In this week’s episode of Futurama we meet the long-awaited girlfriend of Doctor Zoidberg, and watch as Bender pursues his new life-long dream of becoming the world’s greatest tap-dancer. There are laughs and ‘heart-breaking’ moments galore in the roller-coaster of emotion that is ‘Stench and Stenchibility’.
After Zoidberg’s video-girlfriend of four years finally meets him, she dumps him on the spot because of his overwhelming stench. Broken-hearted, Zoidberg tries to return the flowers he purchased for her to the florist, and this is where he meets Marianne (voiced by special guest star, Emilia Clarke). Marianne and Zoidberg are immediately attracted to one another, but Zoidberg does not understand why she likes him when most people run away from him and his smell. Marianne reveals she was born without a sense of smell (a florist without a sense of smell? Oh, the irony!), and Zoidberg feels sorry for her, but is secretly glad she is not repulsed by him like so many others. The Professor tells Zoidberg that there is a cure for Marianne’s condition in the form of a nose transplant. Zoidberg is torn: on the one claw, he knows Marianne would love to be able to smell the flowers that she sells, and just wants for her to be happy, but on the other, he knows that if she is able to smell him, she will no longer want to be with him. What should Zoidberg do? What will Zoidberg do?
Meanwhile, Bender is invited to participate in a tap-dancing contest, and will go to any lengths to secure his victory. The competition seems in the bag, until he meets Tonya, an adorable little girl with the mind of a monster. Will Tonya become Bender’s arch-nemesis or partner in crime? And who will win the tap-dancing competition?!
This episode was great, because, well, who doesn't love Zoidberg? It was nice to see poor, smelly, unlucky in love Zoidberg, finally get his chance at happiness. Other highlights from this episode were the return of more familiar faces (Randy, crazy Robert, and the breathy-voiced scientist/doctor - it seems they are trying to include all of the old characters in some way this season!), and the pure evilness of Bender (just when you think he’s as bad as can be, he does something worse). Only one episode to go now, and I can’t wait! Review by Heather Bale.
For
ages now, we have waited patiently and screamed at the TV screen from
the on-stress Pretty Little Liars has brought upon us. If you caught
this week's episode another member of the 'A' team or red coat was
revealed-we are still trying to figure it out.
The
girls have been hot on A's trial for a while now, hence, all the
chaos A has been causing to slow them down. A has been busy girl, if
in fact it is a girl.
Emily
is living with Mrs DiLaurentis while her house is getting rebuilt
since the car incident and has come across sleeping bag in Mrs Di's
house. Obviously someone has been squatting down there and watching
through little peep holes. Aria, Emily and Spencer visited the spot
to search for clues, only to hear someone enter the house and Aria
nearly loses an eye.
Hanna
on the other hand, still has her mother to worry about and with Mrs
Hasting forced to drop the case, no one has been able to fill her
shoes. A new develop came along this week as Hanna was approached by
Travis who claims he was a witness and saw Ashley drive away before
the gun shots that killed Wilden.
Remember
the photo of Wilden with his arms around Allison and Cece on the
boat? Emily has a flashback of Ali telling her about how she helps
out friends by breaking up with their boyfriend for them and one
actually pulled a gun on her. What if Cece was the one dating Wilden
and she killed him because he would not leave her alone?
The
episode focused a little too much on their relationships, Aria and
Jake are in a happy place but sad Ezra keeps trying to get in contact
with Aria to talk about his son Malcolm. At the country western
dance, Jake tells Ezra to back off but Aria ends up going to Ezra's
place anyway to have a chat. They
really need to learn to let go.
It's
awkward between Emily and Paige since they called the quits on their
relationship but later share a cute dance. While Spencer is worried
about Toby getting set up 'A' as he continues to search for answers
about his mother's death.
It
was great to see girls all at the country western dance escaping from
reality even for a brief moment, Aria even showed off pretty skilled
line-dancing with Jake but of course nothing can stay happy for
long. Also what was with Jake knowing Aria's shoe size? It was kind
of creepy, knowing the luck these girls have, he's probably part of
the 'A' team.
Cece
is back in town and is seen with the red coat then later in a black
hoodie. Either way we know she's not trustworthy. Is Cece red coat or
have the writers pointed all the evidence at her to distact us? Next
week is the summer finale aka #WorldWarA and it's going to be one
exciting ride.
