Disqus - Latest Comments for mattmurrell

Re: Dan's Media Digest: DOCTOR WHO, 6.13 – "The Wedding Of River Song"

Matt M — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:49:24 -0000

It was certainly an imaginative episode, and I really enjoyed it. But as a resolution to the S6 storyline it was a disappointment.

My problem is that it all felt too easy. Using the Teselecta was a neat idea, but it meant that nothing particularly dramatic happened. The Doctor simply found a cheap fix to the situation and now everything is - more or less - back to normal.

While RTD’s finales usually ended up a bit of a mess, with an equally cheap fix found to all the Doctor’s problems, they usually had some emotional core or moments to make things feel weightier.

(I’m also finding River less and less interesting as the show goes on. She was a pretty cool character when she first showed up, but Moffat’s insisted on stripping any mystery away from her and showing us nearly every detail of her life. More is, sadly, less.)

Re: Dan's Media Digest: DOCTOR WHO, 6.12 - "Closing Time"

Matt M — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 05:27:03 -0000

I really liked it. Even the sugary "I killed them with love?" ending just about worked for me - it made some sort of sense (which is more than you can say for some resolutions on DW), and even the Doctor acknowledged that "love" was a gross oversimplification of what happened. But I can appreciate that it won't be some people's cup of tea.

About the only bit that didn't work for me was the Amy and Rory bit. Maybe it's just because I caught SJA's "The Death of the Doctor" recently, with its idea that most of the Doctor's companions go on to have amazing lives, often trying to save the world in their own ways, but the idea that all Amy does is go on to be a model / perfume designer felt quite insulting to the character.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: DOCTOR WHO, 6.10 – "The Girl Who Waited"

Matt M — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 07:36:32 -0000

In any of the previous years, I think this episode would have stood out as a highlight. My problem is that S6 has been of such high quality that "merely" good episodes feel a bit disappointing.

And I'm still irked by the lack of even an acknowledgement of the Melody Pond storyline. I'm not asking for much, just a brief mention of the fact that Amy and Rory have had their firstborn cruelly stolen from them and turned into a killer.

Their complete indifference to the fact makes them seem incredibly cold, and makes it difficult for me to really care about that aspect of the show (if the characters aren't bothered by it, why should I be?)

But it's pretty clear now that, in the minds of the writers, Melody / River basically doesn't exist until the next Steven Moffat episode, so I'll have to try and put it out of mind until them.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: DOCTOR WHO, 6.9 – "Night Terrors"

Matt M — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 06:09:42 -0000

It seems as if Moffat is far less involved in the writing of other people's episodes than his predecessor. RTD always (with a few exceptions) wrote the final drafts of DW stories under his reign (which is, apparently, why his own episodes often felt a bit rushed). I just don't get the impression that that's the case with Moffat.

Still, perhaps the fact that this was supposed to air earlier in the run was the main reason it felt so disconnected from the overall storyline. I guess we'll find out next week.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: DOCTOR WHO, 6.9 – "Night Terrors"

Matt M — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 05:46:14 -0000

You're right about the difficulty of portraying realistic, grown-up emotion in a family show, but I think finding a balance is possible - maybe just a line or two suggesting that they're trying to keep themselves distracted or something.

I also think that the show is trying to pull in two directions at once - Moffat is clearly happier writing more serialised storylines, but the he can't just get rid of the show's "traditional" episodic nature. And they've yet to find a way of getting the two to really work together.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: DOCTOR WHO, 6.9 – "Night Terrors"

Matt M — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 04:50:09 -0000

I know that they can't prevent what's happened - but for Rory and Amy to simply reset back to their pre-Melody characters just felt wrong.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: DOCTOR WHO, 6.9 – "Night Terrors"

Matt M — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 16:33:50 -0000

It was a good episode, but...

Not even a mention of Melody / River? Are they now going to spend the next few episodes completely ignoring the fact that Amy and Rory have just had their daughter snatched from them and turned into a psychopathic killer destined to kill the Doctor. (Not to mention the fact that she spends 15-20 years pretending to be their best friend).

I know people are worried about it becoming the River Song Show, but it does make them look a little blasé about the whole thing.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: TV Picks: 29 August – 4 September 2011 (Celebrity Juice, Field Of Blood, Jonathan Ross Show, Million Pound Drop Live, Outnumbered, Red Or Black?, Stephen Fry's 100 Greatest Gadg...

