up Ivy (Maggie Geha, Ted 2) is pretty cool, once they started to develop her character in the back half of the season. Chelsea Spack’s reprise is interesting, until she is wasted without resolution. The way Gordon and Lee (Morena Baccarin) are kept apart feels forced. Alexander Siddig (Game of Thrones, Star Trek: Deep Space 9) is pretty awesome, so I’m glad to see him show up in a neat way. It’s a mixed bag, but I’d say it’s more good than bad.

Gotham – The Complete Third Season has a pretty good batch of bonus features. There’s a featurette on the Court of Owls, and another on the new villains. Star Ben McKenzie makes his directorial debut this season, so there’s material on that. Deleted scenes are scattered across the four-disc set. The 2016 Comic Con panel is pretty useless after the season has been viewed, and given it’s on the last disc, that’s likely to be when people see it. (This is not a complaint specific to Gotham, as other recent releases have done the same thing, which does not make it better.) In summary, a decent lineup.

Gotham – The Complete Third Season is available now on blu-ray, DVD, and digital download.

TUT Not King of TV

Article originally published as TUT Review on Seat42F.

Spike begins its six-hour miniseries TUT tonight at 9 p.m. ET, with the rest to premiere Monday and Tuesday. Based on the famous Egyptian pharaoh, King Tutankhamun, the special covers the brief events at the end of Tut’s life and reign as he struggles to establish his rule as an adult against those who have been making decisions for the child king, with a fair amount of sex thrown in.

One can presume that TUT is based upon truth, but there isn’t a whole lot known about the pharaoh. His tomb is one of the best preserved ever found and DNA matches can put together a few details, but it’s not like there are surviving books from the day to give us many facts. Thus, the makers of TUT have a long leash with which to tell their story. Regrettably, they choose to make it a very modern soap opera rather than a sweeping epic.

Much of the first two hours of TUT, all that I have viewed so far and all that I probably will ever view, is given over to personal drama. Tut (Avan Jogia, Twisted) is married to his sister, Ankhe (Sibylla Deen, Tyrant), but she has been unable to give him an heir. She’s in love with Tut’s comrade, Ka (Peter Gadiot, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland), which in these superstitious times leads Tut to believe could be the problem. Luckily for Tut, he soon meets Suhad (Kylie Bunbury, also Twisted), who doesn’t realize who he is, meaning they have to soon sleep together.

This love rectangle is predictable and trite. Because TUT takes place prior to just about all other tales viewers are privy to, it’s possible that the way things are laid out in TUT was fresh in its own time, but knowing that little historical evidence backs up this sequence definitely makes it feel like a copy of so many other things. TUT mashes up several very familiar plots and fails to give us enough originality to set it apart.

More interesting are the political machinations happening in the palace. Vizier Ay (Ben Kingsley, Hugo) seems wise and fair-minded, aspiring for more than servitude, but content with his lot until opportunity should arise. General Horemheb (Nonso Anozie, Zoo) is far more open about his frustrations, unhappy when Tut begins telling him to run the army. Priest Amun (Alexander Siddig, Game of Thrones) is a little murkier in his intentions, but seems to be walking the halls of power for a reason.

Were TUT to focus on these three men and their relationships with the boy king, I think it would be a far superior miniseries. There are plenty of places to see the sappy romantic stuff on television, but far fewer to watch a great epic unfold, and love could be a part of this without stealing away so much focus. True, even if the politics parts of the program were played up, it could still come off as cheesy, but it’s less likely to, even when the motivations are simple and underdeveloped.

Instead, TUT tries to balance both and fails to make either one all that compelling. Given such a blank canvass, with only a few pinpoints to connect, one would hope that the writers would chose to tell an original story, playing with the rich landscape available to them. Instead, TUT is almost a paint-by-numbers thin copy of too many other tales. This is highly disappointing because it really, really does not have to be and just feels lazy. With the interesting costumes and settings, it’s easy to see what TUT might have been, which is likely to leave one dissatisfied with what it is.

If you’re so inclined, you can catch TUT the next three nights on Spike.

"Dragons" "Dance" in the GAME OF THRONES

Article originally written for Seat42F.

