Tenant is DES

 Article first published as TV Review: DES on Seat42F.

Sundance Now is streaming a three-part drama beginning this week entitled DES. Based on the true story of a Scottish serial killer arrested in 1983, the story starts at the arrest. Thus, rather than having a mystery that needs to be solved by skillful detectives, it’s a character study of a killer who has been caught, and indeed, seems to want to have been caught and surprised it has taken so long. Although he has been practicing his murderous craft for some time.

David Tennant (Doctor Who, Good Omens) stars as Dennis Nilsen, who insists people call him DES. Tennant has been lauded for many previous roles, including a good many dark villains. None of the praise for him has been overblown; he’s a very talented performer. Yet, in DES, he seems to have found something new to do, which is hard to imagine if you haven’t seen it. Des is such a specific and unique character, at least the way Tennant plays him, that he comes across as completely harmless and even polite, including when he’s confessing to the homicides. The shock on other characters’ faces as he unspools what he remembers will be matched only by the audience watching. He’s an enigma that is hard to figure out, which is part of the draw.

There are two other central characters, besides Des himself, in the show. DCI Peter Jay (Daniel Mays, White Lines, Good Omens) is the one who seems to be in charge of Des’ case, even while the higher ups get involved. A little bit of Peter’s personal life is revealed in the first hour before things really get going, though I’m not sure how that’s really relevant, given that Peter is then just shown doing his job. The other, Brian Masters (Jason Watkins, The Crown, Being Human), is an author, and a bit more of his personality is shown. This feels more necessary, as Brian will eventually write a book about Des on which DES is based, and it is nice to know what his motivations and mindset may be when he agrees to the project to inform on the show itself.

With this trio, the acting in DES is superb. Every scene drips with delicious tension, and it’s easy to be drawn into the story. Which is quite a feat when you consider not much really happens. The action part of the plot occurs off screen, prior to the miniseries, so this is all character-based. Thankfully, it’s as riveting as you could hope for, in a terrifically understated way, and the fact that the story is actually true almost feels more like icing on the cake than the point of it.

There are a hell of a lot of crime shows these days, and this is far from the only true one. Yet, I feel like DES is more worth it than most, and a great piece of programming. It is actually the ninth in a series of such programs produced by ITV, with a tenth one on the way. I haven’t watched the others, but after viewing this, I am anxious to check them out.

The three-hour running time doesn’t hurt, either. I’ve only watched the first, and it seems to me right now that three hours feels short. Yet, when these things are stretched to eight or ten (or more) hours, they often drag a bit in the middle, so by keeping it so limited, DES is sure not to overstay its welcome. It’s essentially film-length.

Sundance Now is offered as a stand-alone service where you can view DES and other programming on the network. Or you can subscribe via Prime Channels on Amazon. So there are a couple different ways to view it, though I don’t see DES available for stand-alone purchase in the United States on either streaming or discs at the moment, so you’ve got to go through Sundance Now.

DES airs Thursdays for the next couple of weeks on Sundance Now.

Marvel's JESSICA JONES

Article originally published as JESSICA JONES Review on Seat42F.

The following review is very light on spoilers, so please read on!

After the success of MARVEL’S DAREDEVIL last spring, many have waited with bated breath for the next installment in the studio’s Netflix universe. It arrives this Friday in the form of JESSICA JONES, a noir detective series that gets a lot darker and a lot scarier than anything Marvel has done before. And, as one might expect, it is excellent.

JESSICA JONES begins with the titular character (Krysten Ritter, Breaking Bad, Don’t Trust the B-) working as a private eye in Hell’s Kitchen. As is familiar to the archetype, Jessica is a hard-drinker, trying to escape demons from her past, while being excellent at her job. This feels a bit like Veronica Mars, a show Ritter did an arc in, and viewers think they know what they’re getting.

Not even a full hour in, though, JESSICA JONES takes a twist into new territory. It isn’t that the show abandons the early tone or style; it still infuses what comes after. But while the series begins rooted in a genre we’ve seen before, it expands the horizons of those bearing witness to the proceedings in short order.

Part of this is because JESSICA JONES is kind of a horror show. Kilgrave, a.k.a. The Purple Man (David Tennant, Doctor Who, Broadchurch), is the scariest villain I’ve ever seen in the superhero realm, and what he does is more disturbing than the fare fans are used to. This is not a Marvel series appropriate to watch with the kiddos. Instead, it features what appears to be an unstoppable bad guy who does things far worse than simple violence permits, making for a premise that will send chills up and down and back up your spine. He is terrifying.

Jessica also has a very rich backstory that is barely teased in the initial episode. We know she has undergone some trauma; that’s clear from the way she lives her life, trying to get past something that has scarred her soul. But the more we learn about her, the more it makes sense that she’s this screwed up. Some characters have reasons for doing destructive things and we forgive them for it, but for Jessica to even continue existing in the world as she does makes her far stronger and resilient than your average person.

This means Jessica’s abilities are not limited to the physical. Her superpowers are not the point of JESSICA JONES, and we get them in small doses, not showy sequences. It’s not even immediately clear what she can do, other than lift cars and jump high. Yet, those aren’t the most impressive things about her, which is a departure for a comic book adaptation.

Jessica isn’t alone in her world, much as she usually acts like she wants to be. She has a sort-of boss, Jeryn Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss, The Matrix, Vegas), an estranged friend, Trish Walker (Rachael Taylor, Grey’s Anatomy, Crisis), and a neighbor without boundaries, Malcolm (Eka Darville, The Originals). She also (sort of) meets a bartender by the name of Luke Cage (Mike Colter, The Good Wife) who is probably more compatible with her than either expects, and who will be headlining the third Marvel Netflix series next year.

Given the pedigree of the cast, made up almost entirely of actors I already admire and respect, it’s not a surprise that the performances are every bit as excellent as the production. Ritter has needed a vehicle to show her ranger for awhile, and this is it. Tennant completely transforms into a monster unrecognizable, and I’ll never watch him the same way again. The scenes with Colter already have me excited for his turn in the lead. This is high quality television period, not just for its genre or when compared to its peers, but across the entire spectrum. I would posit it is the pinnacle of everything Marvel has done thus far, and a promise of continued greatness.

All thirteen episodes of JESSICA JONES’ freshman run will be live on Netflix this Friday. I recommend you watch as many as you can this weekend, lest you be lost when your friends and co-workers are talking about this on Monday, as they most definitely will be.

DOCTOR WHO "Died"

Article originally published as TV Review: 'Doctor Who' - "The Girl Who Died" on Blogcritics.

In this week’s installment of Doctor Who, “The Girl Who Died,” The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) land on Earth in Viking times. The Doctor claims to be Odin, but is quickly exposed when another false-Odin shows up. When this alien creature kills all the able-bodied fighters in the local clan, a story-telling girl (Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones) declares war on them. Can The Doctor rescue a village from certain death?

Before I get into this episode, I would like to briefly mention the past two weeks, “Under the Lake” and “Before the Flood,” since this is a weekly column and I neglected to cover those installments individually. “Under the Lake” is a solid monster-of-the-week mystery with a number of clever lines, which makes it a good, but not great, hour. Thankfully, it is improved upon by the timey-wimey craziness of the second part, “Before the Flood,” which explores a known paradox concept and some cleverness. While not my favorite episodes of Doctor Who by any means, they are enjoyable, and it was only my own busy life that kept those columns from being written. They are both better than a lot of last season.