Matt M — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:51:57 -0000

It's not for everyone.

I think Treme sinks or swims depending on how much the naturalistic storytelling appeals to you and how much you "like" the characters. It drew me in pretty quickly, and I generally ended the episodes more than eager to get to the next.

S2 will be a must buy for me. I'm hoping that it gets more in to the politics of New Orleans - as that was one of my favourite aspects of The Wire's later seasons.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: TV Picks: 29 August – 4 September 2011 (Celebrity Juice, Field Of Blood, Jonathan Ross Show, Million Pound Drop Live, Outnumbered, Red Or Black?, Stephen Fry's 100 Greatest Gadg...

Matt M — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 06:01:30 -0000

Great to see Treme S2 in there - as it hopefully means that the boxset isn't too far away.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: DOCTOR WHO, 6.8 – "Let's Kill Hitler"

Matt M — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 05:23:30 -0000

Hmmm...

It was certainly a fun episode.

However, I'm not really buying the whole Melody Pond storyline: Firstly, Amy and Rory just don't seem like a couple who have had their only child snatched from them and turned into a psychotic weapon - I realise that DW is a family show, so you can't have too much grief and despair, but it doesn't ring true at all. Secondly, I don't see why Melody/River is supposed to be the ultimate weapon to bring the Doctor down.

Still, even with these issues, S6 is shaping up as my favourite so far.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: Confession: 21 TV Shows I Missed

Matt M — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 12:10:49 -0000

I don't think anyone should watch The West Wing for the politics -which are annoyingly idealist and (apparently) nowhere near as accurate as some people make out. But in terms of characters and dialogue it's hard to beat.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: Confession: 21 TV Shows I Missed

Matt M — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 08:12:59 -0000

Given that you're making your way through the Wire already, I cast my vote for State of Play. Even if you've seen the film it's still more than worth a go - especially as it's only 6 hours long.

Besides that, I'd also recommend the West Wing. Seven seasons may seem a bit daunting, but it's an incredibly easy show to watch and you'll probably find yourself flying through the episodes. And Angel is probably worth a go as well - though the first half of season 1 is a bit of a slog. I'd actually recommend it over Buffy...

As for the Sopranos... I've seen the first season and found it a little disappointing. No doubt others will disagree.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: Talking Point: what have you series-linked?

Matt M — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 12:16:16 -0000

Torchwood - can't be bothered watching it at the US pace.
The Hour - wasn't overly impressed, but I'll give it another ep or two.
Sirens - though I've only managed to watch a couple, it's better than I thought it'd be.
Camelot - just because I haven't got round to deleting it yet.
Archer - it can be hit and miss, but most eps are pretty funny.

Aside from that I also have a load of stuff from Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: Review: BREAKING BAD, 4.1 - "Box Cutter"

Matt M — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:02:26 -0000

I'm so glad Breaking Bad is back - it's the only must watch TV for me at the moment. It's just a shame that no UK broadcasters are interested in it.

"I prefer it when Hank's proactive and looking for the mysterious "Heisenberg" and his renowned blue-meth."

I've seen it suggested that Hank's sudden interest in minerals has to with figuring out how the blue-meth is made. So perhaps he's being more proactive than we realise? I think the character risks becoming annoying if he spends the season wallowing in self-pity.

Oh, and you've put "Gus" instead of "Gale" a few times in the second paragraph...

Re: Dan's Media Digest: Talking Point: would you watch a foreign-language import channel?

Matt M — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:07:42 -0000

Hmmm... I think we might have a *slightly* biased sample of opinions here. The fact that people commenting on a drama-focused blog prefer drama to documentaries isn't exactly surprising.

Personally, I think BBC4 has a pretty good balance at the moment - it should stay focused on factual shows, with various dramas that might not get a chance elsewhere. We have BBC2 for the more mainstream stuff.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: DOCTOR WHO: series curtailed for 2012, "special run" planned for 50th anniversary

Matt M — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:05:54 -0000

The 13 episodes + Xmas special line is still being pushed by Steven Moffat and the head of communication for BBC1 drama on Twitter. It's also still up on the BBC News website.So I don't think there's any cause for concern. Cohen either made a mistake, or his comments have been misunderstood.

The show is still one of the Beeb's biggest - it gets great ratings and makes a huge amount of money for BBC Worldwide. They'd be insane to mess around with it too much.

