Deep Space Nine - The End Of Season One

 Due to time constraints here is a quick review of the final five episodes of Deep Space Nine season 1;

If Wishes Were Horses - A good fun little ensemble done in one episode which is also the finale of Julians Chaser arc 8/10.

The Forsaken - I thought this episode came later, the start of Odo's relationship with Lwaxana and the scene where Odo reverts to his natural form is arguably one of the most pivotal in the series. The rest of the episode is fun fluff but its all about these moments for me 7/10.

Dramatis Personae - Another good ensemble episode where Odo is pivotal, 8/10.

Duet - A really emotional deep cut cut episode for Kira, my memory of her growth was over the entire series but she's already grown so much in this season, 9/10.

In The Hands of the Profits - We've come full circle in this season and we're back to Bajoran religion. It feels different this time as opposed to the series opener we've had a season to get to know Bajor. It doesn't really feel like an episode in itself but an episode two or three of a Doctor Who story. Interesting rather than involving or enjoyable, 6/10.

Deep Space Nine - Progress

Like the last episode its another dual narrative episode with one story featuring Jake and Nog while the other story features Kira. Unlike the last episode this one works on almost every level imaginable. Jake and Nog have a fun Only Fools and Horsesesque story about selling and trading that includes various cast members. It shows what its like living on the station for kids and takes the viewer on a fun ride.

Kira's story has a lot of character development, we've touched on her past before and through the series up to this point we've learnt about her present. Her fight against the Cardassians is over and she must deal with what comes next, whilst helping Bajor and herself to move on. 

Both stories counterbalance each other, one is a fun ride played for laughs and one is an emotional rollercoaster and a pivotal episode for the growth of Kira.

Brilliant stuff and  9/10  from me, also a very good example of how to balance the cast on an ongoing show.

Deep Space Nine - The Storyteller

I have already forgot most of this episode.

The Jake and Nog stuff is cute while the O'Brien and Bashir stuff is interesting from a looking at the genesis of their relationship POV. 

Its a reluctant 2/10 from me, I feel like I'm watching an episode pitch that hasn't been fully written up. There are a lot of good ideas and Nogs "oatmeal" trick is actually very funny, no doubt there is the seed of a good episode in here. The only suggestion I have is that maybe it should have been pushed back and given more time in pre production.

Deep Space Nine - Battle Lines

Its an odd episode this week as some long term beats in the opus that is Deep Space Nine are introduced albeit in a song that isn't very good. We see more of the Kai this week and through her and Kira we are introduced to the religion of Bajor. However bar the three regulars who carry the meat of the episode everything else is bad or just doesn't work.

The script is perhaps the worst we've seen yet, most of the guest cast feel like their not trying and the main problem where this episode fails is that it writes out a character who hasn't been properly written into the show yet. In order for the viewer to care about Kai Opaka we need to have seen more of her - from memory I don't think she's shown up since the pilot. This could have been done anywhere up to this point, she could have been a guest speaker at the school or maybe an early victim of the Babel plague.

Its a very rare 1/10 from me.

Deep Space Nine - Vortex

Its another Odo episode so obviously its brilliant. We're about twelve episodes in and some characters are carving out their own niches and corners of the show with so far Odo being the most successful. Not only are his own episodes distinctive he fits in so well in other characters episodes. A more solid reason why this story is so enjoyable is the rule we've all heard before that science fiction is at its best when its trying to be something else. This story wants to be so many things, noir, a crime thriller, a story of salvation and hope.

Odo's backstory is one the defining arcs of the show and seeing the start of it is enjoyable on almost every level. An aspect of this story is the direction and writing, Odo is constantly preoccupied with Croden and becomes more obsessed with him as the episode goes on. As such we're given some swerves at points it looks like various regulars are going to be getting more screen time but as soon as Odo is done with them its straight back to Croden. It puts over the idea that Odo is alone and lonely but he could so easily not be if he opened up.

In short a fantastic early episode and has the feel of a must watch for Odo's character as well as the series, 9/10.

Deep Space Nine - The Nagus

Not only a Quark episode but we finally get our first Ferengi episode with the introduction of Grand Nagus Zek who is well played by Wallace Shaun. Theres a good bit of fun fluff with the Zek faking his own death and we get a good comedic episode.

The main part of the story watching in hindsight however is Jake and Nogs developing friendship - seriously I started this episode delighted to see Zek yet as it goes on I wanted to see more of Jake and Nog. This relationship between Nog and Jake is one of the centre-point relationships of the show and seeing it start from nothing is beautiful. Of note is Sisko's reaction both to Nog as a bad influence and the ending when he finds out what the pair have been up to.