Given that HBO’s GAME OF THRONES has a penchant for making the penultimate episode of every season big (think: Ned Stark’s execution, The Red Wedding, The Battle of Blackwater), and given that last night’s episode is titled “The Dance of Dragons,” many assumed both splash and dragons would be served. Those people are likely not disappointed, then, with what GAME OF THRONES delivered.

The biggest thing by far in “The Dance of Dragons” is the sequence at the re-opened Mereen fighting pits. It starts off simple enough, with some charged interplay between Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke) men, Daario (Michiel Huisman), Hizdahr zo Loraq (Joel Fry), and Tyrion (Peter Dinklage). Daario and Hizdahr both want Daenerys’ heart, and Hizdahr and Tyrion both seek to advise her. Well, what Hizdahr really wants is likely to depose the queen and rule himself, but until that happens, things still don’t look like smooth sailing for this all-male council.

All of this goes on as the fighting happens in front of the dais, which is interesting. Brutality is happening right in front of them, but it’s at least partially ignored because it doesn’t directly concern this group. They can talk about it on an intellectual level, but not being in the pits themselves, they don’t have that person stake. This highlights the detachment of leadership, and probably why Daenerys is having trouble controlling her people.

Jorah (Iain Glen) reappears in the pit, and that does make things more personal, at least for Daenerys. I’m not sure why The Bear returns again, having twice been cast out. Does he think he will get a different reaction from Daenerys this time? I can’t see any reason why he would think so, nor does he at the start.

But then the Sons of the Harpy attack, and nothing is certain any more. Now the danger really does threaten our small contingent. Hizdahr, the one of the attacker’s own who sits with the despised ruler, dies first. Jorah re-earns a place by Daenerys’ side by defending her, which she accepts when she takes his hand. It’s a smartly staged attack, with only a few Unsullied around and our heroes trapped in a confined space. This coup is bloody and intense and viewers will not soon forget neither the unexpected way in which it happens, nor the desperation as Jorah, Tyrion, Daario, Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Daenerys cower in the center of the pit, becoming part of the fighting action themselves, no longer separate and above it. It’s a powerful image.

Then, Drogon appears. The best dragon of Daenerys’ trio, he comes when his mistress needs him, barbequing her would-be assassins. He’s not yet completely full grown, and spears do threaten him, but he startles the bad guys enough to rescue Daenerys and fly away. It’s slightly deus ex machina, but it’s also a pay-off for a long-simmering story, and a good way to reawaken the dormant ‘mother of dragons’ plot thread.

Does Daenerys not care about her fellows? Perhaps in the moment she can be forgiven for being so focused on her pet, a truly mesmerizing sight. But when she flies off, she leaves the others in the pit. I think, given the confusion and chaos the dragon causes, they can escape, but how does she know that? Would she really be so heartless as to leave the others who have protected her so bravely to fend for themselves? This is the one thing that seems out of step in this portion of “The Dance of Dragons.”

While Mereen is the setting of a large portion of the hour, it is not the only place where things are happening, of course. The second most affecting bit comes when Stannis (Stephen Dillance) gives in to Melisandre’s (Carice van Houten) request to sacrifice his daughter, Shireen (Kerry Ingram), burning her alive, which thankfully is not shown in graphic detail. Now, according to Melisandre, this will guarantee Stannis’ progress in taking control of the Seven Kingdoms.

I don’t think Stannis’ actions can just be chalked up to desperation. True, his army is decimated, the stores burned, and he’s out of options, which does lead him to consider the one he wouldn’t before, killing his beloved daughter. But I don’t see malice or regret in his eyes when he talks to Shireen beforehand, and he actually does a kindness when he gets Davos (Liam Cunningham) out of the way, as Davos would have died defending the girl. Instead, Stannis really believes he deserves the Iron Throne and must do whatever he can to get it. There’s no anger or grief or selfishness in his face; this just is, and he accepts it as the heavy price he must pay. This will likely make most viewers, myself included, turn against his ‘just’ cause, as he’s stubborn to a tragic fault.

