For those who aren’t privy to my Facebook and Twitter rants, my last non-family related vacation was invaded by the filming of what at the time was called Final Destination 4 (in 3D!). It effectively shut down half of Universal Studios, and it became nearly impossible to figure out how to get where I wanted to go. Needless to say, I treated the crew to a death glare as I tried to calm down over a turkey sandwich.

All right. In keeping with the latest of film fads, the installment was renamed “The Final Destination.” The. That means it’s the only one, right? Well, since there have already been three, each more awful than the last, “The Final Destination” should be the end of the series. Oh, let it be so.

I forced myself to sit down and view this film when it came on demand to my cable company. I will describe it here so that you may satisfy your curiosity without subjecting yourselves to its soul-crushing awfulness.
It’s a Final Destination movie, so there has to be a big accident in the beginning. And everybody’s gonna die. How do they kill off the cast this time? Well, after some very ridiculous attempts at “character introduction,” everyone is impaled, crushed, or otherwise killed when a NASCAR race somehow goes awry (after the Annoying Bad Hair Guy of the group of friends mentioned that he only goes to races to see crashes – ha ha ha, Final Destination. Ha). The Sympathetic Caring Boyfriend gets the vision this time, and thanks to him, Cheesy Girlfriend, Annoying Bad Hair Guy, and Probably the Slut are spared along with Cowboy, Angry Nazi, Nazi’s Wife, some couple with kids, and Black Security Guard. Well, okay. To be fair, it’s a little more original…Nazi’s Wife gets smashed by a flying tire after they think they’re all safe.

I watched this in 2D, but it’s very obvious that it was meant for 3D shocks and blood spatters. It’s simply another excuse to beat, impale, and set fire to the dead horse that is tortureporn under the guise of continuing what started as a tolerable movie concept.

This one starts off a little like the very first Final Destination. People are weirded out that Sympathetic Caring Boyfriend saw what was going to happen, and at the memorial service everyone decides to stop by and ask him how he knew. Oh, and Nazi Guy gets to drop some N-bombs just so that we’ll hate him a little more. Then come various “ominous” happenings…and because he’s now the most-developed character in the film, Angry Nazi has to die. Just in case we don’t hate him enough, he dies after getting drunk, listening to death metal, and then deciding to erect a flaming cross on Black Security Guard’s front lawn…resulting in some strange tow truck accident that somehow gets him burned alive while being dragged down the street. I see what you did there, Final Destination. A veritable Aesop’s fable. Hooray.

Cue the played out Final Destination plotline: survivors continue to perish one by one. In this film though, the filmmakers decide to make the deaths as graphic and juicy as possible, and believe it or not, they manage to make the “foreshadowing” even more painfully blatant. Even better, Death has now developed powers greater than the mere “unlikely series of events” or “conveniently placed breeze.” Death is now telekinetic, capable of making cans of hairspray drag across flat tabletops for absolutely no reason.

At any rate, I could continue with a blow-by-blow of gory deaths, but the plot pretty much follows the others. The only difference is that Sympathetic Caring Boyfriend figures it out a little more quickly than anyone in the previous films did, so on with the show of attempting to cheat death some more!

With extra blood and guts. I cannot emphasize that enough. Did these filmmakers not get the memo that the tortureporn fad mercifully ended years ago? What possessed someone to smash together that dated fad with the new Hot Movie Gimmick of 3D?

Other points of blood and guts “originality” include a death similar to something found in a Chuck Palhanuik story, (if anyone besides me remembers the story of the kid who liked to sit on the grate at the bottom of his pool), a guy who’s actually okay with the idea of dying, and an attempted suicide….or rather, a series of failed attempts at suicide, and an attempt at a joke about three-dimensional films.

This plot manages to seem even more half-assed than Final Destination 3, if one can comprehend such a thing. In fact, it’s so half-assed that I can’t even properly describe it without wandering around like an out-of-town drunk in the French Quarter. Please, people, don’t let my sacrifice be in vain. Do not subject yourselves to this travesty of “entertainment.”

Some of you may have heard about Jude Law’s upcoming movie Repo Men (or as it may have originally been titled, Repossession Mambo). For those who haven’t, here’s the deal:

A company can replace your organs if they’re failing. And they’ll do it on a payment plan. However, if you stop making payments, the organ(s) can be repossessed.

Neat film for sci-fi/horror geeks, right?

Yeah, it’d be even better if it wasn’t a blatant ripoff of an extremely good musical film which sadly went almost straight to video.

I understand that original ideas are hard to come by and all that, but nothing irritates me more when a better-quality original is overlooked because the “new” product is more well-known. Even worse, there are plenty of instances in which the original is later seen as the rip-off. For a good example from the music industry, see also: Mushroomhead vs. Slipknot, which is quite the beehive to poke with a stick and an extremely polarizing subject among fans.

Consider this a public service announcement, folks: Repo Men is just a big-budget version of Repo! The Genetic Opera. Repo! is fantastic. It’s been described as “a Rocky Horror meets Blade Runner rock opera/movie musical.” Now, I personally hate Rocky Horror, but I adore the Genetic Opera. It also has the same amazing vocalist as the 5th Element, where she made her brief appearance as a blue opera singer. I don’t want to give away the plot because this film is definitely one you should go see for yourself, but “Repo man goes around killing people and taking organs” doesn’t begin to describe what’s going on.

Other facts about Repo!

-It’s based on a play (The Necromerchant’s Debt) written by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunch, the latter of whom plays the part of the narrator in the film.
-Technically, it was released in theaters. Seven theaters, to be exact. The DVD was released January 20, 2009.
-Repo! holds the record for most songs composed into a single film, though some were cut from the DVD release.
-Joan Jett has a cameo appearance.
-Paris Hilton does not make me want to throw things at the screen in this film. I promise. As unbelievable as the idea may seem.

Lionsgate, despite throwing tons of money at plenty of other projects, many also strange and experimental, essentially ignored promoting the film whatsoever. It’s sad – Lionsgate really made a name for itself in taking chances on works such as Repo! The Genetic Opera.

The Genetic Opera’s storyline is interesting, and the songs are entertaining. Visually, it’s quite intriguing as well. It introduces a plethora of potential problems stemming from GeneCo, the company behind the organs as well as the repo men. For example, those who can afford it often become addicted to surgery much in the same way that plastic surgery addiction is an issue today…but it’s on a much larger and more dangerous scale. Many people become addicted to Zydrate, a drug used during these surgeries. Society’s ideals concerning beauty have changed entirely – the male character who is considered extremely vain and quite good-looking is…well, shall we say, very special in the appearance department. All around, the society it creates is fascinating, and I doubt Repo! Sans Opera Repo Men can really capture the atmosphere that makes Repo! so unique.