This week's episode was epic, encapturing the very definition of 'being on the edge of one's seat'. The audience was left craving more as the plot thickened on the second last episode ever, with the return of a crazy, homicidal foe, and the final break-up between Michael and the CIA.
The episode if full of tension as Michael's mission with the CIA is coming to an end. For once, the CIA is one step ahead of James, although they are tested to their limits as James' men slaughter the alpha-team.
The alpha-team are not the typical CIA agents however, and are lead by the one and only Simon – the man that attempted to blow up half of Miami, and who Michael personally put away forever, or so he thought. The betrayal Michael felt at this indiscretion of the CIA was the final straw on a long list of wrongdoings by the CIA. Michael finally cracks, and realises his faith in the CIA may not be exactly right – an idea Sam, Jesse and Fi have been trying to instill in Michael for a long time.
Throughout the elaborate schemes Michael is carrying out for the CIA in order to capture James, Michael realises this and then throws the mission, turning his faith to James himself – the very thing his loved ones were afraid of.
This, however, does not necessarily mean Michael has 'turned to the dark side'. As any avid watchers will know, James is confusing – he is portrayed as 'the bad guy', but we see so many good values within him.
All in all, this is a very conflicting and intense episode, with only more tension to come as Michael's friends attempt to reach Michael before the CIA does.
This week’s Futurama episode, ‘Murder on the Planet Express’, is like a golden age crime story crossed with a classic horror story. Those familiar with either genre will laugh as they recognise the tropes of each, and those that are just fans of the show will laugh at the regular sci-fi gags and character quirks littered throughout the episode.
Fed up that the crew of Planet Express do not trust one another, the Professor sends them on a “corporate team-building retreat” in space with the trust guru, Dan McMasters. In order to show them the importance of trust, McMasters picks up a hitch-hiker. Of course this hitch-hiker is someone not to be trusted, as he turns into an alien, eats McMasters, and shuts off all the ships power. The Planet Express crew starts doing exactly what the Professor wanted: they are trusting one another in order work together to try and defeat the alien. That is until they find out the creature is a shape-shifter. So, now the Planet Express crew are trapped on a ship with a murderous shape-shifting creature that is going to pick them off one by one, and they do not know who it could be at any given time. Who can they trust? Who can’t they trust? And will trusting one another actually solve anything?
My favourite thing about this episode is that it undermines the message of the importance of trust right at the end of the episode, which is so Futurama. They don’t care about sending a positive message, they’re not a kids show, they just want to make an amusing episode of an animated sitcom, which they did so well this week. I would definitely rate this as one of the better episodes of the season, and am cautiously optimistic about the quality of the next two episodes.
The season six finale of True Blood, while oddly disjointed, was still quite satisfying. Loose ends were tied up, old problems resurfaced, and time seemed to pass in a blink of the eye.
Since the vamps are all safe now Sookie asks Ben/Warlow whether they could date before he turns her, as there is no urgency anymore. He gets angry and reveals his true colours as the monster we saw in season five, ties her up, and starts feeding from her. Bill (who is Bill Compton again and not Billith after his substantial blood-loss, thank goodness!), realises he still has feelings for Sookie (not again), and enlists the help of Jason, Violet, Andy and Adylin to rescue Sookie from Ben/Warlow. Just when it looks like Ben/Warlow might win, Niall comes back from the plane he was on, Warlow is staked, and all is well.
... for a few seconds anyway. Since Ben is gone, so is his fairy blood, which means the vampires can no longer walk in the sun. This is fine for most, since they are all indoors, except for one: Eric. He is in the middle of nowhere, in broad daylight, so he bursts into flames. The scene cuts before we see whether he lives or not. It seems Eric’s future on True Blood is hanging in the balance, but if that is the way they kill him off, I just... he deserves better than a two minute sequence where he bursts into flames, it’s so anti-climatic. Ben/Warlow’s death was pretty anti-climatic, but I was expecting it since they wouldn’t make Sookie a vampire and had to dispose of him in some way. I know they’re trying to leave Eric’s ‘death’ open so they can make up their minds later/Skarsgard can do other work, but they can’t kill him like that, he’s a centuries old vampire who used to be a viking! Not to mention he’s a fan-favourite who has been around since season one (unlike Warlow). If they want to write him out, let him live... This leaves open the possibility of guest appearances later...
