Television

Doctor Who “The Magician’s Apprentice” Recap

“If someone … pointed out a child to you, and told you that that child would … destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?”

901_03121 (2)Series Nine premiered on September 19th with “The Magician’s Apprentice.” Title is a bit of a disconnect, and the phrase is said once during the episode. Nevertheless, this episode is part of a two-parter. Much of the episode – to classic Moffat writing – focuses on the search of the Doctor. Once the Doctor is found by Clara and Missy, we learn that he is ashamed. For what is the Doctor ashamed about though?

The episode sets up for the series, in that it will focus heavily on the Daleks and their creator Davros. The episode also hints at Clara Oswald’s departure from the series, as there have been rumours for quite some time now that Coleman quit the show. Jenna Coleman has decided to leave the Doctor Who family to play Queen Victoria in ITV’s drama Victoria.

Speaking of shame, it is a shame that I am developing a love-hate relationship with Doctor Who now. I will always watch Doctor Who but I’m wary that it will become a task, and not something of entertainment. I feel that, with the involvement from BBC America and increase in budget, the episodes aren’t leaving me satisfied. It is nothing on Peter Capaldi as twelve, he is wonderful and fully entertaining. However, it’s more so Steven Moffat’s writing that appears to be looping. Another “Last Day of the Doctor” storyline? Can a doctor really have multiple last days? Ten had one, Eleven had one, Twelve now has one…

Therefore the episode is alright for me. It isn’t the best of episodes, but isn’t the worst of episodes. I’m trying not to be too negative here, soooo

Three parts of this episode that are worth highlighting:901_46549

  1. Return of Davros is an interesting arc as we haven’t seen him for ages
  2. Twelve showing up with an electric guitar on a military tank during the middle ages is just one for the books
  3. Michelle Gomez plays Missy so well, I can’t help but enjoy her take on the Master’s role

 

Mr. Robot eps1.2d3bug.mkv

mr_robot_ep3The file format “mkv” is a sneaky little inclusion on this title sequence. mkv are multimedia formats that can include audio, visual, and subtitles. Make sense? Yep, because our strange little character Tyrell Wellick and his wife are shown speaking with subtitles for us English folk (him Swedish, her Danish).

This episode picked up from the last. We finally get to see into the life of Tyrell Wellick which was eye-opening. We see his strange behaviours and how he is willing to do just about anything to move up in EvilCorp. He is a ruthless character that we will have to look out for.

The episode also continues with Elliot’s storyline of whether he will continue with fsociety. The deciding moment comes when he is faced with the resurgence of how engineers were affected by toxicity levels at EvilCorp plants. As you should remember from the end of episode two, this is how Elliot’s father passed – as he was diagnosed with Leukemia – and we now learn this is how Angela’s mother died. Can fsociety pull Elliot back in by reigniting his hatred towards EvilCorp?

This was an A+ episode.

Mr. Robot: eps.1.1_ones-and-zer0es.mpeg

review2Second episode aired on Showcase last night. Not as powerful as the premiere, but was still good to lay down a foundation. Episode focused on what to do with his drug dealer’s supplier. Should Elliot bring him down, if this means he has to sacrifice his access to morphine?

This episode was good for experimenting with cinematography and sound. Lots of the framing was Continue reading →

Mr. Robot: eps1.0hellofriend.mov

reviewpicIn case you didn’t know me, I’m pretty big on television. If you are ever in a conundrum and need a suggestion, hit me up. Oh my love for clever televisions shows is so strong. And what do I discover this summer? Mr. Robot. Now, at the moment I’m currently watching on a weekly basis off of Showcase, but I may being to bingewatch while I can off of AMC because WOW. Continue reading →

Why Netflix’s Daredevil Succeeds

It has been nearly a month since Netflix released Daredevil.

After watching Daredevil, I instantly knew it was a great show. However it wasn’t until I came across this Tumblr post that I actually thought about how well it was made.

daredevilOkay let’s pull some of the larger concepts from what sidizenkane outlined: multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, blind and gentrification.

The multi-lingual and multi-ethnic aspects in this show are important as it draws away from the narrow landscape of white and English actors we have come to see only. Granted, Charlie Cox is both white and English, but at least the show includes other languages and ethnicity.

Next, the fact that Daredevil’s character is blind shows disabilities onscreen in positive terms, and how this disability does not hinder the character in any way. A positive representation is important for those living with disabilities.

Finally, the idea of gentrification (the displacement of the occupying demographic) is important to address because we live in a society where this displacement can be seen. Audiences need to be aware of this issue so that as a society we can remember that there are numerous economic brackets. Homelessness is an issue often overlooked due to the misconception and general negative connotations associated with the idea.

What can be gathered from this then, is that the show features a variety of identities in one show to try to be all inclusive. This is extremely significant as some other shows continue to find it difficult to even feature females in their shows.

By featuring a variety of identities it allows a wider audience to feel included in the storyline. They can identify with what is being shown to them, and in turn, will feel empowered. It is important that Daredevil has taken the step in this positive direction. Next step: Give Black Widow a full-feature film.