So, on to “The Girl Who Died,” which also starts as a monster-of-the-week installment, but evolves into something else near the end. The villain who appears is scary and the situation seems dire, but the plot is relatively straight forward. It doesn’t require a great deal of concentration to watch the hour, but it’s mostly uplifting and entertaining.

Ever since Capaldi took The Doctor’s face, he has struggled to care about life as much as previous incarnations have. The Doctor helps people, and this one continues to, but he’s now a little more cavalier about those he doesn’t save. The Doctor is alien and has bouts of time where he withdraws and stops caring as much about those around him. He has been going through one of the worst periods of this lately.

Then the girl at the center of the piece, Ashildr (Williams), dies and changes everything. The Doctor suddenly remembers what his purpose is, and what he does best. His drive to be a force of good is reignited. Even were this revelation not tied into Capaldi’s guest starring role in a season four episode, it would be great, but using this to explain The Doctor’s current look, expanding the mythology, is absolutely brilliant. The Doctor has let people die in the past, but it should always be as a last resort, never an acceptable sacrifice to let go. His current incarnation is crafted to remind him of that every day.

And it’s really cool to glimpse the tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), even if only for a moment in flashback. Donna is my favorite companion of the modern rebooted Doctor Who, and I’d love to see her appear again some day.

So The Doctor revives Ashildr and gives her immortality. Even The Doctor isn’t immortal, as one day he will run out of lives and pass away (or so he believes; I don’t know if the BBC will allow it). This ‘gift’ might help Ashildr now and make her loved ones feel better, but next week’s preview, set nearly 1,000 years later from Ashildr’s perspective, promises consequences. The Doctor’s intentions here are noble, but are they right?

Being a time traveler, The Doctor always has to struggle to balance what he can do and what he should do. “The Girl Who Died” makes him face this head-on, and doesn’t give an easy answer. It is a masterful piece of a larger puzzle, one that gets to the essential core of the title character in Doctor Who. I look forward very much to the next part, and hope Ashildr’s story goes far beyond two hours, at least as far as it concerns The Doctor.

Doctor Who airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET on BBC America.

Was GRACEPOINT Worth It?

Article first published as Was 'Gracepoint' Worth It? on Blogcritics.



WARNING: If you intend to, but have not yet, watched the full first seasons of Broadchurch and Gracepoint, you’ll probably want to bookmark this column and come back after you’ve seen them. Major spoilers are contained within. You’ve been warned!

When FOX decided to remake the British series Broadchurch, starring the same lead actor no less, my first thought was, “Why?” The original is in English and was produced recently, a second season not even out yet. It’s also brilliant, a compelling, twisty drama with terrific acting and a gripping story. Now that all of Gracepoint has aired and a second season is a pipe dream, we are left with the question, was this project worth viewers’ time? Spoiler alert: my answer is no, definitely not.

The first thing that strikes me about Gracepoint‘s pilot is just how similar it is to Broadchurch. The producers deviated very minimally from the source material. The problem with that is, every time an element goes head-to-head in an obvious comparison, Broadchurch wins. Every single time. Why try to copy a successful series if you can’t do it better or offer a fresh viewpoint?

A large part of the inferiority stems from the cast. I’m not talking about David Tennant, who overcomes bad hair coloring and being forced to speak in an American accent to give us a performance that is essentially as good as when he played the role the first time. He’s a reliable, consistent, impressive actor. I’m also not talking about Anna Gunn. I love Olivia Colman and I wouldn’t say Gunn is better, but she’s as good and Gunn proves here that her Breaking Bad gig will be followed by a long, respectable career. Pretty much everyone else, though, especially the victim’s family, just do not stack up to the originals.

Had I not seen Broadchurch, I would likely have loved Gracepoint from the start. It’s a solidly-written story, and as I mentioned, the leads are terrific. The case has lots of mystery surrounding it, and it’s like an East Coast version of The Killing, a series I adore. Any cringe worthy moments in the early installments are purely colored by my memory of the first edition.

As the season unfolds, I do get drawn into Gracepoint. It doesn’t make many major changes, but it does have a couple of extra hours (being ten episodes instead of eight) to fill, so a bit of layering is added in. Around the mid-point, it starts to look like it may veer off entirely and be it’s own beast, and that gets me excited. I enthusiastically told a friend who was holding out to give it a chance. This experiment may end up being a good one to watch after all.

Then I arrive at this week’s season finale. From the start of the series, we had been promised a killer different than the one in Broadchurch. There is foreshadowing in earlier episodes that this will not be the case, but I assume the writers are being misleading, not truly setting up the reveal. Halfway through the finale, Gracepoint had returned to a nearly carbon-copy of Broadchurch and the same perpetrator is arrested.

After that, there is a big twist in that the person who is charged didn’t actually kill the boy. But he’s still guilty of criminal acts and deserves to rot in jail. I guess this is how Gracepoint gets around the “same killer” charge, but it feels like a technicality more than an actual change, just broadening the circumstances surrounding the death a little more, rather than making it drastically different.

I do believe that if Gracepoint were to get a second season, there is the possibility to overcome the comparison issue. The fact that Danny’s best friend accidentally does the deed, his child molester father is (nobly?) taking the blame, and his mother is covering up the true crime are all rich veins to tap. Danny’s mother’s partner clearly grows suspicious of the outcome at the end, threatening to put fixing his life on hold, though he definitely should not, to further pursue the case. But since the running time of the season is almost out at this point, there’s no time to really explore any of that, and Gracepoint ends on a semi-cliffhanger that will most likely never be resolved because the ratings are pretty bad.

Without this further exploration, most interestingly Ellie (Gunn) hiding things from Carver (Tennant), Gracepoint doesn’t have a lot to set it apart from Broadchurch. If the original had been subtitled, one may argue Americans are too lazy to read them. If the shows went completely separate ways in their second years, a case could be made that they really are different stories. If we lived in a pre-Internet age and Americans didn’t have easy access to the original version, it would be somewhat, flimsily arguable to make our own, homegrown, series. As it stands now, though, Gracepoint is an inferior copy of an easily obtainable show with very few significant differences. So what was the point?

No official word on Gracepoint‘s renewal has been released, but I’m pretty sure it’s not coming back, and it does not really deserve to do so.

Broadchurch season two premieres in February on BBC America. Please check it out.

GRACEPOINT A Very Familiar Place

Article first published as GRACEPOINT Review on Seat42F.

FOX’s GRACEPOINT is a ten-episode murder mystery based on the British series Broadchurch. Starring David Tennant (Doctor Who) as Alec Hardy Emmett Carver and Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) as Ellie Miller, the duo investigate the body of a boy found on a beautiful beach in a small, tranquil, formerly crime-less town. The suspect pool is large, and the members of the community are all affected by the tragedy in differing ways, often making the case difficult.

The biggest obstacle GRACEPOINT faces is that a number of potential viewers have already seen the original, which recently aired on BBC America in the United States, and is currently available on DVD, iTunes, and Amazon streaming. The opening scene is almost exactly the same. Tennant starred in both, playing the same role, and much of the pilot follows the source material faithfully. The writers have promised a different killer and GRACEPOINT will fill an additional two hours of running time, so it won’t be a complete clone, but the parallels are numerous and easy to draw.

By comparison, GRACEPOINT loses in every head-to-head matchup. It’s a shame Tennant isn’t allowed to keep his accent and his hair now looks unnaturally tinged red. While Broadchurch features an omnipresent creepy tone, sort of like The Killing, GRACEPOINT goes in and out of that, mixing a modern, typical style with a unique one. A number of actors in the new version, especially Michael Pentildea as the victim’s father, Mark Solano, are inferior, if not outright horrible.