If only the people behind Repo! The Genetic Opera could repo! their freaking idea from Hollywood until the Genetic Opera receives the attention it deserves.

Oh, if only.

In brief: Confused, unspectacular, and did we really need it?

In detail: Dean Stockwell must have been chuffed when he first sat down to read the script for The Plan. Battlestar Galactica: Cavil’s Tale, would perhaps have been a more appropriate title.

What had been heralded as a superb companion to the show – a revelatory addition of content that would open our eyes and revolutionise our understanding of the series – became more of an optional appendix: neither necessary nor revolutionary.

It’s clever, certainly, and it’s very, very slick in its execution. The actors who reprise their roles from the series do a fine job of blending their new performances into the chronological framework of the show, creating sub-plots that remain mostly coherent and plausible.

The problem here is not in the minute details, but rather, in the overall approach the writers have taken. Jane Espenson – whose contributions to Season Four of Galactica are hardly something to scoff at – comes up with a piece which works on some levels, but not on others. The primary flaw is that we are dealing with a post-nominal work, so to speak. Battlestar’s story has been told from start to finish, even if there are holes to be patched. It seems reasonable that a subsequent episode or movie should strive to plug the gaps in the chronology, but this doesn’t seem to even attempt to do that consistently.

It starts in the right place, running alongside the prelude to the destruction of the Colonies, but that seems mostly sentimental rather than necessary. Nothing contained therein seems crucial the later plot. What we basically have instead is a story of Cavil’s attempts to orchestrate the ‘Plan’ from within the fleet, and the actions of the other Cavils throughout the show. And that’s an interesting approach to take, don’t get me wrong. Cavil’s a fascinating character, and as always Stockwell plays him well here. However, while it is insightful to see the underground movements in play before the attempted assassination of Adama, and the insights into the characters of Boomer, Tyrol, and particularly Simon, there is little of overwhelming impact here.

The much-heralded ‘Plan’ (the in-universe scheme, rather than the movie itself) therefore, seems to fall flat on its face. What exactly was the ‘Plan’? A supposedly divinely inspired genocide; the failure of which results in Cavil realising the true potential of humanity? That their emotions, their love and their very nature were valuable?

In truth – and I’ll accept this may be due to not having rewatched the show in the way so many others have: religiously, to every minute detail – I’ve been left somewhat confused and clouded by the definition of the ‘Plan’. If it’s left intentionally vague (and there are many, many things in Battlestar which remain unexplained, even after this movie [see Starbuck’s death and reappearance]), then I’m inherently frustrated. Cavil’s final monologue in the chute, before being jettisoned, implies a sudden realisation that annihilating humanity was a mistake. Yet this is juxtaposed between him knifing a small child, and his voiceover in space of wishing not to be human. It doesn’t make a great deal of sense, although perhaps that’s a consequence of insufficient knowledge of the show.

It’s been said that The Plan caters first for fans, then for your Average Joe. In truth, it caters first for fanatics, then for fans, and your Average Joe need not apply. I’ve watched the show from start to finish with sustained interest and enthusiasm, but the show did begun to become cluttered, in my opinion. There were dozens of characters (not to mention multiple copies and personalities of some), many concurrent plot-lines and in the end it seemed to be difficult to find a satisfactory conclusion to all of them, let alone remember all of them.

The Plan – I had hoped – would provide some sense of clarity: a feeling of resolution that might help be understand the series better as a whole. However, as Edward James Olmos says, The Plan leaves you wanting to watch the entire show again. Not, however, because you’ve been blessed with some divine revelation that will change your opinion of the entire show, as a I expect EJO desired it to be, but rather because I simply I found it too difficult to recall the subtleties and nuances of the specific episodes The Plan drops into.

The movie is, after all, probably the first ‘clip movie’ I’ve ever seen, taking a wealth of pre-existing footage and mashing it together with new clips. That, however, doesn’t annoy me for the usual reasons. It’s understandable in the context of the story, and certainly practical since the sets are now ripped down. And it is edited together supremely well. However, the focus with which the script places the viewer into specific scenes is sometimes disorientating as we clamber to remember exactly what’s going on.

It’s easy to get swept away with the camera-work and production value that makes Galactica so appealing and mesmerising, but it seems important to compare the outcome of the movie with that which it set out to achieve. If it was to reveal ‘The Plan’, it does a very poor job, and comes across as a clouded, cluttered mess. If it was designed to provide more backstory on Cavil and his motivations and feelings, then I think it’s succeeded quite well. But that in itself seems anti-climatic given the aforementioned post-nominal nature and build-up of the movie’s release. If I were Ronald D. Moore, the first movie I’d release wouldn’t be designed to reveal a little more about Cavil. It seems, not pointless, but certainly not as meaningful as perhaps it should.

There are positives, however. As I’ve mentioned the acting is strong as always, the new material well written and masterfully edited together with old footage. Some of the effects shots are excellent (though one particular shot of the attacks on the Colonies showing aquatic destruction is absolutely, utterly woeful), and it certainly doesn’t seem like an overly cheap production.

The problem lies in its overall impact, which seems confused and clouded. The general story was neither precise nor important enough to merit the intricate nature of the flashbacks, leaving the casual viewer wondering if we’ve missed something blindingly obvious. I don’t think we have, I think it’s just that this piece is written to appeal mainly to the die-hards. And if you are a die-hard, I hope you very much enjoyed it.

Being a casual viewer, I merely enjoyed ‘The Plan’. I was left feeling relatively satisfied at the end. But I was more than a little frustrated that it wasn’t stronger: that it didn’t make more sense, that it wasn’t more accessible and that it wasn’t more shocking and insightful within the context of the show. However, as a character piece, it’s a relatively pleasant two hours. In the future, however, I’d rather creative energy was spent making the upcoming sequel Caprica as strong as can be.

As Cavil says as his bodies float into space, “I know I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws, and feel the solar wind of a supernova flowing over me. I’m a machine, and I can know much more.” The Plan is like trying to play the piano wearing boxing gloves: appreciative of the beauty of the craftsman ship, but eternally frustrated that it wasn’t put to better use.

Grade: C+

In Brief: Brilliantly fascinating, if flawed.

