The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 7 REVIEW

It's The Walking Dead: Guantanamo style as this week launches into some of the darkest territory from the comics...

Warning: Spoilers ahead! 

Homeland Series 2 Episode 9 REVIEW

The tables are turned as Brody faces betrayal from all corners in this week's 'Homeland'.

Warning: Spoilers ahead! 

Misfits Series 4 Episode 5 REVIEW

Finn searches for answers about his birth father, and ends up with more than he expected...

Warning: Superpowered SPOILERS ahead! 

5 Predictions for Joss Whedon's S.H.I.E.L.D. TV Show

As if The Avengers and The Cabin in the Woods didn't bring a touch of perfection to my Spring cinema visits, the news of the Whedon-helmed S.H.I.E.L.D. TV pilot promises to give a much-needed Marvel injection to 2013. 

Check out some of my early thoughts on the show below (NOTE: Contains 'Avengers' spoilers): 

Hunted Series 1 Episode 8 REVIEW

The first chapter of Sam Hunter's story concludes in one suitably bloody and frenetic hour... 

WARNING: Spoilers ahead!!!

 

Homeland Series 2 Episode 8 REVIEW

Has Brody's time of playing a double agent finally run out in this week's episode? Warning: MAJOR spoilers ahead!

Misfits Series 4 Episode 4 REVIEW

Zombies + femme fatale + bum slugs = rather unconventional Misfits. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Theories of Relativity (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Look Beyond the Curtain)

I was journeying home from a night of karaoke and mojitos, when I realised that Homer Simpson, like all fictional characters, believes he's living in a real universe. 

Now I know what you're thinking. Yes, I had had a few drinks, but I wasn't drunk as such, more tipsy/contemplative. For some reason as I was making my way across Waterloo Bridge, I remembered one of my favourite Simpsons episodes (I think one of the Treehouse of Horror specials) where Homer is transported into our universe and finds himself a 3D figure in a busy downtown US city (presumably LA). As a kid I always felt a little emotional about that ending, watching 3D Homer walking through LA, staring at everything with a mixture of awe and horror (that is until he stumbles upon a cake shop). I think it's the sense of wonder he experienced as he was pulled out of his fictional world into our world. For 30-odd seconds, he ceased to be a cartoon character and was transformed into a (rather odd) being in our own frakked up world. 

Like Homer, I'd pick Springfield over Earth any day.

It's always odd when fictional characters get a glimpse of the fragility of their existence. Another example would be Jim Carrey in The Truman Show (one of his best performances, and a precursor to his other major dramatic performance in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). In the film, Truman learns that his whole life is a constructed reality; he has actually been the star of a popular reality TV show since the moment of his birth. From this point on Truman fights to escape his constructed reality and discover the real world that exists beyond the TV set. It's a very good film - I've often felt it would have been made even better had Truman escaped his reality only to find the film's writer-director Andrew Niccol looking at him. The eeriness of having Truman escape one constructed reality only to find himself within another would have worked well, the equivalent of a celluloid Russian doll. 

As much as we try to trick ourselves into thinking that reality is a fixed form lacking construction, I think our existence on Earth is far more elaborate and malleable than that. Perhaps I am a man of flesh and bone with genuine control over my actions, existence and (ultimately) my fate. 

Or perhaps like Homer, I'm just a 2D cartoon on someone else's canvas. 

Hunted Series 1 Episode 7 REVIEW

The mysterious case is opened, Stephen chooses a side, and Sam's in the greatest danger of the series so far in this week's episode of Hunted. 

I tuned in to episode 7 of Hunted with the knowledge that the series would not be returning for a second season (or at least, not in the BBC incarnation that we have been introduced to). Although I'm disappointed that we won't get the chance to explore this world further, I'm glad we found out now rather than after the finale; this way, I'll be able to watch the finale aware that it's not just the end of this story arc but the series' final hour, and respond to any final questions or unresolved plot-lines with that in mind.

And judging from this week's episode there are bound to be a number of things left open-ended. Sam's luck hasn't improved any since we last saw her. Following his seeming discovery of her secret identity last week, Stephen is torn and betrayed; it isn't long before he's pulling Sam away for a confrontation about her secret identity. In a surprise twist, Sam manages to convince him of her innocence before dad Jack turns him the other way again. I now feel rather sorry for Stephen; he's been ceaselessly used as pawn by both Sam and his father. Hunted paints a rather bleak portrait of familial and romantic relationships. 