In short, a delightful little comedy and character episode thats important to the show in multiple ways, 7/10. 

Deep Space Nine - Move Along Home

This episode is without doubt crap but its fun crap. I love the concept that anything can come through the worm hole and a group of aliens who want to play games in Quarks rather than make first contact is bags of fun. Plus its an ensemble episode where most of the cast is involved and I like these kind of episodes.

To put it politely the game element of the story to put it politely feels like it was written by Chris Bulis - if your in the mood you're in the mood if not its lame. The various characters in the maze do well, Sisko is the defiant leader, Kira is not in the mood and didn't sign up for this ****, Bashir is at his comedic best while Dax is sadly still a vacuum. Outside the game Quark and Odo are loads of fun while Jake gets some good growing pains scenes with his dad.

Its another episode that benefits from its position, DS9 would get better however this episode is early enough to be a banter. Low level its also building up the importance of the worm hole for the series, its not front and centre every week but its in a good position to cement its importance to the show 7/10. 

Deep Space Nine - The Passenger

Theres not a lot to say about this episode, coming into it I had no memory of it and doubt I'll remember anything in a weeks time. Its another ensemble episode showing off various members of the cast that we're still getting to know. We get some good character stuff such as Sisko backing Odo against Starfleet security which has the extra flavour of Odo being so used to working with people who are against him he's endlessly trying to confront Sisko despite him backing him up. We also see Quark in both his fluffy and criminal mode which is fun. 

In terms of plot this is a story that swings for a boundary but at best goes for ones or twos and at worst loses its stumps. All the way through I'm enjoying the episode but there was a lot of muttering along the lines "oh no" or "don't do that." Due to the character stuff I'm behind this episode and will give it 6/10 as there is still novelty in watching an early DS9 episode as it becomes DS9. 

I'm going to have to turn into a fan producer for this one as this episode could have been saved so easily. Have the cold open shown from Kira's point of view, showing it from Bashir's gives to much away. Also towards the ending they should have let Alex Siddig go proper OTT.

Thoughts on Game of Thrones: The Watchers on the Wall

My viewing of Game of Thrones is swiftly reaching the tail end of season four and the show continues to surprise. After the previous episode I expected things to pick up in Kings Landing but what I got was a welcome to the "one plot line" and "massive battle" format last seen in the legendary Blackwater episode two seasons ago. 

Its a very different battle as the Knight Watch are undermanned and under matched against the Wildlings - something that this season has set up well as the Wildlings south of the Wall have been getting closer. Not only that when the previous battle had the resources of two mammoth armies and would be kings we're in desperate last stand territory akin to the Battle of Helms Deep. One of the key areas where this episode differs is that the Battle is multi layered, we have the top of the wall, Castle Black, tunnels below and the North side of the wall. Its rather like a Russell T Davies Doctor Who chase scene. Characters are constantly changing positions as the battle turns and from an action point of view its very satisfying. We're told the Wildlings objective and we know how The Watch need to defend the wall, even if this was you're first episode the battle is clear to follow.

There are characters on either side of this battle that I care about, in particular Jon Snow, Ygritte and Sam. The show has done well to get me invested in these as well as characters like Gilly, the baby and a few Watch members. However there are a lot of vaguely familiar faces that I don't care about in the Watch, mainly Jon Snows mates 1-4. We've seen them throughout the show however they've always been side characters to Jon Snow, plus sadly a lot of the more memorable characters from the Watch have been killed - in some cases earlier this season. The battle is lacking a final twist as throughout the series the "White Walkers" have been slowly built up and I thought they'd make their presence felt in this fight, as a result we don't get a final twist that Blackwater had.

Ygritte's death is a highlight of the episode, it did feel like she was building up to a face turn at points this season but just as it looks like we're about to find out she's taken out by an arrow. For one harrowing moment I thought it was Sam that killed her - although he is indirectly responsible - and was aghast until the camera panned to the lift boy. This is the money shot moment of the episode, my favourite romance in the show is over and this is where the heart of the episode lies. Other characters get there moments such as Grenn holding the gate, the appearance of the Giants & Mammoths, the ice scythe etc and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that this is one of the most highly regarded episodes. Its a 9.5/10 for me and I look forward to the end of the season.

