SPOILERS AHEAD … AND POETRY, DAMN POETRY AND BRAIN-EATING CROWS One of the great existential dilemmas of The Walking Dead franchise as a whole has been whether it is possible to stay human (be tender, merciful, cultured, artistic) in the face of an unrelenting threat that, on the face Continue Reading
TV
Sesame Street: Whoopi Goldberg and Elmo Draw Picture for Pen Pal in Syria
SNAPSHOT Elmo wants to cheer up his friend Laila from Syria—so he decides to draw her a picture. Millions of children like Laila are missing out on education and need our help. (synopsis via YouTube) Though it is justifiably known and lauded for its brilliant work as a worldwide Continue Reading
The Librarians: Saving the world, one comic book at a time
SNAPSHOT Way back in the swinging ‘70s, movie producer Sol Schick was the guy behind such cheesy classics as Quarry: Bigfoot!, Noah’s Ark: Found at Last! and Heavenly Visitors from the Hell Above. But when he’s murdered – at a film festival! – with a piece of Noah’s Ark! Continue Reading
Winter is here – and so is a fearsome new Game of Thrones S7 trailer and posters
SNAPSHOT At the end of season 6 Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke) dragons and her immense army were finally on the way to Westeros, where Cersei (Lena Headey) has now become Queen after the death of her children. The Night King’s (Vladimir Furdik in season 6) army is heading south, and Continue Reading
Is there existential depth to Rick & Morty? “Wubbalubbadubdub yes!” says creator Dan Harmon
One of the really impressive things about Rick and Morty, Adult Swim’s incredibly clever animated series about an alcoholic scientist grandfather and his often hapless but EQ-rich grandson, has been the way it merges bright, funtastic visuals, amazingly imaginative worldbuilding and intelligent storytelling that doesn’t just spin out a Continue Reading
Fear the Walking Dead: “100” (S3, E4 review)
SPOILERS AHEAD … AND NO WATER FOR SOCIALISTS … Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink. (from Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge) Never were truer poetic words committed to the written word. And never were they more pertinent or desperately poignant that in Continue Reading
The only Batman for me: RIP Adam West
One of my fondest memories growing up was watching Adam West and Burt Ward fight the bad guys with a BIFF! a BAM! and a POWWW! in ABC’s three season-long TV series Batman. Camp, colourful and endlessly entertaining, it was the gloriously trippy Caped Crusader’s yin to Christian Bale’s Continue Reading
Fear the Walking Dead – “TEOTWAWKI” (S3, E3 review)
SPOILERS AHEAD … AND A RATHER LONG PRECIPITOUS DROP TO A ZOMBIE PIT FAR BELOW … You may not think that you can prepare for the End of the World As We Know it – both a kickass R.E.M. song and the long form version of tonight’s acronymic title Continue Reading
Can David Tennant calm your cats and dogs? He can and it’s purrr-fectly marvellous
SNAPSHOT Pet behaviourist Karen Wild and vet Robert White-Adams (with a little help from David Tennant) talk about the science behind the first films for cats and dogs designed to help calm them around fireworks and loud noises. (synopsis via Laughing Squid) This is a genius idea. Bring together Continue Reading
Want to get close to aliens? Time to get yourself Ghosted!
SNAPSHOT From 20th Century Fox Television, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Gettin’ Rad Productions, a cynical skeptic (Craig Robinson), and a genius “true believer” in the paranormal (Adam Scott), are recruited by a secret government agency to look into the rampant “unexplained” activity in Los Angeles — all while uncovering Continue Reading