In Bravos, Arya (Maisie Williams) also does what she thinks she must, abandoning the mission Jaqen (Tom Wlaschiha) gives her when she spots Meryn Trant (Ian Beattie), one of those she’s sworn vengeance against for what happened to her family. She follows him around instead of killing the heartless businessman, who has earned his own death.

There’s no denying Trant deserves death, especially when his whorehouse proclivities are exposed, but I don’t think Arya is ready to go after this man head-on. She’s still very early in her training, and clearly her motives are purely personal, making her emotional. Plus, if she goes against Jaqen’s orders now, and I suspect Jaqen already knows what Arya is considering and is waiting to see what will happen, she’s likely to be kicked out the program. Then what will she do? Is being a Faceless Man just something she tests out, or is it her calling? Would she be allowed to leave the church without penalty?

Other great moments include Jaime’s enlightening discussion with Doran Martell (Alexander Siddig), which shows us Doran’s character, Bronn’s (Jerome Flynn) penalty being paid for striking a prince, and the tense few moments until Alliser (Owen Teale) opens the gate to Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and the Wildlings. “The Dance of Dragons” may be a big episode, but there are plenty left in these other sections for next week’s season finale, and many rich characters to keep playing with. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say Jon will be the one to watch next week, and maybe Cersei, who sits this episode out.

GAME OF THRONES airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

ATLANTIS Better Off Lost

Article first published as ATLANTIS Review on Seat42F.

BBC America will soon begin airing the British series ATLANTIS. Similar to Merlin and other fantasy shows, the story is about a young man who is searching for his lost father and ends up in the mysteries land of Atlantis, which is apparently where he’s from. It’s an hour-long drama full of magic, mythical creatures, mystery, and possibly some time travel.

The man’s name is Jason (Jack Donnelly, House of Anubis), and he is in the present day at the start. A trip down in a submarine that breaks apart sends him to the titular city somehow. Jason doesn’t know anything about his origins until The Oracle (Juliet Stevenson, White Heat) tells him. He is confused and curious, but also a hero, and so acts heroically, adapting to his surroundings and immediately willing to risk his life for the new friends he makes, roommates Pythagoras (Robert Emms, War Horse) and Hercules (Mark Addy, Game of Thrones).

Atlantis is ruled by King Minos (Alexander Siddig, Star Trek: Deep Space 9), a cruel man who Jason is told not to reveal himself to. Every year, Minos has his subjects draw markers and an unlucky handful are sacrificed to the dreaded Minotaur. One of Jason’s new pals is chosen, and that’s where the story of the pilot, “The Earth Bull,” takes off. Oh, and of course Minos has a daughter, Ariadne (Aiysha Hart, Honour), who is smitten with Jason.

What this means is a lot of the initial installment is set up, then things move really fast and there’s still time to stick in a story-of-the-week. Viewers will not be worried that serious harm will befall Jason because it doesn’t seem like the type of show to take such a huge chance, so the stakes are relatively low, making the danger muted, and not too scary for kids.

My first impression of ATLANTIS is that it’s cheesy. Like its peer Merlin, it takes familiar character names and twists the story for “modern sensibilities.” But it’s all fluff, nothing heavy or complex, with characters easy to pigeonhole. Hercules is grumpy, but we know he’s a good guy. Minos doesn’t seem so bad at times, but he’s definitely the villain. I really wish Jason was a bit dark, but he’s not, the epitome of the good guy, and even with his father’s disappearance, pretty boring.. It’s all very obvious.

Now, this kind of thing has worked well for the BBC before, so it’s understandable why they would want to do it again, and indeed, a second series has already been ordered, ahead of its U.S. airing. That’s because there is a sense of adventure and whimsy, something audiences can connect to, and I think hearing some of the names of legendary literature may even give the premise a false sense of gravitas. Sadly, the depth of story does not rise up to such a level.

One thing that is confusing about “The Earth Bull” is whether Jason has traveled in time and/or space. The technology in Atlantis is definitely that of ancient times, but The Oracle and the Minotaur make it seem other-worldly, not just in our past. And Jason tells Pythagoras he will be well remembered, but given the unrealistic elements, this civilization could very well be somewhere else, and this may not be the famous Pythagoras, despite his love of tinkering with triangles, since that Pythagoras didn’t live in Atlantis. So I guess we’re supposed to assume this is past Earth, and Atlantis and its magic co-exist with ancient Greece?