In Detail: Most of what I’ve seen written about District 9 is about its analogous resemblance to the struggles of apartheid. It’s been explored in depth, and doesn’t need to be done here. Instead, I’m just going to review it as a piece of cinema, attempting to leave aside the looming moral issues which accompany it. However, that’s easier said and done. District 9 is a sci-fi action film on the surface, but very much a tale of the darkness of humanity underneath. It is – you might say – a blockbuster with a heart.

For those of you who haven’t seen the movie, the set-up is simple. Alien spacecraft appears of Johannesburg. Said ship does nothing. Mankind drills into it, finding an emaciated species of alien. Due to worldwide pressure, South Africa decides to house all of these aliens – or ‘prawns’, due to their resemblance to the popular seafood – in an area known as District 9. Whether it’s due to their insectoid appearance, or the obvious communication barrier (although the aliens and humans in the film can by this stage understand one another), District 9 becomes a slum filled with black market violence and Nigerian scammers. After twenty years, the South African government decide to segregate the aliens further, moving them out of Johannesburg to a ‘concentration camp’ some 200km away. Wikus van de Merwe is placed in charge of overseeing this eviction, but in the course of the film becomes infected by a liquid fuel which begins to alter his DNA, turning him into one of the aliens. Cue all sorts of problems and catastrophes.

As a sci-fi flick, this is surprisingly deep. Neill Blomkamp’s decision to set the story in South Africa rather than the United States – and to cast a relative unknown in the pivotal lead role – helps to establish District 9 as something other than your run-of-the-mill summer action movie. Sharlto Copely’s performance is admirable, believable and his character of Wikus van de Merwe is written in a delightfully realistic fashion considering the rather fantastical predicament in which he finds himself. His relationship with Christoper – the friendly alien, for want of a better phrase – is wonderfully compelling. It is a testament to the quality of the film’s CGI that the aliens’ effect works hold up so well. In fact, they’re outstanding. In some scenes, the aliens are as photorealistic as any VFX I have ever laid eyes upon. When Christoper is on the MNU bus at the end of the film, looking between the windows, he simply looks real. So many other blockbusters spend millions on huge explosions and action sequences, and while some of these appear here, the real effort has been put in the right place: the heart of the story, and making sure the viewer stays there.

Perhaps why District 9 succeeds in this respect so dramatically is because unlike other flicks such as Independence Day, mankind is not portrayed as some utopia worth protecting. In fact, they’re portrayed on an equal if not lower plane than the aliens themselves. The movie latches on to human bigotry and xenophobia, and uses them to great effect. There is no obligatory human relationship the viewer must endure, no heroic speeches or holier-than-thou saviour: District 9 is about an average man – closer to a geek than a hero; caught between a eerily familiar, xenophobic human society, and the frightened, intimidated aliens it seeks to repress. Not sounding quite so much like Independence Day now, eh?

Peter Jackson’s production on the film is exquisite. It’s beautifully edited with magnificent visuals and particularly sound editing. District 9 itself feels alive; real. The aliens themselves are so frighteningly realistic, there is actually a far lesser suspension of disbelief than is found in most science fiction movies. Instead, I found myself viewing with the scrutiny of someone watching a real documentary than an imaginary world. That’s not, I think, a consequence of some creative failing, but rather a testament to the quality of the world Blomkamp and Jackson have created. My God – the alien control panels alone are worth the admission price. They feel like an iMac circa 2050. Additionally, the subtlety of the alien mothership floating above the city is a tremendous visual spectacle – one handled very well. It’s that very in-fashion approach of non-intrusive CGI achieved through hand-held camera work that allows the Mothership to become as much a character in the story as the characters themselves. The mothership’s technological majesty a firm reminder throughout the film that the repression in the slums below it may not go unpunished.

The aliens themselves are genuinely fantastic. The diversity is subtle yet clear at all times, as their colours and clothes all differ and are very nicely crafted. What movies five years ago would have dreamed of, or certainly made a big meal out of, District 9 does for fun here. The CGI aliens’ interactions with the filmed environment around them is so natural and fluid that you barely notice it occur. The way they open doors ‘feels’ one-hundred percent right. When they throw something – or someone, as the case may be – you don’t sit there thinking "Wow, that’s clever CGI." The Cloverfield-style camera work, coupled with the tremendous visual work, means that instead you sit there thinking "Wow, that alien just threw that fella into that rickety wall." You don’t even treat it as CGI anymore. I’ve waited a long time for a movie to achieve that. District 9 succeeds. It also creates arguably my favourite CGI character since Gollum. Christopher is – and don’t ask me how, because he certainly doesn’t have Gollum’s facial expressions – a remarkably connective character. You feel for him – you understand how he feels, and you feel like he is, in fact, more human than most of the human characters. That’s another remarkable achievement, for a character whose mouth comprises of slithery tendrils, and communicates solely in garbled clicks. Well done, writers.

The film is not, however, without flaws. One of the most obvious ones that leaps to mind is the stubborn willingness to stick the news footage that runs through the film. This is rather well crafted at the beginning, but due to a combination of weak monologues from the newsreaders, and the novelty simply wearing off, by the end of the movie these news-clips feel more like they’re breaking the flow of the movie, rather than helping create it. I do appreciate the documentary style in which portions of the movie are filmed. They’re a very effective and realistic mechanism for scene-setting at the start; they add emotional weight through the interviews with Wikus van de Merwe’s relatives; and the hand-held camera style (of which I know many are not a fan, but I personally am) helps create slick action sequences and a realistic tone to the cinematography. The news sequences towards the end though feel contrived and unrealistic, and I felt weakened the concluding sequence of the movie.

The alien command ship which resurfaces towards the end too looked frustratingly like Joss Whedon’s Serenity. In fact, on the HUD in the ship itself, the two were barely distinguishable in terms of structure. Okay, I’m being a sci-fi pedant here, but it did take me out of the realism of the movie slightly. On an additional VFX note, the opening sequence with the many aliens on the ship seemed a little weak, but I’m happy to say the quality of the effects only got better from there on in. Maybe they sacrificed quality on the alien models for render-time purposes, who knows?

I also felt a bit let-down by the Transformers-style action sequence at the end. Cool though it was, it had a slight feeling of gratuity in places. They redeemed it slightly with Wikus actually getting beaten slowly, but the machines leaps over the slum huts felt a little ‘over-the-top’. The movie had maintained a very strong emotional heart in Wikus van de Merwe’s character throughout, and suddenly it felt a bit PS3-gamey, with robots vs. soldiers. But alas, it’s a minor criticism.

