Doctor Who: Bad Wolf

Doctor: 'Rose.'
Rose: 'Yes, Doctor?'
Doctor: 'I'm coming to get you.'

I didn't see the trailer for this week's episode, so I was totally caught off guard by the re-emergence of the Daleks. So what started out as a fairly innocuous poke at popular British television, suddenly, and rather deliciously, transformed into something quite wonderful. I was chuffed at the prospect of seeing one Dalek this season—but to see half a million of them? I must be dreaming!

Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five

“So it goes.”
“No cat, no cradle.”

Vonnegut’s leitmotif is man, unmoored from the universe: not coming unmoored, or suddenly losing his way, but unstuck, untied. Lost. His books describe a state of being and the process of becoming aware of that state of being: ontology and epistemology, if you’re feeling fancy. The modern condition, if you’re feeling reductive.

True Blood: Escape from Dragon House

Sookie: "This feels a little bit like what a vampire bar would look like if it were a ride at Disneyworld."

The best so far. I laughed out loud several times.

True Blood: Mine

Sookie: "Why on earth would I continue seeing you?"
Bill: "Because you will never find a human man you can be yourself with."

This one was fun. Sookie the mind-reading virgin has got it bad for vampire Bill (because of that sexy, forbidden vamp blood – or maybe it's more than that) and he seems to feel the same way. I have to say again that Stephen Moyer is really breathing life, pardon the pun, into Bill for me. I even like the way he says her name.

Doctor Who: Boom Town

Mickey: 'What are you captain of? The innuendo squad?'

After three top notch stories in a row, this week felt like something of a letdown. I'm not against the slower, more reflective episodes—it's nice to take time out to explore the knock-on effects of prior events—but, after three of the most cleverly plotted/realised stories of the season, this felt like something of a dud. The moral dilemma faced by the Doctor was genuinely engaging—or at least it would have been had they not fudged it. I was curious as to how the Doctor would respond to Blon's plea for mercy. Would he send her back to Raxacoricofallapatorius and certain death, or would he come up with a more humane solution? Unfortunately, we never got to find out. She shed her skin and turned into an egg.

True Blood: The First Taste

Bill: "What are you?"
Sookie: "Well, apparently, I'm not dead."

So vampire blood is better than just about anything. It can heal a devastating spinal injury, enhance your senses, and turn you on at the same time. And of course, it's a metaphor for forbidden sex. Yum. I think.

Wonderfalls: Pink Flamingos

Objects: Pink Flamingos, Mounted Fish, Booster Rooster
Mission: “Get off your ass” and “Destroy Gretchen”

The X-Files: Deep Throat

Case: The disappearance of Colonel Robert Budahas, a U.S. Air Force test pilot.

Destination: Ellens Air Force Base, Southwest Idaho

For our second outing, we continue with the overarching alien and government conspiracy plot. Agent Mulder believes that the missing Colonel Budahas was a test pilot for UFO-based military aircraft. In theory, the colonel cracked because of the extreme stresses his body experienced, and was then "disappeared" by the military because he knew too much. When Mulder and Scully come to investigate, the colonel suddenly returns, but it appears part of his memory was wiped. All of which, of course, is unsubstantiated. Once again, Mulder and Scully get serious interference during their investigation and their evidence gets taken/destroyed, leaving them with nothing, except the cryptic musings of a new mysterious figure we come to know as ‘Deep Throat.’

Terminator Salvation

My guy friends tell me that a great action movie doesn’t need a plot. All an action movie really needs to succeed is a string of intense, adrenaline-pumping chase sequences, shoot-‘em-ups, etc. A cohesive story with well-rounded characters doesn’t necessarily hurt, but such elements run the risk of detracting from the action, thus bringing the whole movie down.

Doctor Who: The Doctor Dances

Doctor: 'Go to your room. I mean it. I'm very, very angry with you. I'm very, very cross. Go to your room. [Pause] I'm really glad that worked. They would have been terrible last words.'

Not only would they have been terrible last words, they were a slightly ropey resolution to last week's cliffhanger. I suppose there was a modicum of logic to it, but it still feels like we were cheated. Still, not to worry—there was enough good stuff in tonight's episode to make up for its somewhat shaky start.

True Blood: Strange Love

Bill: "What are you?"
Sookie: "I told you. I'm a waitress."