No one was more gutted to hear of 'Hunted's cancellation than Sam herself

This brings me to another 'family' relationship, of sorts - the compelling father-son relationship that has developed between Fowkes and Dave Ryder. The two characters met a few episodes back in a staged accident that mirrored Sam's introduction to Stephen in the premiere - initially a chalk 'n cheese (where does that expression come from? As if chalk goes well with anything!?) duo shouting at each other at any given opportunity, they developed a surprisingly tender companionship that was greater explored (and then destroyed) in this week's ep. It was one of Hunted's more subtle and interesting character studies, a bitter old man and a loose cannon special agent forming a bond in an East London boozer. It's also something that's been tragically neglected by critics writing about the series, and it's clear that Fowkes is genuinely in pain following Dave's demise. 

As suspected, it turns out that the team's employer has far more sinister motives than they would have believed - but who would have thought that it would be Polyhedrus, the enormous corporate behemoth, that was pulling the strings all along? This concept of fighting 'in the belly of the beast' could have been an interesting development for a second season; hopefully next week's episode will provide us with an insight into how each character deals or struggles with this knowledge. 

Once again Melissa George is on top form, appearing to effortlessly move through some rather demanding fight scenes as well as conveying Sam's complex emotional state. It's been enjoyable watching her as Sam Hunter, and I can only hope that Cinemax make the right decision and allow the show to continue. 

Seven down, one to go. 

What did you think of this week's 'Hunted'? Do you think the BBC made the wrong decision not to continue with the show? Share your thoughts below!

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick BOOK REVIEW

The end is nigh for Patch and Nora, as Becca Fitzpatrick's Fallen Angel series draws to a dramatic close... 

WARNING: Spoilers after the jump! 

The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 5 REVIEW

It's all broken relationships and torturous decisions as the survivors struggle to cope in the aftermath of last week's events...

Homeland Season 2 Episode 7 REVIEW

Carrie and Brody's twisted relationship takes further unexpected turns and Dana's secret is out in this week's return to form for Homeland... 

Misfits Series 4 Episode 3 REVIEW

Dark Rudy makes an appearance. Curtis draws closer to the trainee probation worker. Jess spills her darkest secrets. And Finn has a rather unconventional family reunion. 

The plot thickens in this week's Misfits. 

Enduring Love: Joss Whedon's 'Firefly'

10 years after network execs pulled the plug on Joss Whedon's sci-fi western, the fandom around Serenity continues to grow. 

Here's my thoughts on why this ship will never run out of steam... 

Hunted Series 1 Episode 6 REVIEW

Jack inches towards buying the dam, Fowkes is set up and Sam's cover is blown in another relentless hour of Hunted.

The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 4 REVIEW

There's the pitter patter of putrefying feet in the most traumatic installment of The Walking Dead yet... 

WARNING: Major trauma after the jump! 

Misfits Series 4 Episode 2 REVIEW

A woman chained to a bed. A telepathic, racist dog. Rudy finding an inventive use for cling film. Just your average week on community service. 

For the love of Walter!

I felt inspired today, to show a little appreciation for the wonderful Walters that make my world go round.

John Luther to return in 2013

John Luther (The Wire's Idris Elba) will be returning to UK screens in 2013 for a highly-anticipated third series

That's right. I'm not pulling your leg - or any other limb, for that matter. 

The BBC have released a brief teaser video confirming that Idris Elba's John Luther will be returning for 4 spectacular episodes in 2013. 

With filming due to begin this month, I would give anything to get an on-set pass (or a script commission) for series three of one of the best shows on UK TV right now. I loved series two (especially the final two-part storyline, was that freaky or what!?) so I'm looking forward to seeing what Elba and creator Neil Cross have planned for us next. 

Check out the BBC video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rU1kQI3HuOA

Are you as excited as I am to see John Luther strutting his stuff in Londontown, 2013? Comment below!

The Devil's in the Detail - Hunted Series 1 Episode 5 REVIEW

This week, Sam took some time out from the good old world of espionage and discovered the joys of Yoga and Nando's... 

I'm fibbing, of course. Find out about this week's life-or-death goings on after the jump.