I suspect I’m overthinking this. ATLANTIS is clearly meant to be just an action-adventure show, not concerned with being historically accurate or telling a ‘real’ tale. It exists in its own separate universe, with rules that will become clear as the show plays out. It’s not highbrow or intellectual, but it is mildly entertaining and comfortable.

The special effects are pretty decent, at least as good as Merlin or Primeval, though not cinema-quality. That’s important, since there are creatures as well as people interacting. I assume the CGI will continue to get better with each subsequent year.

ATLANTIS premieres Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on BBC America.

Plagued By Da Vinci's Demons

Article first published as DA VINCI'S DEMONS Review at Seat42F.

Grade: 84%

Starz is launching a new series this week called DA VINCI’S DEMONS. Yes, that title refers to the famous artist and dreamer Leonardo Da Vinci. But rather than seeing an old, brilliant man, as most screen portrayals of the character have been, DA VINCI’S DEMONS picks up early in the figure’s life, when he is in his mid-twenties.

It makes sense that Starz would want this show to be young and sexy, just like its lead. While some networks might try for historical accuracy at least a little, DA VINCI’S DEMONS fits perfectly into the mold of a network that knows that skin and violence sell. What we get here is no boring retelling of events, but a larger than life, adrenaline-racing mix of mystery, magic, politics, and outsize personalities.

Da Vinci (Tom Riley, Monroe) himself is tortured by his incredible mind, and knows he is every bit as smart as he think he is. He does what he wants, when he wants, and has little regard for rules or societal norms, which offends many. He looks down on everyone, and is plenty willing to use and manipulate people to meet his goals, hoping his charm will save him from the consequences.

This doesn’t always work, of course. His chief detractor in the pilot, called “The Hanged Man,” is Da Vinci’s own father. Da Vinci is a bastard, and his dad resents what Leonardo is doing to his family’s reputation. Having recently fathered a legitimate heir, Da Vinci’s maker is not at all above chaining and beating his own son. Obviously, this takes daddy issues to a whole new level, and I don’t see any resolution between the pair ever happening.

But Da Vinci’s dad is small potatoes, when there is so much more at stake. “The Hanged Man” begins with the Duke of Milan (Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey) being assassinated, which throws the delicate balance between the lands, including Florence, where Da Vinci lives, into disarray. Da Vinci is determined to take advantage of the situation, tricking his way into an audience with Florence’s leader, Lorenzo Medici (Elliot Cowan, Alexander), and getting himself hired as a military engineer.

One might think that Da Vinci would be satisfied with having such a position, but of course he’s not, tempting fate by taking up with Medici’s mistress, Lucrezia Donati (Laura Haddock, The Inbetweeners Movie). This is the obligatory sex piece of the episode, as, because this is pay cable, there must be nudity.

Honestly, I feel like all of this is enough for a show. We’ve got the battles and the betrayals, a promise of action and war surrounding our protagonist, and plenty of plot. Yet, DA VINCI’S DEMONS doesn’t stop there, also bringing the Vatican and Pope Sixtus IV (James Faulkner, Bridget Jones’s Diary) into the mix, who has secret files. And there is a mystical group, represented by the mysterious Al-Rahim (Alexander Siddig, Star Trek: Deep Space 9) searching for the so-called Book of Leaves, which supposedly contains lost knowledge of humanity.

On top of that, I’ve only gotten around to mentioning less than half of the main cast so far in my outlining of the story, so there are many minor things going on, too, that flesh out this world into a very complete, very busy place.

Yes, all of this makes for a very full, very exciting story. But it also presents a tad bit of a problem. If all of the things portrayed in DA VINCI’S DEMONS really happened, surely Leonard Da Vinci not only was a genius in his own right, but also contributed to a huge global power struggle, and likely helped save the world. This is not something that could possibly be covered up over the centuries, and so these additional plots basically toss any sense of historical fact right out of the window.