Six months pass, and some things have changed: Sookie and Aclide have been dating; Jason and Violet are still together; Bill has written a book about his time as Billith; Adylin seems to have stopped aging; Sam is now the mayor of Bon Temps; Nicole is still pregnant; Merlotte’s is now ‘The Bellefleur Bar and Grill’ and is owned by Arlene. The biggest change is one on a global scale, and that is the worldwide outbreak of Hep V. Gangs of infected vamps have been roaming the countryside to feed, focusing their attention on small towns. Due to this, Mayor Sam, Bill, and the reverends of the local two churches have gotten together and decided the best course of action is for humans and vampires to create an agreement wherein one vampire will offer their protection to a whole family in exchange for some of their blood. Of course this is met with outrage, but it seems this may be the best course of action for many. In terms of the shows structure this means the main characters should have more interactions with one another if they are confined to certain pairings.
At the ‘pairing’ meeting Jessica offers Andy and Adylin her protection, but Andy wants nothing to do with her. Tara’s mother, Lettie Mae, comes to her and apologises for all of the wrongs she has done to Tara in her life. Lettie Mae offers Tara her blood, which she accepts. This does not sit well with me, because even though her apology seemed sincere, she could be up to something. Lettie Mae hates vampires, and has never seemed to love her daughter, so I wouldn’t be surprised if her mother had become a carrier of Hep V to harm Tara. Or perhaps I’m just paranoid.
Meanwhile, as Bill is trying to offer is protection to Sookie (who needs Bill when you have Alcide?), a horde of infected vamps approaches and surrounds the pairing meeting...
True Blood is known for it’s cliff-hangers at the end of every episode, but the cliff-hanger at the end of this one just didn’t seem to have the same sense of urgency that others have had in the past. Maybe they were trying this for a change of pace, or maybe I’m just optimistic that Hep V will be cured and all will be well once again... before the next big bad announces itself, that is. Anyway, True Blood seems to have pulled itself out of the hole season five created, and season seven has been setup to see the show return to what it once was with fewer story-lines and more focus on the core characters. Here’s hoping that it will.
This week’s episode was
nowhere near as good as last week. The whole episode was a little all
over the place but ignoring the confusing timeline and disappointing
follow through are some of the best character moments of the season.
It also saw some of the best performances of the season, the whole
cast blew it out of the park.
Stiles, Allison and Isaac
search for the missing parents, Scott comes to terms with his
decision to join Deucalion and Derek pays a terrible price to save
his sister Cora. Along the way Stiles and Lydia share an intimate
moment, Peter continues his manipulation of Derek and Scott finds out
about the flirtation between Allison and Isaac. The episode ends with
Scott, Stiles and Allison making performing a dangerous ritual in
order to save their parents. There is also a rather well done plot
twist.
This episode suffered
many of the same problems of early episodes; the timeline was
confusing, the reasoning unsatisfactory and it failed to follow
through on a number of the events of the previous episode. Last week,
Scott’s decision to join the Alpha pack had seemed disastrous but
this week there seemed to be very few consequences. Scott was able to
save Ms Morrell, find out vital information and then leave the moment
that his friends called for help. It was hardly the dire situation it
was painted to be.
On the other side the
search for the parents was beautifully done – with the exception of
Chris Argent purposely getting himself caught without a plan for
escape. Watching Stiles and Allison break down at the loss of their
only parent was heartbreaking and Sheriff Stilinski’s emotional
speech about his wife’s death was quite the tearjerker. At the same
time Derek’s storyline still lacks emotional resonance because his
sister Cora is little more than a two-dimensional plot device.
The best moment of the
episode involved an astonishing realistic depiction of a panic attack
followed by a sweet kiss between Stiles and Lydia. The scene was
played beautifully by Dylan O’Brien and Holland Roden with just the
right amount of hope without pushing it too far. Surprisingly, while
the moment had a hint of hope for something more it was more about
cementing the friendship that has been building all season rather
than romance. It was refreshing.
Realistically, at this
stage there is no way that Teen Wolf can tie up all the loose
ends left by this season. All I want out of the final is an exciting
adventure focusing on the key friendships that have been the best
part of this hit and miss of a season. If I get that, then I will
probably be convinced to follow this show through into the next
adventure.