Thoughts on Game of Thrones: The Mountain and the Viper

I've decided to put some thoughts of some notable Game of Thrones episodes as I go through them for the first time so obviously beware spoilers. There's a wonderful structural form to this episode as we start off in the North and as we catch up with different characters events take us further South. Also we start with a Wildling from the furthest North we've been being unexpectedly saved and end with someone from the Southernmost point of Westeros being unexpectedly killed after it looks like he's about to win a trial by combat. A very different start to finish and an episode that takes us on a journey where possibly the most engrossing scene is the finale.

The Wildlings are getting closer and closer to Castle Black. They're taking their time but due to Gilly and the baby being in the town they sack we finally have a raid that has a stake in it for the viewer.

Over the narrow sea one of the constants of the show from the very start is taken away as Jorah and Daenerys part ways. This is a pivotal moment for the series as they have been together from the start and for a long time Jorah was the only practical resource she had. Its rather heart breaking to see Robert Baratheon's signature showing that Jorah's treachery stems from so early in the show. The visual of allies who joined later preventing Jorah from reaching Daenerys is both powerful and a visual representation of how far she's come since episode one.

At Arryn we get a little bit of politics as Littlefinger passes his murder of Lysa's off as suicide. Sansa's assistance is most interesting as is the prospect of Arya arriving at the castle with The Hound. Arya herself provides some amusement at her reaction to Lysa's death.

Theon continues to show how he's regressed as he betrays more of the Iron Islanders. The Bolton's now look like they have control of the entire North. Ramsay continues to be my most loathed in a panto villain like character - a position he took from Theon - although it is lovely to see him rewarded by being officially inducted as a Bolton.

Finally the titular fight as Oberyn Martell takes on The Mountain in Tyrion's trial by combat. Coming at the end it did feel like we weren't going to visit Kings Landing this episode. However we get the moment that I expect this episode is remembered for as we get a fight scene with a shocking swerve at the end which takes it up to 10/10. This fight is expertly directed and is beautiful, it is reminiscent of the fight scenes from the film Troy with an unexpected flavour of The Princess Bride. Memorable as a scene in its own right it is also tide firmly to the plot as we're thrown into the end credits things don't look good for Tyrion and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

Lost - Catch 22

This is without doubt a beautiful episode, with a big time event for the series as a whole. For the first time we get to see Desmonds visions from his point of view. Not only this we get to see Desmond trying to understand and come to terms with them - he comes to the wrong conclusions but its fascinating to see how worked up he gets trying to make his vision comes true.

The flashback is good as well as at first it looks like an in-joke explaining why Desmond calls people "brother" all the time. Like in the present part of the episode we see him making decisions and coming to the wrong answers. However in a wonderful twist we find out that the flashback is the tale of how he meets Penny as she turns up unexpectedly right at the end.

There's a little bit of fluff about the Jack - Kate - Sawyer love triangle but its very uninteresting. Of note is Charlie and Jin doing a lot more than usual as is the reveal we have a new character who is somehow linked to Desmond, 9/10.

Deep Space Nine - Dax

This is a really nice episode with a simple mission statement, help the viewers understand what a Trill is. I'm watching the series with my sister whose never watched it before and at the end she had a firm understanding of who Jadzia Dax is, her relationship with Sisko and is looking forward to seeing more of her as we go forward. The trial format adds an element of danger to the episode as its blatantly obvious that if Dax gets extradited she's going to pay for what is possibly Curzons crime.

Most of the other regulars get something to do this episode, from taking a part in the hearing to doing some investigating - in fact the only criticism I have is the one who gets the least to do is arguably Dax whose job for the episode is to be centre stage when the storm rages around her. But I'm willing to shrug this off as it feels like a gateway episode to bring Dax onto centre stage from the side lines.

Its a notable guest cast this week as we get Gregory Itzin off of 24, Anne Haney off of Liar Liar (and loads more) and Fionnula Flanagan off of Lost. Between them all they were fairly regular irregulars and all help power the episode. It's a strong 7/10 from me.

Lost - One of Us

There is a lot of stuff going on in this episode which is a relief after the start of the season. We see more of Juliets back story as her flashbacks fill in her time on the island and fill us in on her motivations before throwing in a possible swerve at the end. 

The majority of the episode is the ramification of Juliet switching sides from The Other to the Losties* and the issue of will they accept her. There's decent stuff happening here with Claire getting some screen time and Juliet gets a rather convenient chance to prove herself. We get a good bit of character stuff as various Losties get to interact with Juliet - some for the first time with Hurley stealing the scene he's in and Sayid & Sawyer showing their distrust.

It's a 7/10 from me and a really good strong flashback which adds a lot to the episode and helps colour in a character we hadn't met until this season.  

* I need a shorthand for the regulars and this is all I've got 

Deep Space Nine - Q-Less

Oh, I'd forgot that Q was in DS9!

We're in curates egg territory in this episode in that we have the first episode not to have any of the main cast as the starring character - something that the show would go on to be known for due to the strength of the supporting cast. However the two main characters of the episode are Q and (looks up wikipedia) Vash who I have no memory of what so ever.

Vash is actually quite fun - she's paired up in a fun double act with Quark and if anything she's the actual base of which the episode is built around. Q however does not fit at all into the DS9 format which is strange as he's brilliant everywhere else I've seen him. The strength of Q has always been in his relationship with the commanding officer to the show - to Picard he's the court jester ready to throw the Enterprise about for his own amusement and to Janeway he's the maturing class joker eager to prove that he's capable of maturing. With Sisko we get nothing - straight away he's viewed as a nuisance and someone who he's been briefed on. We get an amusing scene and moments here or there but there's no time given to creating a relationship.

The regulars mostly suffer this episode, O'Brien is perhaps given the worst material wondering around the station making references to the Enterprise while the only two that escape unharmed are Bashir and Quark. Quark gets his fun double act and arguably the most screen time while Bashir gets some comedy moments with Vash and Q before being written out for half of the episode.

I'm giving this 6/10 as Vash alone (plus Quark) makes this a fun episode however there is no need for Q. He's a half arsed addition to the episode that the producers don't fully commit to. The episode is notable for being the first to be fronted by a guest cast but it feels wrong as it's the guest cast from another show. Personally I think it's a swing and a miss instead of something that didn't work and without an early episode like this we'd never see the supporting cast grow.

Lost - Left Behind

This is a very tight episode, there is a lot going on but it has the feel of an episode where not a single shot is wasted. It's another episode where the action is spread over multiple locations; the flashback, the Others Barracks and the beach camp. The flashback bearing in mind the subject matter is the weakest part of the episode - plus it seems to mix up the Left Behind metaphor the episode is based around with Never Go Back. In order for this episode to work we need to see more of what Kate left behind. We get two good guest actors on show in the shape of Kim Dickens off of Deadwood and Elizabeth Broderick of Teenage Witchery fame - other shows may apply. They should have been given better material.

The stuff at the Barracks is brilliant, everything is from Kate's point of view - not from a camera Peep Show sense but it's certainly from her lens. Juliet is viewed as suspicious and Jack as some kind of end of level trophy that she has her aim on. There's a good scene with Locke early on which perfectly sums up his character, he's trying to be judgemental, aloof, looking for a moment where he gets to say goodbye and "ascend" but like Kate we don't care - we want to know where Jack is. We get a good set piece with Kate and Juliet handcuffed and encountering the smoke monster - we find out The Others don't know a lot about it and that the Pylon fence is designed to keep it out. The theme of this section is that The Others have gone and left behind everyone they (or Ben?) don't want - including Juliet.

The stuff at the camp with Sawyer and Hurley is lovely character stuff. Hurley manipulates Sawyer to be the leader they need in a series of comical set pieces and at this point we're getting the double act we didn't know we needed as the two characters bond.

It's a strong 8/10 from me and with a stronger flashback this could have been something special.

Lost - Expose

When I review something I like to review what is given to us viewers on the screen, however that is not going to be possible for this episode. The meat of this review is what happened backstage and due to the nature of the show it's going to centre on the production team's continued path to distrust. First of all a quick sum up of the episode, it's a good bit of fluff and gives the camp something to do while we take an episode away from the rescue attempt, ordinarily this would get a fun fluffy 6/10.

I fully believe that the production team let down Kiele Sanchez & Rodrigo Santoro the actors who play Nikki & Paulo and threw them to the wolves. From day one the producers of Lost were clear that they had a plan, as a viewer I was cool with that liked what I saw and decided I was in this for the long haul. And then season two happened, on my watch through (which started before these reviews) the season was better than I remembered but then it did spend half the season introducing "the tailies" a group of five character's (two main, two supporting and an occasional guest character) who were then killed off, or thrown into the background or given an average of one scene a season. But then again they did introduce Ben so we got a bit of goodness and a lot of dead end story that went nowhere.

We reach season three and we're repeating the start of the previous season in that it's a very slow start and the show has never been good at pacing the use of characters. If you take every regular and put them in the category of overused, underused or just right very few will be in the third category. Due to the pacing fandom of the show was at a low ebb as season three got going and the wrath of fandom was taken out on Nikki and Paulo who started cropping up in the background of scenes and like most of the cast based at the camp didn't do a lot. The producers to appease fans announced they had a plan for the show and it would be a six season run, then to appease us short term killed off Nikki and Paulo.