I also questioned whether District 9 was inhabited solely by 2 million aliens, and a handful of Nigerian weapons traders. A few more nationalities (perhaps one less clichéd than this fast-growing ‘all Nigerians send you spam emails’ stereotype) may have helped the environment seem even more believable, but this is being nit-picky. As I said before, the quality of the movie left me critiquing useless little things in my mind, as the core of the movie was so tremendously solid.

On one final critical note, what on earth was that camera-work about as the MNU soliders stormed the lab with Wikus and Christopher? Yes, you know the one I mean. The shots where it looked like the troops were sailing in on skateboards, since the camera was reverse-fixed to the end of their guns. I generally thought the camera work was tremendous, but this was laughably bad.

Overall, it’s definitely something I’d want to see again, and certainly worth a buy on Blu-Ray. The sequel the movie set-up so nicely towards the end might not actually be woeful. The story feels like it needs to be continued. Not can be continued, but needs to be so. That’s a far better reason to do a follow-up than "It sold a lot of DVDs so let’s make up a way to do another one". It’s a wonderfully presented movie, which does have its flaws which prevent it from quite achieving masterpiece status. It does all the basics wonderfully well, and avoids a great many traps, but can’t quite make it over that final hurdle in my mind: that last fence which would have heralded true cinematic greatness.

That said, I can’t recall the last film that managed to do that. Maybe I’m too harsh.

Does an A- grade sound about right to you?

You tell me. Leave your own thoughts below.

In brief:  Zoom. BOOM.

In depth:

Torchwood is back.

After an undisclosed period of time after the deaths of Owen and Toshiko, life in Cardiff goes on as, well, normal. That said, I did have to have a quiet chuckle to myself when, after the opening credits sprawled, in big letters at the bottom of the screen came “CARDIFF”. It’s just not something you see everyday… sorry…

What we have had presented this evening though was a fine hour of entertainment. We are pulled quickly into the story through the opening sequence, nicely shot at night and with just enough hints at possible later storylines, like the one child hanging slightly back for example…

And then I think it takes, what, 2 minutes into the episode itself before we see exactly what’s been touted in all the trailers for the last month or so. Children, our children, stopping whatever they are doing and just being motionless. Speechless.

Except that great big evil tease of a man Russell T. Davies knows that that’s what we’re waiting for, so instead of the alien speech from these kids, after 30 seconds of nothing, it’s back to normal as if they were just mucking around.

Damn you, Russell. Now I have to watch.

And I’m going to forego any more explicit spoilers here, sorry. Except suffice to say that the first 40 minutes set up some very nice groundwork for the next 4 episodes, and then the last 20 minutes is just, well, excitement/run/boom. I really hope the momentum can be kept up and every last ounce of possibility can be extracted for good use!

What I will also say is that the last hour of television was a tightly scripted, well-directed and fine performances from all around. There’s drama and tension and some absolutely delightful family fun scenes for Ianto, which balance nicely against Jack’s more tense family life… From potentially morally bankrupt government department heads to perhaps slightly too inquisitive for their own future good secretaries, and good natured doctors to charismatic Jack… I was involved. And speaking as person who finds the character of Captain Jack sorely lacking without somekind of authority figure weighing him down… that means something! I’ve always seen his character as more of a support than a leading man, that when thrust into that position, he overcompensates. He seems much more toned down here while still retaining that essential… Jack-ness.

I like it.

In fact character seems to be the key here. I don’t think there wasn’t a single character with prominent screen time, that wasn’t given a moment to be fully emotionally human. Even the government shady figure, Frobisher, who we are not supposed to like… he is terrified for his kids. 

I’d like to take quick moment here to single out Paul Copley for some particular praise. I was alternately scared, endeared and sympathetic to his character. Some very nice writing with some damn fine acting building a superb performance. 

I do wonder if it’s perhaps the scale of the story that has helped Torchwood with this particular outing. As the story whips from 40 years ago to the present day, from Cardiff, to London, there’s a sense of development and progress. The story just feels bigger and I think it makes the Torchwood concept stronger because of that.

I think most people will love the cliff-hanger ending, which, is nice and action-ey and proper chocka with explosions, but for me it was more of the emotional (and completely unforeseen but makes perfect sense given the way the government officials have been talking so negatively about Torchwood) plot twist that occurs near the end of the program that won me over.

In fact I was so impressed by the twist that I remember looking down at the time to see if that was the end and the cliff-hanger moment.

Torchwood has had a tough old time of it, being the spin off from nuWho, and expectations were high for series one. I remember being thoroughly shoved out of episode one by the mention of the dreaded F word within the first 5 minutes. I could not get back into the show for a while after that. It might sound silly, but for me it felt so much like the show was attempting to say “WE ARE MORE GROWN UP THAN DOCTOR WHO. LISTEN TO US BE ALL TRUE TO LIFE.”

It didn’t need that. You just need sensible, appropriate story-telling. There’s a nice small moment in the episode where Gwen is talking to a possible new member of the team, a young doctor. He reveals that, since the first public appearance and following awareness of extraterrestrial life 4 years in the Whoniverse, the suicide rates have actually doubled.

There’s also the concept of Jack’s immortality. In Doctor Who, it’s more of a wondrous marvel but here we can see that it can also be a curse. Remember Jack’s family life I mentioned? Since he’s immortal, he will constantly be seeing people he comes to care for and love having to die. And he will always look the same to them. How painful must that be for both sides.

Now in the parent show, Doctor Who, these themes would never be appropriate. Not in a million years to the blunt extent at which they are offered here. At its heart, Doctor Who is about great and noble deeds being done against all odds, the joy and wonder and excitement from infinite possibilities throughout the cosmos…

Torchwood though, is closer to home and it can handle those more disturbing elements. Not necessarily darker, just subversive and negative. Like say, some kind of government conspiracy cover up for events that while they may have been alien in origin, were resolved by entirely self-serving human interests.

Not sure yet. The jury is still out, and this episode has proved already that appearances are most deceiving… stopping with that thought.

Intelligent, witty, topical, self-aware, and human.

Most importantly, it seems that Torchwood has found and now firmly planted its feet. 

Here we go. A nice, well deserved 4 out of 5 Torchwood company cars being stolen by Cardiff teenagers. Despite triple deadlocks. 

Keep it up! Please!

In brief:

Boom! Smash! Plot! Smash! Boom!

In depth:

Firstly, a little tip:

Never, ever sit in the front row of the cinema when watching a Transformers movie.

That was yours truly last year. And it was awful. You constantly have to move your gaze, heck, your head, all the time to see everything rather than being sat back far enough so that you can absorb everything.

Admittedly it was our own fault. We arrived late. At night. The cinema was packed.

