Let’s cut to the chase: I loved Superman. It’s hardly a secret to those who know me that Superman and Green Lantern are my two favorite DC heroes, probably my two favorite heroes period. So, we get a Superman movie written and directed by James Gunn (Slither, Guardians of the Galaxy) featuring an extended guest appearance by the most notoriously asinine of the Green Lanterns, Guy Gardner, and it all comes together to create a movie that nearly had me in tears more than once.
There was a lot to like about this episode, but the conflict between the Unholy Trinity and the Doctor’s crew was resolved way too easily. Omega, a complex and terrifying villain from the classic Doctor Who era, is reduced to a single scene where he is handily beaten by the Doctor using a weapon that we didn’t really know could act as a weapon. The Rani is eaten by Omega before that, and the Mrs. Flood Rani escapes. There’s a lot of to-do about wishes and a war with the Underverse, but most of it feels like fluff and filler before the final act.
So, let’s dive in and see what that was all about.
Continue readingI’ve spent a great deal of time and energy these last few months talking about Doctor Who and Star Wars. Both are important, formative stories for me. I grew up with them, as well as Star Trek, The Transformers, He-Man, Tolkien, and a dozen or more other properties that still mean something to me. But why spend my time talking about fictitious worlds when ours is slowly going to Hell? The answer is actually very simple, and I’ve already answered it: these are stories that matter, “the stories that stick with you,” as a great Hobbit gardener once said.
They are stories of Hope.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure Andor and Rogue One are the best part of Star Wars. My son will argue it’s the Clone Wars animated series, and he has a good argument for it. But for me, it will be the depths of despair and heights of hope of the Rebellion vs. the Empire in Andor/Rogue One. These final episodes drive home the cruelty and malice of the Imperial regime while highlighting the many sacrifices made by the Rebel Alliance. And it all ties neatly into Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It’s been a while since I found a television show this poignant and relevant.
So, the popular theory this season is that the Doctor would discover he is naught but fiction. And “Wish World” plays with that idea, for sure. But it’s so much more than that. This season makes 15 season of New Who over the course of 20 years, so of course, Russell T. Davies and friends want to give us something big to celebrate that. And boy, do they ever give us something big. There are connections big and small to stories of the distant past and the recent present.
As the Tenth Doctor would say, “Allons-y!”
Continue readingI suppose I should have trusted Russell T. Davies and company a little more than I did going into this episode. After all, I’ve been praising this as the best season of Who since it returned in 2005, if not the best season of Who ever. I was afraid this episode would be a goofy excuse for some musical guests and not much else. I love being wrong about this episode while being right about this season.
Welcome to the Interstellar Song Contest!
Holy Hannah! I thought Andor could not get any better than it was in its first season, but the Gilroy team and Diego Luna keep turning in masterpiece after masterpiece. Star Wars, at its core, has always been about resisting tyranny and oppression from fascist governments. Lucas was definitely on to something when he started with that little $11 million movie in 1977. Here we are, 48 years later, and Andor is continuing to build on those themes in new and interesting ways.
I’ll be honest, given how steeped in the Black Experience this episode is, I don’t know how much I should comment on it. I will say that I loved what it had to say about the importance of stories. I also loved that it continued to hint at the idea that the Doctor is realizing they are a story. This was such a personal episode for the Doctor, bringing back a lot of familiar faces in new ways. All in perfect service to the story.
Star Wars in the Disney era has been inconsistent most of the time. It’s hit highs such as the first two seasons of the Mandaloria. It’s sunk to terrible lows such as the Rise of Skywalker. I’m an old school fan. I love the Original Trilogy and mostly like the Prequel Trilogy, although it’s a bit clunky. And I despise the mess that was made of the Sequel Trilogy and the wasted potential. The Empire Strikes Back has been my favorite Star Wars production since I first saw it in the 1980s. The depth of character and nuance of story come together to tell something dark and brooding, yet full of hope.
“Rebellions are built on hope.”
It’s another episode that reaffirms for me that this is shaping up to be the best season of Doctor Who since it returned to screens 20 years ago. The timeliness of this episode, the relevance of it showing now, is astounding. Germany, Canada, and Australia have all recently rejected the cries and lies of right-wing politics and personalities. The U.S. is foundering under the strain of an incompetent evil built on lies. And boy, does this episode understand all of that, even though it was produced almost a year ago.
All of Time and Space 