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Doctor Who: The Stolen Earth (2008)
Exterminate
This episode is my opinion is the best to date, I loved every single solitary second of it. It was so well put together, it had action, it had a load of drama and it pulled off shocks left right and centre. This episode had me captivated from start to finish and at moments hairs on my arms stood on end and i had goosebumps. As the audio of a dalek saying 'Exterminate' echoes round the different companions you see that everyone is not thinking of the worst, to see Sarah Jane hear that chilling voice once again was a truly amazing sight. All of the acting was brilliant, the inclusion of all the companions didn't seem to ruin the episode it made it that much better. The reintroduction of Davros was also a thing to remember for years to come, when the Doctor comes face to face with the creator of the Daleks you can see the shock and heartache going through him, for once the Doctor becomes speechless.
The ending of this episode is the most shocking though, as the Doctor and Rose run towards each other the Doctor is cut down by a Dalek lurking in the shadows, as the episode comes to an end the Doctor begins to regenerate and as the theme tune hits you are not sure what will happen next. Will the doctor regenerate? Was the David Tennant filming the Christmas special a smoke screen? Or will the Doctor somehow stay the same? I for one hope its the latter because i am not ready to say goodbye to the best doctor there has ever been.
I certainly will be sitting down next Saturday to see what happens in the extended finale.
Doctor Who: The Poison Sky (2008)
I have to give them a choice
All i've heard from reviewers is that this story is rubbish and lacks scale, but why can't people take this for what it is. Doctor Who is about a man who is a time lord who travels through time and space with a clue box called a tardis, its a series which allows viewers young and old to go on adventures that are out of this world. It's an escape from reality which lets viewers at home forget about their worries and have some fun for 45 minutes.
In my opinion this was a great two part story, this series has reminded me so much of the classic series from what I have seen thanks to DVD purchases. The stories to me felt epic and were really emotional, it showed that wherever the doctor goes, death and destruction follow suit as referenced in episode 1 of series 1. I have only ever seen one full story with the Sontarans and that was The Two Doctors, but I felt that these stories just showed they are such a great monster, the fact that they love war and are not afraid to die makes you think just for a second that the doctor will have to sacrifice himself in order to stop them destroying the earth. I think it is fantastic that they have to always face their enemies in battle because of their one weakness, what a great race of creatures.
This story also developed Donna Noble's character which might possible be becoming one of my favourite companions, she is a definite runner up to Rose Tyler in my book. She is so different to what you usually expect from a companion, she disagrees with some of the Doctor's decisions and makes him better for it, she has a tremendous belief in him and she is very independent. In this story she gets separated from the Doctor and has to prove herself worthy, to everyone's delight she helps save the world with only a few guiding words from the Doctor. Also another reason for loving Donna is her Grandad, I love Bernard Cribbons in this role, he has become something very special to the show and I would love to see more, it's great to see someone like us who wants to believe in this magic world and who wants to encourage his granddaughter to travel the stars.
Then there was a really worrying moment which was truly emotional, the Doctor armed with an atmospheric converter says what seems his final goodbye to his companions. We have been told that David Tennant has done the whole series and is filming the three specials next year but every time something like this happens, you still wonder....could this be it. The moment that really showed the true character of the Doctor was when he said to his companions that he could not just send the weapon up because he had to give them a choice. That sums up the Doctors persona, he defeats these alien races but he always chooses to give them a chance even if they've committed terrible crimes. Thankfully it wasn't the end, I won't reveal what happened but it was a very good ending I felt which showed the how the Doctor helps people but just meeting them.
The trailer for the next episode also left me wanting more, it left me wanting to skip ahead a next and see the next story. As the Doctor finishes the trailer saying 'She's my daughter' you could hear a nation shouting 'What?'. This will be interesting.
Ashes to Ashes (2008)
A mixed bag
When Ashes to Ashes was announced I said to myself 'Oh no, here we go again, someone trying to do the impossible, attempting to produce a spin off to what may be called in the future a classic series'. But as I saw the trailers I did become quite excited by the prospect of seeing Gene, Ray and Chris again.
So what is my opinion of Ashes to Ashes now that three episodes have been on, well..it's a mixed bag I would say. There are some parts which I love about the show, but there are things that I find highly annoying and irritating about it unlike the almost near perfection of LOM. Unfortunately one thing that I don't like about the show is...the main character, now thats not what's supposed to happen, you're meant to feel for the main character but when I watch scenes with just Alex Drake I find my mind wandering, I become bored and I just cry out for a scene with Gene, Ray and Chris. Keeley Hawes tries her best in the role but I believe that the way she plays the role makes her unlikable, the fact that she thinks she knows everything and has a very upper class personality draws me away from character, unlike Sam Tyler who could be seen as every man, I don't believe Drake can be seen as every woman. The number of flashbacks in the show becomes irritating also, on the two episodes after episode 1 have featured a 'Previously' segment at the beginning showing scenes from ep 1, I feel this insults the audience, we have seen the episode and we don't need to see it every time.