So, cleverly, we planned it this time around so that we could watch it from a much better position. The opening day, the first showing, during work hours when most people won’t be able to see it. We arrive half-hour early to buy tickets. We get in there 10 minutes before the film starts… and we end up sat in the third row from the front.

Oi-vey.

So… let’s transform and roll out…

Transformers movie. The world still knows nothing of the alien robots, Sector 7 has been disbanded, and Sam Witwicky is preparing for the next big phase of his life… college.

It doesn’t take long though for us to be thrown into the action. Within the first 10 minutes, we’re thrust into a situation where a large Decepticon is hiding out in Shanghai. The Autobots and their human allies then move in to take it down, which they do within reasonably short order, but the standout moment simply has to go to Optimus’ arrival on the battle scene. Cue full on grin on my face I tell you!!

But why exactly ARE the Decepticons still on Earth? Heck. Still coming to Earth? This guy was a brand new Transformer. Bigger, though not necessarily better than what had come before…

“The Fallen is coming…”

It’s back to young Sam though as we drop in as he prepares for college life. Dad’s changing his room into a games room. Funny. Mom is already missing him terribly when she finds his old baby shoes. Funny.

These are, initially, caricatures figures. They’re to lighten the moments! And they do work to a certain degree… It’s just then you have the odd dog humping the other. The Autobot twins… who I swear have a joke every other line.

Actually I take that back. Every single line.

I personally think it’s too much overblown. Joke layered on joke layered on joke. As if it’s trying to remind us not to take this seriously. These are giant robots from out space, man! Don’t for one second take it seriously!

Doesn’t take long though for trouble to wind its way back into Sam’s life though. He picks up his phone, dials his girlfriend Michaela’s number, and while packing some stuff for college, including a battered top from his last adventure with the Autobots, from which a shard of the almighty Allspark falls to the ground at his feet.

Sam, of course, being the curious lad he is, bends down and picks it up, where we are then treated to a quick CGI flash, some strange symbols flicker onto the screen (evidentially in Sam’s mind), and then the piece burns so that he drops it, it falls to the floor, burns through the floor to the kitchen below, where it then somehow transforms ordinary appliances into mini-Transformers… which then promptly go after Sam…

So, with all that taking in place in the first 15 minutes or so… make no mistake – Transformers 2 is a big summer blockbuster movie.

And in that, it bloody well succeeds.

The action roams from Shanghai, to small-town America, big city America, Egypt, the depths of the Laurentian Abyss, and even the Transformers dead home planet of Cybertron.

Director Michael Bay has a film that sticks to formula. I think in some respects it’s a bit of a shame. Linking back into my point earlier about not taking these films too seriously, well, how am I supposed to get caught up in the plight of the characters if jokes are being cracked left, right and centre? There’s having humour in the dangerous situations, and there’s having humour just because we need to appeal to the masses.

C’mon.

There are explosions, massive robots, explosions, some talking, and more explosions… It did feel like an awful lot of explosions were happening here.

The key is to keep the ball rolling but also know when to pull back and just have a few moments to themselves. I think the film suffered from a little too much comedy at the wrong moments, as the film tries to straddle appealing to fanboys and the main film going crowd by offering fart jokes (from a robot), getting high jokes (from a parent) and the like…

I can’t fault the CGI. There are some truly awesome spectacles on display here. From the bare-knuckled steeled fistfights and the energy cannons blasting each other… there is a real attention to detail and design. Each robot, at least the Autobots, are unique in their look and design.

It’s a little harder to ascribe those to the Decepticons, mainly because there are a couple of sequences where we are given a feasted sight of the evildoers, less time is spent on individual characterisation. They are there to represent the enemy and this is apparently all.

But who exactly is the enemy?

Halfway through the film, we are introduced to the idea that Megatron (yes, he’s alive. We all knew he’d come back somehow. It isn’t a spoiler!) has a master. I can buy this, but when it came time for Megatron to denounce his master and claim the uber-superweapon near the heart of this film for himself, I was surprised that it didn’t happen. From the first film I was under the impression Megatron serves one agenda, his own…

With the return of Megatron comes one doozy of a rematch with Optimus Prime. There is just something extremely enticing watching Optimus, set upon by numerous Decepticons, refusing to back down.

“I’ll take you all on!”

The plot that exists in this film… there were some good ideas.

The idea of ancient Transformers coming to Earth beforehand? I like it.

Knowledge from the Allspark downloading itself into Sam’s mind thus bringing him back into the game? I like it.

The armed forces and Autobots working together? I like it.

There’s a definite sense of grounding this film in our reality.

But why oh why am I walking away trying to work out what this plot told us about… anything. The battles stand out vividly. The action is memorable. But the story… if only as much care on the design of these robots had gone into the crafting of the story… As it stands, it feels like an attempt to make the Transformers world bigger just because they can… to string a series of robot battles together in a reasonably coherent manner…

And thinking about it, really, this is a film about huge freaking robots, good and evil battling each other whilst transforming into ordinary, everyday vehicles.

How can I get hung up on the plot?

Well, because they tried to give us one. That’s why. And it felt like a rushed, extension of the original film and than a true, fully-fledged sequel in it’s own right. Just… more of the same.

So. Ok. Tip number two!

Don’t go in expecting exhilarating truths about the human condition in the face of unspeakable odds.

That’s not in here.

But, crucially, importantly, shockingly, amazingly… is this movie fun?

That’s a definite yes.

At a total running time of 2 and half hours, I can honestly say I was entertained on the visceral level and it wasn’t until that final half hour that I really began to find it uncomfortable in my cinema seat, simply because the film was just that little bit too long.

And there are a couple of nice human touches. So full thumbs up to Shia LeBeouf as Sam and Kevin Dunn and Julie White as his parents, and their reunion in the desert of Egypt. It’s a nice turn around scene to parallel the opening 15 minutes where Sam’s dad was kind of in a hurry to see the back of him, and yet here, it’s the last thing he wants…

So all in all… it’s going to be a summer smash. In the final 10 minutes, the breadcrumbs are left for another sequel, and the film does wrap up damn fast. Indeed the final battle occurs, and then there’s a short denouement and we cut to credits. Perhaps a little less time devoted to explosions and more to the story? Perhaps telling us something about ourselves in a more honest way…

Sam’s sudden revelation near the end of the film came very close to that moment (and I have to admit, that line was nicely written, even if the circumstances about it’s happening were never properly explained… it’s something about leadership… you’ll know it…), but it just slipped away because of what had come before. There was no build up. Not enough story to get behind. The drama kept slipping away…

It was there though. Peeking through the cracks. And so cripplingly close to being fully realised but it was held back by this need to appeal to a massive neutral crowd base….

