Doctor Who- The Well review

 

Something Doctor Who does less frequently these days is the outright horror story in which something terrible is lurking picking off victims. `The Well` is an excellent example of how to do this yet keep within the show’s remit of being inclusive to a younger audience. Its secrets were held back during the promotional trailers for good reason because this is one of those episodes that needs to be watched with as little information as possible for it to have maximum effect. So, if you’ve not watched it yet, please don’t read this review or any other reviews till you have.

Spoilers past this point

 

Andor Season 2 Episodes 1 - 3 review

 

I only got to see the first season of Andor last year so its fresher in my mind than it will be for many, which is a help as this second season jumps right into things. Set a year on from the end of season one this first trio of episodes charts events that represent the differing fortunes of the Empire and the rebels. The scenes- sometimes intermeshed with the same incidental music- paint a vivid picture of life at the top and at the bottom while also humanising both sides with some rich characters that make even the slowest sequences shine. In other words it’s as good- and often even better - than season one.

 Spoilers after the break

Top of the Pops Triple April 1990 Megamix!

3 Editions- words: Chris Arnsby

 05/04/1990 

Anthea Turner: “Hello! Good evening! And welcome to Top of the Pops! On BBC1 and Radio 1! Tonight in the studio we've got Jason Donovan, our Song For Europe sung by Emma and Snap! But we're gonna start off tonight's show with a brand new entry at number sixteen! It's Happy Mondays! Step On!”

[16] HAPPY MONDAYS: STEP ON. Paul Ciani is unsure of the status of Bez. Everyone else gets at least one close up but not Bez. He is just there. The camera constantly glides past him to focus on Shaun Ryder, Paul Ryder, Rowetta, whoever, but Paul Ciani relegates Bez to Andrew Ridgeley status.
Bez does not care.

 

Doctor Who- Lux review

 

There are times when it seems like Doctor Who can’t offer anything new and is destined to run itself dry repeating variations on previous themes. And there are times- less so nowadays- when it excels by trying something new. `Lux` is by a long way the best episode since Russell T Davies returned to the show, surely the first classic he’s written in his second era. Its consistently interesting, throwing up the unexpected and visually manages to do something we’ve not seen before in the show. The sequence where Mr Ring-a -Ding steps out of the cinema screen was the most arresting moment of the earliest trailers; little did we know what an involving narrative it was to be a part of.

Top of the Pops 22nd & 29th March 1990

 

Words: Chris Arnsby

22/03/1990

Gary Davies: “Hello. A very good evening to you. Welcome to Top of the Pops coming to you in stereo on Radio 1FM. Three bands making their debut tonight we have Snap, we've got Orbital, and They Might Be Giants but we start off with no strangers to Top of the Pops with Handful of Promises, it's Big Fun.”

 [21] BIG FUN: HANDFULL OF PROMISES. Bletch. I'm obviously in a rotten mood. I can't be bothered to try and find anything positive to say about Big Fun. The blonde one, the blonde one, and the blonde one go through their pre-programmed moves. It's not really any different to their other songs. If you like those then you'll like this because this song is also those. The only real amusement comes from watching the cameras try and give equal time to the blonde one because if the camera favoured the blonde one over the blonde one or the blonde one, then the blonde one and the blonde one might get jealous and the whole group could fall apart.

Doctor Who - The Robot Revolution review

 

If you’ve been following the lively on-line chatter preceding this season then you may know that the future of the series, at least in this current iteration, seems to be in doubt. Even Russell T Davies, always optimistic in his assessment, has back pedalled from suggesting the show is safe to recent statements suggesting he knows there is going to be a hiatus. Meanwhile even more ardent fans seem to concur that last season was underwhelming and does not seem to have captured enough of the wider public imagination to justify Disney’s continued co funding. One thing RTD did say somewhere lately though is that this version of the show is being targeted towards a younger audience and its worth bearing that in mind when watching.

 

Z Nation Season 3 (2016)

 

Catching up on the Zs - its wild peril in season three of this splatterific series, first shown in 2016  

Curiously the third season begins with an episode set sometime in the second. No Mercy is introduced as a flashback episode though it’s not clear when it is supposed to be set, especially if, like me, it’s two years since you watched season two. It’s a feature length premiere that re-introduces us to the attributes that make Z Nation a top-class adventure series with a creative edge when it comes to the Zs themselves. For example, we have zombies sporting metal helmets so that they can’t simply be despatched in the usual manner with a shot to the head.

They are part of the force used by an enigmatic character known as The Man who is searching for scientists whose name he has on a list. One of those names- Doctor Miles Teller -is holed up at a remote community built around a research lab. It just happens to be close to where our motely band of protagonists currently are. It’s a brisk episode with plenty of action yet not without a heart either. Teller’s wife for example was isolated years after she became infected from one of her experiments attempting to find a cure. Her glowing semi zombie appearance is alarming yet she is not a monster and the episode makes her sympathetic even though she can’t speak. 

Unfortunately, that doesn’t quite work as well with a sub plot about a feral boy, only able to make animal noises, who starts to copy 10K (they name him 5K!) though this puts him a risk.  Unlike Teller’s wife, the boy’s inability to speak and the fact that 10K isn’t the most loquacious character hampers this plot though there’s a terrific chase the two are involved in.  As ever the episode is presented for maximum impact, director Abram Cox enjoying the opportunities all the dust and sunlight offers to contrast the harsh outdoors with claustrophobic indoors. Why the community paint everything red when about to defend the place isn’t clear but it definitely makes for a great visual.

Top of the Pops 15 March 1990

 

Words: Chris Arnsby
Simon Mayo: “Well, welcome to the pops. We've a rock and roll edition for you tonight with three debut performances before seven thirty. And now we start with a band who are appearing at Manchester Apollo tonight and then they're at Wembley next week. They're at number twenty seven doing Deliverance. Would you welcome please to Top of the Pops, The Mission.

 [27] THE MISSION: DELIVERENCE. Wow, somebody really loves The Mission. Listen to them shriek.

Belated noticing of Format Change: Paul Ciani's gone right off having the host introduce the show from the studio Crows Nest. It hasn't been used for that purpose since Anthea Turner was up there for the 15/02/1990 show.