That being said, had I not seen Broadchurch (which filmed a second, yet unaired season recently), I would probably like GRACEPOINT quite a bit. Gunn and Tennant are both fantastic performers, and the couple of instances where Gunn slips back into Skylar-mode are charming, rather than distracting. The story is well set up, and the various personalities that make up the cast, including Kevin Zegers (Gossip Girl) as reporter Owen Burke and Nick Nolte (Luck, Warrior) as the boys’ mentor Jack Reinhold, are both interesting and plenty suspicious.

GRACEPOINT succeeds because it balances the crime investigation with the family pathos and the drama among the townspeople. There is an emotional core that is just as central to the series as the question of who killed Danny. This allows the audience to relate to the varied players and become invested in the saga, hopefully enough to tune back in on a weekly basis for a couple of months.

I applaud FOX for trying this out. While they have allowed Sleepy Hollow, The Following, and 24 to do shorter-than-normal seasons, this is the first cable-style series on the broadcast networks. It’s gritty and realistic, extremely serial, and the writing and characters are complex. This is a departure from the standard procedural junk that mucks up the airwaves, and is not only bold for one of the Big Four, but, for the most part, worthy of praise. They would have been a bit better off just airing the British version, but since I can’t see FOX or its peers doing that, this will have to do.

The biggest question I have is, can it iron out the rough patches as it goes along? If GRACEPOINT corrects its mistakes and minimizes the role of those in the cast who don’t really cut it as actors, it could find a fan base and be something that lasts a few years (though not too long, considering the premise). But, based on the shaky start, this has to clean up quick. And, should it do well enough to earn a second season, it needs to stick to the strengths of the franchise, not just presenting a second case the following year, refusing to fall into the regular TV traps. GRACEPOINT can be special if it wants to be badly enough and the network allows it.

GRACEPOINT premieres Thursday, October 2^nd on FOX.

Blu-ray Review: 'Earthflight - The Complete Series'

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'Earthflight - The Complete Series' on Blogcritics.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see the world from a bird’s eye view? To soar high above the landscape, getting an entirely different perspective on everyone and everything around you? Who hasn’t? Birds are creatures that have a completely different experience than mammals down on the ground, and looking up into the sky, it’s easy to wish to glide among them.

BBC Earth’s latest release, Earthflight, allows you to do exactly that. Through a combination of technology, drones, tame birds, and other elements, one of the planet’s best nature documentary organizations brings us something new and fresh. Earth Flight shows us what it’s like to see down from the sky as our avian friends take flight over a variety of environments, both man-made and natural.

The series is divided into six hours. The first five, “North America, “Africa,” “Europe,” South America,” and “Asia and Australia,” divide up the territories in a familiar manner. Concentrating on one continent per episode, several individual species of birds are chosen in each region and profiled in depth. It’s an oft-used organizational structure, but one that continues to work here, as it has done for others in the past.

Earthflight isn’t just giving us a look through their eyes, but also how they live. We see the birds hunt for food and shelter, cope with predators, and interact with other species. This makes it similar to other nature specials, but the visual perspective is what gives it its uniqueness, so it still stands apart, even as it covers done-before material. Besides, given the huge range of different birds on Earth, there are still plenty of types left to be explored without repeating what’s come before it.

The sixth part, “Flying High,” is what amounts to a special feature on this release. Though aired as its own installment, there are no other extras, and “Flying High” covers much of what the expected bonus material would have. It shows us how the series is made, what techniques are effective in filming this way, and basically lets the viewer appreciate the sheer amount of work that went into the four years of filming.

Visually, as one might surmise, Earthflight is stunning. It is filmed in high definition, so the Blu-ray format is recommended even more highly than for other nature programs. The sheer quality of detail is very impressive, and the viewpoint is one audiences will not soon forget. To really appreciate the beauty of this vantage point, Blu-ray is a must.

As for the audio, well, that isn’t nearly as big a priority for the filmmakers. Earthflight is merely stereo, squandering opportunity to be completely immersed in this world. It’s hard to complain, given that we haven’t seen picture like this before, but even still, one wishes there had been a bit more put into capturing better sound. Can you imagine if the sound of flapping wings were all around you, really feeling like part of the flock, as the camera flew? That’s the one thing that Earthflight really lacks.

Still, it’s worth repeating that this is a project like no other, well worth your valuable time to check out. It may not have been possible, technologically speaking, to film something like this before now, and there may be future efforts that are even more spectacular. For now, though, Earthflight is the first serious contender in this arena, and given the total package, it presents a pretty stunning opportunity.

Earthflight is available now.

3D Blu-ray Review: ‘Doctor Who – The Day of the Doctor’

Article first published as 3D Blu-ray Review: ‘Doctor Who – The Day of the Doctor’ on Blogcritics.

Just a few short weeks ago, fans of Doctor Who were treated to a 50th anniversary special episode entitled “The Day of the Doctor.” The hour-plus-long special found three incarnations of The Doctor coming together to stop a Zygon invasion and face the toughest decision The Doctor ever made – committing the genocide of his own people. Now, that special has arrived in a Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD combo pack.

As the story begins, The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) and Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) are called to London by UNIT’s Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) to investigate destruction in a secret gallery. Glass covering paintings has been smashed from the inside, and the figures in those portraits are gone. Before The Doctor can figure anything out, a fissure in space and time opens above him.

Meanwhile, The Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) is fending off the advances of his would-be wife, Queen Elizabeth I (Joanna Page, Gavin & Stacey). He knows there are Zygons about, but is having trouble telling the difference between the real monarch and her imposter. The same fissure opens near this Doctor and a fez tumbles out, soon followed by The Eleventh.

Both of these are prompted by a device that appears to The War Doctor (John Hurt) in the form of Bad Wolf (Billie Piper). The machine is the one that The Doctor can use to destroy his race, but it has developed a sentient conscience and wants him to really think through his actions before he goes forward with the plan. Through the fissure, the three Doctors come together.

Any time more than one Doctor occupies a scene, it’s magical. There’s a spirit about the iconic character, no matter who plays him, that is multiplied exponentially when this occurs. Tennant and Smith have absolutely terrific chemistry, and Hurt, playing the part for the first time, feels both similar and different, he being his own unique sort of incarnation, having lived through great battle and strife.

The questions raised and the issues faced are really cool, and with appearances by other extremely familiar faces, including a surprise cameo that is nothing short of stunning, it’s a fitting tribute to the long-running show. For my in-depth review of the special, click here.

This release has a few special features that are pretty neat. Both of the webisodes that serve as prequels, one of them featuring The Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) just prior to his regeneration as The War Doctor, are included. There’s a pleasing, but too-short, 13-minute “Making Of,” as well as the full forty-five minute TV special Doctor Who Explained. Also, a fun pack of twelve Doctor Who trading cards, featuring all the Doctors so far, is packaged in, too.

The only thing  lacking, besides a longer behind-the-scenes piece, is The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, a hilarious half hour of the Doctors missing from special itself. To complete your celebration, I highly recommend finding a copy online somewhere and viewing it, as it has not had an official disc release at this time.

The 3D on this disc is a little weird. Both the 3D and 2D blu-ray versions are the same disc, and unlike other 3D releases, the 3D doesn’t come on automatically when popping it into the player. There is no option on the menu itself to turn it on, either, so I switched to 3D the way I would normally do a conversion of a 2D video, through my TV remote.