A fantastic cinematic experience has to tick all of these boxes for me. So it works if you want to have a blasting, fun time. If you’re nostalgic about the old cartoons… you can certainly find something to enjoy here. But if you’re looking for a film that expands on the original in terms of character, epic story, and emotional truth… you’ll get lip service here.

Kind of like how Megan Fox’s lips, no matter what happened to the rest of her body, stayed constantly perky.

How does one do that?!

I’m giving this one 2 and a half Transformers forming up to build a massive new Transformer out of five.

Roll out, guys.

In Brief:  It’s lived long, and now it finally prospers.

In Detail:  It’s been a very, very long time since I’ve watched the popular folk around me gasping as photon torpedoes smash into something.

Even longer since I’ve heard the college jock express his jealousy at someone seeing the latest Star Trek movie before him.

Rather than focusing on a plot synopsis, since I think everyone should go see this movie and learn it for themselves, I’ll focus on analysis.  J.J. Abrams has achieved what many perceived to be impossible.  He’s made Star Trek popular, sought after;  bigger than the latest Bond flick.  Quite how he’s managed it perplexes me slightly.  It’s been almost effortless.  Call it gifted creative vision if you will, but from the first moment the trailers hit, the creator of Lost and Fringe mixed the finest aspects of a forty-year old franchise and injected it with something fresh and revitalising.

What’s perhaps most impressive about this film is its subtlety.  So often where obvious homages and fanboy tributes would have been so very tempting to include, Abrams steps back and puts his own unique slant on the Trek universe.  Not to say that this is a complete reboot – it in fact functions plausibly within current Trek canon: overwriting nothing while creating so much more – rather, it is a perfect example of how to walk the very fine creative line between the professional and the amateur.

So, this succeeds at creating a new yet believable Star Trek universe – how does it rate as a movie?  Well, it was possibly the fastest two hours of my life, which stands as a measure of how much I enjoyed it.  It flew past.   The pacing is pretty much exemplary, although it does perhaps take quite a long time setting up Kirk and Spock at the Academy where it’s hard to tell when the real plot’s going to get going.  Minor quibble, barely worth mentioning.

As an action movie, I don’t think you’ll find one with a finer ensemble cast or a stronger storyline.  So much is crammed in here, and the movie does a great job of giving each of the minor characters some form of personality and backstory (no small task in a two-hour movie).  Indeed, if anything, I’d have liked an extra half hour to really see more of Eric Bana’s Nero, who perhaps just fell slightly short as a villain.  While we see his motives, his means and his emotions expertly portrayed by Bana, he lacked the time and dedication afforded to villains like Khan, the Borg Queen and even Shinzon in previous movies.  I’d have liked to have seen Bana utilised a little more.

Having said that, I wouldn’t cut a single moment of either of Kirk or Spock’s development.  Pine really impressed me, nailing the role.  The casting of a relative unknown, as Abrams has said, really helped, as you just saw him as James T. Kirk: the rebellious, rule-bending charmer who cheated at the Kobayashi Maru – not because he was being a thug, but because he was too good for the system, and what’s more: he believed that fully.  Additionally, Zacchary Quinto’s performance is absolutely outstanding.  His is a Spock quite different from Nimoy’s, yet that’s absolutely understood.  A youthful, more naive Spock struggling with himself.  And Nimoy’s final message to his younger self just makes this subtle yet important difference succinctly understood.  Again, Abrams balances delicately, and the outcome is sublime.

Simon Pegg’s performance as Scotty, although restricted to the latter half of the movie, is quite perfect also.  Quirky, imaginative and with a rather good Scottish accent, he provides comic-relief in the absolutely right amount.  It’s interspersed at the right intervals, it’s not in-your-face and it’s portrayed by a master of comic acting.  Top job.

Karl Urban’s McCoy?  Again, perhaps a similar problem to Bana’s Nero.  Full of talent and potential, but not quite realised as fully as it could be.  It’s good to see the beginning of the friendship with Kirk, but whereas Kirk and Spock’s relationship develops naturally and believably, the McCoy loyalty and bond seems perhaps a little contrived again through lack of time to explore the link between them.  Why does McCoy really risk it all to help Kirk,  other than that they shared a stiff drink on a shuttlecraft?  Again, a little more could have been developed here I felt.

Saldana, Yelchin and Cho all do more than adequate jobs of their characters, and I’ll perhaps have more opinions in later viewings.  I thought Saldana was particularly effective at delivering a performance that is often lacking on modern media – a determined, hardened woman who doesn’t need to act like a man or wear tight leather: she’s a confident woman, and that’s accepted.  Rather Roddenberry-esque, and very much appreciated.

In terms of the visual effects, these are probably the best I’ve ever seen, both technically and creatively in a movie of this type.  I was so happy to see the traditional Abrams absence of glorified effects exposure.  You could tell this wasn’t a Michael Bay production: no needless and gratuitous effects shots for the sake of it (credits aside, and they were simply stunning!).  Instead, as Abrams so often chooses to do (and I welcome it), the effects are integrated into the story telling.  The camera never loses sight of the human action involved, never tries to jam in as many effects as possibly.  It’s always designed to convey the intensity of the combat, the disorientation of the people or the enormity of what’s going on (see Vulcan implosion) – it’s not just an attempt to get as many explosions or pixels on the screen as possible.  It brings so many modern blockbusters to their knees, and I was  delighted to see that Star Trek stood above that.

The audio deserves a mention too.  The classic, vintage Trek sounds are seamlessly integrated into an intriguing new soundscape for the 21st Century, and it just works.  The sounds are crisp (my God, that warp effect is beyond awesome) and sharp, and the constant background chatter when the Kelvin comes under attack is a particularly fine example of how audio is used creatively and differently than what’s come before in the Trek universe.  Abrams also appears to have been rather creative about when and when not to use sound in space.  It’s nice for effect at times, but I can’t say it made much sense in terms of consistency.  I’ll look out for it in future viewings.

It’s nice that the movie doesn’t always take itself too seriously.  Some of the humor (even thought it may be subtle and unusual for Star Trek shows – ironic sarcasm from Spock or Nero for instance) comes from unlikely places, but it’s good to see the experimentation.  I guess whether it works or not is down to personal interpretation, but if this movie is about reinvention, then it’s mission accomplished.