To be honest, I don't know what or how to feel after this week's episode. Michael continues to do 'whatever it takes' to complete the mission, however, he has now made the complete transition from the spy who gets the job done with zero fatalities, to the spy who is willing to kill a friend.
This new 'facade' Michael is putting on is just a little too convincing, and although I realise this is a part of the story line developing, and that Michael can't stay the too-good-to-be-true hero forever, I don't like it one bit. The audience are left wondering, where is the line when it comes to saving his loved ones? Are all of the lost lives worth their own? And possibly worse than the wondering, is that Michael knows it is not what his friends would want, and hides his actions from them.
Carlos comes back into and out of the picture in the one episode, and knows exactly how it feels to have the lives of others sacrificed for their own. He is captured by an old gang leader, and Fi, almost hysterical, calls in a long overdue favour from Michael. Michael's loyalty to Fi really shines through during this incident, as he is willing to go to extreme lengths to save the man Fiona loves, even endangering his own life, and sacrificing many others.
Although we all know that Michael is doing what he is for his friends and family, there is that nagging feeling in the back of our minds that reminds us of the hundreds of successful missions Michael has completed without fatalities, and we realise we are beginning to see the old Michael slip away.
I don't know what the last few episodes have in store for us, but lets just hope it was all worth it.
The other week I was concerned that Futurama had lost it's touch, but this week's episode blew that concern right out of the water. 'Game of Tones' was equal parts amusing and touching, and reminded me of not only how great the show once was, but how great it still can be. Futurama still has so much potential, so many more stories to tell... It just made this episode all the sadder when you realise how close the show is to ending. A mysterious spaceship has been blasting a loud melody through space, threatening to destroy planet earth. No one has heard this tone before, except for Fry. The Professor uses a dream machine to enable Fry to relive the day he first heard that melody (December 31st, 1999 - the day Fry got frozen) in the hopes they will be able to find out what it is and stop it. Fry is annoyed that he has to relive a part of his old life, since he hated so many aspects of it, but then he starts seeing old friends, family, and Seymour... Perhaps Fry has just been telling himself all this time that he hated his old life so that he wouldn't miss it as much? With the world about to end, and Fry refusing to leave his dream family, can anything be done to save planet earth?
There were so many things about this episode I loved - the witty one-liners ("Back in my day, sound didn't travel through space"), seeing more old characters (especially 'noticeably F-A-T'), the visual gags (the eiffel tower scene), the parodies (shazzam), the inventions (thought spikes) - but the thing I loved the most was just how touching the episode was as a whole (that end scene... *sniff*). This has always been one of Futurama's great strengths, its ability to seamlessly weave comedy and sadness together to make you appreciate and empathise with the characters. There are only three episodes to go until Futurama is over, and boy am I hoping FOX picks the show up again... Review by Heather Bale.
In this week’s True Blood we farewell Terry and watch the violence unfold as Eric and Bill rescue the vampires trapped in vamp camp.
To start with Sookie evicts Bill from the fairy plane, who decides to chase after Eric. Eric is a man on a mission, leaving a bloody trail behind him as he releases all of the vampires. Meanwhile, Sookie tells Ben/Warlow she is still prepared to be his and become a vampire, but leaves him so she can attend Terry’s funeral.
Terry’s funeral saw the return of many familiar faces, and was more touching than I thought it would be, with Andy, Sam, Lafayette, Sookie and Arlene all recounting some of their favorite Terry moments. This episode managed to find the balance between the two story-lines this week, with flashbacks revolving around Terry interspersed with scenes of violence in vamp camp.
I think the most effective demonstration of this was towards the end of the episode when ‘Big John’ was singing at Terry’s funeral, and this was intercut with Jason and Sarah Newlin having a showdown. Sarah had just tried to make all of our favourite vampires meet the sun, but she was too late, with Bill already allowing them to drink from him making them immune to the sun. Realising she is in danger she tries to flee, but Jason (who Eric healed and had been using as a guide around vamp camp) catches up with her. They wrestle around, and Jason questions her right to speak on God’s behalf. Just as he is about to kill her though, he decides against it and lets her live (why?!). I know they were just trying to show that Jason is above killing fellow humans, unlike Sarah (we all remember what she did to poor Ms Suzuki last week), but you just know she is going to be back causing more trouble before long.