I admit, it could be my lack of confidence that I was watching the real 3D version, but I felt like the 3D for The Day of the Doctor was a bit weaker than other 3D releases. Parts of the 2D version looked a bit 3D when I originally watched, so well done are the special effects animation. But I can’t say I noticed a really deep, full 3D. It was certainly much better than most conversions I’ve watched, but not as good as the Pixar or Marvel 3D releases I own. I fully admit, my confusion about starting the 3D may have led to my slightly-off experience, and maybe I was trying to study it too hard, but I expect others will face the same challenge. Even if I didn’t access the 3D as intended, though, which I’m still unsure about, it’s a great viewing experience.

That aside, the overall picture is quite clear and the special effects are impressive. It has a sweeping, full score, and the soundtrack is well mixed.  It’s one of the better Blu-ray qualities I’ve seen.

Doctor Who – The Day of the Doctor is available now.

TV Review: ‘The Doctors Revisited – Ninth to Eleventh’

Article first published as TV Review: ‘The Doctors Revisited – Ninth to Eleventh’ on Blogcritics.

As Doctor Who‘s 50th year winds down, the last set of The Doctors Revisited, Ninth to Eleventh, has been released on DVD. These are a lot like the other eight specials, with approximately 30 minutes devoted to discussion of each of The Doctor’s latest incarnations. As before, some of each Doctor’s adventures are included, this time in the form of a pair of one-hour installments rather than a complete serial, keeping with the changed format of the show.

These three are the modern Doctors, beginning with the 2005 reboot and continuing to the present. Premiering nearly a decade after the 1990s TV movie, and even longer since the show went off the air, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith take what came before them and updated it for the modern era. Still maintaining some of the magic, charm, humor, and monsters, Doctor Who has been tweaked in the best of ways, and has never been more popular.

Eccleston is the first one to be profiled, and his reign is pretty brief, having only been featured in one series. His Ninth Doctor is badly scarred from a war in which he committed heinous acts (a subject touched upon in the recently-aired anniversary special Day of the Doctor), and now he’s trying to find himself again. Along with a young, pretty companion named Rose (Billie Piper), Eccleston re-introduces us to the character as we’ve never seen him before, setting the bar for his followers.

The episodes included in this set for Eccleston are “Bad Wolf” and “The Parting of the Ways.” This is his two-part finale, in which Rose is tested and Captain Jack (John Barrowman), who will soon earn his own spin-off, concludes his time traveling with The Doctor.

David Tennant, “my doctor,” takes over in series two and stays for three years, as well as for a number of specials. The Tenth Doctor has multiple companions during his tenure, beginning with Rose, whom he falls in love with, and continuing through Martha (Freema Agyeman) and Donna (Catherine Tate). This Doctor is witty and clever, but has a dangerous edge that can come out when needed.

Tennant’s run not only makes good use of old foes, such as the Cyberman, the Daleks, and the Master, but also begins building larger-arc stories that play out over a number of episodes. The end of his fourth series is truly a culmination of all that he does, with many of his previous friends, including Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen) from the old series, teaming up in a fantastic finale, which happen to be the installments selected for this DVD.

After Tennant comes Matt Smith’s Doctor. A bit more goofy than the Tenth, the Eleventh is also more unstable, prone to bouts of extreme loneliness, often resulting in the erosion of his moral compass. Though Smith stays for three series (his run will end in the upcoming Christmas special later this month), his story actually spans multiple centuries as he flits in and our of the lives of his companions, Amy Pond (Karen Gillian) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) over the course of a decade or so (from their perspective). After Amy and Rory depart, which leads to even more moping, the Eleventh begins traveling with Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman), a girl he witnesses dying multiple times, a mystery that brings The Doctor back to life.

The storytelling in Smith’s time becomes even more intricate and deep. As producer Steven Moffat takes the Doctor Who reigns from Russell T. Davies, more recurring characters populate the landscape, the Weeping Angels become an important returning villain, and events suddenly take years to play out, words mentioned in previous series culminating much later. The Doctor is also given a wife, River Song (Alex Kingston), whom the Tenth Doctor meets briefly, but whom the Eleventh loves very much, even as his tale and hers intertwine in strange and sad ways.

The episodes for Smith’s era are “The Impossible Astronaut” and “Day of the Moon,” the two-part opener to series six in which The Doctor, Amy, Rory, and River encounter The Silence, an alien race that cannot be remembered once they leave one’s eyesight. This is actually only the beginning of a story that will take awhile to conclude.

As usual, Moffat has recorded openings for each of the episodes, which can be watched in their original two-part versions or as a seamless feature.

The Doctors Revisits – Ninth to Eleventh is available now.

More DOCTOR WHO Fun With THE FIVE(ISH) DOCTORS REBOOT

Article first published as TV Review: 'The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot' on Blogcritics.

Amid all the 50th anniversary Doctor Who hoopla this weekend, there was released a half-hour production that got much less attention than other most other events. It didn’t even make it on air in the United States. For any fans of the classic show, or the genre of comedy in general, The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot is must-see.

Written and directed by Peter Davison, The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot finds Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy anxiously awaiting news about whether they will be included in The Day of the Doctor. Months pass and the phone doesn’t ring. The BBC offices and Steven Moffat begin avoiding their calls.

These are sad, old men, past their prime, and wanted by no one, including their families. They are obsessed with their glory days, unable to let that defining role of Doctor Who go, and desperate for attention that doesn’t come.

This may sound depressing, but it’s not because the half hour is absolutely hysterical. It’s pretty apparent that this is a campy romp, not a biographical story. The actors are game to make fun of themselves in a public forum, and these parts really work because they cut close enough to home to be relatable. Like Matt LeBlanc in Episodes are James Van Der Beek in Don’t Trust The B—- in Apartment 23, the characters are almost parodies of themselves, not their actual personalities.

We know this because of how pathetic they become. No self-respecting men of notoriety would hold picket signs championing themselves, all alone, in front of a TV studio. Or bum a ride from John Barrowman, who forces them to listen to his singing. Or lock their wife and daughters into their house in order to relive old episodes. Or constantly remind everyone that they are in The Hobbit. Or steal Dalek costumes in the hope they can sneak on set and make it on screen. Or call one’s daughter, Georgia Moffett, in the hospital room where she is giving birth and ask a favor of her husband, David Tennant. It’s absurd, in the best of ways.

Other familiar faces, including Russell T. Davies, Paul McGann, Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Peter Jackson, Olivia Colman, and Ian McKellen gamely participate, each poking fun at themselves as much as at the old men. If you’re eagled-eyed, you might spy offspring of two of the older, departed Doctors, really making this a full tribute, with more of the cast returning than in the official episode. Each of these are wonderful scenes, a nod to all the Doctor Who fans watching. But the stars of the show was Davison, Baker, and McCoy, and they are spectacular to watch, even without the slew of terrific cameos.

In the end, the guys get their wish. I wouldn’t reveal the exact circumstances, but there is a sweet twist which proves once and for all that they were able to gain access to the set, and surely are not loathed by the production staff. This capper is necessary because, even though I enjoy watching them bumble and suffer, the tone is a light one, and no one wants to see these guys we love fail. It just wouldn’t be right.

