A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Battlestar Galactica: "The Captain's Hand" - Wow. A TV episode that tackles the issue of abortion. Although in a completely different situation than today's political world. The whole thing was pretty impressive, particularly Apollo's promotions.
• Battlestar Galactica: "Downloaded" - And now we see the other side of the story. I find it both amusing and very interesting that Caprica-Six is having visions of Baltar just like Baltar is having visions of her. Wow. Definitely something strange going on there. Did they somehow link? And, in the meantime, the baby is born and ... not killed? Strange.
• Ghost Hunters: "Spirits of the Night" - Bellingham Mass, a house disturbed by playful spirits that are scaring a child. The bits at the beginning of this one, about the medium wanting $300 to help the family, made me remember why I like this particular group. Their services are free. Their advice is solid, and they usually do a good job debunking. Again, the evidence they caught is inconclusive. The voices aren't convincing, and the toy could have been moved by a person just off camera. Ah well.
• Who Do You Think You Are?: "Spike Lee" - Nice journey by Lee into a past that he regretted not learning when he had the chance. The comments about him filming his family history while he still had the chance were especially poignant.
• Doctor Who: "Flesh and Stone" - Decent second part to the two-parter, with a handful of annoying flaws. First one: (SPOILER ALERT!)Wasn't it established that the angels can't even look at each other, which is why they cover their eyes? Why aren't they covering their eyes in this?(END SPOILER) And a second one: (SPOILER ALERT!)Can't they fly? The sudden gravity difference should not have affected them.(END SPOILER) Oh well. I enjoyed it anyway. River's hints disturbed me a lot, and make me wonder just what role she's going to take in future episodes. But worse was Amy's admission and then her actions toward the Doctor at the very end of the episode, which leads us into...
• Doctor Who: "Vampires in Venice" - If I were Rory, having the Doctor appear that way at the stag party would NOT be my first choice of events. This was a pretty good episode all-in-all, but the silence thing is beginning to get on my nerves. There's a crack in the universe, and there's silence behind it, and it has something to do with Amy. Yes, yes, we get it. So, are we going to have to wait the rest of the season for the answer?

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This week's movie was Singles from 1992. Set in Seattle, this movie talks about the Grunge movement, as well as Seattle's resistance to mass transit. This movie was apparently a part of the inspiration for "Friends", and it shows. Hubby-Eric saw this movie while we were in our early dating phase, and it had a bit of an impact on him. For me it was a fun snapshot of the city in the earliest 1990s: Sonics, Pay 'n Save, Food Giant, Wayne Cody. Things that are gone now from the scene. Fun little movie. It really catches the feel of the city during that time.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic book shipment that arrived this week, of books originally released April 21st and 28th:

• Green Lantern #53 - What is Guy up to?
• Justice League of America #44 - Ok, this is clearly meant to be set after the storyline that's still ongoing in JSA. How very frustrating. Not sure I like the new team yet.
• Power Girl #11 - I don't know exactly what to say about this one. Lots of set-up for future conflict, while at the same time a powerful little story about friendship. Wow.
• Tiny Titans #27 - Yay, more appearances of Aqua-Ohs! Oh, yeah, and some stuff about Raven and her dad, too.
• The Tick: New Series #3 - The Tick: Plumber! I love the sewer mimes. Lovely touch.
• Marvelous Land of Oz #5 - Ah, the Queen of the Field Mice! The smartest creature in all of Oz. I find it revealing how tired the men of the Emerald City are after doing all the women's chores.


• Green Lantern Corps #47 - Repair the city, release the rings, punch a Guardian. Ok, that was a little bit unexpected. Otherwise, just more of the same.
• Justice Society of America #38 - The events planned last issue happen. Ok. Nifty. Next?
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold #16 - ENOUGH WITH THE EGG PUNS! Argh! Despite what the Wogglebug says in the Oz book, puns are the lowest form of humor.
• Super Friends #26 - As soon as I saw the aquarium in the bank I just thought, "oh dear". And I was right.
• Northlanders #27 - Wow. I expected vengeance and such, but not like this with one more issue to go. Whew.
• Doctor Who Ongoing #10 - That's a confusing mess of a story, isn't it?
• Incredibles #8 - Huh. That's a strange one. I like it. It'll be fun to see where this one goes.
• Usagi Yojimbo #128 - That last page is going to give me nightmares. Yikes.

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My library book this week was The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. A young orphan boy is taken in by a monster hunter who employed his father. The framing for the story is an excellent little mystery, while the story itself is told in a nicely Victorian style, almost like another Dracula or Frankenstein. It's an excellent horror tale, worth picking up. And it's apparently the first in a series, with the next book to be published later this year.

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Agatha Christie this week was Hickory Dickory Dock from 1955, also published as Hickory, Dickory, Death. Strange thefts at a Youth Hostel disrupt Poirot's routine enough for him to look into the mystery. I'm so glad my library got this one in finally. I was beginning to go through Christie withdrawal! Once again, she twists and turns and finds new and different angles to mystery. This time I never felt like I even had a chance at figuring it out, and just enjoyed the ride. And it was good. I'm already looking forward to reading the next one.

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Fortean Times #259, April 2010. I'm well behind on reviewing this mag, which is fine since the next issue came very late, possibly due to shipping problems related to a certain volcano. Who knows? In any case, I suppose it's time to review this one. The cover is great, a Robin Hood theme with a question about linking him to the Templars. Excellent! Something fun to sink my teeth into. The cover story goes back to the original Robin Hood ballads, in particular A Gest of Robyn Hode, to posit the theory that Robin was actually a Templar during the reign of Edward II, when Pope Clement V excommunicated the Templars and destroyed the order. It's a good theory from the facts presented, and makes for a fun read.

Strangedays has the usual roundup of great stories, including poltergeist activity, strange animals (with photos), the roaming rocks of Death Valley, a Buddhist temple made of beer bottles, early dentistry (shudder), underwater enigmata, and mistaken dead. Lots of good stuff to make you think and wonder about this world of ours. Ghostwatch has yet another haunted pub (yeah yeah, lots of "spirits" in pubs, I know). I enjoyed the archaeology section, as usual, which reported on discoveries in Syria. Classical Corner is about people with amazing memories. The UFO files reports on... well, the writers of the Fortean Times UFO Files as being MI5 agents, according to a UFO buff's website. Whee! Blasts from the Past talks about giant stone men.

Another article discusses the significance of Templar graffitti in prisons where excommunicated Templars awaited their deaths. A lot of speculation on the meaning of some of the symbols, and a nice tie-in to the Robin Hood as Templar article. Then we get an article about werewolves that focuses on the lack of reports of them in modern times. The Forum has four strong reader-submitted articles. The reviews are as usual, interesting reads. None of them made me want to seek out the original material this time, which is rare. The Letters were fun to read, and this was just an all-around strong issue.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist