Good afternoon lady and gentle readers, recently it was Big Finishes 21st anniversary of releasing Doctor Who output. Blimey 21 years, what better way to celebrate than with a list and for your pleasure I have ranked the first 100 releases of The Big Finish monthly range. This is the second round of the rankings taking from 80-71. Enjoy!
80. Singularity, I have a soft spot for this one as it sees the return of Mark Strickson as Turlough for what feels like the first time in ages. Earlier in the range he was the first companion to partner the 5th Doctor and it was a rare treat when he popped up. As a result I always give an internal cheer when he turns up. At this point in the range Peter Davisons Doctor does exasperation so well and with Turlough essentially being a good character and a rubbish companion makes for a good mix. A good heady mix of Russian and Alien intrigue results in an enjoyable story. Of note is the fact that as the story progresses the stakes rise.
79. The Gathering, first of all a caveat as long time readers know I listen to these audios blind without knowing anything beforehand. I also occasionally buy them blind when on offer, that was the case with this release and as such I had no idea it was part of a loose trilogy until a lot later. As a result lots of the references to other stories are lost on me. We get another 5th Doctor companion in the shape of Tegan - her first main range appearance! I'm absolutely landed as I didn't think we'd get her on board. Everything that happens in this story is technically good, raised by Janet Fielding but the story needed an edit as its so depressing. Its a good story but there isn't a lot of trademark Big Finish wit or style.
78. Dreamtime, as I sit here to type this out I have to confess this is one I don't have much memory of. There were nice ideas and its in a section of my pile that suggests I've relistened to it recently, all I can remember is it being rather earnest but likeable.
77. The Settling, another release featuring the 7th Doctor, Ace and Hex although the later two get more of the action. Clive Mantle off of Casualty gives one of the best guest performances and the story is nothing if not dramatic. Away from the drama and feel there isn't enough going on for me - in particular the way McCoys Doctor is taken out of the main plot doesn't quite do it for me. If you're looking for a release dripping in atmosphere this one is for you. I can't let this entry pass without saying it genuinely wouldn't take much for this story to go into my top ten.
76. The Last, a right moody release with a good gimmick - that they telegraph with overuse. In terms of atmosphere its similar to the previous entry in this ranking albeit worlds apart in plot and theme. The 8th Doctor, Charley and C'rizz are at a point in the alternate universe arc where things are interesting and largely fun. This story is different to those surrounding it and it feels like Big Finish are getting back to grips with the season format after a tricky 3rd season. Very good stuff albeit you can see the end coming a mile away.
75. The Land of the Dead, an early fun romp featuring the 5th Doctor and Nyssa. Good location and fun plot make for a fun play - of note there is a location layout on the sleeve to help the listener follow the action. However I don't think its needed as the dialogue puts over the layout of the house very well.
74. The Wishing Beast and Vanity Box, a rather fun if odd release. I love Paul Magrs stuff and usually when listening blind I can spot his trademarks. This release is two stories spread over four episodes - 3 and 1 respectively. Its a very surreal set of stories and I come away thinking Vanity Box is more enjoyable where The Wishing Beast feels like it isn't comfortable with its episode length. Absolute fun - gets crazy at times and has a nice camp one parter at the end.
73. Valhalla, oooh its another solo story for McCoy near the end of the 7th Doctors era. Obviously its now known as the story with Michelle Gomez in and truth be told its added a fun element to the story. Marc Platt (writer of the TV story Ghostlight) does a lot on interesting things in this story and it works as both a disaster piece and a thriller. The Doctor going to a job centre is a memorable moment as its The Doctors mood that mirrors that of Valhalla. Rest assured this story may be moody but its good.
72. Nocturne, featuring the 7th Doctor, Ace and Hex this is an absolutely fascinating play. The concept of The Doctor having another favourite planet that we've not seen before makes for a fun story, however due to the quality of the world building by Dan Abnett I feel like I'm more familiar with the planet Nocturne than I've any right to be. I care what happens to this place, I buy that The Doctor has visited it many times before and has an emotional stake in this planet. As such the play presses my buttons and gets the emotions out of me that it should.
71. Primeval, the 5th Doctor and Nyssa visit an earlier era of Traken and theres a lot of fun going on here. Of course its a sequel to Keeper of Traken and the best compliment I can give Primeval is that whenever I come away from this story I want to my Keeper DVD. This story makes me think about good and evil, its interesting and endearing. Stephen Grief another Blakes 7 alumni gives a good performance as the villain and its a good turn my all.
Sunday, 2 August 2020
Sunday, 26 July 2020
Big Finish Monthly Range Ranked: 90-81
Good afternoon lady and gentle readers, recently it was Big Finishes 21st anniversary of releasing Doctor Who output. Blimey 21 years, what better way to celebrate than with a list and for your pleasure I have ranked the first 100 releases of The Big Finish monthly range. This is the second round of the rankings taking from 90-81. Enjoy!