Speaking of trouble, while the vampires are celebrating their freedom by destroying all of the contaminated Tru Blood at vamp camp, we are shown that trucks of it have already been making deliveries. Uh-oh.
With the vampires safe from meeting the sun, Eric gone, contaminated Tru Blood in some American states, and Sarah Newlin still on the run, next week’s season six finale should definitely be worth watching. Oh, and we mustn’t forget the issue of Sookie’s apparent imminent vampirism...
This week it’s Emily’s birthday and
Paige has a surprise party prepared. Although, as many Pretty
Little Liars fans may already know, it does not go as planned.
The future of Emily and Paige’s
relationship looks like it will be cut short as the girls come to
face the reality that Emily will not be attending Standford
University.
Aria finally shows her feelings towards
Jake after seeing him flirt with another girl. As for Ezra, he seems
to be jealous of Aria’s new guy and it won’t be long before Ezra
will likely make a move. However, for now Ezra is busy preparing
himself for a custody battle with Maggie after she announced she was
accepted into a graduate school in Seattle.
After Mona confessed to the murder of
Wilden, Ashley was given house arrest instead of jail. She returned
to Radley. Mona must be a great friend to do such a thing for Hanna.
What is Mona’s plan? Is she still evil?
Ted is reunited with Ashley and they
get some quality one on one time. Ashley really owes Ted since he
paid her bail.
Jenna is afraid of someone. Sharna
explains that Cece Drake is to blame. I don’t think it’s a
coincidence that everything is pointing towards her now. Where has
Cece been up to since we last saw her?
The episode ends with the discovery of
Jenna’s body in the lake. Is Jenna dead? We will just have to wait
and see.
It seems red coat and ‘A’ could be
two different people. Is red coat Allison looking over the girls?
Our favourite doctor, Wren will return
in the upcoming episode and Mona is put to the test about her
confession.
This week's episode was full of tension and suspense as the audience tries to guess what will become of each of the character on the final episode, which is, sadly, only four episodes away.
There is lots of confusion surrounding James. He is the supposed 'bad guy' who Michael is trying to take down on behalf of the CIA. However, if you didn't know this, you would honestly think he was the good guy. So far, although he tortured Michael, which remains the only reminder of his potentiality, he has had Michael perform a number of seemingly moral missions, this week's being protecting a peace reformist.
Michael, Jesse, Sam and Fi are all in on the mission, making you feel all comfy and familiar...right before it is about to be ripped out from under you. The tension is high as the success of the mission is very questionable, and Fi's death seems imminent. Fi was left behind by the 'team leader' of the mission, and Michael will stop at nothing to save the woman he loves.
The confusion sets in again as James 'punishes' the team leader for leaving Fi behind (a seemingly justified reason), however, his methods are more then questionable, to the point where even Michael tries do defend the team leader.
Michael’s mother even receives a personal visit from the elusive James, putting Maddie in a very bad state of mind as she more than freaks out about the idea of being watched, although, if you ask me, with Michael as her son, she should be a bit more used to it.
Overall, this episode was great in context of the seventh season, however, it seems the storyline is beginning to take over the awesomeness and brilliance of Michael's wit, making you miss Michael's little side missions from the previous seasons more than ever.
Thank goodness Teen
Wolf is back on form. This episode was fantastic; just the right
mix of excitement, emotion and humour. I was on the edge of my seat
the whole time, which isn’t a response Teen Wolf has been
able to get from me recently… and it was nice.
This week on Teen
Wolf… Stiles and Scott prove to Derek that Jennifer is the
Darach but they can’t kill her because she is the only person that
can save Derek’s sister Cora and Stiles’s dad. While trying to
save Cora, the pack end up trapped in an evacuated hospital by the
alpha pack who are after Jennifer. They have to work together to get
themselves, and Jennifer, out of the hospital safely.
Haley Webb stole
this episode with her nuanced portrayal of Jennifer Blake/Julia
Barracus. I found myself believing every word she said even though I
knew I was falling right into her trap and that’s the mark of a
great villain. She was still likable at times but there were moments
when she was genuinely terrifying. The way her face would switch as
soon as she wasn’t being watched was subtle enough to go unnoticed
but worked to foreshadow her final betrayal.
