Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1×16 – ‘End of the Beginning’ – TV Rewind

Originally published on Set The Tape

After an episode that put the main plot on the back-burner in order to feature some alien hi-jinks Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns it’s focus to the main story of the mysterious clairvoyant and the hunt for Deathlok, the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Mike Peterson (J August Richards).

The episode begins big, with Deathlok attacking a safe house and trying to kill Agent Garrett (Bill Paxton) and Agent Triplett (B.J. Britt) before moving on to one of the best S.H.I.E.L.D. team-up in the series yet, bringing together a number of fan favourite agents. Knowing that time is short to capture the clairvoyant Coulson (Clark Gregg) calls together the agencies heavy hitters, minus Captain America of course.

The episode sees the return of Victoria Hand (Saffron Burrows), Agent Garrett, Agent Blake (Titus Weaver), and Jasper Sitwell (Maximiliano Hernandez). It’s a good mixture, featuring characters that first appeared in the feature films, in the blu-ray bonus stories, and in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. itself.

The group, with the help of Skye (Chloe Benett) formulate a plan to investigate possible candidates for the Clairvoyant, splitting off into two-man teams. The sequence where Blake and Agent May (Ming-Na Wen) come across Deathlok is a highlight of the episode, with the short but sweet fight being incredibly tense and brutal. There’s not enough time or budget to do a big, all out fight, but the smaller scale really works to the shows advantage, displaying the brutality of Deathlok.

This scene is only topped by the surprise reveal that the Clairvoyant is actually a man named Thomas Nash, played by the iconic horror actor Brad Dourif. Nash is completely paralysed and unable to speak, and as such Doruif can do very little in his scene, yet manages to steal the episode is an incredibly subtle yet great performance. It’s a huge shame that he’s just a puppet that ends up dead by the end of the episode because he would have been a great addition to the show. Perhaps him actually having some kind of precognative powers and having him working alongside the real mastermind would have been an interesting direction that they could have taken the character. Any extra Brad Dourif is a good thing.

The episode feels like the season has begun to grow up, that it’s taking the story far more seriously and is going darker in tone, possibly to become more in line with the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The mention by Sitwell that he’s having to leave the mission to head to the Lumerian Star places the events of the episode firmly at the start of the film, and makes the moment at the end when Hand hijacks the Bus take on a much more sinister tone.

This is the point in the season where things really change for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where there’s no more adventure of the week stories but a major focus on the overarching story and character development. With the major change in the status quo coming from the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier the series is sure to go from strength to strength.


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The Haunting of Drearcliff Grange School – Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

The Haunting of Drearcliff Grange School is the second novel in the series, though the first book itself is a continuation, or rather an expansion of Kim Newman’s novella ‘Kentish Glory: The Secret of Drearcliff School’ which was first published in the 2010 book Mysteries of the Diogenes Club.

Continuing on from the first entry in the series, The Haunting of Drearcliff School follows Amy Thomsett, a young girl that is sent to Drearcliff School after being founding floating on the ceiling by her mother. A school for girls that includes the daughters of ‘Criminal Masterminds’, ‘Outlaw Scientists’, and ‘Master Magicians’, Amy learns that she’s an ‘Unusual’, and that she has powers and abilities that regular people don’t.

Throughout the book the school is portrayed as a combination of X-Men, Harry Potter, and Miss Peregrine’s Home For Perculiar Children. Whilst this is the kind of thing that can often work well, especially in the examples that I’ve pointed out, here it never really gels. Drearcliff school never really feels like a school in the way that the others do, there’s not a big focus on training powers like the Xavier school, or on lessons like Hogwarts. It’s just a place where these girls stay.

The girls themselves, the members of the Moth Club, never move beyond the two-dimensional. The girls lack any real depth or development throughout the course of the book. Even Amy, the lead character felt very disconnected. There wasn’t a huge amount of insight into her thoughts or inner workings. Rather than going on a journey with her we have to experience it from afar, separate to her. The story is okay, with some sense of mystery involved, but due to not having a great connection to the characters or the world it felt hard to become invested in what was happening.

The biggest issue with the book, however, is the language. Much of the book is written fairly normally, but a lot of the dialogue and some of the descriptive language can be very off-putting. I understand that the book is set in the 1920’s, and that the kids are using slang a lot, but when I needed to re-read what a character just said in order to figure out what they meant it can take you out of a story very quickly. For example, the first time you hear the teacher Miss Gossage sets the stage for a lot of the dialogue throughout the book. ‘Mawther Hein to Kentish Gloreah, Mawther Hein to Kentish Gloreah, come in, come in, ovah.’

