‘Spartacus: War of the Damned’: ‘Victory’ review
What makes Spartacus so much more complex than many expect it to be is that when it presents us with an idea, it is never content to move on from it without exploring it in depth.
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What makes Spartacus so much more complex than many expect it to be is that when it presents us with an idea, it is never content to move on from it without exploring it in depth.
It may be something of a surprise to learn that the two men behind Game of Thrones have never actually stepped behind the camera to direct an episode themselves. That all changes with ‘Walk of Punishment’, as David Benioff takes control and directs an instalment brimming with confidence.
After the cacophony of criticisms brought upon ‘Rings of Akhaten’, Neil Cross’ name may ring a Cloister Bell in the head of many a Whovian. But you can’t judge one writer by one episode, and we’re certainly not going to compare efforts here. All we’ll say is that ‘Hide’ is as far away from ‘Rings’ as the Akhaten system is from 1970s England.
After a run of Doctor Who episodes which have made a play of character riddles and tricksy story twists, ‘Cold War’ represents something of a thaw in proceedings.
There are no paradoxes here to send you hurrying to the internet to speculate about what you have seen and why. There’s probably less subtext than in last week’s, altogether more awkward, instalment.
On television ‘The Rescue’ was a rather modest affair. A two-parter set after the drama of ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’, its primary role was to provide an introduction Vicki (Maureen O’Brien) who was cast in the wake of Susan’s departure.
From the director of the truly remarkable 1995 film La Haine comes a real life war movie, of sorts, which pits politics and terrorism side by side where soldiers and citizens are expendable as the policies they spew.
Spartacus doesn’t do filler episodes. Yes, ‘The Dead and the Dying’ may be the penultimate instalment of the show but that hardly means it’s an uneventful one.
This is an episode that is all about consequences, catharsis and remembering the dead. It’s a tribute to Crixus that develops into a tribute to all who have fallen in the war against Rome, masterfully executing numerous resonant moments while doing significant work building for what is sure to be an epic series finale.
TV of a quality like Broadchurch doesn’t come along very often. And in an age when telly is an elastic experience – something which can be paused, rewound, and watched whenever we demand it – it’s rare for a show to command such attention that it becomes an appointment: an hour that millions cannot afford to record or download, because it would leave them behind.
With most of the ground-work for Season 3 laid down in last week’s opener, this week finds Game of Thrones on surer footing. ‘Dark Wings, Dark Words’ is a more exciting episode and a more interesting one.
One of the wonderful things about Broadchurch is that it has made water cooler detectives of us all. Heck, even Ant & Dec were jabbering on about it on their Saturday evening entertainment trough; a sure sign that Chris Chibnall’s drama has deservedly reached the point of cultural supersaturation. The Geordie finger puppets suspected Reverend Paul Coates of murder, and Episode 6 doesn’t do anything to disprove that theory.