90. ...ish, there are so many good things about this play set at a conference of lexicographers. It is the perfect story for Colin Bakers Doctor, it is perhaps one of the most quotable stories of this range and as I'm typing this many moments are waltzing into my brain to be remembered. Sadly this story is down low due to what it isn't rather than what it is. This story would make a perfect one parter or even two parter, its a shame it wasn't produced later in the series where imo it would have been produced as such. As such its padded - there is a lot to like about this story however there is a lot of standing around and talking to reach it.
89. The Rapture, at its best this story is trippy weird stuff which I will happily hit the dance floor for. When this story is at its best I haven't got a clue whats going on which I'm happy for - the stuff with Tony Blackburn is brilliant. However the rest of story is a bit "sensible shoes" not fitting in with the rest of it. The setting in late 90s Ibiza is not my jam, theres a lot of stuff to like here which is combined with other aspects which are not for me. If anything this one is down low due to my personal taste rather than quality.
88. Frozen Time, this is another story which could rise on a re-listen as I've only heard it once and its down this low for a daft reason. At the time of release a lot of the previous releases had three and one episode plays, as I got to the end of episode three I was thinking "its been OK, hopefully the one part story will give this release a boost" and then we had an extra episode of a story that already felt like it was coming to an end. As a story it does interesting things without absorbing me as a listener, from memory it looks like we're going to get a crossover with two villains / monsters at one point which doesn't happen. It feels rather lethargic in terms of story feel as the 7th Doctor towards the end of his incarnation is a strange beast. I wanted to like it more than I did and hopefully in the future I will.
87.The Twilight Kingdom, the end of the 8th Doctors third season and we're still in the divergent universe. As a story its very good, interesting in the right bits a good bit of intrigue and memorable. However against it we're still in the divergent universe story arc which is becoming a slog - it would get better in the next season but this story feels slightly out of place and would certainly benefit from a listening in isolation of the preceding stories.
86. The Next Life, its the end of an era. This is the last story Paul McGann would have as the current Doctor and for the next few years his stories would be one off and not in seasons. It mirrors the Divergent arc in many ways - its long and a bit of a slog. I feel that everything from the last two seasons are wrapped up and its satisfying that we're coming back to the main universe. The casting is outstanding with Daphne Ashbrook and Anneke Wills doing very good plus we've got Paul Darrow commanding our ears with his typical performance (Michael Keating was in the Twilight Kingdom for a Blakes 7 link). I often find myself defending this story as its absolutely riveting on a first listen, the middle episodes turn into a giant info dump centred around a hunt and C'rizz standing by a well. However the start is excellent and the end is really blooming good.
85. Something Inside, a tight moody thriller in a big box with an ace reference to Liverpool FCs Champions League win.
84. Catch 1782, ooooh the 6th Doctor and Mel! A team that has become a delight through Big Finish. A lovely little story that feels out of place spread over four episodes. I'm not too crazy about the resolution but it is a rather charming tale.
83. The Mutant Phase, the 5th Doctor and Nyssa are another lineup that have become a firm favourite due to Big Finish. Its a very moody story with dashings of story but it lacks a central point to hang this story around as there's no central location and a bit of TARDIS hopping. It ties in with an early Big Finish range - Dalek Empire and sees the third outing of the Daleks in the main range. The early episodes are quite good and a couple of my fan buttons were pressed. Its down low as it feels like Peter Davison and Big Finish haven't got quite to grips with the 5th Doctor.
82. Davros, a solo 6th Doctor encounters Davros. As a story this is possibly the most boring one in the first 100 releases mainly due to the fact globalisation bores the socks off me. However everything else about this release is cracking especially the performances, the cast is outstanding Colin Baker, Terry Molloy, Wendy Padbury and Bernard Horsfall lift the material.
81. Exotron, the first story on this ranking featuring a three part story and a single part story called Urban Myths. Unlike most releases of this nature where one story is usually a lot better than the other they are both good. Urban Myths is a proper fun laugh and Exotron is a good value thriller - high recommended and not talked about enough.
In this section there are a lot of stories which are quite nice and lovely mixed with stories that should be better and are brought down by some aspect.
90. ...ish, there are so many good things about this play set at a conference of lexicographers. It is the perfect story for Colin Bakers Doctor, it is perhaps one of the most quotable stories of this range and as I'm typing this many moments are waltzing into my brain to be remembered. Sadly this story is down low due to what it isn't rather than what it is. This story would make a perfect one parter or even two parter, its a shame it wasn't produced later in the series where imo it would have been produced as such. As such its padded - there is a lot to like about this story however there is a lot of standing around and talking to reach it.
