TV this week:
- Primeval: "Series 4 Episode 7" - And that's it for this round, as some plot points are tied up and Connor makes a decision. I was left wanting more. I just love this show, and I want a lot more of it. Hope the next series will be out soon and be as good.
- Young Justice: "Schooled" - Superboy feels the absence of Superman's mentoring. Another good story in the development of Superboy. He gets to figure out that invulnerability and anger aren't a substitute for proper fighting skills. Nicely presented.
- Young Justice: "Infiltrator" - Speedy goes off on his own as Red Arrow, and Arrowette joins the team. I like Aqualad's continued leadership in this one. He manages to pull the team together during a difficult mission, even though, in the end, the team actually doesn't completely succeed.
- Young Justice: "Denial" - The team is assigned to find out if Dr Fate's mystical equipment is safe. This is a Wally focused story, as he'd the one who doesn't believe in magic. I found it amusing enough, though Wally himself is pretty annoying in this version. Seeing what happens to him... heh. No one could be more deserving.
- Who Do You Think You Are?: "Vanessa Williams" - Some serious history in her family. I liked the pictures they were able to find of ancestors, particularly ones that were so rare and no one expected to find. The history of legislators in her family was also fascinating, and heart-breaking as well.
- Who Do You Think You Are?: "Tim McGraw" - Very much a story of American history, as this episode focused on an early ancestor who came into the nation as an indentured servant and became a prosperous landowner. The story of Tim's childhood also made for an interesting and painful tale.
- Being Human: "Adam's Family" - A young vampire relies on his non-vampiric parents for blood. I love George's reactions to everything that happens in this one. I am loving Nina even more. Mitchell's situation is getting more and more serious, but at least he's fully aware that he deserves punishment. I wasn't sure about the ending, but Eric tells me there's a spin-off web show, so I may need to go hunt that down.
- Being Human (US): "Wouldn't It Be Nice (If We Were Human)" - Josh wakes up from his werewolf transformation to find a man watching him, who claims to also be a werewolf. Meanwhile Sally learns that her ex-fiance is now dating her former best friend. I think I recognize all the plot threads in this one from the original show, but this show often pulls out onto a tangent, so I'm not sure how the threads will end.
- Supernanny: "Merrill Family" - I haven't been reviewing these lately, because I've said nearly everything I felt I've need to say about the show. But this episode was special to me. The family was a military family living at Camp Pendleton. The father has been deployed to Afghanistan while the mother is left with four adopted children from Guatemala and Ghana. They had some special circumstances, including two children who were afraid of the dark for extremely logical reasons, language frustrations, and some culture differences. Some of the usual techniques had to be slightly adapted for the children's needs, but the mother is clearly both determined and a quick learner, and I loved seeing her grow and go from a good mom to a great mom while we watched. It was an episode with particular resonance for me, and I enjoyed it a lot.
- December 1st
- Brightest Day #15 - J'onn lives an alternate reality. Hey, an "Elseworld" Aquaman, I guess I can stand the lack of continuing the main Aquaman storyline.
- JSA All Stars #13 - I like Maxine, but twelve of her are eleven and a half too many. This book is still disjointed and confusing, but when the main storyline focuses on a single character it isn't too bad.
- Action Comics Annual #13 - Young Lex Luthor and Darkseid. Really, is there anything more that ought to be said? Oh, and Ra's Al Ghul, too. Just for kicks. A fun issue.
- Ozma of Oz #2 - Dorothy meets Tik-Tok. I love this version of Billina, and Tik-Tok isn't bad either. I love how he deals with the Wheelers (always have). The cover is suitably terrifying, making the ending even better. Go get this book.
- December 8th
- DCU Holiday Special 2010 - This is the usual mixed bag of an anthology, a little weaker than most in my opinion. Not bad, but definitely not the greatest.
- Knight & Squire #3 - This is.... hilarious. I'm not sure how else to describe it. Returning Richard III to life? Romance for the heroes? Wow.
- Tiny Titans/Little Archie #3 - Yay Aqualad! Yay Aquaman action figure! Yay Aqua-Ohs! Yay magic!
- Northlanders #35 - An intriguing mystery started up, as a private man living in his own desolate valley finds a girl frozen in the ice. Really curious to see the rest of this.
- Torchwood #5 - One complete story, one conclusion, and one start. Nothing bad, but this suffers from the same problem this book has had from the beginning of disjointedness.
- Doorways #2 - And through the doorway they go. Lots of action, not enough explanation, but still manages to be pretty good. Looking forward to the next issue.
My Kindle book this week was The Takers (Oz Chronicles, Book 1) by R.W. Ridley. If you think about them, they can find you. A boy wakes up after a bout of mono to find his dog starving, his parents missing, and the world completely changed. I got this book for the Kindle after Eric mentioned that it was on his "Oz books" list, but he didn't know if it was actually about Oz. Because it had a Kindle edition, I ordered the sample, which is usually about 10% of the book. It was good enough I went ahead and ordered the whole book, because priced at $1, it was enough of a bargain to jump on. And I enjoyed it. It has absolutely nothing to do with The Wizard of Oz (and so has vanished from hubby-Eric's page), but it's a fun "quest" tale about a boy who wakes up in a deserted world and has to piece together what's happened, then fix the world with a little help from other survivors he finds along the way. This is the first book in a series, but it ends on a satisfactory note that's also something of a cliffhanger. A pretty good book, written for pre-teens, but fun for ages on up.
Agatha Christie this week was Third Girl from 1966. Poirot is intrigued by a girl who believes she may have committed murder, but thinks he's too old to help. Mrs Oliver, Agatha Christie's Mary Sue character, appears in this one. This is a slightly convoluted one with a slightly unconvincing ending. Not a disappointment, as it's quite the ride, as usual, but it's a story where you look at the ending and kind of say to yourself "that couldn't have happened in real life". Amusing, particularly the views on the fashions of the day, but not her best.
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