After last week’s explosive episode, Hour 8 of Live Another Day is a far more subdued piece of television, but it’s equally as effective. With Heller having opted to give himself up to Margot and stop the chaos – an option made all the more appealing by his imminent slow decline through Alzheimer’s – Jack … >
As it turns out, scattered Wildling bodies seen from atop the Wall look like squashed ants; or perhaps more appropriately, King Lear’s flies, killed for sport by cruel gods. It was with this wonderful visual that Jon Snow’s battle to save Castle Black came to an end, and the finale of Game of Thrones’ fourth … >
Now that’s how you do a surprising death. In this episode, Dr Leekie goes from being potentially Sarah’s greatest enemy, to threatened by Rachel after she learns the truth, and then to… murdered, accidentally, by Donnie. You don’t get much more unpredictable than that. Last week it seemed natural to theorise that Rachel’s reaction to … >
Most episodes of 24 feature their share of action – it is, after all, an action show – but every now and then you get one that steps things up a notch, and this is certainly one of them. After quickly establishing that her daughter is in custody, Margot coldly decides to turn on her … >
Amidst the sounds of swords clashing and giants growling, between the swells and blares of the insistent ominous soundtrack, there were some moments of particular quietness in this week’s Game of Thrones. In one, two Wildling giants methodically attached ropes to the four inches of cold-rolled steel protecting the passage through the Wall and began … >
‘The best way is to do it with scissors’. That’s what Alfred Hitchcock said, once upon a movie murder. Mind you, Hitch never had to kill a zombie. But for our 21st century warm bodies, decades of Pop-Horror has heuristically ingrained in us a variety of ways to do away with the undead. If the … >
Since 24 rose phoenix-like from the ashes, it’s been on something of a roll. The streamlined episode order means that the plot has moved along at a snappy pace, and many of the pitfalls and traps that usually derail a season that has twenty four episodes to fill have been excised. Unfortunately Hour Six sees … >
Proof of concept. Those three words answer one of Orphan Black’s lingering questions. Why do the clones exist? Because, of course, somebody wanted to prove that they could. Sarah’s conversation with Ethan Duncan at the end of ‘To Hound Nature in Her Wanderings’ is a particularly revelatory one. Shot in dark and mysterious low lighting, … >
About fifteen seconds into Episode 8 of Game of Thrones’ fourth season, a random ale-swilling extra tries to guess what tune the prostitute next to him is burping and utters the words “The Rains of Castamere”. Something that, in hindsight, should have told us everything we needed to know about this episode: it would involve … >
Time for one of two incongruous Hitchhiker’s Guide references! Because, there might not be any coasts or fjords on In the Flesh, but Dominic Mitchell could teach Slartibartfast a few things about world-building. He’s a master at it. You see, good world-building isn’t blocks of facts Minecrafted into place. It’s discovery through experience; entirely character … >