89. The Rapture, at its best this story is trippy weird stuff which I will happily hit the dance floor for. When this story is at its best I haven't got a clue whats going on which I'm happy for - the stuff with Tony Blackburn is brilliant. However the rest of story is a bit "sensible shoes" not fitting in with the rest of it. The setting in late 90s Ibiza is not my jam, theres a lot of stuff to like here which is combined with other aspects which are not for me. If anything this one is down low due to my personal taste rather than quality.
88. Frozen Time, this is another story which could rise on a re-listen as I've only heard it once and its down this low for a daft reason. At the time of release a lot of the previous releases had three and one episode plays, as I got to the end of episode three I was thinking "its been OK, hopefully the one part story will give this release a boost" and then we had an extra episode of a story that already felt like it was coming to an end. As a story it does interesting things without absorbing me as a listener, from memory it looks like we're going to get a crossover with two villains / monsters at one point which doesn't happen. It feels rather lethargic in terms of story feel as the 7th Doctor towards the end of his incarnation is a strange beast. I wanted to like it more than I did and hopefully in the future I will.
87.The Twilight Kingdom, the end of the 8th Doctors third season and we're still in the divergent universe. As a story its very good, interesting in the right bits a good bit of intrigue and memorable. However against it we're still in the divergent universe story arc which is becoming a slog - it would get better in the next season but this story feels slightly out of place and would certainly benefit from a listening in isolation of the preceding stories.
86. The Next Life, its the end of an era. This is the last story Paul McGann would have as the current Doctor and for the next few years his stories would be one off and not in seasons. It mirrors the Divergent arc in many ways - its long and a bit of a slog. I feel that everything from the last two seasons are wrapped up and its satisfying that we're coming back to the main universe. The casting is outstanding with Daphne Ashbrook and Anneke Wills doing very good plus we've got Paul Darrow commanding our ears with his typical performance (Michael Keating was in the Twilight Kingdom for a Blakes 7 link). I often find myself defending this story as its absolutely riveting on a first listen, the middle episodes turn into a giant info dump centred around a hunt and C'rizz standing by a well. However the start is excellent and the end is really blooming good.
85. Something Inside, a tight moody thriller in a big box with an ace reference to Liverpool FCs Champions League win.
84. Catch 1782, ooooh the 6th Doctor and Mel! A team that has become a delight through Big Finish. A lovely little story that feels out of place spread over four episodes. I'm not too crazy about the resolution but it is a rather charming tale.
83. The Mutant Phase, the 5th Doctor and Nyssa are another lineup that have become a firm favourite due to Big Finish. Its a very moody story with dashings of story but it lacks a central point to hang this story around as there's no central location and a bit of TARDIS hopping. It ties in with an early Big Finish range - Dalek Empire and sees the third outing of the Daleks in the main range. The early episodes are quite good and a couple of my fan buttons were pressed. Its down low as it feels like Peter Davison and Big Finish haven't got quite to grips with the 5th Doctor.
82. Davros, a solo 6th Doctor encounters Davros. As a story this is possibly the most boring one in the first 100 releases mainly due to the fact globalisation bores the socks off me. However everything else about this release is cracking especially the performances, the cast is outstanding Colin Baker, Terry Molloy, Wendy Padbury and Bernard Horsfall lift the material.
81. Exotron, the first story on this ranking featuring a three part story and a single part story called Urban Myths. Unlike most releases of this nature where one story is usually a lot better than the other they are both good. Urban Myths is a proper fun laugh and Exotron is a good value thriller - high recommended and not talked about enough.
In this section there are a lot of stories which are quite nice and lovely mixed with stories that should be better and are brought down by some aspect.
Tuesday, 21 July 2020
Big Finish Monthly Range Ranked: 100-91
Good afternoon lady and gentle readers, recently it was Big Finishes 21st anniversary of releasing Doctor Who output. Blimey 21 years, what better way to celebrate than with a list and for your pleasure I have ranked the first 100 releases of The Big Finish monthly range. Enjoy!
100. Nekromanteia, this story comes in last and its due to an incident in the story that I wont go into yet I firmly believe everyone whose heard it will remember. The unpleasantness haunts the story and makes it a story I will most likely not listen to again.
99. Pier Pressure, sadly the lowest story due to quality and at this point I must stress that this is my opinion which you are free to disagree with. Its dull, plodding and at times a struggle to listen to. The sequence where The Doctor takes liberties with a deck chair and a pensioner maybe the worst in the series. There are a few rather nice things in this play such as a nod to Carry On Screaming and a lovely William Hartnell. Max Millar played by Roy Hudd is very good casting. The best way I can sum this up is during a high point of boredom the characters start playing eye spy.