Abrams’ Star Trek is a success.  It may not be the finest piece of purist Star Trek ever to grace our screens, but I have little doubt it’ll be the most popular (universally, that is).  I can hardly conceive a movie which could more effectively have bridged the gap between Nerd and Nerd-Killer, and actually made it work.  It’s a creative success, it’s good fun, and I do feel it captures (to an extent) some of Roddenberry’s original vision.   It may not have been overly explicit, but as my non-Trekkie friend remarked as he left (having never watched Trek before), “I really loved the positive outlook it gave on humans.  Most movies make it feel so contrived.”  There’s little more you can ask than that, is there?

It’s a triumph, and I think history will record it as one.  This one won’t burn out or fade away like a pleasant memory like Serenity, it will be fondly remembered and respected by fans and non-believers alike.  And that’s good.  Because for perhaps the first time, Star Trek has broken out of its closet and tackled a new demographic it may not have enjoyed success with before.  It’s taken forty years, and many have tried.

J.J., I salute you.

P.S. – Does anyone know if you can you actualy set dilithium crystals to maximum?  Wasn’t convinced by that line.

Grade: A

After a long wait with several rumours of a return in the form of a movie, ten years on and we – the Red Dwarf fans – finally have our comeback special. Yay!

Red Dwarf: Back to Earth is set nine years after the events at the end of Series VIII, with a surprisingly intact ship and Rimmer still wearing that shiny JMC uniform with pride.

After watching all three episodes of Back to Earth I must say that on a whole the special was fantastic, I loved the storyline… but only after it had all been pieced together. I had my doubts about the entire thing after the second episode, and I even started to worry for the future of Red Dwarf. Yet I, along with so many other fans, stuck with it and watched the final episode. I for one am glad I did. At times it felt so much like classic Red Dwarf and I am looking forward to what the team have in store for us in the future.

One thing I would like to point out that disappointed me with the show was the choice to air it in three different episodes. It was off-putting, especially after my thoughts on the second episode and I believe that the special would have recieved a greater reaction had it all been shown as one episode. You really do have to wait till the story line is all pieced together before you realise that Red Dwarf is, in fact, back.

I would love to hear your views on the special:

In brief: Fun!

In-depth:

One down.

Three more to go.

Let’s get serious people!

To elaborate – this is it folks. Strap yourselves in for this adventure because it’s fun, tongue in cheek and a fast, furious ride. If you’ve read any interviews you’ll know that this is probably what RTD might call his last chance for a ‘light hearted’ romp in the Whoniverse. If you can call strangers on a London bus being dragged halfway across the universe by a wormhole and then being hunted down by an alien swarm ‘light hearted’.

But this episode doesn’t really dwell on the scary moments for longer than, well, a few moments. It’s about crashing through…

Plot – a masked thief steals a golden chalice from the ‘International Gallery’. She unmasks herself to the audience. Hi, Michelle Ryan. The police show up and her only chance of escape is to hop on a red London double-decker bus. Which she does. Plus fare. Like her style.

How does this intersect with the Doctor? Simple. Easy. After she’s on the bus, intercut with the footage of the police looking for her, we see some familiar trainers coming into focus. The swish of a brown coat. And the sit down next to Michelle Ryan in catsuit and introduce himself…

“Hello! I’m the Doctor! Happy Easter!”

This outing is just zoom. Within minutes of the opening titles, the Doctor pulls out a device on the bus as it starts to flash and make noise. He’s been tracking Rhondium particles. They led him to the bus. And now his device is going mad. In fact, so mad, his little spinning radar dish fritzes out with some sparks. Behind him, another passenger on the bus, Carmen, speaks to her husband Lou about the voices she can now hear…

As the bus passes into an underground tunnel, pursued by police who have also closed the other end, the Doctor tells Christina, played by Michelle Ryan, to hold on tight. The bus shakes. Quakes. Lights flash. Screaming.

And the bus never comes out the other end.

Blurred camera focus. Perfect Ten raises himself from the floor of the bus. Bright light emanates from the exterior of the bus. The motley group head to the bus’ doors. Ten steps off to survey the endless sandy dunes.

“…end of the line…”

The group quickly comes to terms with their situation physically as the two younger boy characters, Nathan and Barclay, quickly discuss the recent events of the Whoniverse. Specifically Earth being taken to the Medusa Cascade and all the planets in the sky. But they clearly note, it’s just them who have moved this time. Not the whole planet… Nice touches like this are what make the episode connect with the viewer.

Perfect Ten gets down and dirty. No. Really. He kneels down on the sand and runs it through his fingers. Heck. He licks the stuff. It’s sand all right… but there’s something different about it…

Quickly the finger of suspicion is pointed at Ten. Everything was fine until he pulled out his device. Did he do this? The Doctor is emphatical (Microsoft says that isn’t a real word. I’m saying it is.) No. He was just tracking a minute crack in the universe that suddenly widened and gobbled them up whole. He’ll prove it. He goes behind the bus and throws sand into the distance… a distance which then warps and bends to represent somekind of spatial anomaly.

The driver, thankful, strides towards the warp. Perfect Ten barks out to step back but the man refuses, steps into the breach, and his body convulses and his skeleton is glimpsed before it falls through the other end right in front of the police. Shocked, the chief officer calls a code one. They need experts.

“Call UNIT!”

And that’s it. I’m not going to detail much more of the plot. Not deliberately anyway as I have done. This is a review after all!

And so far it’s been cracking. All of that there, above, that took place within perhaps the first 15 minutes of the episode. Possibly even the first 10. Don’t tell me that isn’t fast. You’ve got characters, drama, situation, motive, continuity and invention all coming into play. Good work RTD and Gareth Roberts!

The people on the bus, except for Christina and Ten, are not played for fools. Nathan and Barclary are good lads, they don’t panic especially and receive instructions well. Angela represents the family aspects and probably gets the least development but she’s there mostly to represent that out of depth aspect. Lou and Carmen. Interesting. Their relationship together is sweet. Two people who have lived side by side for obviously a long time and care for each other very much. Carmen is the more curious cookie, but I’ll talk about that later.

Lady Christina de Souza. Good name. Marvellous name in fact. I like her. She’s clearly set up as a strong foil for the Doctor. She’s an extremely physical character. Loving the thrill of the danger, the chase… She challenges him. Takes the lead away from him at one point, and yet she’s smart enough to know that as the ‘brain box’, she needs to defer to his knowledge in order for them all to survive. And she is no heartless villain either. There are some rather funny exchanges between her and Ten, personally I loved the part where Ten is forced to take a certain gold chalice from her and use it in a creative way to save the day to her complete and utter indignation, and she sticks to him like glue, determined to face things with him.