That being said, it is doubtful that the target viewer of this series is looking to learn about the past. This is going to appeal to the lovers of other Starz shows, like Spartacus, and it’s also kind of a more adult version of the British series Merlin. As such, most people who would watch will be satisfied with the impressive special effects, bare breasts, and scenes of posturing between powerful men.

Speaking of the effects, Starz has spared no expense. There are several visual treats in “The Hanged Man” alone, and none are flawed. The computer-generated magic is as good as the real magic within the story, and there’s little chance that viewers will be taken out of the experience because of them. Rather, they enhance the show.

Overall, while a little disappointed that the portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci isn’t more accurate, I did find DA VINCI’S DEMONS to be highly entertaining and worth watching. I don’t know if it will be any luckier than Starz’s short-live Camelot, but it seems to have taken that concept and kicked it up a notch, so it certainly has a chance. The acting isn’t going to win any awards, but it’s serviceable for the purpose. And the total package satisfies.

DA VINCI’S DEMONS premieres Friday, April 12th at 10 p.m. ET.

Primeval Volume 3 roars onto Blu-ray

      The BBC recently released Primeval Volume Three on Blu-ray and DVD. Don't be confused by the Three in the title, as series one and two comprised a single volume in North America, and this set includes all the episodes so far past series three, but not series three, which is volume two. Get it?

     Contained on the four discs are the five prequel webisodes that set up series four by introducing viewers to the new characters and the revamped chain of command, as well as all thirteen episodes from series four and five. In the webisodes, it is learned that Sarah (Laila Rouass, Holby City) is dead. Matt Anderson (Ciaran McMenamin, Pulling Moves), a very guarded man, who has military experience, and is also a zoologist, is the new team leader. Jess Parker (Ruth Kearney) is a brilliant, naive teenager who now is the field coordinator from the ARC office. Philip Burton (Alexander Siddig, Star Trek: Deep Space 9, 24) is a private businessman, who now owns the ARC project in partnership with the government, and provides the new working space. Philip would rather not even mess with the dinosaurs, but thinks the anomalies could provide a great energy source.

     Series four finds Conor (Andrew Lee Potts, Ideal, 1408) and Abby (Hannah Spearritt, S Club 7) arriving back in the present, only to learn they no longer have jobs, since they are not military, and new rules have been handed down. Saving the day, they earn their spots back But that is only the beginning. Time travelers muck things up, and deepen the mystery. New character relationships and pasts are revealed. Abby and Conor find their relationship strained, as they can't quite agree on who they should ally themselves with. And worst of all, Conor discovers that the anomalies the team has been battling for the entire series are only getting more frequent, and will soon result in an absolute disaster.

     In the fifth series, lines are drawn. Conor and Philip work on creating anomalies, while Matt and Abby try to stop them. Matt's future world becomes relevant, as more creatures from the desolate world of tomorrow invade. Conor switches allegiances, renews his love with Abby, and tries to help stop Philip. All hell breaks loose, and it builds into an explosive finale.

     Is this the end of the story? While a sixth series has not been ordered in the over-a-year since production of series five stopped, a Canadian spin-off entitled Primeval: New World begins production this winter. However, the New World is said to feature an entirely new cast, even if it is set in the same world, so depending on how things end up shaking down, Volume Three could be the end of Primeval as fans know it.

     Primeval looks fantastic in high definition. Volume Three is the first volume to be released on Blu-ray thus far, and only series four and five are available in high def streaming. With the large amount of special effects in the show, Blu-ray is certainly the way to go, and hopefully the BBC will convert the first three series into the format, as well. The colors and look of the show are fantastic in this 1080i set, and the sound is mixed wonderfully, though it's disappointing that it is merely stereo, not surround sound. Then again, this is television, not a film.

     As far as special features go, those are less desirable. There are the webisodes, as mentioned above, and a two part making of titled "New Dawn," with one part each on discs two and four. And that's it. Nothing else. Both are excellent additions to the set, but leave fans wanting more. However, the series is still good enough to recommend the purchase, and the price is reasonable for the episodes.

     Buy Primeval Volume Three, on sale now.

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