98. Scherzo, if anything I feel a bit churlish putting this play so low. As a theme it reminds me of Waiting for Godot with meaningless and possibly endless repetition something that I find eerily scary and horror is a recurring theme of Robert Shearmans Big Finish output. The play is both a story in its own right as well as dealing with the aftermath of the previous story and season arcs. At this point I want to point out that I listen to these stories blind without any knowledge of the story. Looking back at the actual plot of the story its something that should press my positive buttons, however the reason I have this so low is because The Doctor and Charley are acting so annoying during this story that it just drags the story down. This is the first story I've come to that I will freely admit could move in the rankings with a re-listen.
97. Scaredy Cat, I have no memory of this story what so ever bar a child endlessly repeating "scaredy cat" over and over again and the fact that Arthur Bostrom is in it. I remember not liking it but from what I gather it was heavily rewritten due to the TV show returning to our screens hence why its so short.
96. Terror Firma, oh eck its the third 8th Doctor story in a row! Don't worry I will be squeeing about Paul McGann stories later in the rankings. This story sees the 8th Doctor, Charley and C'rizz return to the main universe however they unfortunately run into Davros and the Daleks. There is an aspect of this story very memorable that links back to an earlier story. Its a very interesting story as a whole and quite frankly its down this low due to the strength of other stories rather than weaknesses of its own. Hearing Paul McGann interact with Terry Molloys Davros is a delight. This is the start of an interesting direction for C'rizz and a good jumping on point. If you're looking to pick a TARDIS team and follow it along. Personally I find this story a tad unsatisfying due to the debate between The Doctor and Davros however it is often interesting.
95. Roof of the World, a rather dull forgetful story that does something pretty bloody awesome with the Big Finish created companion Erimem. For one episode this is genuinely Big Finish at its height going in an unexpected direction, shocking the listener and raising the level of the story to something special - for an episode. The surrounding story is rather forgettable though.
94. Red Dawn, the earliest story in the range so far featuring the 5th Doctor, Peri and the Ice Warriors. Its another case of one good episode as the opening episode feels like a William Hartnell era first parter as the regulars explore where they've landed mixed in with a ship landing on Mars. Things turn remarkably uninteresting when the Ice Warriors wake up and as such its a weak comeback for our favourite Martians. Of note is an interesting cast featuring Georgia Tennant, Robert Jezek and Stephen Fewell.
93. Invaders From Mars, another 8th Doctor story appearing early but this is a tale of two halfs. The first two episodes are dreadful with not a lot going on and having to many characters to introduce. The second half is absolutely gorgeous - full of ideas and charm. Also the Orson Welles War of the World plot kicks in. In fact I'd recommend only listening to the second half Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson are amongst the guest cast. Some people moaned at the time that it was a waste given they were saddled with American accents. I however think they're good value and lots of fun as is the story if you give it time to get going.
92. The Dark Flame, its a rare main range appearance for Bernice Summerfield as she hooks up with the 7th Doctor and Ace. As a story its not very rememberable bar the fact Bernice is in it. In terms of quality it feels a little bit off - like the mix is wrong. On paper its a very traditional story however there is no fluff its a bit depressing. Michael Praed off of Robin Hood in the 1980s is lots of fun however with a good OTT performance.
91. The Creed of the Kromon, it is a genuine shock that half of the bottom 10 stories in this ranking are made up of Paul McGann stories. Creed sets the tone for the divergent universe arc, it introduces The Kro'ka, gives The Doctor a new companion in C'rizz and seriously screws with Charley. My enduring memory of this story is trying to listen to it and falling asleep five times, for ages I had no idea how this story started. Rest assured this story is interesting, has a bit of a hard task in setting everything up given the nature of the previous story. There isn't a lot of fun to be had here as its very dry and paced terribly - it feels like it goes on for days - what we do get is technically well done, well acted and well written however its paced terribly and feels like it goes on for days.
Drawing conclusions from this part of the rankings theres a lot of stories that I like - even if its one episode. There are a lot of stories here which I would say aren't bad, to take a cricketing analogy there are a lot stories that take a swing and miss. I hope you enjoyed this ranking and look out for more.
100. Nekromanteia, this story comes in last and its due to an incident in the story that I wont go into yet I firmly believe everyone whose heard it will remember. The unpleasantness haunts the story and makes it a story I will most likely not listen to again.
99. Pier Pressure, sadly the lowest story due to quality and at this point I must stress that this is my opinion which you are free to disagree with. Its dull, plodding and at times a struggle to listen to. The sequence where The Doctor takes liberties with a deck chair and a pensioner maybe the worst in the series. There are a few rather nice things in this play such as a nod to Carry On Screaming and a lovely William Hartnell. Max Millar played by Roy Hudd is very good casting. The best way I can sum this up is during a high point of boredom the characters start playing eye spy.
