Sunday, June 06, 2010

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

  • Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "When OMAC Attacks" - Missed this when it first aired, but enjoyed it on the rerun. Good stuff with Buddy, although his hick stereotype got grating very quickly. The preopening sequence with Hawk and Dove was hilarious.
  • Doctor Who: "Cold Blood" - Still hate the crappy Silurian costumes. They just look too sleek and Star Trekky. They don't have enough elements of the originals to be good. There were a few twists in this one that made it worth watching, and some fundamental progress on the overall plotline that made it essential watching (just remember the ring). I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it as much as I hoped.
  • Doctor Who: "Vincent and the Doctor" - This works. It just fits right there, a break from the overall plot while still managing to move it along, and a very very guilty Doctor trying to deal with the events in the last episode. And Amy got along wonderfully with Vincent. I still hate bow ties.
  • Dinner Impossible: "Disney Dilemma" - Nine hours, 400 guests, and every dish needs to be part of the story from a Disney princess. I think I need to see that latest Disney movie, because I actually didn't recognize a princess. Robert was wonderfully gracious to the princesses, including blurting out "You're beautiful!" to one of them. Robert should be glad the Mad Hatter he got wasn't the DC Universe version.
  • Battlestar Galactica: "Webisodes: The Resistance" - Eric and I watched these together after finishing season 2. Scary stuff, with a gritty despression that's hard to watch.
  • Battlestar Galactica: "Occupation" - Brutal. You think they can't be worse off than running from the Cyclons through space. But there they are, in much worse shape. Kara's got it worst, though Tigh has it pretty bad as well. Apollo doesn't look terribly Apolloic any more.



This week's movie was Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. Quick review: Not enough Aquaman. At least Aquaman appears in it, and does a pretty good job taking on the evil Marvels. I enjoyed his attitude to Batman's warning, which came perhaps because Batman thought Aquaman might be a little too cocky. Heh. But for the rest... decent plotline, fun little asides, Batman being Batman was great to see, and Owlman. Owlman's bit was nicely done. The last scene of him was particularly good. Overall, a really nice popcorn movie worth watching if you are a superhero fan.



DCBS
Here are reviews of the DCBS comic book shipment that arrived this week, of books originally released May 19th and 26th:
  • Brightest Day #2 - Aquaman is on the cover, but not really inside the book. So... needs more Aquaman! Otherwise, eh, it's ok.
  • Justice League of America #45 - Not really feeling it. No Aquaman, not much interest.
  • Zatanna #1 - I guess if you're gonna have a book featuring Zatanna, you pretty much gotta get Paul Dini to write it. So far, so good.
  • DC Universe Legacies #1 - This isn't the DC version of Marvels, but it definitely has a little of that feel to it. I look forward to seeing Aquaman make his appearance (yes, I have a one-track mind).
  • Batman: The Brave and the Bold #17 - A week in the life of Batman. Needs more Aquaman.
  • Tiny Titans #28 - Super-Pets issue, but Aqualad only appears on the cover, and nobody is eating the ever-popular Aqua-Ohs in this issue.
  • The Incredibles #9 - I feel completely lost. I have the vaguest idea of the plot, but not much really seems to happen here.
  • PS238 #44 - Another great issue of one of the best comic books on the stand. I really want the return of Captain Clarinet, and I want to see something happen to him in this storyline that will guide him back to that. I love his "real" name. Heh.
  • Marvelous Land of Oz #6 - And the Gump is created and comes to life! Wahoo! This didn't match the mental image I had for the event, but this version feels very good anyway.

  • Green Lantern #54 - A cat with a Red Lantern ring? On page four, Atrocitus' symbol appears to say "MOM". At least we get some Aquaman... and even Mera. I'm not liking Hal for creating a giant shark to take on the Mera construct.
  • Green Lantern Corps #48 - Ok... I'm almost interested. What are Guy and Ganthet up to, and what's happening with the Alpha-Lanterns?
  • Power Girl #12 - Final issue with the current creative team, and I'm bummed about it. They tied up the loose ends, cleaned up house, put everything in a state for someone else to take over... and I don't want 'em to go.
  • Super Friends #27 - Aquaman looks so cute in a winter jacket, even though he doesn't need cold weather gear (he can withstand a lot of cold, being from the ocean). Fun story.
  • Northlanders #28 - Wow. Not the ending I was expecting to this sad tale. Powerful stuff.
  • Doctor Who #11 - You just had to go and bring up Adric. What sort of timey-wimey stuff is this going to end with?



My library book this week was Mennyms Alone by Sylvia Waugh. Again, an unexpected turn of events. The Mennyms are still dealing with the events of the previous book when Grandpa gets a premonition, and they have to adjust life to his ideas of what's going to happen to them in a year's time. This is a well-crafted series, and a particularly well-crafted book in the series. You just wonder what will happen to these folks, especially once Grandpa's prediction comes. And with only one more book in the series, you really have to doubt that Grandpa's premonition is going to happen. Very good series for young adults.



Agatha Christie this week was 4.50 From Paddington published in 1957, and also published as What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw and Murder She Said. Mrs McGillicuddy witnesses a murder on a parallel train, but no one except Jane Marple believes her. I loved this one. I once again had the wrong murderer pegged, but I did eventually figure out the guilty party before the reveal. I just really really didn't want to believe it, and hadn't actually worked out the details. I love Christie's books, and I think I may slow down a bit while reading them now that I'm getting closer to the end. Unfortunately, I can't erase my memory of the books and reread them once I'm done like Holly on Red Dwarf.



2 comments:

Jay said...

I'm not so sure that "Vincent and the Doctor" wasn't connected to the overall plot, but it didn't hammer it in, so that was nice.

Tegan said...

I think it was a break from the "Oh No There's a frakin' great crack in time and Amy is connected to it and that's terrifying!" thing that was annoying after the first couple of times it showed up without more information. Although the last episode before Vincent changed that, so this episode made a nice change in direction for that uberplot. It also *fit*, which many of the other episodes this season haven't seem to have done.