Would she have made an interesting full time companion? Oh without a doubt. This is a woman who could play against the Doctor, play with him, love him, hate him… But the way the episode ends without giving her that opportunity, oh that’s much better. That’s much more delicious and so much more in tune with the representation of Perfect Ten that we have seen so far.

You’ll know it. And I hope you’ll agree with me.

Ah, Perfect Ten. How I adore thee. Let me count the ways… You’re so comfortable. You’re so effortless. You’re this friend of mine that I know and yet don’t.

And now I can believe it’s time.

This familiarity was, possibly for the first time, unsettling. You’re going to be my Doctor. I just know it. I hope so anyway. But for the sake of the program, I can see why you want to go. It will keep things fresh. Keep us all guessing. You are absolutely fantastic in every single way, shape and or form. I love your giddiness, you’re energy, you’re humour, you’re darkness… I sound like Malcolm. Oh God. But I get it.

Speaking of Malcolm! Let’s not forget the humans on the Earth side of the wormhole. Making a nice return appearance to Doctor Who is Noma Dumezweni as Captain Erisa Magumbo. She last appeared in Seasons 4’s “Turn Left”, as the same character, but from a different universe where she teamed up with Rose to ensure the Doctor lived… Here. The circumsctances aren’t quite so desperate (at first). She’s just dertemined to take charge and protect the Earth. She could have easily been stock placement, but her awe at the Doctor’s conversation over the phone with her endeared me to her, and near episodes end her determination to stop the threat no matter the cost reviled her to me. Well played.

And then of course, there is Professor Malcolm Taylor as played by comedian Lee Evans. Hmm. Difficult. I’m tempted to say that it’s not a great performance because it seemed much like Evan’s usually forms of comedy. Socially awkward and physically hilarious. But that’s not fair because that’s how the character is written and that’s what it calls for. And Lee Evans does it so damned well. Loved it. I hope we see him again.

The alien threat. The Swarm, I’ll call them here. Some good CGI work for them on mass. Though I’m not too convinced by the ones up close and singular while moving… these are fantastical creatures though so I’m going to go with it for the thrill. No doubt the shots of the Swarm on mass and the single, hibernating member were perhaps most effective for spectacle and threat. And when you know exactly how dangerous they are, and what they secret of the sands is… hmm… how tempting it is to say…

The Tritovores. The humanoid insects. I’m not too sure about the design. But I loved the look of their ship on the outside, even shattered in two. And I have to give full props to their inclusion in the episode as information fillers with style. These particular creatures don’t speak any English so the Doctor has to translate for them, and it’s much more effective than when Martha conversed with the Hath in “The Doctor’s Daughter.” Perhaps that has more to do though with Ten’s character traits. Hmm. Penny for your thoughts…

And of course the visuals! To whomever at the BBC made that final decision to give the crew the money to go to Dubai and film outside of the UK and use a proper desert rather than a Welsh beach. Nicely done. It gave the episode a real scope and contrasted brilliantly with the dull, greys and blues of home back on Earth. It actually felt like an entire world of sand was just at their fingertips. I’m going to go so far as to say the entire look of the episode just fitted exactly what they intended.

So all in all… a very good slice of fun. I was most definitely entertained and for a Saturday evening, that’s all I ask for. And honestly I’m not looking to be blown away by it. Save the real good punches for Tennant’s last two specials. It’s a two parter anyway. I want that to knock me off my feet.

Episodes end all is well that’s meant to end well. Perfect Ten provides a few characters that could do with some direction, well, with some direction thanks to a few words into Captain Magumbo’s ear. Shades of Martha Jones there, anyone…?

He denies Lady Christina the opportunity to go with him. Despite her asking. Despite her insistence. Despite how well they work together. Despite how well they jibed together…

Christina – “…so why are you smiling?”

Perfect Ten – “The worse it gets, the more I love it!”

Christina – “Me too!”

He’s still hurting.

And there’s a good reason for that.

See, Carmen, she has this low-level physic ability. Had it all her life. The episode gives examples, but for science fictiony (okay. Not a real word at all. But I like it) reasons, one of the suns on the desert planet has increased its potency.

And she gives the Doctor a warning. To take care.

Typical Ten. He’s cheery. Enjoy your lamb chops.

But she’s serious. You see, she has familiar words…

“Your song is ending soon.”

And more importantly, something is coming. From the darkness. It will find him. And she says one more thing that I’m far too evil to put here. You’ll just have to watch the episode. Or read a transcript. Or read someone else’s’ review.

Let’s just say I think it gives a pretty good idea about who is coming for Perfect Ten. Unless. You know. Russell’s just being a big tease.

But he wouldn’t do that!

Would he?

David Tennant, Russell T, Gareth Roberts, Michelle Ryan, all those involved with the making of this episode… I salute you.

3 and a half wormholes created in space/time due to the amount of friction created by a massive Swarm of aliens speeding around a planet at high velocity out of 5.

Bring on “The Waters of Mars.”

With the vast number of releases sweeping through the genre at the minute, this DVD could easily forgiving for slipping out under the radar.

This has been out in the United States for some time, but since I’m from the UK, I’m operating on its release schedule.  Complaints will go straight to the e-shredder.

The latest in the Star Trek Fan Collective DVD releases – released yesterday, in fact – is this set features episodes from all five live-action Trek series, and I have to be honest, it’s a pretty nice set.

The episodes are grouped into four categories:

Mirror Universe includes six instalments  from The Original Series, Deep Space Nine and Enterprise, all off-shoots of the original ‘Mirror, Mirror’’ episode.

Parallel Dimensions contains two episodes, one from TOS and one from The Next Generation.

Twisted Realities contains four episodes from TOS, TNG, and Voyager;

Alternate Lives is the largest category with eight episodes.

Being a fan of the quirky mirror reality episodes myself, this set’s quite a winner.  Highlights include Yesterday’s Enterprise, Mirror, Mirror and In A Mirror, Darkly.  The DS9 mirror universe episodes are also fan favourites, but never really appealed to me.  Parallels is a decent outing as well, a rather out-of sync clip of which is included at the bottom. The Visitor is probably my favourite outing in the set, though.  Standout performance from Tony Todd, who’s had some success in 24 this year.

It’s not a complete set of the Alternate Realities episodes, but it’s a more than adequate sample with some goods hours of Star Trek.  Notably, the Original Series episodes included are remastered with the new effects etc., so they’re always worth a peek.

Verdict: A solid set.  Not outstanding, but certainly one of the stronger outings.

Click here for full list of episodes.