98. Scherzo, if anything I feel a bit churlish putting this play so low. As a theme it reminds me of Waiting for Godot with meaningless and possibly endless repetition something that I find eerily scary and horror is a recurring theme of Robert Shearmans Big Finish output. The play is both a story in its own right as well as dealing with the aftermath of the previous story and season arcs. At this point I want to point out that I listen to these stories blind without any knowledge of the story. Looking back at the actual plot of the story its something that should press my positive buttons, however the reason I have this so low is because The Doctor and Charley are acting so annoying during this story that it just drags the story down. This is the first story I've come to that I will freely admit could move in the rankings with a re-listen.
97. Scaredy Cat, I have no memory of this story what so ever bar a child endlessly repeating "scaredy cat" over and over again and the fact that Arthur Bostrom is in it. I remember not liking it but from what I gather it was heavily rewritten due to the TV show returning to our screens hence why its so short.
96. Terror Firma, oh eck its the third 8th Doctor story in a row! Don't worry I will be squeeing about Paul McGann stories later in the rankings. This story sees the 8th Doctor, Charley and C'rizz return to the main universe however they unfortunately run into Davros and the Daleks. There is an aspect of this story very memorable that links back to an earlier story. Its a very interesting story as a whole and quite frankly its down this low due to the strength of other stories rather than weaknesses of its own. Hearing Paul McGann interact with Terry Molloys Davros is a delight. This is the start of an interesting direction for C'rizz and a good jumping on point. If you're looking to pick a TARDIS team and follow it along. Personally I find this story a tad unsatisfying due to the debate between The Doctor and Davros however it is often interesting.
95. Roof of the World, a rather dull forgetful story that does something pretty bloody awesome with the Big Finish created companion Erimem. For one episode this is genuinely Big Finish at its height going in an unexpected direction, shocking the listener and raising the level of the story to something special - for an episode. The surrounding story is rather forgettable though.
94. Red Dawn, the earliest story in the range so far featuring the 5th Doctor, Peri and the Ice Warriors. Its another case of one good episode as the opening episode feels like a William Hartnell era first parter as the regulars explore where they've landed mixed in with a ship landing on Mars. Things turn remarkably uninteresting when the Ice Warriors wake up and as such its a weak comeback for our favourite Martians. Of note is an interesting cast featuring Georgia Tennant, Robert Jezek and Stephen Fewell.
93. Invaders From Mars, another 8th Doctor story appearing early but this is a tale of two halfs. The first two episodes are dreadful with not a lot going on and having to many characters to introduce. The second half is absolutely gorgeous - full of ideas and charm. Also the Orson Welles War of the World plot kicks in. In fact I'd recommend only listening to the second half Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson are amongst the guest cast. Some people moaned at the time that it was a waste given they were saddled with American accents. I however think they're good value and lots of fun as is the story if you give it time to get going.
92. The Dark Flame, its a rare main range appearance for Bernice Summerfield as she hooks up with the 7th Doctor and Ace. As a story its not very rememberable bar the fact Bernice is in it. In terms of quality it feels a little bit off - like the mix is wrong. On paper its a very traditional story however there is no fluff its a bit depressing. Michael Praed off of Robin Hood in the 1980s is lots of fun however with a good OTT performance.
91. The Creed of the Kromon, it is a genuine shock that half of the bottom 10 stories in this ranking are made up of Paul McGann stories. Creed sets the tone for the divergent universe arc, it introduces The Kro'ka, gives The Doctor a new companion in C'rizz and seriously screws with Charley. My enduring memory of this story is trying to listen to it and falling asleep five times, for ages I had no idea how this story started. Rest assured this story is interesting, has a bit of a hard task in setting everything up given the nature of the previous story. There isn't a lot of fun to be had here as its very dry and paced terribly - it feels like it goes on for days - what we do get is technically well done, well acted and well written however its paced terribly and feels like it goes on for days.
Drawing conclusions from this part of the rankings theres a lot of stories that I like - even if its one episode. There are a lot of stories here which I would say aren't bad, to take a cricketing analogy there are a lot stories that take a swing and miss. I hope you enjoyed this ranking and look out for more.
Sunday, 12 July 2020
The Boys Season 1 review
Every few years or so, a comic, movie or TV show poses the question, “What if superheroes really existed?” It’s a brilliant starting point for any direction you want to take the idea in, not just because the conventions of superhero stories are so ripe for parody, but by thinking out how our existing governments & institutions might behave in a world with one big difference from ours an be an extremely effective way to criticise the way those institutions are behaving in the here and now.
The Boys is the latest show to have a go at this trope and while the idea may be familiar the execution is striking. On the one hand, The Boys is an expert deconstruction of superhero stories, with an appropriately winterish view of institutional power, be it corporate, governmental, religious, or caped. On the other hand, it’s an adaptation of a comic book series that launched in 2006 and is to an extent dated.