One of the highlights of
the episode for me was an incredibly awkward elevator ride. Where
Jennifer was stuck between a very angry Scott and Stiles, it was one
of those rare moments that are humorous on the service but underneath
it’s pretty distressing. That coupled with the return of the famous
McCall bat (last seen Season 1) made this moment a perfect
representation of everything I have been missing in previous
episodes.
It was a relief to
finally see the impact of some of the big emotional events Teen
Wolf has been throwing in all season. Stiles had to face the
possibility of losing his remaining parent. Derek had to acknowledge
that another one of his girlfriend’s turned out to be a homicidal
maniac. Scott had to finally accept that he might not be able to have
it all. These are the character insights I have been craving all
season. These are the moments that make the big emotional events mean
something.
“The Overlooked” was
a great hour of television and it didn’t hurt that there was less
slow-motion (it was still excessive but it’s a start). Let’s hope
that this a sign that Teen Wolf has pushed through it’s
teething problems and found a way to mesh the ambitious epic
storylines with much needed character development.
This week's episode of Futurama, 'Leela and the Genestalk', while not amazing, was certainly better than the last couple of episodes we have seen. More familiar faces return, Fry is his usual silly self, and we get to see the Planet Express crew line-dancing. Leela comes down with a condition called "squidification", which means she will soon turn into a giant squid as a result of her mutant DNA. There is a medical procedure which can be used to delay Leela's squidification, but it is very expensive. The Planet Express crew wants to help, and the Professor lets Fry sell "Old Bessie" (the Planet Express Ship). Fry sells the ship for giant "magic" beans. Leela, realising she now has no hope of returning to normal, decides to live in the sewers with her parents and the rest of the mutants. Just as she is about to descend into the sewers, she notices a giant beanstalk and decides to climb it. On top of a cloud, Leela finds Mom and her "floating genetic engineering facility". Mom decides to imprison Leela and use her DNA in some experiments. Fry and Bender realise that Leela has gone missing, and make it their mission to save her. But even if they are able to save Leela from Mom, can she be rescued from her squidification?
Overall, I enjoyed this episode. It was nice to see Mom and her three sons up to no good again, and the fairy tale references were worth a smile or two. Though it may not have been the best episode of this season, this week's episode was still better than the last few we have seen, so hopefully this means Futurama is on the improve as the series draws to a close. Review by Heather Bale.
After a very slow start wherein all of the characters seem to be dealing with the same issues they have for the last couple of episodes, 'Dead Meat' offers us some interesting plot progression as the episode draws to a close. As is customary with True Blood, we are caught up with where everyone is and how they are faring: Eric is devastated over Nora's death and is angry with Bill; Arlene is still grieving after Terry's death; Lafayette, Holly and Andy are still with Arlene; Sookie is contemplating whether to help Bill; the vampires in vamp camp are refusing their blood; and Sam has returned to Merlotte's and is coming to terms with the loss of Terry as well.
Of course Sam isn't left to grieve in peace for long, as Alcide shows up and tells him that he has rescued Nicole and her mother from the wolf pack. Sam and Alcide share a bonding moment, and it seems Alcide is finally going to start acting nice again. Hopefully this is the last we have to hear about the wolf pack for the rest of this season, because that storyline just wasn't that interesting. However the revelation about the change in Sam and Nicole's relationship means she may be sticking around for a while...
In vamp camp, Sarah Newlin officially loses it in her quest to eradicate vampires when a businesswoman from Tru Blood visits seeking answers. Terrified that all her hard work will be for naught, Sarah makes sure the woman never gets to tell anyone what she saw. Suspicious that some of the vampires seem to know what's going on, Sarah threatens to torture Steve unless he tells her what he knows. Being the coward he is, Steve caves straight away. Sarah orders all of the vampires who have been refusing blood into the one room (the room Bill has been foreseeing all season), with Jason in tow as Violet says he is hers (this Violet seems pretty crazy and I would not be upset if she dies before the end of the season).
After an episode of Sookie thinking, drinking, talking to her parents graves, and just being generally uninteresting (except for that part where she tells Sam she thought they would end up together, that was pretty interesting, an homage to the books I guess), she finally decides to help Bill. This should come as no surprise to the regular viewer: no matter how much Sookie laments about wanting to be normal and free from supernaturals, she always does the right thing and helps. Even if in helping she agrees that Ben/Warlow can turn her. Though that may no longer be an issue when she and Bill find what Eric has done to Ben/Warlow...