Re: DOCTOR WHO, 6.7 – "A Good Man Goes To War" ~ Dan's Media Digest

Matt M — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 16:33:02 -0000

And no-one's ever told her why she's in jail?

Re: DOCTOR WHO, 6.7 – "A Good Man Goes To War" ~ Dan's Media Digest

Matt M — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 16:31:49 -0000

Surely, at some point, she would have thought that a young girl trapped in a spacesuit was a *tiny* bit similar to her own life? The only plausible explanation - for me - is that she doesn't remember most of her early years due to hanging around the Silence.

And I still don't buy River as the astronaut on the beach - if it all turns out to be an amnesiac River Song shooting a flesh-Doctor I will be *very* disappointed.

Re: DOCTOR WHO, 6.7 – "A Good Man Goes To War" ~ Dan's Media Digest

Matt M — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 16:09:54 -0000

I think I'd have gone with three and a half stars out of four. It wasn't perfect, but I enjoyed it. A lot.

I loved the pre-titles sequence - Rory has been a great addition to S6. Things did flag a bit in the middle: I thought the base was defeated a little too easily. But it makes more sense when you realise that the whole thing was designed as more of a diversion than anything else.

The reveal about River was a bit of a damp squib though - as you say, it's all been speculated about for so long now that I doubt there's any revelation that would've taken us all by surprise. I'm just curious as to how any of the opening two-parter makes sense now, as surely River/Melody would remember the events of her own childhood?

And hasn't the wife thing been pretty much confirmed now? The fact that she's Amy's child makes it a it creepy, but it's not like they're related or anything. Nor is her death in Forest of the Dead a problem, as I'm 90% sure there's a line about it overwhelming the regeneration process - in fact, isn't that the whole reason she took the Doctor's place? Better that she dies than he does.

Re: Trailer: BREAKING BAD, season 4 (AMC) ~ Dan's Media Digest

Matt M — Tue, 31 May 2011 15:36:45 -0000

Yay!

Shame no UK broadcasters seem interested in it.

Re: DOCTOR WHO, 6.6 – "The Almost People" ~ Dan's Media Digest

Matt M — Sat, 28 May 2011 18:14:50 -0000

It's made clear in the Confidential that followed the episode that Amy's Ganger was never independent - she's been (unknowingly) controlling it from the birthing chamber thing the whole time. But they could have made that a lot clearer in the show itself.

Re: DOCTOR WHO, 6.6 – "The Almost People" ~ Dan's Media Digest

Matt M — Sat, 28 May 2011 16:11:39 -0000

And when did the Doctors switch boots? The only time they could've done it unnoticed was when they were behind the console. But then doesn't that mean it'd be the original Doctor who went a bit mental with Amy outside the control room?

Re: DOCTOR WHO, 6.6 – "The Almost People" ~ Dan's Media Digest

Matt M — Sat, 28 May 2011 16:05:07 -0000

Matt Smith makes a nice double act.

It was certainly better than last week's (though a few things still annoyed me), but let's face it - this episode will probably be remembered almost exclusively for the cliffhanger.

I'm making a real effort to avoid spoilers for series 6, and, while I've still managed to stumble across a few, a lot of the big developments have come as a nice surprise. The reveal that Amy has been a flesh copy for a while explains some of the stranger elements of the arc (the phantom pregnancy, the eye-patch lady) in a pretty satisfying way. (And my money is on her having been taken during the three-month gap between the first and second episode - didn't she reveal she was pregnant in ep1, then claim that she wasn't in ep2?).

Re: Dan's Media Digest: Review: FIREFLY - The Complete Series (2002)

Matt M — Sat, 28 May 2011 13:00:25 -0000

I quite like Serenity - but more for specific moments than as a film overall. It tries to wrap up some important storylines, but doesn't really have the time (or build up) to make it work.

Re: Dan's Media Digest: Review: FIREFLY - The Complete Series (2002)

Matt M — Sat, 28 May 2011 10:47:31 -0000

For me, the biggest shame about Firefly is that we never got to see how the mythology would have developed. Both Buffy and Angel (and, from what I hear, Dollhouse) got off to slightly rocky starts, only really developing their personalities in later seasons. The film gives us some of the pieces, but I suspect it would have been a lot more interesting if allowed to play out over a few seasons rather than crammed into two hours.