Perhaps The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot is not an official part of the anniversary, and maybe it won’t be remembered as fondly as the actual special. But it’s not something I’m likely to forget, and by posting it on the BBC’s website, the network seems to give it their blessing. I definitely recommend checking it out here. (this link will only work for a limited time)

DOCTOR WHO Celebrates "The Day of the Doctor"

Article first published as TV Review: 'Doctor Who' - 'The Day of the Doctor' on Blogcritics.

This Saturday, simulcast in dozens of countries, the BBC’s Doctor Who celebrated 50 years with a special, extra-long episode, “The Day of the Doctor” (also screened at movie theaters around North America in 3D Monday night). The 90-minute feature follows three Doctor incarnations, all on their own missions until circumstances find them meeting and teaming up to stop, not just a couple of immediate alien threats in different time periods, but also a pair of tragic genocides that haunt the titular character to this day.

As “The Day of the Doctor” starts, we are introduced (or re-introduced) to the three Doctors. The Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) is fending off the advances of his would-be wife, Queen Elizabeth I (Joanna Page, Gavin & Stacey). The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) is called to London by UNIT to investigate destruction in a secret gallery. And The War Doctor (John Hurt, Merlin, Alien) is facing the moment he will destroy both his greatest enemy, the Daleks, and his own people, the Time Lords, during the war at Gallifrey.

While all of these unfold, it gets a little frustrating. Last spring’s season finale left us waiting for a major event, and instead, we get what appear to be stand-alone tales, especially where the Tenth Doctor is concerned, whose plot seems very fluffy, rather than epic, at the start.

But then it all comes together. The Zygons are attacking Earth in both 1562 and in 2013. They must be stopped. While it would not actually take all three Doctors, plus Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman), the current Doctor’s companion (neither The Tenth nor the War Doctor are traveling with companions at the time of the story), it’s OK that they are pulled together because it provides a nice bit of fun interaction, which then becomes a lot of zany criss-crossing between the eras and locations.

However, The War Doctor brings a much more serious, and at the same time, more personal decision into the mix. Should he massacre two races of people to save the universe? While he wrestles with the decision, he allows himself to be distracted, then seeks counsel from those who live with his choice.

The War Doctor is a new version of the character, only recently introduced, who is quite interesting. In the online prequel to this episode, we see the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) trying to stay out of the war, but realizing he can avoid it no longer. The Doctor is a very peaceful being who only uses violence when necessary and never kills anyone. Though we are told throughout the past eight years that The Doctor did something very, very bad when pushed to the brink, it’s hard to imagine under which circumstances he would do this. “The Day of the Doctor” gives us a small glimpse of what leads up to it, and a longer look at how he wrestles with the decision.

Despite how bad The Doctor feels, haunted by that day, both The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors agree that it was the only choice to make, and are willing to help him make it again, all placing their hands on the button. It’s one thing to have a guy we are just introduced to kill all the innocents; it’s quite another to have two long-running, beloved characters do the same, which lends serious gravity to the situation.

In true Doctor Who fashion, a solution is found, and all thirteen of the Doctors incarnations thus far, including one who will not take over the TARDIS until the Christmas special this year, combine forces and manage to save Gallifrey. This removes one of the worst things The Doctor has ever done, though he still (sort-of) kills all the Daleks, who, to be fair, are evil.

Most of The Doctors are shown through archival footage, well edited into the new film. This sparks musings of what Doctor Who could do in the future, perhaps editing more of the older actors into fresh material as the technology continues to improve, further making it seem like one big adventure of a single character. The Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi), or Thirteenth if we’re counting The War Doctor now, only gets an extreme closeup, providing no clues to what he or his TARDIS will be like when he leads the show next year.

Is it right to reset history in this manner? Presumably, none of The Doctors will remember these events, and so the more recent ones will still have that painful memory that shaped them into something a bit different from the earlier generations. Plus, now we have future story set up for other Doctors to discover: Gallifrey still exists and can be brought back. Gallifrey should be kinder to the outcast this time around, now that The Doctor has saved everyone on the planet.

So, although this takes away something that has made the role very, very interesting, it’s also a bit of a relief that The Doctor doesn’t wipe out his own race. His genius and compassion remain intact, keeping the character very consistent over the past fifty (or twelve hundred, depending on how you count) years already established.

Besides unlocking a major mystery, “The Day of the Doctor” is also notable for bringing back familiar faces in great ways. Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), the daughter of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, is still running the show at UNIT, and gets involved in the case. Honestly, I’d like to see a return to more UNIT stories and an increased presence from Kate, as it really serves to tie the current Doctor Who back to the older run.

The machine that The War Doctor uses appears to him in the form of Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), a former companion of The Ninth and Tenth Doctors. On one hand, it’s sad that she’s only an illusion, with no interaction with The Tenth Doctor. On the other, the character has had a nice send off already, and it would be a shame to force her into the episode if she doesn’t belong. By portraying her in this way, fans get to see her again, but it doesn’t take away from Rose’s own arc.

Queen Elizabeth I’s guest spot, the first for this actress, answers a very slow burn question mentioned a handful of times over several years about her connection to our hero. This is the kind of Easter-egg-resolution that should tickle those who pay close attention to continuity.

Finally, viewers get a glimpse of The Doctor in his retirement. The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker), appropriately aged as the actor playing him is, approaches The Eleventh Doctor in the gallery, revealing he is living peacefully at the end of his life and “revisiting” a few of his favorite faces. This is a brilliant, moving scene, informing on the character, but also providing one of those rare interactions between two incarnations, welcoming back a respected veteran of the part. It’s a real treat that this sequence is included.

In the end, “The Day of the Doctor” provides a satisfying adventure incorporating elements and Doctors both old and new, really delivering something new, exciting, fun, and special to honor five decades on the air. There are enough smile-worthy moments and amusing lines to please just about every fan, and delving into a crucial turning point in The Doctor’s existence, not seen before, gives the installment weight that the Zygon invasion by itself would have lacked.

Doctor Who next airs on Christmas Day, completing The Eleventh Doctor’s tenure.

Before Zygons Return in 50th Anniversary, Check Out Their Terror

Article first published as DVD Review: 'Doctor Who - Terror of the Zygons' on Blogcritics.

With Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary special airing in just a few weeks, fans of the show are eager to gobble up any hints they may get as to the plot. One thing that has been revealed is that the Zygons will be featured, an alien race that has appeared only twice before, the second time being in a small way, disguised as humans in last year’s “The Power of Three.” Thus, it seems appropriate that the BBC chooses now to release the defining serial about this race – Terror of the Zygons – on DVD.

Terror of the Zygons is set in the Scottish Highlands and combines four familiar elements: an exploding oil rig, the Loch Ness Monster, overreaching espionage, and shapeshifters. I’m sure BP wishes the spill in the Gulf of Mexico could be blamed on aliens and sea creatures, but alas, this is fantasy, not reality.

The Doctor (Tom Baker), Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen), and Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) arrive in a Scottish town and investigate the destruction of the rig. It soon becomes clear that the destruction was not a natural occurrence, but their early attempts to investigate are thwarted because the Zygons are watching them, meaning they know exactly what our heroes are up to. Eventually, of course, the good guys get the upper hand.

It’s interesting just how relevant so much of Terror of the Zygons is, considering it aired in 1975 as the 13th season premiere.. It’s recently been in the news how the U.S. government is spying on everything we do, as well as our allies’ actions, much like the Zygons are doing in Scotland. Plus, the Deepwater Horizon incident is not far from our memories. This may have been nearly 40 years ago, but the story is still something we can relate to.