The most obvious thing that’s changed between the first issue of The Boys and its television debut is that superheroes have taken over pop culture. It’s hard to remember the before times now, but the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang influenced Iron Man didn’t kick off the Marvel Cinematic Universe until 2008, with the DC Extended Universe not arriving for five years after that. Ennis and Robertson assumed that superheroes would be monetized the second they appeared, but working in the heyday of Blackwater, the natural business model was defense contractors, not movie studios. The first shot is a Marvelesque sequence in which thousands of comic panels dissolve into the logo for the fictional Vought Studios, and the second is a bus advert for a superhero movie. As Madelyn Stillwell, a villainous executive played by Elisabeth Shue, says at a Vought shareholders meeting, it’s a good time to be in the superhero business. And the show’s professional sports-flavored vision of that business assigning crime fighters to cities in exchange for concessions from local governments that is more satisfying and more vicious than in the original Marvel Civil War storyline.
The show’s increased proximity to the entertainment industry lets Amazon’s version of The Boys address the #MeToo movement. In the pilot episode, Annie January (Erin Moriarty), an innocent kid from Des Moines, Iowa, who can shoot beams of blinding light from her hands, gets the full star treatment: She successfully auditions to join Vought’s premier superhero team; she finally pleases her stage mother (Ann Cusack); she gets flown to Manhattan and driven around in a limo; she gets a dedicated handler (Colby Minifie, oozing resentment); she’s promised television appearances, movies, merchandising, and astonishing amounts of money; she gets to meet her delightfully named childhood heroes - a Superman type called Homelander (Antony Starr), a Flash type called A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), a Wonder Woman type called Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott). Then out of left field she gets blackmailed into performing oral sex on an Aquaman type called the Deep (Chace Crawford). In one of the show’s better throwaway jokes, she pukes afterward in one of Vought’s unisex bathrooms: It’s a proudly progressive company, except for all the sexual assault. That plotline exists in the comics, but it doesn’t cause much trouble between Annie and her employer. Instead, it’s mostly a device to cause tension between Annie and her victim-blaming love interest (played by Jack Quaid on the show). Employees have a few more cards to play now, and the show smartly incorporates that reality.
But when Annie starts playing those cards, the seams created by refitting a 2006 series for 2019 really start to show. Annie is an evangelical Christian, and she chooses to break her silence about being assaulted onstage at the “Believe Expo,” a youth revival where superheroes cheerfully explain that their superpowers mean they were chosen by God. The mood is extremely Bush-era, faith and imperialism and homophobia balled up into a soft-rock, white jeans nightmare. The endless sense of grievance that mysteriously appeared in much white evangelical discourse after 04/11/08 isn’t present. Even same sex marriage - something evangelicals have mostly abandoned fighting - seems like an open issue, judging from the merchandise booth. But the most striking thing is the way Vought endlessly defers to white evangelicals - keeping gay superheroes in the closet, making sure another superhero doesn’t admit she’s had premarital sex, letting one of their stars advocate “praying away the gay” - in a way secular media hasn’t really done since they discovered there was more profit to be made in inclusivity than bigotry.
Which brings us to the biggest challenge in adapting The Boys for television in 2019, one that Amazon’s show never quite overcomes: adjusting for the election wins of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump. There’s a scene in the very first issue of the comic book that illustrates the problem pretty clearly: The director of the CIA, played by Jennifer Esposito on the show, says, with a completely straight face, “The President is a man of total moral integrity.” That statement is no longer operative, to put it mildly, and it’s not just because the living embodiment of gammon is living in the White House. George W. Bush and Maggie Thatcher were not moral paragons but their supporters kept up appearances in a way that now seems quaint and has been proven to be unnecessary. In the comic books it’s the president who’s a ruthless Halliburton stooge and the vice president who’s a moron, but everyone operates under the assumption that if the president’s corruption or the vice president’s stupidity were publicly exposed, it would hurt them. The public simply wouldn’t stand for it.
But the current Premiers Boris Johnson and Donald Trump are the complete package; corruption and stupidity, with racism, misogyny thrown in as a bonus - and he’s headed toward his fourth year in office with a strong chance of at least four more. The main plot of The Boys, like every conspiracy thriller, superhero or no, is built around the idea that someone, somewhere would care if the conspiracy were exposed. Even the show’s subplots - closeted superheroes, performance-enhancing drugs, what really happened aboard a hijacked plane - depend on the idea that if the truth were known, something would happen. But nothing will happen. There’s one superpower that beats heat vision, superstrength, invisibility, and even the ability to communicate with fish: complete and utter shamelessness. Still, if you’d like to spend some time in a world where supervillainy can sometimes be countered by superheroism, you could do a lot worse than The Boys.
The Boys is the latest show to have a go at this trope and while the idea may be familiar the execution is striking. On the one hand, The Boys is an expert deconstruction of superhero stories, with an appropriately winterish view of institutional power, be it corporate, governmental, religious, or caped. On the other hand, it’s an adaptation of a comic book series that launched in 2006 and is to an extent dated.