Surprisingly, True Blood doesn't suck. I don't know why I thought it would.

Doctor Who: The Empty Child

Rose: 'Not very Spock, is it? Just asking.'

Well, Rose finally got to meet her Spock—and kind of went to pieces over him. I'm not gay, but I suspect that if I were (or a woman for that matter), then I'd probably go to pieces over him, too. Captain Jack Harkness (played by the impossibly handsome John Barrowman) is clearly one fine looking human—and he's everything that the Doctor isn't. He has a sexy spaceship, better (not to mention bigger) sonic equipment—in fact, he has all the trappings of a intergalactic hero. Even the way he wears his criminality is oddly charming. The man's damn near perfect.

Doctor Who: Father's Day

Pete: 'Who am I, love?'
Rose: 'My daddy.'

This episode shouldn't have worked! It had too many things wrong with it. It was more soap opera than sci-fi, the special effects were naff, and some of the science was truly appalling. (Where the hell did that glowing TARDIS key bollocks come from?) Yet it was my favourite episode of the season so far! How the did that happen? I'll tell you how—because despite its many shortcomings, on an emotional level it did everything right.

Smallville: Doomsday

Clark: "Sometimes we can't outrun our destiny."
Lois: "But I thought you were invincible."
Clark: "So did I."

This was the weirdest cliffhanger they've ever done. I don't know what I expected, but it certainly wasn't confusion.

Wonderfalls: Wax Lion

Greetings from Wonderfalls! Wonderfalls is one of those shows that’s incredibly hard to describe to people. It’s about a slacker gift shop clerk in Niagara Falls who suddenly finds herself tasked with missions from inanimate objects that speak to her. The concept sounds so crazy, that it’s hard to imagine how it could be so appealing. But Wonderfalls is one of those rare shows that can keep you smiling and laughing from start to finish with its offbeat, often over-the-top sensibility, and it is thoroughly enjoyable no matter how many times you watch it. The show is a real challenge to review because there’s so much goodness, it’s hard to decide what to comment on. I almost want to say, “Just go watch it,” and leave it at that, but what kind of review would that be?

The X-Files: Pilot

Preface

I was an early convert to The X-Files, getting hooked near the end of its first season, before it exploded in popularity. I quickly became a hardcore fan, watching episodes repeatedly and obsessing over the mythology details and character interactions. My obsession began to wane in later years, as Mulder and Scully were featured less prominently and the mythology became hopelessly convoluted, but I stuck with it to the end (the bitter end, some may say).

Doctor Who: The Long Game

Adam: 'It's going to take a better man than me to get in between you two'.

Okay, well that was pretty blunt. Clearly, it's now obvious to all and sundry that something is developing between Rose and the Doctor. Adam can see it, the Dalek last week could see it, Jackie knows it, and even Rose looked distinctly unfazed at the thought of there being something less than platonic about her relationship with the Doctor. Maybe next week they should just be done with it and have someone singing 'Rose and the Doctor sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G.'

Last week, the Doctor seemed less than enthusiastic about taking Adam along with them, yet this week saw him priming Rose with future facts, which she then used to dazzle a bewildered Adam. Clearly, the Doctor doesn't see Adam as a credible romantic threat. At least, he didn't. The Doctor has a habit of treating those he dislikes like they're idiots. Take Mickey for, example—when was the last time you heard the Doctor say anything positive about him? As the episode progressed, however, Adam started to elicit a similarly negative response. Green eyed monster, anyone?

Russell T. Davies revealed in Doctor Who Magazine that the script for 'The Long Game' was originally submitted to the BBC in the early 80's—only to be rejected. That would be around the Peter Davison/Colin Baker era—which probably explains why it felt like an episode of Classic Who. It also felt like a very average episode. The idea of the press sowing misinformation to further someone's devilish agenda would probably have fared better in the 80's—back when the idea hadn't been done to death a thousand times. Obviously some thought went into shortening the Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe's name to Max—no doubt to remind us of Robert Maxwell—but it still felt like a dated attempt at satire.

Adam also felt dreadfully underused. In 'Dalek', we were informed of his genius—albeit by Adam himself, so maybe he and the Doctor aren't too dissimilar after all, both clearly possessing enormous egos—but we never got to see him do anything particularly clever. All he did was attempt to send future secrets back to his mum's answering machine. That seems more greedy than genius-y. Adam also notched up the unenviable distinction of being the first person ever (if memory serves me correct) to have his TARDIS privileges revoked. Nice one, Adam.