The Haunting of Drearcliff Grange School is an incredibly hard book to get into, and there were a number of times when I just wanted to put the book down and stop reading. I’m sure that there are many people who will enjoy the book, especially if they read and liked the previous entry in the series, but it’s not a book that I would recommend to someone that hasn’t already expressed a love for the work Kim Newman.


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Star Wars Resistance 1×04 – ‘Fuel For The Fire’ – TV Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

The fourth episode of Star Wars Resistance puts world building on the back burner to take some much needed time to focus on its lead character, Kaz (Christopher Sean). Having learned in the previous episode that he needs to slow down a little and focus on his cover as a mechanic, rather than his mission as a spy, Kaz struggles to keep that focus, wanting to revel in the exciting life of the racers on the Colossus rather than the skills of the trade.

Unfortunately, Kaz is still a young man and his attention isn’t the best. He quickly falls afoul of the manipulations of a rival racing team led by Jace Rucklin (Elijah Wood). It’s obvious from the beginning that Jace and his gang, Lin Gaava (Rachael MacFarlane) and Gorrak Wiles (Eric Bauza), are out to take advantage of Kaz, but at least they do something to earn his trust and respect. Saving his life during an ‘accident’ is a pretty good plan as far as these kinds of episodes, but you can’t help but feel that Kaz is being something of an idiot.

By the end of the episode Kaz figures out that he has been used by Jace, in this case in order to steal experimental fuel, and chooses to do the right thing and rescue Jace from a fiery death. Kaz realises that he’s been used, yet risks his life for the person that betrayed his trust. This is the Kaz that Poe (Oscar Isaac) saw when he first met him; the brave man hidden within the brash kid. It’s this that appears to have finally earned the respect of Yeager (Scott Lawrence).

Despite the focus on Kaz, we do learn a little more about Yeager here too. We were told that Yeager was in the Rebel Alliance in the first episode, but now we get confirmation that he was also an X-Wing pilot that served during the Battle of Jakku, the final battle against the Galactic Empire as depicted in Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Star Wars Aftermath: Empire’s End. However, most intriguingly is that Jeager had a wife and child. As there’s been no mention of his family to date in the show, it’s probably a safe bet that he’s since lost them and that this will play into why he doesn’t want to be a part of the Resistance. Personally, it’s the most fascinating story element in the season so far; and one that I’m looking forward to seeing explored further.

The animation in this episode looks particularly great too. The speeder-bike race across the surface of the ocean is some of the best that Star Wars Resistance has given. With so much of the show being set within the sky or the cramped corridors and hangers of the Colossus, it’s hard to appreciate how beautiful the new animation style can be. Hopefully the series will explore some more varied environments again at some point so that we can have more of this.

‘Fuel For The Fire’ feels like a much smaller episode in a lot of ways and definitely benefits from this. The attention to character is a welcome change of pace and introduces a number of elements that the show can continue to explore as the season progresses.


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Pokemon Let’s Go – The Game Boy Games

Originally published on Set The Tape

With the release of the first full Pokemon games on the Nintendo Switch, Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee, we take a look back at the previous entries in the third biggest video game franchise ever made, starting with the Gameboy games.

Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow

Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue were the first western releases in the franchise created by Game Freak. Set in the fictional region of Kanto, players take control of 10-year-old Red, a fledgling Pokemon trainer who is given their first Pokemon by Professor Oak. The player sets out into the world to earn Gym Badges, compete in the Pokemon League and ‘catch ’em all’.

Whilst simple in comparison to later games in the series, these first two established elements that would become series staples; and thanks to the tie in anime series and massive merchandising, it produced some of the most iconic Pokemon creatures of all time.

Released shortly afterwards, Pokemon Yellow took the popular animated series and made it into a game. Building on the previous entries, Yellow changed the central character to Ash Ketchum and took away the multiple choice starter Pokemon, replacing them with a Pikachu that would follow behind you on screen.

The game made other minor changes, including changing some character models to match their television counterparts, as well as moving the locations of some Pokemon in order to create a different experience.

Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal

The first real sequel, Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver, were a radical improvement on the previous generation. Shifting the action to the new region of Johto, the games were able to introduce 100 new creatures, as well as a new breeding mechanic, gendered Pokemon, a night and day cycle, and more.

Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver were a radical new direction for the series, keeping all of the elements that made the first games great, yet addressing all of the issues that plagued them. The new additions were such a good improvement that they would remain staples of the franchise for decades and would inform all other subsequent entries.