The most obvious thing that’s changed between the first issue of The Boys and its television debut is that superheroes have taken over pop culture. It’s hard to remember the before times now, but the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang influenced Iron Man didn’t kick off the Marvel Cinematic Universe until 2008, with the DC Extended Universe not arriving for five years after that. Ennis and Robertson assumed that superheroes would be monetized the second they appeared, but working in the heyday of Blackwater, the natural business model was defense contractors, not movie studios. The first shot is a Marvelesque sequence in which thousands of comic panels dissolve into the logo for the fictional Vought Studios, and the second is a bus advert for a superhero movie. As Madelyn Stillwell, a villainous executive played by Elisabeth Shue, says at a Vought shareholders meeting, it’s a good time to be in the superhero business. And the show’s professional sports-flavored vision of that business assigning crime fighters to cities in exchange for concessions from local governments that is more satisfying and more vicious than in the original Marvel Civil War storyline.
The show’s increased proximity to the entertainment industry lets Amazon’s version of The Boys address the #MeToo movement. In the pilot episode, Annie January (Erin Moriarty), an innocent kid from Des Moines, Iowa, who can shoot beams of blinding light from her hands, gets the full star treatment: She successfully auditions to join Vought’s premier superhero team; she finally pleases her stage mother (Ann Cusack); she gets flown to Manhattan and driven around in a limo; she gets a dedicated handler (Colby Minifie, oozing resentment); she’s promised television appearances, movies, merchandising, and astonishing amounts of money; she gets to meet her delightfully named childhood heroes - a Superman type called Homelander (Antony Starr), a Flash type called A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), a Wonder Woman type called Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott). Then out of left field she gets blackmailed into performing oral sex on an Aquaman type called the Deep (Chace Crawford). In one of the show’s better throwaway jokes, she pukes afterward in one of Vought’s unisex bathrooms: It’s a proudly progressive company, except for all the sexual assault. That plotline exists in the comics, but it doesn’t cause much trouble between Annie and her employer. Instead, it’s mostly a device to cause tension between Annie and her victim-blaming love interest (played by Jack Quaid on the show). Employees have a few more cards to play now, and the show smartly incorporates that reality.
But when Annie starts playing those cards, the seams created by refitting a 2006 series for 2019 really start to show. Annie is an evangelical Christian, and she chooses to break her silence about being assaulted onstage at the “Believe Expo,” a youth revival where superheroes cheerfully explain that their superpowers mean they were chosen by God. The mood is extremely Bush-era, faith and imperialism and homophobia balled up into a soft-rock, white jeans nightmare. The endless sense of grievance that mysteriously appeared in much white evangelical discourse after 04/11/08 isn’t present. Even same sex marriage - something evangelicals have mostly abandoned fighting - seems like an open issue, judging from the merchandise booth. But the most striking thing is the way Vought endlessly defers to white evangelicals - keeping gay superheroes in the closet, making sure another superhero doesn’t admit she’s had premarital sex, letting one of their stars advocate “praying away the gay” - in a way secular media hasn’t really done since they discovered there was more profit to be made in inclusivity than bigotry.
Which brings us to the biggest challenge in adapting The Boys for television in 2019, one that Amazon’s show never quite overcomes: adjusting for the election wins of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump. There’s a scene in the very first issue of the comic book that illustrates the problem pretty clearly: The director of the CIA, played by Jennifer Esposito on the show, says, with a completely straight face, “The President is a man of total moral integrity.” That statement is no longer operative, to put it mildly, and it’s not just because the living embodiment of gammon is living in the White House. George W. Bush and Maggie Thatcher were not moral paragons but their supporters kept up appearances in a way that now seems quaint and has been proven to be unnecessary. In the comic books it’s the president who’s a ruthless Halliburton stooge and the vice president who’s a moron, but everyone operates under the assumption that if the president’s corruption or the vice president’s stupidity were publicly exposed, it would hurt them. The public simply wouldn’t stand for it.
But the current Premiers Boris Johnson and Donald Trump are the complete package; corruption and stupidity, with racism, misogyny thrown in as a bonus - and he’s headed toward his fourth year in office with a strong chance of at least four more. The main plot of The Boys, like every conspiracy thriller, superhero or no, is built around the idea that someone, somewhere would care if the conspiracy were exposed. Even the show’s subplots - closeted superheroes, performance-enhancing drugs, what really happened aboard a hijacked plane - depend on the idea that if the truth were known, something would happen. But nothing will happen. There’s one superpower that beats heat vision, superstrength, invisibility, and even the ability to communicate with fish: complete and utter shamelessness. Still, if you’d like to spend some time in a world where supervillainy can sometimes be countered by superheroism, you could do a lot worse than The Boys.