Simon Pegg (who I'm a fan of from Spaced and his various movie outings) chipped in with an enjoyable performance as The Editor. True, he couldn't pronounce 'Jagrafess' to save his life, instead calling him the Mighty Jagrafress of the Holy Hadrajassic Maxaraddenfoe (instead of the Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe), but I can't pronounce it either—so I won't hold it against him. I was a little disappointed, however, with Tamsin Greig's contribution. They should have given her more to do. One half-arsed American Express quip ('That'll do nicely'), and catching some congealed vomit in a bowl, doesn't make for a particularly memorable cameo.

Whinging aside, Eccleston and Piper shone as usual. They've really grown into their roles these past few weeks—I actually see them as the Doctor and Rose now, rather than just Billie and Chris—and the inclusion of Adam as part-time companion gave the episode a different vibe, with Adam taking on the role of newcomer, and the Doctor and Rose functioning as hosts. I do like the idea of a second companion—it takes me back to the days of Jamie McCrimmon—but Adam was such a wet fish that I wasn't at all sad to see him go. Will he ever come back? Meh!

Other Thoughts:

—Why was this episode called 'The Long Game'? Not an easy question to answer based on episode content alone. I think it relates to something said in the season finale, so I guess I'll comment on it then—if I remember.

—Why do people have to be dead to work on floor 500? Because of the cold? Because dead men tell no tales? And why did the hot air have to be pushed down through the building? Why not up and out?

—Our 'Bad Wolf' reference of the week: one of the broadcast channels was called Bad Wolf TV.

Billie says...

Typical dystopian plot, and not done well. The masses suffer while being fed stories of the wonderful place where they can go if they're very, very good (floor 500), and when they get there, it's a horrible, brain-sucking, freezy death. A newcomer forces the suffering masses to see things in a whole new way and inspires them to rebel. (*yawn*) I should have realized this would be a bad episode when we traveled 198,000 years, expecting the golden age of humanity, and wound up in a cheap food court with beef-flavored soda.

The only interesting bits were seeing Rose and Doctor showing a marked preference for each other's company and eventually tossing Adam out of the Tardis on his ear. Greedy, ungrateful Adam, who screwed up the opportunity of a lifetime and will spend the rest of his life with an inconvenient hole in his head.

The Face of Boe was pregnant. How does a big head get pregnant?

Quotes:

Rose: "So all the people on earth are like, slaves?"
The Editor: "Well now, there's an interesting point. Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's been enslaved?"
Doctor: "Yes!"
The Editor: "Oh, I was hoping for a philosophical debate. Is that all I'm going to get?"
Doctor: "Yes!"
The Editor: "You're no fun."

Doctor: "He's your boyfriend."
Rose: "Not any more."

Doctor: "Time travel's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guidebook. You got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verb, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers. Or is that just me?"

Cathica: "Okay, so ladies and gentlemen, multisex, undecided or robot..."
---
Four moor peaces eye rote, sea hear.

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Franz Kafka's "Before the Law"

Many of us Lost fans have noticed and commented on (both here and elsewhere) the possible resonances between Season Five’s final scenes and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. In that play, two characters wait for Godot, who doesn’t show up. Godot might, or might not, be God, and it’s easy to read the play as espousing a sardonic existentialism not unmixed with religious cynicism. Ben’s despair—maybe even disgust—at having been kept waiting, and his anger at being so facilely dismissed by Jacob, might place Jacob in the role of the mysterious Godot, and hint at both religious and philosophical themes that seem in keeping with Lost’s willingness to grapple with the big stuff, while not being afraid to blow things up.

Supernatural: Lucifer Rising

Dean: "You can take your peace and shove it up your lily-white ass. Because I'll take the pain and the guilt. I'll even take Sam, as is. It's a lot better than being some Stepford bitch in paradise."

They did it. They actually did it. Lucifer rose. I shouldn't have been surprised after Dean actually went to Hell in last season's finale. The writers/producers of Supernatural will apparently dare anything.

Lost: The Incident (Both Parts)

Sawyer: "What do you think, Blondie?"
Juliet: "Live together, die alone."