Many have praised the Zygons as a very interesting race, with Tenth Doctor David Tennant naming them as his favorite Doctor Who monster. It’s curious why they have been gone so long, then. Surely “The Power of Three” telegraphs the modern continuation’s plans to bring them in, and it’s about time. An alien race who live under the sea, have biological engineering, i.e. living mechanics, and depend on Nessie’s milk to survive, they are unique in many of their characteristics, and it’ll be cool to see how they’ve been updated.

Terror of the Zygons is actually an ending of sorts for a major Doctor Who era. Besides being the last series regular appearance of Harry Sullivan (the Doctor will not have another male companion for five years), it also marks the final episodes of Brigadier Lethbride-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) for nearly a decade. For a time, Doctor Who became an ensemble, with the Doctor and UNIT cooperating frequently, especially while the Doctor was marooned on Earth. Here, we see the departure of that structure, signaling a return to an older version of Doctor Who stories.

The recent two-disc DVD release has plenty of extras, as usual. There’s an audio commentary with a panel of those who worked on the production, photo gallery, isolated music, and PDF materials. A Director’s Cut of the first part is available on the disc, which mainly adds a deleted scenes set early in the story. Featurettes include new additions to already existing series – “The UNIT Family – Part 3,” “Doctor Who Stories – Tom Baker,” and “Doctor Who Stories – Elisabeth Sladen.” There’s also a “Making of,” a tribute to Douglas Camfield, the director of this story, and more.

In short, the most recent Doctor Who release lives up to other recent DVDs in the series, continuing to provide not only the chance to watch classic installments of the beloved show, but also giving plenty of information for those who wish to look a bit deeper.

Doctor Who – Terror of the Zygons is available now.

DVD Review: ‘Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited – Fifth to Eighth’

Article first published as DVD Review: ‘Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited – Fifth to Eighth’ on Blogcritics.

The BBC continues Doctor Who‘s year-long 50th anniversary celebration with four specials about the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Doctors, now available in a four-disc DVD set. Like the First to Fourth release, Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited – Fifth to Eighth has a quartet of approximately 30-minute discussions by people involved in the production about each incarnation of the titular character, accompanied by a full serial per version. This completes the original run of the series, bringing us up to the modern continuation, which will be covered in an upcoming set.

In 1981, Peter Davison took over the iconic role of The Doctor. Davison had a serious approach, not as silly or scary of his predecessor, taking Doctor Who back to the basics of the premise. During his run, the stories got darker and grittier, challenging The Doctor to not only deal with some old foes, such as the Cybermen and the Master. But his attitude remained reactive and light, this Doctor allowing a flip of a coin to make decisions for him.

Davison’s Doctor had a different relationship with his co-stars than his predecessors, making his adventures more of a team sport than that of a leader and his assistants. He went through several different companions, making for an every-changing dynamic. And ultimately, the Doctor was forced to face the death of one of his friends.

Interestingly, Davison is the father-in-law of the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant.

After Davison came Colin Baker, with a much more flamboyant take on the part. As dreary as Davison’s Doctor could be at times, Baker’s was the opposite, his personality matching his loud clothing style, with an undercurrent of danger and a lack of trustworthiness that gave him an edge. His chaotic nature matched what was going on behind the scenes, with his tenure short and ending with a lack of explanation. Still, Baker made an impression, even if he only played the part a scant couple of years.

Sylvester McCoy also didn’t stay long, finishing out the initial incarnation of Doctor Who after twenty-six seasons. McCoy’s Doctor was a turn for the role, being both childish and fun, but also sneaky and manipulative, fully realizing the layers the long-lived character was capable of. This Doctor was a manipulator who thought many multiple moves ahead, and showed the Time Lord’s darker nature more than most of the actors who had previously taken on the part.

To note, the serial that is included for McCoy is “Remembrance of the Daleks,” which is the one BBC America aired to accompany the interviews. For some reason, “Battlefield” aired instead in Britain. These are the only installments that have differed in the specials between in the two countries.

Last on the DVD set is Paul McGann. McGann didn’t get a full season, merely a two-hour TV movie. It’s an intriguing battle with the Master, sadly to never see a sequel. Intended to headline an American-made continuation of the show, McGann’s pilot lacked the ratings in the States to be ordered to series, although it was very popular in Britain. That small screen film, set in California, is obviously the featured “serial” for this Doctor, meaning Fifth to Eighth has all of his time included.

Just like in the first set, there aren’t any extras, with the four mini-documentaries serving as an extra for the show as a whole. I think again the people who put this set together have done well in selecting which serials to include. The episodes contained on the DVD set are representative of the actors’ work as a whole, and serve to showcase both differences and similarities between the various versions.

This set does come with four cool magnets, each one depicting one of the Doctors profiled in this set. Unfortunately, the first DVD set did not have the same, so it won’t be a complete set, even if you get all the DVDs.

Fifth to Eighth feels different than First to Fourth. While the beginning of this release harkens back very much to some of the earlier parts of the show, there is growth and maturation reflecting the time in which it aired. The 1980s and 1990s were a time of transition, and McCoy, especially, demonstrates how the character could adapt without growing stale.

After these episodes, there would be an almost-decade-long break before Doctor Who graced our televisions again. But that’s a tale for Ninth to Eleventh, which has not yet been completely aired or released.

Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited – Fifth to Eighth is available now.

DVD Review: ‘Doctor Who – Scream of the Shalka’

Article first published as DVD Review: ‘Doctor Who – Scream of the Shalka’ on Blogcritics.

Way back in 2003, Doctor Who was a canceled series approaching its 40th anniversary with little fanfare. In order to highlight the big year, the BBC developed an animated web series called Scream of the Shalka, which was presented in six short parts. While originally intended to introduce audiences to the Ninth Doctor (Richard E. Grant, The Crimson Petal and the White), who could go on for many more stories, the announcement of the 2005 reboot series thwarted much of those rumored plans. Now, that stand-alone, non-cannon adventure has been released on DVD.

The Ninth Doctor in Scream of the Shalka is not the same one that Christopher Eccleston brought to life. This version is darker, in fact, something I would not have expected, and a lot less humorous. He travels with an android version of The Master (Derek Jacobi, Last Tango in Halifax), having long ago shunned human contact. Unfortunately for this reclusive Doctor, the TARDIS drops him back on Earth in the midst of a crisis and refuses to let him leave.

The main story of Scream of the Shalka involves lava-loving monsters, the Shalka, that take over people’s brains and make them scream in such a way that it destroys the planet. Apparently, they are widespread across the galaxy, but only emerge from hiding to attack when a planet is near death, which this special surmises ours is, given the environmental conditions.

The Doctor tries to stay out of things and pawn this emergency off on UNIT, but it doesn’t take much for him to befriend a bold barmaid named Alison Cheney (Sophie Okonedo, Hotel Rwanda), thus giving the Doctor some skin in the game. Begrudgingly, he agrees to help save the day.

This Doctor is an intriguing creation. He has a lot of mysterious back story and baggage. Why doesn’t he want companionship any more? Why has he embraced the machine over men? Where has he been? What forces him to return to the public eye? How much of his personality might influence the versions that followed? After all, he’s more similar to the Doctors that can after than before him. It’s a little disappointing these questions are not explored in depth, since this version of the iconic character is not followed up on, other than in a short story, and goes unacknowledged in the modern continuation.

When Scream of the Shalka was released, some reviewers complained about Grant’s disconnect from the material, and the man behind the reboot, Russell T. Davies, says he never even considered using Grant of this version of the Doctor when developing the show. Yet, for the modern viewer, the challenge may be seeing Grant as a hero, since he currently portrays a villain in the current Doctor Who series. Either way, this serial doesn’t quite land as it should.