Monday, 18 May 2020
Why the Transgender Community is Dubious About Liz Truss
Good afternoon ladies and gentle readers I hope this blog finds you in good fettle. If you didn't know and I'll understand if you don't what with the world going mad over the past few months Liz Truss has recently been made the Equalities Minister for the UK. I don't about you but when I think about the term "equalities minister" I think of someone whose job it is to stand up for minorities, give us a helping and hand and attempt to make day to day life fairer.
Essentially I want to hear about Liz Truss walking into a traditionally transphobic group such as a recruitment agency, Admiral Insurance or Father Ted appreciation society and saying "Hi I'm Liz Truss, word on the street is you're giving some of my minorities a tough time, thats going to stop."
Or something along less exaggerated along those lines, instead we're seeing her follow transphobic hate groups on social media and coming out with the following comments;
Protecting single sex spaces.
Protecting under 18s from irreversible decisions.
Two points repeatedly spouted by anti transgender rights protestors.
It is the firm opinion of this blogger that this is the textbook example of a bad start to the new job. Is Liz Truss just another transphobe who is going to have an impact on our lives with no repercussions for herself? It certainly looks that way.
Essentially I want to hear about Liz Truss walking into a traditionally transphobic group such as a recruitment agency, Admiral Insurance or Father Ted appreciation society and saying "Hi I'm Liz Truss, word on the street is you're giving some of my minorities a tough time, thats going to stop."
Or something along less exaggerated along those lines, instead we're seeing her follow transphobic hate groups on social media and coming out with the following comments;
Protecting single sex spaces.
Protecting under 18s from irreversible decisions.
Two points repeatedly spouted by anti transgender rights protestors.
It is the firm opinion of this blogger that this is the textbook example of a bad start to the new job. Is Liz Truss just another transphobe who is going to have an impact on our lives with no repercussions for herself? It certainly looks that way.
Saturday, 16 May 2020
The Big Finish Catch-Up May 2020
For those of you new to this section of the blog, I started listening to the Big Finish Doctor Who releases when they started back in 1999, getting them as they were released up to mid 2002 and release No 33 Neverland. At that time I left Uni and due to being a bit busy with life and what not I only heard one or two releases over the next few years. I started getting back into them around 2008 and was 6 years behind at that point. Due to wondering off into the Lost Doctor range and a relaxed listening pace I fell further behind. In order to catch up I'm listening to two releases a month (or more when its a 60 min single disc release, plus without seeing the cover or knowing anything about the story) and my mission to catch up continues;
I start this blog entry with a confession, I've run out of money and I'm running out of Big Finish stories that I bought on sale and have in the bank. As such I'm currently having one two hour Big Finish session a month. As such this entry includes a second listening of the first River Song box set and the first listening of UNIT: Dominion. Enjoy the review and more entries will be up soon.
The River Song box set treads the line finely of being a box set and having standalone stories. As the box set progresses they get less standalone which is perfectly understandable, that being said Rulers of the Universe and Signs I can see being relistened to in the future with Signs being up there with Big Finish best stuff. As a box set it is very campy and has a 70's feel which should help you decide weather it interests you or not. So its a 7.5/10 from me.
UNIT Dominion is a very strange box set, it doesn't tread the box set stand alone story fine at all a its one story. Its interesting and possibly has too much going on to the extent that no plot lines give us time to do a deep dive and it feels like skirting around in the shallows for a few hours. We get some resolution to Kleins story although in all honesty I thought the previous ending was fine so it gets a polite thankyou with a shrug from me. Its nice to see Raine and I hope she shows up more often. This story is at its best when bonkers stuff is happening and UNIT is struggling to cope. Its a 5.5/10 from me and as a whole it needs an edit.
I start this blog entry with a confession, I've run out of money and I'm running out of Big Finish stories that I bought on sale and have in the bank. As such I'm currently having one two hour Big Finish session a month. As such this entry includes a second listening of the first River Song box set and the first listening of UNIT: Dominion. Enjoy the review and more entries will be up soon.
The River Song box set treads the line finely of being a box set and having standalone stories. As the box set progresses they get less standalone which is perfectly understandable, that being said Rulers of the Universe and Signs I can see being relistened to in the future with Signs being up there with Big Finish best stuff. As a box set it is very campy and has a 70's feel which should help you decide weather it interests you or not. So its a 7.5/10 from me.
UNIT Dominion is a very strange box set, it doesn't tread the box set stand alone story fine at all a its one story. Its interesting and possibly has too much going on to the extent that no plot lines give us time to do a deep dive and it feels like skirting around in the shallows for a few hours. We get some resolution to Kleins story although in all honesty I thought the previous ending was fine so it gets a polite thankyou with a shrug from me. Its nice to see Raine and I hope she shows up more often. This story is at its best when bonkers stuff is happening and UNIT is struggling to cope. Its a 5.5/10 from me and as a whole it needs an edit.
Friday, 7 February 2020
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)