Lots of introspection. Lots of exposition. A two-hour episode about a character we'd never met before, and he died at the end. I was looking at the clock at twenty to eleven and thinking, you know, nothing has really happened yet. And then everything went nuts, so be careful what you wish for.

Fringe: There’s More Than One of Everything

“Do you recognize this?”

In the philosophy of this show, déjà vu (as we discussed last week) is a window into another world—it’s the experience we have when our alterna-selves have already undergone what we’re undergoing. But I’m not actually sure this makes sense. If we have alterna-worlds and alterna-selves, why does our consciousness remain consistent across the boundaries between the worlds? That would imply that our identity remains constant despite the circumstances that it has experienced, and which would probably transform it. So these alterna-verses into which some of us can glimpse, and others can travel, must be ones that are closer to our present world than, say, Upside-Down Land—because how could I, Josie, exist in Upside-Down Land, when my identity and physical body required Newtonian gravity?

Stephen King's The Stand

I’m writing this review in the week between Lost’s “Follow the Leader” and “The Incident.” If all goes according to (my purely speculative) plan, I’ll be able to post it without any changes moments after the Lost season finale. Don’t read it until you’ve seen the finale, even if I’m wrong (which you wouldn’t know until you read it, or if you traveled through time, which would be so awesome).

This review, by the way, marks the first-ever, much-vaunted Lost Lit Summer Book Reviews. The purpose of these reviews is to... um... well, to review books that have something to do with Lost. And hopefully to reveal something about the books, and about Lost, by doing so. The purpose of these reviews is not to point out super-obvious parallels, except where we can learn something bigger and more purposeful from the parallels. There are many great resources out there that point of similarities in names, places, even themes. But I’m hoping to present something a bit more cohesive than just a list of data, although probably less useful.

Doctor Who: Dalek

Rose: 'It wasn't your fault. Remember that, okay? It wasn't your fault. And you know what? I wouldn't have missed it for the world.'

Rob Shearman did an interesting thing this week. Using Rose as the show's moral compass, he managed to elicit sympathy for the Dalek, whilst making the Doctor look like the bad guy. That's some pretty cool writing. When the Doctor saw the imprisoned Dalek, all he could see was a creature devoid of pity and compassion—a monster, fueled by hatred and the need to conquer and dominate all who stand in opposition to the Daleks. Yes, the Doctor hates the Daleks, but what makes his hatred different from theirs is that it's based on experience. It's personal. He doesn't hate them purely for the sake of it, he hates them because he knows what they're capable of.

Smallville: Injustice

Oliver: "It's been awhile, but I could probably find my way into the ice queen's vault."

Holy double entendre, Oliver.

Dollhouse: Omega

Alpha: "I will shoot it. I will blast the wedge."
Echo: "Go blast it. What's stopping you, Edward Scissorpud?"

We got a lot of answers, as well as a lot of intriguing questions. And they still managed to leave us with great possibilities for a second season.

Doctor Who: World War Three

Rose: 'Mum, if you saw it out there, you'd never stay home.'

Well, at least Jackie believes in aliens now. That's just made Rose's life a whole lot easier. Or maybe more difficult—I can't decide.

Supernatural: When the Levee Breaks

Dean: "I guess I found my line. I won't let my brother turn into a monster."

Incredibly painful. Possibly the most upsetting episode of Supernatural I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot. When Dean and Sam were tearing into each other in that hotel room, it was almost too much. Watching Sam turn on Bobby was just as wrenching.

Star Trek. It's baaccckk

Kirk: "Who was that pointy-eared bastard?"
McCoy: "I don't know. But I like him."

[This review is mostly non-spoilery. I have things to say that may spoil, but it's at the bottom under scads of spoiler space.]

When you reboot a beloved institution, you have to go in a new direction, while somehow retaining the core of what everybody originally loved about the old direction. It's not a task for the faint of heart. I love J.J. Abrams for doing this. And I think he pulled it off.

You know why? Because he got the characters right. And then he picked the perfect actors to play them.

Lost: Follow the Leader

Kate: "It was not all misery."
Jack: "Enough of it was."

Clearly, the big question is whether the good things that happened in the past three years outweigh the bad. For Jack, they don't. For Kate, apparently, they do.

Doctor Who: Aliens of London

Rose: 'He's not my boyfriend, Mickey. He's better than that. He's much more important.'