How ever there are things I love in the series and these can be summed up in three words: Gene, Ray, Chris. These three characters in my eyes are more important and intriguing than that of ALex Drake. Philip Glennister does brilliantly yet again as the brash DCI Gene Hunt, Ray Carling complete with Perm is still excellent but he doesn't have the chance to bounce off and battle with a character like Sam. Chris is still lovable and naive and shows signs of the things he learned from Sam.
What I feel Ashes to Ashes should be is a show which focuses on Gene, Ray and Chris. Even if these characters are not meant to be real they do actually have back stories which need to be looked at. What happened between 1973 and 1981. Why did Gene lose his wife? How did everyone feel when Sam died? and Why did they choose to move to London? These questions are the ones I would like to have answered but don't feel will be. Instead we will continue to have the Alex Drake bore us to death with stuff about her mother and god father. I don't care personally, I just want Gene, Ray and Chris become the focal point.
Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned (2007)
I'm the Doctor, I'm a Time Lord, I'm from the planet Gallifrey, I'm 903 years old
"I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm 903 years old and I'm the man who's going to save your lives and all six-billion people on the planet below. You've got a problem with that?" With that speech David Tennant cemented once again that he is one of if not the best Doctor there has ever been.
This episode in my opinion was one of the best ever, some people have criticized it and said that it wasn't good enough, but these people take things too seriously. This was 100% pure drama, pure entertainment. This story was a different Dr Who story because it involved many deaths and it was a very emotional episode which was fantastic. You could see the pain and hurt in the Doctors eyes every time a persons life was lost, you could see him constantly asking "Why?" and you could feel that he felt it was his fault. You were with the character of the Doctor all the way and you wanted him so desperately to succeed and be the hero once more.
The music and the acting like every Dr Who episode matched perfectly, the score behind the slow motion scene was beautiful and it made you feel like there was no hope.
The ending of the show was great too, the death of Kyle Minogues character Astrid was a shock to me. I knew she wasn't doing any more but I didn't think she would be killed off. This again was a moving scene, watching the desperate Doctor try and bring her back but failing was hard to watch, and the line 'You're not falling, you're flying' nearly brought a tear from my eye. The Doctor doesn't seem to be having much luck lately with companions and friends, but thats what makes it more emotional, because you know what the Doctor has been through already and to see him lose someone else, is heartbreaking.
There was also a slight change the theme music which I actually liked, it was weird to hear it at first but the drums gave it a really big feel, don't know if its just for that episode or will be on the next series but I'll tell you now, series 4 looks amazing. And I don't know whats happening in David Tennants future but if he does leave, I promise you, that last story he does will surely have to be something which will bid a fitting farewell to the charismatic man. But he's not gone yet and there are still more episode to come. So don't panic yet.
I don't care what the critics say either about Dr Who, it is the best drama that the BBC has to offer and every year it gets better and better, keep it coming.
Doctor Who: Time Crash (2007)
I loved being you!
This short adventure featuring two doctors was absolutely amazing, it had such an epic feel and I felt I had died and gone to heaven. When the new series started I began getting DVD's of the classic series and Peter Davison's stories such as Earthshock and The Caves Of Androzani were great and proved how good a doctor he was. So to have Peter Davison and possibly the best Doctor of them all David Tennant together was magical. The story also gets the chance to pay homage to Peter Davison and what he did as the character all those years ago, this story leaves everyone smiling and feeling nostalgic but it also leaves the question 'Will the doctor meet any of his selves again?' based on the quality of this short story, I sincerely hope so. Doctor Who is still as strong as ever!
4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
Did I misread the word Fantastic?
Well I walked into the cinema with an open mind, the first Fantastic Four was not the greatest Superhero film of all time but it was OK. But after watching the opening half hour of the film I was getting restless and bored, the story lacked action that we come to expect from films of this nature. In the overall scheme of things I would say there is about 20 minutes of action at the most in this film, instead it centers around the characters of Mr Fantastic and The Invisible Woman and will they ever get married, quite frankly I was sick and tired of hearing about their wedding.
The other problem with this is that the characters are not as developed and rounded as those such as Batman, Spider man and the X-Men. All the four characters are 1 dimensional, Mr Fantastic is just the science man who explains whats happening in the film every 5 minutes, the Invisible Woman is just the eye candy in the film who just changes her clothes in every scene, the Flaming Torch is just an arrogant guy who turns into flames and the Thing is just a rock from Brooklyn. These superheroes lack the back story, lack the personal problems apart from not being able to get married...YAWN! Big deal. In Batman and Spider man the main characters have problems, have their own little wars waging on inside them constantly but with the Fantastic Four everything seems to nice.
