Wednesday, 23 November 2011

"Oi, Hitler! Why’ve you gotta be such a dick?”

Hello Everyone :-)
Now I don’t want to brag but I’ve had a fantastically busy weekend so on Sunday night, when I’d usually be on the way home from the quiz, I was in tears watching Will Young do a wonderful version of ‘Running up that Hill’ (one of my absolute favourite songs) so I missed half of ‘Misfits’ episode 4. But yesterday evening I caught up on 4OD and this is what I thought. As before, I’ll try to be as spoiler free as possible.

So this episode links back to the fantastic Christmas special where the ‘ASBO 5’ sold their powers to Seth the gorgeous powers dealer. The man that bought Curtis’s time travel power goes back to WW2 and tries to kill Hitler. Unfortunately for him things go awry, he drops his mobile, Hitler finds it and uses the technology.  We are then flung back to present day and an alternate reality where the Nazis won the war and they have Seth hostage, making him take the powers of others.

Ok, here’s where I get hypocritical… I don’t mind the use of time travel in this episode. I have whinged about the use of Curtis’s original power in the past but in this it really works. My previous gripe was that a whole episode would happen and then Curtis would just rewind time and fix it all. In this episode the crucial difference is that the time travel power is intrinsic to the story. It’s kind of like a massive game of relay but with powers, it goes from Curtis to Seth, to the bloke that brought it, back to Seth and so on. It’s fun and new to see a power used in this kind of way.

The Nazi element is actually done really well and unlike other Sci-Fi shows that have set episodes within the world of the Third Reich (COUGHdoctorwhoCOUGH) it is very much part of the narrative. For pure balls I commend them, there aren’t many shows that would have one of its main characters go back in time and nut Hitler… I also like the exploration of the characters in this alternate reality, Simon is part of some kind of Nazi youth, Kelly is still doing community service but now with a massive swastika on her uniform, various deceased characters are still alive (try and spot them, there are 3) and Shaun (Craig Parkinson) the probation worker has a similarly relaxed attitude to his position of Nazi prison officer.

Speaking of Craig Parkinson I must say he’s doing a bang up job as Shaun.  Brought in in season 2 as a replacement to Sally the probation worker (the one that gets offed by Simon and kept in a freezer…) and he’s amused me ever since. His attitude ranges from indifference to flat out uncaring and his deadpan delivery is priceless.

Kelly and Seth’s relationship has begun to take flight in this episode and the ‘will they won’t they’ becomes a simple ‘when will they’. Looking ahead to next week their relationship is to be explored even further so our favourite gobby Misfit may still get her happily ever after.

I really enjoyed this episode. The most ensemble episode of this series so far, although Lauren Socha stands out as the wonderful “tart with a heart” and definitely has this episode’s best lines. What it lacks in out and out comedy it makes up for in drama and tension. An acquired taste amongst ‘Misfits’ fans, a bit more humour might have pulled it up to a universal favourite but I like it just the way it is :-)

Right! I need some…

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)
1. ‘My Week with Marilyn’ takes to screens this week. Bringing together two ladies I adore, Michelle Williams and Marilyn Monroe, this has been on my cinematic radar for a while. Also starring Emma ‘Hermione’ Watson ‘My Week with Marilyn’ is 100% Oscar bait and if this review is anything to go by, Michelle Williams should have a gong or two heading her way. ‘My Week with Marilyn’ is released on Friday 25th November.

2. Also released on 25th November, ‘The Deep Blue Sea’ makes the leap from Stage to Silver screen. I do like Terence Rattigan. ‘After the Dance’ is a fantastic play, I know people mock that he just writes about posh middle class people but I think the themes in his work are universal.  I’ve not seen the play but ‘The Deep Blue Sea’ looks like it could be something special, what with Rachel Weisz and Tom ‘Loki’ Hiddleston in the starring roles.

3. There’s a whole host of new ‘Doctor Who’ shizzle doing the rounds. Here is the first official photo and a very exciting trailer for the Christmas Special ‘The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe’ to get your teeth into! I know I have not yet addressed the giant Sonic Screwdriver wielding elephant in the room but I’m getting round to it, there’s a lot to weigh up, so watch this space :-)

4. The video has been released that persuaded Amy Adams to join the cast of the Muppets. If someone made something like that for me I think I’d be persuaded to do just about anything. I mean how any one can say no to Jason Segel is beyond me but just in case he alone was not enough, Kermit stepped in to seal the deal. Btw… 79 days to go!

5. New character Banners for the ‘Avengers’ have been released. The Bruce Banner/Hulk one is a highlight. I’m developing a massive crush on Jeremy Renner, especially his arms…

6. Pictures from Ridley Scott’s ‘Prometheus’ have emerged. I haven’t written about this before now but I’ve been keeping tabs on it. Up until this point ‘Prometheus’ has been a mystery shrouded in an enigma wrapped in unanswered questions, all we’ve actually been told is that it will exist in the same universe as ‘Alien’ and it's a kind of prequel. But today we have some actual pictures showing a massive stone face and some of the lovely cast. Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Rafe ‘Son of Timothy’ Spall and (my current obsession) Michael Fassbender are all in it. I’m excited :-)

Well if that lot doesn’t make you cheerful I don’t know what will!

Goodbye till next time :-)
x x x x x x x x x x x x x

No comments:

Post a Comment