As with Yellow in the previous generation, Pokemon Crystal took Gold and Silver and made a number of alterations. Crystal made big changes to the story, focusing on the mystical Pokemon Suicune and the alphabet Unown. As well as story changes, Crystal allowed players to choose if they wanted to play as a female character for the first time, along with animations on Pokemon when they entered into battle. This was also the first and only game that was exclusively for the Gameboy Colour.

Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald

The first entries in the series for the Gameboy Advance and the third generation of games, Ruby and Sapphire, took the series to the tropical land of Hoenn, home to 135 brand new Pokemon. Where previous games only differed in what Pokemon were available in each version, now each version also had different villain teams. This didn’t add a huge change to the story but it did deliver the most varied experience to date in a Pokemon game.

They also introduced double battles, where the player fields two Pokemon at the same time, as well as abilities and natures that could add surprising effects and alter the way certain Pokemon battled.

Combining together the two stories was Pokemon Emerald making the player face both Team Magma and Team Aqua. Instead of fighting a single team and stopping the legendary Pokemon, the player travels to a mysterious tower to unlock a new legendary, one capable to restoring balance to the worlds weather. While not a huge departure from Ruby and Sapphire, Emerald did offer a number of cosmetic changes.

Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green

Released onto the Gameboy Advance some eight years after the game series debuted in Japan, Pokemon Fire Red and Pokemon Leaf Green were enhanced remakes of the original Red and Blue, incorporating all of the new features that had been added to the franchise since the first generation.

With updated graphics and gameplay, along with some new story features, Fire Red and Leaf Green were a huge improvement on the original games. Released in 2004 to an audience who may not have even been alive for the first run, these remakes offered some players their first chance to experience the original entries in the franchise and bolstered the experience for those old enough to have been there first time around.


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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1×15 – ‘Yes Men’ – TV Rewind

Originally published on Set The Tape

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was criticised early in its first season for being too disconnected from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with people wanting characters such as Captain America and Iron Man to make appearances. Whilst this would have indeed attracted more viewers it would have taken away from the main focus of the series: the team.

Now that the show has had time to establish its own characters and story it’s the right time to bring in an already established movie character. Lady Sif (Jamie Alexander) might seem like a strange choice of character to bring into the show, but it makes sense for a lot of reasons: she’s got a connection to Coulson (Clark Gregg), she’s an amazing fighter, she brings the team knowledge that helps with the overall story in the form of knowledge of blue aliens, and the fans really like her.

On this occasion Lady Sif has returned to Earth in order to capture the escaped Asgardian villain Lorelei (Elena Satine). A fairly major character from the Thor comics, Lorelei is a surprise choice to appear here as it expands the Thor universe quite a bit. With connections to characters such as Enchantress and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Lorelei now being a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is sure to raise questions of whether or not we will see Enchantress in future films. The inclusion of these characters also showed that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t need to be connected to big events such as the destruction of London in Thor: The Dark World in order to feel integrated into the larger universe.

Within the show itself this episode manages to move some of the character development forward a little, in particular the relationship between Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) and Grant Ward (Brett Dalton). The May and Ward relationship never felt like there was much to it other than two people finding a release for their stress with each other through sex. Thankfully, the relationship came to an end this episode, which puts to an end any awkward love triangles that may come from Ward having a thing for Skye (Chloe Bennet).

The inclusion of the Asgardians means that the episode has the opportunity to up the ante in regards to action, making good use of their enhanced strength to deliver bigger and crazier set pieces than the show usually has. The fight in the biker bar where Lady Sif completely clears house is one of the better moments of the season to date.

The biggest misstep of the episode, however, is how it treats Ward, in particular him falling under Lorelei’s spell and sleeping with her. Whilst under the influence of her magic he’s not himself, his judgement has been altered, and he’s not able to completely consent to the things he does. In short, Lorelei date rapes him. This could have been an interesting area to explore, but the show and the characters seem to completely brush this aside as soon as it’s done, never bringing it up again. I can’t help but feel that some of this comes from the fact that it’s a fit, muscled man going to bed with a beautiful woman that has something to do with this, that changes how people look at it. If this was a young woman being magically made to sleep with an unattractive man people would quickly, and correctly, identify it as being very wrong.

Despite these missteps the episode is actually very good. Yes, it’s a standalone episode, but it’s done so well and is so enjoyable to watch that you don’t really mind that the show isn’t really addressing the main issues such as Coulson’s resurrection, Centipede, and the mysterious Clairvoyant. Hopefully the series will produce more episodes like this, and get Lady Sif back again in the future.


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