If there is one good point it would have to be the Silver Surfer, who doesn't really do that much to be honest. He looks cool and he steals the film from the supposed main characters. It would have been better just to make a Silver Surfer movie instead without the Lame 4. Another good part is Stan Lee's cameo.
But overall the Fantastic 4 fails to deliver and I just hope that a third film is not on the cards. Give up with the Fantastic 4 and bring on Batman who at one point the fantastic four make fun of. What a joke! Did I hear someone say Fantastic? No, of course not.
Doctor Who: The Parting of the Ways (2005)
Timelords Have A Little Trick, A Sort Of Way Of Cheating Death
This episode was like the Doctor says 'Fantastic' I watched this episode knowing that it was going to be Christopher Eccleston's last story and so I was gripped by every single moment. This story see's the Doctor having to make decisions that are bigger than the Dalek fleet. Should he create a machine to kill every Dalek in existence and therefore become the biggest exterminator of all time or should he stay as the Doctor who refuses to kill. He decides at first to kill and as a result has to send his beloved Rose home, the performance of Eccleston is breath taking, as you see him trick Rose and turn and make the Tardis take her home, you see in Eccleston's eyes the heartbreak and pain that is going through him as he saves the woman he loves.
The final scene is a classic and contains the best line in the whole series that sums up how we all feel about what Eccleston had done. As Eccleston's Doctor begins to die, he gives his farewell speech, he explains the premise of the regeneration to calm Rose down "Timelords Have A Little Trick, A Sort Of Way Of Cheating Death" he then begins to say goodbye "It means i'm not going to see you again, not like this, not with this daft old face, and so before i go, i just want to say" and as Rose tries to stop him from saying this he continues with the public on the edge of their seats "I just want to tell you, you were fantastic" and the next line is the best line of the series and god bless Russell T Davies for writing this as Eccleston's last line, it goes "And you know what, so was I" and as that line is delivered, everyone at home nods there heads and agrees.
And with this line, Chris passes on the Doctors sonic screwdriver to possibly the best Doctor, David Tennant, but Chris, you were the Doctor and you will be remembered as one of the best.
"Fantastic"
Quantum Leap: Goodbye Norma Jean - April 4, 1960 (1993)
Oh Boy! It's Marilyn Monroe
This episode is a great episode, there is a great buzz about the episode from the very start as soon as Marilyn is seen on screen and Sam mutters the immortal words 'Oh Boy'. Watching Sam try to remain his normal goody self whilst in front of this superstar makes the episode that more enjoyable, especially as Al is trying to get Sam to let go of his normal attitude and go wild. Even if this episode does rewrite history somewhat, it's fictional and not to be taken seriously. This episode is filled with a lot of emotion, it is filled with Sam trying frantically to stop Miss Monroe from her timely demise.
Quantum Leap takes a Quantum Leap at giving people a look at the real Marilyn Monroe.
Walk the Line (2005)
Hello I'm Johnny Cash
Hello I'm Johnny Cash, the 4 words that send shivers down your spine and tell you that you are in for something special. Walk the line is a film with heart, passion and dedication without so much as a special effect or any CGI. Which is what you don't see nowadays, when I saw Walk the line in the cinema I was in awe, because I was watching some of the best acting I had ever seen. Joaquin Phoenix is amazing as Johnny Cash, he gets every emotion perfectly and you feel that Johnny is embodying Joaquin throughout this film, especially during the music sequences and Joaquin shows how Johnny's confidence as a performer grows, from the first time he sings Get Rhythm to when he sings in Folsom Prison and knows how to taunt the crowd. Also Reese Witherspoon brings a great performance to the picture and you feel that this women could save a man because of her caring nature and determination.
Overall, I think Walk the line is a fantastic film that Johnny would be proud of, you tap your feet when the music plays and you feel for when you see Johnny go down the slippery slope. It has become one of my favourite films that I can watch over and over and over again and not get sick of. I am a starting musician and this film made me want to follow that career path.
Thankyou Johnny Cash, Because your mine, I walk the line
Life of Brian (1979)
This film is absolute genius.
This film is absolute genius, it shows Python at their best. I mean the holy grail was great too and so was the meaning of life, but the life of brian just has so much more to offer. In every scene their is always going to be something great to laugh at, it's fast paced and never slows down. Also every scene in this film can be classed as a classic in my mind, it's amazing, it's so clever, there's the great stoning sequence, then there's the haggling scene, and there's the fantastic what did the Roman's ever do for us, with John Cleese superb comic timing making it so memorable, the way he carries on his point even know he's been beaten is just priceless. But there is also one of the greatest songs in the world on this DVD, Always look on the bright side of life, performed by Eric idle. So if you're feeding off life's grizzle, don't grumble give a whistle, and go and buy this DVD todayyyyyyyyyyyy. Sorry got a bit carried away there.