With two episodes to go things are finally heating up, and it seems True Blood may be on track to returning to the show in once was in the early seasons. Review by Heather Bale.
After a couple of fairly
disappointing episodes Teen Wolf is back on form this week.
While it was far from perfect – the pacing issues from earlier
episodes are still causing problems – “The Girl Who Knew Too
Much” was exciting, emotionally gripping and I thoroughly enjoyed
watching it.
This week darach was
revealed, the Sheriff was brought in on all things supernatural (with
terrible consequences) and we found out that Lydia is actually a
banshee. This episode was action packed but still managed to fit in a
couple of sweet emotional moments, that have been sorely lacking from
previous episodes, including a surprisingly moving moment between
Scott (Tyler Posey) and Lydia (Holland Roden).
It wasn’t particularly
shocking to find out that Derek’s most recent romantic interest,
Jennifer Blake, was actually the big bad dark druid but that wasn’t
really a bad thing. Jennifer’s character always felt a little
forced so it’s nice to know there is more too her than just a
terrible cliché romance. Haley Webb played the reveal brilliantly,
whoever the darach really is she’s a far cry from the bumbling
English teacher Derek fell in love with.
Only time will tell how
Jennifer’s secret will affect poor Derek Hale but does it really
matter at this stage? There’s only so much manpain you can inflict
on one character before it loses its impact. More troubling is the
fact that when Jennifer fled the scene, after attempting to kill
Lydia, she took the Sheriff with her. I think is speak for everyone
when I say that killing the Sheriff is pretty much unforgivable.
There wasn’t anything
particular interesting about this episode, the story and the way it
was presented was simple but it was nice. Look I appreciate the way
Teen Wolf has been experimenting with style and technique this
season but sometimes it’s nice just to be able to focus on the
characters emotional journey, something that this season seems to
have forgotten at times.
Overall, this episode was
Teen Wolf at it’s best – sexy, a little bit camp, kind of
scary and super fun. Let’s see more of this and less flashbacks
with unnecessary manpain from now on please.
I'm not going to lie, this episode of Burn Notice lacked the shock value that characterises the tv show. It revolved around Michael doing an assignment for 'James' – the new villain in town – in order to establish a relationship with him, as the CIA wants to take down the terrorist organisation, and James is the new way in.
Not much develops in this episode – Fiona is still rocky with Carlos, Maddie is still putting all of her time into little Charlie, Jesse is again attacked from behind, and Sam is continuously Michael's breath of fresh air from the criminal world. We do, however, see a new, darker side appearing in Michael, following the intense torture he underwent last week.
We are introduced to a new character, someone who has maybe the most rightful reasons to hate James. We only see him towards the end of the episode, during which time a piece of his past with James is uncovered, and with this, the reason for his pure hatred towards James. This has caused 'John Doe' to team up with the CIA in order the bring James down.
All in all, there wasn't as much development and the good old special effects as usual which in turn caused the episode to lack suspense and action. It was however still enjoyable, and leaves a pretty good opener for next week, so I for one think that there will be a complete turn around in the pace of the show.
This week’s episode of Futurama, ‘Assie Come Home’, was... okay. It had an easy to follow plot, plenty of familiar faces, and the perfect smattering of jokes and popular culture references to keep me satisfied, but it just wasn’t brilliant. Perhaps my expectations have been too high for this final season, or perhaps this is just why Futurama is ending...
While making a delivery to the criminal planet, Bender gets “bot-jacked”. That is, all of Bender’s parts are stolen except for his eyes and teeth. Fry and Leela offer to help Bender track down the rest of his body. As Bender reassembles himself we revisit some of the more memorable characters of Futurama, and learn why they have purchased the various parts of Bender (which gives us a reminder of how great the show can be).
Of course, as the title of the episode suggests, there is just one part Bender cannot seem to find: his “shiny metal ass”. After going to great lengths to retrieve it, it seems there may be a greater purpose for Bender’s ass, but can Bender part with his favourite piece of anatomy?
This episode had it’s ups and downs (much like the season as a whole), but overall it was one of the weaker episodes this season. As the final season of Futurama draws to a close, I am left to wonder whether I should be raising my expectations or lowering them?
