Review: Merlin – The Labyrinth Of Gedref
Written by Ian Cullen on November 30, 2008 – 12:04 pm -
By Ian M. Cullen
In episode 11 Arthur kills a mythical Unicorn while hunting. The result of his actions put a curse on Camelot that results in the entire food and water supply, as well as growing produce to be wiped out.
Much of the episode centres on Arthur and we see some real growth in the relationship between Arthur and Merlin here as well. For not the first time in the series Merlin learns that though misguided Arthur genuinely cares for the people of his Kingdom, and isn’t the cold calculating ruler that is Uther, who at one point in the episode orders Arthur to cease distributing the reserve food supplies to the towns folk and hold it back for the solders.
After a time Arthur and Merlin find themselves confronted by the keeper of the Unicorns. A sorcerer by the name of Anhora.
Anhora tells Arthur that he will be tested, and if he passes these tests and proved himself pure of heart he will be able to save the people of Camelot.
In all Arthur is tested 3 times and the third test asks that he make a choice between his self and that of another.
Overall this was a better episode than last week and it was nice to see a Unicorn, which is something you don’t see all that much of in television fantasy or movie fantasy for that matter.
As ever Anthony Head provided a brilliant performance as the prideful and boorish Uther Pendragon, and we got another great moment where the son Arthur goes head to head with his dad, and in the end walks out refusing to carry out his fathers bidding.
This episode in many ways felt a little more like a fable than an actual story, and by keeping things simple it actually stood out for me as one of the better episodes of the series, though it wasn’t quite as good as Excalibur.
Score 7/10
Tags: Merlin, TV Reviews
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This Week in Spandex
Written by Nicholas Yanes on November 29, 2008 – 4:14 pm -Reviews by Nicholas Yanes
This week saw only a few titles start or end a story arc; which is great for me because I don’t have that much time.
- Uncanny X-Men #504
- “Lovelorn Part One: Every Little Bit Hurts”
- Writer: Matt Fraction
- Penciled: Terry Dodson
- Inked: Rachel Dodson
- Publisher: Marvel Comics
I had high hopes when Matt Fraction took over the title and moved the X-Men’s location to San Francisco. And while I still have faith in Fraction’s ability, I feel as though this issue is treading water. Worse, this issue shows that either Fraction or the editors are ignorant of what has already been done.
In this issue we get Peter (Colossus) is moody and overly emotional. So much so that Scott orders him to get his act together. The problem is that with all the people Peter has lost over the years, he shouldn’t be this broken up about Kitty. He killed himself a few years back to stop the Legacy virus, shouldn’t he know how to deal with grief by now? Also, why is Peter scared of a man with weird tattoos? Not only is this power being over done, but the plot for this seems obvious. Scott told Peter to find something to hit if it will help him get over his pain, Peter has found a villain that he is scared of, I wonder how this will play out.
With Scott realizing that Madelyne Pryor is alive – he clearly didn’t get the memo from a few years ago – Emma goes through his mind and encounters the women Scott has ever been remotely attracted too. The big reveal is that Scott has a mental black box that allows him to keep secrets from the world, even Emma.
This story also features two odd subplots. One is of Madelyne Pryor recruiting female characters for her “Sisterhood of Mutants.” The other is Hank and Warren recruiting a ‘Dr. Nemesis’ to work for the X-Men. Here’s a problem though, Dr. Nemesis claims to have created the Original Human Torch, but the Original Torch was created by a Dr. Phineas Horton. As to why Fraction want so complicate Horton and the original Torch’s history more is a bit confusing.
And not to be a spoiler but this issue ends with the X-Men watching a clip from Simon Trask’s “Humanity Now” group showing the destroyed Alaskan town that was destroyed when the Messiah Baby was born. With Trask trying to blame the town’s destruction on the baby and not the human Purifiers who destroyed it.
Though this issue is clearly a setup issue, I really believe it can lead to great story.
Iron Man: Director of Shield #35- “War Machine: Weapon of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Conclusion”
- Writer: Christos N. Gage
- Penciler: Sean Chen
- Publisher: Marvel Comics
That’s a long title for a single issue. Anyhow, this Secret Invasion tie-in features War Machine escaping from the Skrulls and blowing up their ship and two others to boot. This act inspires Russia’s Super-Hero team enough to get them to ignore orders and help War Machine fight off the rest of the Skrulls invading Russia.
If you’re like me – someone who has always liked War Machine, but couldn’t quite figure out where this story is going – this issue answers your question. This story arc has been a prelude for War Machine’s own ongoing series. Which is something I’m not looking forward to. As it stands right now it seems that his series is going to be one in which he battles in his giant megazord (Go Power Rangers, Go), invades the air space of other countries, and is a tool for a white man’s organization. African Americans should be so proud.
- Solomon Kane #1
- “The Castle of Devil Chapter One”
- Writer: Scott Allie
- Artist: Mario Guevara
- Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Solomon Kane is a dream come true for me. As someone interested in both comic books and Puritanism, there is finally a series that bridges both.
For those of you unfamiliar with Kane, this character was created in the 1920s and is a badass Puritan who goes around killing sinners.
The character was created by Robert E. Howard who is best known for bringing us Conan The Barbarian, so that alone makes this book worth a look.
Just buy this issue and put there series on your pull list.
Tags: Iron Man, This Weel In Spandex, Uncanny X-Men
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Missing Believed Wiped Doc to air on BBC2
Written by John Freeman on November 29, 2008 – 12:54 pm -BBC2 is screening a half hour documentary, Missing Presumed Wiped on Saturday 13th December, at 19:55 GMT, up against the final of The X-Factor… so it’ll get about 16 viewers!
It’s probably a repeat of the one that was shown a few years back before the first TV screening of the VidFIREd Dad’s Army episodes but it’s a chance to see what is being done to try and recover TV shows lost from the BBC Archives over the years for a number of years, although of course the main one is that the BBC decided to wipe them thinking they would never be re-aired or re-used. Some early Doctor Who stories were among the victims of this destruction.
It’s followed by an episode of Dad’s Army, which has been restored to colour. While not sci-fi news, quite coincidentally, an off-air sound recording of the missing episode ‘A Stripe for Frazer’ from Dad’s Army‘s second series in 1969 has just been uncovered, complete apart from part of the closing titles and even has the continuity.
The recording belonged to an enthusiast who recorded many radio and TV shows, from 1967 onwards, on to quarter inch tape. It is a line recording although quality is still variable with a level change in the middle. Nevertheless, still better than nothing and an illustration that some of these ‘lost’ British TV gems may still be found. Click here for a list of recent finds.
More about missing episodes here: www.missing-episodes.com/
Tags: BBC, Doctor Who
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