There are also pacing and originality issues. It plods through the beginning, only later picking up and getting exciting. The plot itself is pretty standard for a Doctor Who tale, other than the little bit that involves the Doctor’s mythology, and the story won’t stand out in the history of the series. Thus, though it is a bold experiment, and many will appreciate it finally getting a DVD release, it isn’t one fans are eagerly anticipating, either.

A few connections to newer Doctor Who episodes do add a little bit to the enjoyment factor. Jacobi not only plays the Master in Scream of the Shalka, but also in the episode “Utopia,” before the Master regenerates into a new body. David Tennant, who is later cast as the Tenth Doctor, makes a small cameo. And Okonedo takes the role of Queen Elizabeth X in a pair of Eleventh Doctor episodes.

The special features on this two-disc release are plentiful. Of course there’s an audio commentary and photo gallery, as well as a production note subtitle option. Also included is a half-hour “Making Of,” the soundtrack album, actor and direction interviews, and a featurette about the BBC’s website and the part Doctor Who serves in that. Among those who participate in the extras is Davies himself.

Scream of the Shalka may not be the best bit of Doctor Who ever made, but it is a unique curiosity for fans to appreciate.

Doctor Who – Scream of the Shalka is available now.

BROADCHURCH Not Warm, But Welcome

Article first published as BROADCHURCH Not Warm, But Welcome on TheTVKing.

BBC America viewers are halfway through the first series of the British show Broadchurch as of this past week. The hour-long drama is similar to The Killing, revolving around a single murder of a young boy over the course of the eight episode run, and depicting his family as well as the police looking into the death. At this point, the list of suspects is long, but the number of important clues are sparse.

Broadchurch is an excellent entry to the crime genre. It boasts strong storytelling, with natural twists, and numerous threads intertwined. The acting, done by a roster that includes several familiar faces, is fantastic, and the series lets us dwell on characters as appropriate. However, it also avoids the slow pacing that turned some (not including myself) off of The Killing, and will almost certainly solve the case at the end of hour eight.

The lead detective is DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant, Doctor Who), a man with a past. It is clear that whatever demons dwell within him, owing to an old case he screwed up, are catching up now, as he falls and hits his head, which is presumably connected to pills he is taking, mixed with alcohol. The question we're faced with is, will he self-destruct before he can finish the job? Tennant very rarely lets Who slip into the role, showing fans something new with this part.

Alec is assisted by DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman, Twenty Twelve), who is inexperienced in such grisly murders, but is intelligent and capable. This week, Ellie invites Alec over for dinner, which he awkwardly agrees to. This not only allows them to bond a bit, but we see a lighter side of Alec as he drinks with Ellie's husband, Joe (Matthew Gravelle, The Bible). Alec and Ellie are a bit of an odd couple, but are likely to succeed together, both being beneficial to the other.

Of course, Ellie is distracted by her very personal connection to the small town scandal, her son, Tom (Adam Wilson, Mr Selfridge), being the dead boy's best friend, leaving her in an awkward position when talking to the victim's mother, Beth (Jodie Whittaker, Wired). It's an interesting dynamic, when the police, by virtue of the size of the village, have feelings about those involved, and it's part of what makes Broadchurch so good.

Another thing the show does well is deal with the aspects of this type of murder. For instance, this week Beth finally agrees to talk to Karen White (Vicky McClure, Line of Duty), a big-paper journalist who is working with the local press. Karen isn't pushy, and seems sincere when pleading with Beth to do the interview, pointing out that press attention could help motivate witnesses to come forward and the truth to come out, and she's not getting that support now. But are Karen's motivations merely selfish? The pack of pushy reporters who follow behind her aren't so kind to the family, and Karen doesn't do a good job of preparing Beth for that backlash. It's a tricky business.

There is also a fake psychic who convinces Beth he wants to help, but whom Ellie reveals as a charlatan. It's a shame such jerks prey on those who are grieving, but this is a fact of life, not often seen in standard cop procedurals, so it's interesting to be brought in here. Plus, the psychic character is fairly convincing, even for those skeptical, so it's easy to see how a desperate Beth would fall for his charade.

I also love the way Alec goes to church just to spy on the locals, hoping to figure out who is responsible. It's a smart, though cynical, viewpoint, aided by the other characters' treatment of religion in general, attitudes that are just now catching on on this side of the pond.

Among the prime suspects right now are: Mark (Andrew Buchan), the victim's father, who was having an affair with hotel manager, Becca (Simone McAullay, Blue Heelers); Jack (David Bradley, the Harry Potter films), the victim's newspaper delivery boss, who claims his recently uncovered past as a sex offender isn't what it appears to be; Susan (Pauline Quirker), the scary owner of the cabin that is likely the crime scene, and who goes by a different name than she used to; and Rev. Coates (Arthur Darvill, Doctor Who), who doesn't have an alibi, and just feels slightly creepy.

It likely isn't any of these people, since we're still only halfway through. Anyone who has read or watched a few murder mysteries know that the killer isn't unmasked until late in the game, with plenty of red herrings along the way. My wife has theorized that Joe Miller could be the culprit, appearing the least likely at this time, but that seems too much of a stretch to me. However, I don't mind waiting to find out when the journey getting there is this good.

Something some people misunderstand about a good series such as this is that who is guilty is not the point. If it were, we'd learn who they are early on, and the rest of the tale would be about proving it. Instead, the draw is the process of putting together the clues, as that is what most of the plot concerns. In this, Broadchurch is doing a spectacular job with a complex, well-thought-out arc. This is definitely one of my favorite shows of the summer.

Broadchurch airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on BBC America.

DVD Review: ‘Doctor Who – The Mind of Evil’

Article first published as DVD Review: ‘Doctor Who – The Mind of Evil’ on Blogcritics.

One Doctor Who serial that has not yet been released on DVD (until now) because of difficulty in producing or restoring a color copy is The Mind Of Evil. Considering that this six-episode serial features a showdown between the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and the Master (Roger Delgado), one of the Doctor’s greatest foes, it is surely one that fans will want to see. Now, they have their chance, as The Mind of Evil recently got a two-disc release.

The Mind of Evil is one of those stories that appears to be about one thing, and then revelation by revelation, changes into something else entirely. The original problem introduced is a machine that removes evil from the brain of criminals, but some of the “cured” keep winding up dead. Then, we find out about an issue between the Chinese and the Americans at the First World Peace Conference. Finally, the Master is shown to be the real culprit of the unrest. It’s this continuously-escalating device that gives the beginning of the story real umph, and because all three still matter past their first focus, it’s a rich, layered story, even if a few have complained about the Master’s seemingly-incoherent plan.

The battle of wits between the Doctor and the Master, two Time Lords with radically different values and points of view, is one that never gets old. They have fought through many a serial, including an arc only a few years ago during David Tennant’s tenure as the Doctor. Any encounter the two share is worth watching, and The Mind of Evil is part of that proud tradition.

What is really interesting is that the Master’s greatest fear is the Doctor, a dynamic that does not go both ways. We see the Doctor terrified by Daleks, Cybermen, and fiery hell, but not the Master, whereas the Master’s vision, when exposed to the fear-inducing device, is of a giant Doctor. I think it is this fixation on the Doctor that keeps the Master coming back and staying relevant, while the Doctor has foes with bigger-scale plans to worry about, so he often underestimates the Master until they are face to face.

