It’s always been lovely to get a card in the mail, especially around big, important events like birthdays and Christmas. But in the current climate, where the pandemic has rendered many of us physical strangers to each other, they are even more special, a sign that we are being thought Continue Reading
TV
Fear the Walking Dead: “The Key” (S6, E4 review) + The Walking Dead: World Beyond – “Madman Across the Water” (S1, E5 review)
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD SPOILERS AHEAD … AND A SHAMBLING HERCULE POIROT … Two episodes may not necessarily a comeback make but following on from last week’s wholly emotionally resonant episode, “Alaska”, Fear the Walking Dead seems to have its pulse again. While it does still seem to be veering Continue Reading
Star Trek: Discovery – “People of Earth” (S3 E3 review) / The Mandalorian – “Chapter 9: The Marshall” (S2, E1 review)
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY SPOILERS AHEAD … AND THE WARMTH OR TRUE CAMARADERIE AND A PLACE TO CALL HOME It’s rare to find a show that evokes a sense of camaraderie and belonging the way Star Trek: Discovery does. Truth be told, a bold, enduring sense of “made family” has always Continue Reading
Weekend #Halloween pop art: Sweet & innocent Muppets go full blood-dropping horrific
SNAPSHOT“I really enjoy mashing things up…especially things that are considered cute with things that are gruesome.” (James Beck, artist) The Muppets are so cute and adorable! That is until, at the hands of impressively talented artist James Beck, they are not. In a series deliciously titled The Muppet Maniac Series Continue Reading
The Walking Dead: World Beyond – “The Wrong End of a Telescope” (S1, E4 review) / Fear the Walking Dead: “Alaska” (S6, E3 review)
THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND SPOILERS AHEAD … AND SCARY, CREEPY, GROWLY THINGS … Are you afraid of things that go bump in the night? If so, then (a) you shouldn’t be in the zombie apocalypse in the first place and (b) you don’t want to wander into the derelict, Continue Reading
Star Trek: Discovery – “Far From Home” (S3, E2 review)
SPOILERS AHEAD … AND PARASITE ICE! DON’T SWALLOW WHATEVER YOU DO… One of the standout elements that has elevated Star Trek: Discovery beyond a mere addition to an increasingly (and welcomingly) crowded franchise is its resolute focus on finely-realised and fully-formed characterisation. Whatever the merits of its narrative directions in Continue Reading
Friends matter: How Phoebe avoided becoming her evil twin (video essay)
SNAPSHOTAs part of their fascinating series of deconstructing the individual personalities of the characters on Friends, hosts Debra Minoff and Susannah McCullough of The Take take a look at how the twin characters of Phoebe Buffay and Ursula Buffay and how they truly embody the “Evil Twin” concept. (synopsis (c) Continue Reading
Fear the Walking Dead: “Welcome to the Club” (S6, E2 review) + The Walking Dead: World Beyond – “The Tyger and the Lamb” (S1, E3 review)
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD SPOILERS AHEAD … AND SWEET, SWEET ZOMBIES … You could safely say that being smack bang in the midst of the zombie apocalypse is a great big steamy pile of the proverbial. Metaphorically speaking, of course, and as it turns in episode 2, “Welcome to the Continue Reading
Star Trek: Discovery – “That Hope is You, Pt. 1” (S3, E1 review)
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD … AND A LOT SNARKY ANDORRANS AND ORIONS … AND POSSIBLE ICE CREAM CARGO Good lord but isn’t it good to have Star Trek: Discovery back on our screens of choice?! Much of that joy stems from the fact that we have waited 18 long months to Continue Reading
How does Stranger Things set the mood? Lessons From the Screenplay investigates
Stranger Things, an undeniable watercooler hit par excellence which is soon (“soon” being a relative concept in these COVID-delayed times; don’t hold your breath is all I’d say) to treat us to a fourth season of Spielbergian ’80s horror-filled delights, has never been short on atmosphere. It has always had Continue Reading