This is just abject cowardness imo and shows a lack of production management, also it takes away a little trust as a viewer. From this point there would always be a bit of suspicion between myself and the producers. As an episode it's fine, it even has a lot of fannish touches for viewers in bringing back characters from the dead for some flashbacks. Everything I've read about the initial plans for the characters sound brilliant and going through with those storylines would have been a good way to get the show on track. As such from a character point of view we have Nikki and Paulo playing their endgame characters for this episode and are not recognisable to the characters we've seen for the entire run up to now. It's like watching episode one of Robot seeing Tom Baker making his debut as The Doctor and not tuning in again until episode four as Logopolis the performances are unrecognisable from each other but in Tom's case we saw the character change. As such this episode gets two marks 6/10 for what we got on screen and 0/10 for the spineless producers.

Deep Space Nine - Captive Pursuit

A fun little episode which sees Chief O'Brien takes centre stage and also the first time someone comes through the worm hole from the Gamma quadrant. We get a nice little bit of culture as we see Tosk through the eyes of O'Brien and the first few acts of the episode are us getting to know Tosk while trying to figure whats up with him. With the final act we get answers and also a mini invasion of the station which is quite fun.

Avery Brooks does a good low level performance as Sisko as he quickly realises what O'Brien is up to and slow rolls any attempt to stop him. Odo trying to resist racing after O'Brien after Sisko's orders is a fun moment. Colm Meaney & Scott Macdonald as Tosk are the main ingredients to this episode working as they give excellent performances. A good fun episode with interesting things to say about the Prime Directive, 8/10.

Lost - The Man From Tallahassee

I had forgot how brilliant this episode is, we've been building up to this one for some time as the rescue party has been moving closer to The Others camp. It's not the all action affair that "Not in Portland" was earlier in the season but that's ok - we get something we weren't expecting. We get a character episode where Ben and Locke are pushed to the for-front and we get so many good scenes with them both. All centred around the fact that one of them is in a wheelchair and the other isn't.

The rescue is over quite quickly - so quick it's easy to assume viewers would have been disappointed. Kate, Sayid, Rousseau and Locke against The Others to rescue Jack is an event that sells itself. After being overwhelmed they all get their moments but going into this episode I was expecting more. Jack's plan to escape is quite frankly a good one and there's a brilliant low level telegraph that this rescue attempt is going to lead to it failing.

We finally see how John lost the use of his legs and it's a good reveal. It's the conclusion of his flashbacks going back to season 1 and it's a case of a long standing plot line ending well. The placement of Lockes flashback in this episode is perfect as we see him with his private agenda of seeking to keep the use of his legs - he cares about no-one or nothing else. It feels at first that we're going to see a Locke episode where he isn't manipulated but them Ben enters onto the stage and we get a battle of wits between the two of them with each getting the upper hand at different stages.

Again it's a 10/10 episode which is mainly due to the level of performance of Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn. As with most highly regarded episodes we get a fantastic finale/cliff hanger and of note we get one of the main differences between Season 2 and 3. In the previous season we had endless scenes with Jack & Locke however as Locke blows up the submarine and Jacks way off the island we have the first time their paths cross this season. We're left in a wilder place than when we started the episode and I can't wait for the next one.

Lost - Par Avion

 A quick review due to time constraints.

A good Claire centric episode with flashbacks centring on the fact she's Jacks stepsister and introducing Daddy Shepard into her life. The mission to rescue Jack continues apace with some interesting tidbits about "the others" through the dialogue and things get more interesting when we reach the pylon fence. The stuff at the beach is good character stuff as Claire finds out about Desmond's visions. It's a good slow build performance by Emilie de Ravin as she's asked to be low key in her own centric episode but her performance get's more frenetic as the episode goes on. As well as a good character episode it's a good logistical episode as there is a lot of things going on and a lot of characters get screen time 8/10.

Lost - Enter 77

A rare run of the mill episode that just feels flat, nothing that happens in this episode is bad technically just uninspiring and bland. Sayid's flashback is uninteresting and the thing that sums up the episode best is when Rousseau (a character we've been waiting to turn up all season) decides to skip the episode and wait for the rest of the rescue team under a tree.

The Flame Station is a disappointment, Klugh's death is annoying and it feels like a wheels spinning while everyone goes through the motions. Mikhail is interesting but its faint praise. The classic example of a 5/10 episode.