Besides the Doctor / Master stuff, there’s plenty left for UNIT, including Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney), Sergeant Benton (John Levene), and Captain Yates (Richard Franklin), to do, and Jo (Katy Manning) gets involved in the story, too. While the title of Doctor Who is accurate in that the show has always been, and will always be, about the Doctor, I have really enjoyed the periods in the run where the Doctor has a team, which has sort of happened this past year in Matt Smith’s tenure, though not to the extent as during the Pertwee era. The Mind of Evil makes use of that group in a nice way, and I really appreciate the ensemble chemistry.

This is the first DVD release of The Mind of Evil. As such, it is not a Special Edition, nor does it have quite as many extras as the last couple Doctor Who titles put out, which were. But that does not mean it skimps on the bonus features, still needing two discs to fit everything in.

The audio commentary for this serial is provided by Manning, regular participants Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks, director Timothy Combe, stunt arranger Derek Ware, guest actors Pik-Sen Lim and Fernanda Marlowe, and moderated by Toby Hadoke. On top of the photo gallery and PDF materials, there is a twenty-two minute “Making Of” that was produced in 2009, a revisit of the filming locations in the present day, and a look at the BBC Television Centre circa 1971. All of this combines to give a very full presentation, one worthy of a Doctor Who release.

Doctor Who The Mind of Evil is available now.

Spies of Warsaw Not So Sneaky

Article first published as Spies of Warsaw Not So Sneaky on TheTVKing.

BBC America recently presented the four part miniseries Spies of Warsaw, which is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. David Tennant (Doctor Who) stars in this tale of intrigue and romance in Europe during the late 1930s, as the build up to World War II rages on. Unfortunately, it is dreadfully dull.

I was really looking forward to Spies of Warsaw. Tennant is "my Doctor," as the saying goes, and I couldn't wait to see the project he picked next. Yet, tied down by a rote, slow-moving plot and a restrained character, he lacks the spark and draw from his much more famous role. Tennant is still fantastic, and I won't complain about his acting, but he feels trapped in the part, and cannot give it the liveliness it needs to salvage the piece. Where is the humor he is oh-so-good at? Even in a drama, that should be allowed to shine through, at least a bit.

He isn't alone. Janet Montgomery (Made in Jersey, Black Swan), who plays Anna, the romantic interest for Tennant's Colonel Mercier, gives quite a tame performance. Their romance lacks the steam and passion one would expect in such a tale. As with Tennant, I don't blame Montgomery, but rather the lackluster material she has been given to work with. Why does Anna barely fight her attraction to Mercier before falling into bed? Who knows? And are we supposed to care?

Perhaps I'm just not the target audience for this piece. Many love a good, slow broil in their British period pieces, and Spies of Warsaw doesn't feel drastically different from other imported miniseries I have viewed from previous decades. The clothing and sets are well produced, and the team seems to get the details right, as near as I can tell. There may be something there for fans of, say, The Far Pavilion, which, unlike this, I rather enjoyed. But Spies doesn't feel modern or well-paced, drug down by a sluggish story in which not a lot happens. I thought we were past that era.

What's worse is that Spies of Warsaw teases the viewer. It ramps up steadily throughout the four hours (OK, actually closer to three sans commercials, though it feels like four), almost as if building to a climatic pay off that will be worth the slog. But it never materializes, and I was left feeling disappointed, as if I had wasted my time. The tension never fully appears, nor is there major resolution. Even Mercier's disapproving boss, Jourdain (Burn Gorman, Tochwood), lacks enough bite to create real conflict.

I also feel like Spies of Warsaw suffers from a limited vision or budget. We get glimpses of the larger world, at parties, or in characters who inhabit some role much bigger. But none of it is explored or shown. So many scenes feel like there should be more going on around them, or more people visible in the surrounding areas, and yet are reigned in.

Similarly, we are told of a nuanced world of grey, in which people inhabit the shadows and make difficult decisions about complex issues. Yet again, we never see this. Nothing seems all that complicated. Colonel Mercier is the hero, and that is all he remains. Hitler and the Nazis are the bad guys, and they will be defeated.

This tone, in both the plot structure and visual elements, combine to make for something not all that impressive. I really wanted to like Spies of Warsaw. Unfortunately, I never found an accessible entry that made that possible.

Spies of Warsaw is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.

Twenty Twelve lives on

Article first published as Twenty Twelve lives on at TheTVKing.

In the lead up to London's hosting of the 2012 Olympics, there was a British-made sitcom entitled Twenty Twelve. The two series filmed take us behind the scenes of the fictional committee tasked with planning and implementing the event, and the foibles and pitfalls they encounter in their less-than-competent work. It's a goofy, but not too slapstick, comedy that just happens to tie in to a real event. It's now available as a two disc DVD set.

My first impression of Twenty Twelve is that it's a lot like The Office. It's made in the mockumentary style, and features a number of employees who keep screwing up their jobs. A lot of what they do is have endless meetings, and the tasks are mundane, like programming traffic lights. Even the exciting stuff, like figuring out what to do with the buildings after the Olympics are over, are trivialized and made to seem unimportant based on the level of care taken to implement them.

The big difference between Twenty Twelve and The Office is that the latter featured a couple of decent workers putting up with an inane boss and some zany peers, while this series has a relatively well-put-together leader dealing with employees who don't measure up. It's a small reversal, but an important one, meaning that the issues are coming from all directions, and are plentiful. Also, the humor here is often at the expense of outsiders, the tone is a little more serious, and the scale is larger.

The cast is lead by Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey), who plays Ian Fletcher. Ian is in charge, but while he is good at his job, and at putting out the various fires started, he does have a messy personal life, and that is what draws him into the muck. Luckily, he has a very good personal assistant, Sally (Olivia Colman, Peep Show). Unluckily, she's in love with him.

Bonneville plays the part with such sympathy, viewers will find themselves rooting for him to succeed, and will grow as frustrated as he does with the others who work in his department. This role really gives him a chance to stretch away from the drama, and while he is the "straight" man for many of the jokes, he definitely is the main pulse of the show, too, and the reason it works.

The rest of the ensemble is talented enough to make their characters seem completely real, and audiences should have little trouble relating these dolts to people that they have encountered in the world.  There's the insecure Kay Hope (Amelia Bullmore, Scott & Bailey), who tries to keep drawing attention to her goal of sustainability; ditzy Siobhan Sharpe (Jessica Hynes, Spaced) is the stereotype of a PR rep, pretty and clueless, thinking she can ride on her looks and personality alone; Graham Hitchens (Karl Theobald, Green Wing) has the job, but not the skills, of a tech and stats nerd; there's also Nick Jellet (Vincent Franklin, The Thick Of It).

In the thirteen episodes, problems that are faced include a lost bus, a shooting, how to design a religious center that will make everyone happy, a bizarre art installation, Roman remains found in the construction zone, and a sexual health campaign. It's bureaucracy taken to the extreme, and with satisfyingly humorous results. With the witty narration provided by David Tennant (Doctor Who),  most should find these episodes at least somewhat amusing, even if it fails to break new comedy ground.

My only real complaint is that the ending doesn't tie things up. No third series has been ordered, but the lack of resolution leaves me wanting a bit more, especially in regards to Ian's romantic choices. Should future episodes be added, it would resolve this.

The only extra is cast and crew interviews. These are interesting, but a little disappointing as the sole bonus.

Twenty Twelve is available now.

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