The theme this week was consequences. Rose returned home twelve months after leaving earth, to find herself (a) on the missing persons list and (b) in the doghouse with her nearest and dearest. It was Rose's choice to travel with the Doctor, but one thing she didn't bargain on is how that decision would affect those she left behind.

Fringe: The Road Not Taken

“The potential for destruction in each of us is infinite.”

In 1935, Austrian physicist Erwin Schrodinger hypothesized a now-infamous cat experiment. Imagine if you put a cat in a sealed box with a vial of chemicals that has even odds of breaking or not breaking within 24 hours. The next day, before you open the box, the cat is both dead and alive. Both possible realities exist until empirical evidence points you toward the one you are inhabiting.

Guest Writers Gone Wild (Summer Reviewing Plans, Part Deux)

Jess and Josie are hard at work planning an exciting summer of reviewing zaniness. Here's what to look forward to:

Doctor Who: The Unquiet Dead

Doctor: 'I'm so glad I met you.'
Rose: 'Me, too.'

That's three times in three episodes that Rose has almost died: once in the present, once in the future, and this week she almost died in the past. (Ghosts from A Christmas Carol, anyone?) So, is Rose ready to admit that life with the Doctor is simply too dangerous? Errr... not really, no. I have to say, were I a ten year old boy again, I'd have been terrified by tonight's episode. In fact, even as an adult, seeing Mrs Pearce come back from the dead, all Danny Glick eyes and mouth spewing forth blue vapour, I was still looking for a cushion to hide behind. A very macabre Dickensian tale from Mark Gatiss—quite literally in view of the fact that Dickens himself played a central role.

Fringe: The Dreamscape

“For some, it’s too much to take.”

Here’s a story for you: A man really, really wants a car. But this guy—let’s call him Bob—doesn’t have a great job, and has an even worse credit rating. So he scrimps and he saves and he finally makes enough to get a car. The catch? He has to get his car in Mexico, where things are generally a bit cheaper.

Doctor Who: The End of the World

Doctor: 'Everything has its time, and everything dies.'

A story of two halves this week. On the one hand, we had a rather lightweight yarn about vanity gone mad—on the other, a profound tale about loss and the end of the world. Oh, and the Doctor tried to get off with a tree.

Dollhouse: Briar Rose

Boyd: "Sorry, Agent Ballard. You don't get the girl."

Holy crap.

The X-Files

Season 1 | Season 2 |
Season 3 | Season 4 |
Season 5 | Season 6 |
Season 7 | Season 8 |
Season 9 | and then...
Season 10 | Season 11 |
Related Links | Cast |

The X-Files (1993-2002 and 2016-2018) is the story of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, two FBI agents investigating the paranormal. The show features stand-alone "freak of the week" episodes, as well as a complex overarching mythology about alien visitation and experimentation and a massive government conspiracy to cover up The Truth. The show was that rarest of breeds: a minor sci-fi cult hit that became a major network success. Starting out in the Friday "death slot" on FOX in 1993, The X-Files flew under the radar for its first season, then suddenly exploded in the ratings in its second season. Its combination of creepy, scary stories and anti-government paranoia – not to mention the great partnership between the leads – captured the imaginations of millions of loyal X-Philes, and eventually earned the show a marquee time slot on Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m., where it stayed until its conclusion in 2002.

Our X-Files reviews began with Jess Lynde, who started the project in May, 2009. She was later joined by ChrisB, drnanamom, Heather, Juliette and Mallena. Reviews of the first nine seasons were finally completed in January 2018. Revival seasons 10 and 11 were reviewed as they aired. And now it's done! (Unless there is a season twelve.)

Season One

1.1 The X-Files
1.2 Deep Throat
1.3 Squeeze
1.4 Conduit
1.5 The Jersey Devil
1.6 Shadows
1.7 Ghost in the Machine
1.8 Ice
1.9 Space
1.10 Fallen Angel
1.11 Eve
1.12 Fire
1.13 Beyond the Sea
1.14 Gender Bender
1.15 Lazarus
1.16 Young at Heart
1.17 E.B.E.
1.18 Miracle Man
1.19 Shapes
1.20 Darkness Falls
1.21 Tooms
1.22 Born Again
1.23 Roland
1.24 The Erlenmeyer Flask

Season Two

2.1 Little Green Men
2.2 The Host
2.3 Blood
2.4 Sleepless
2.5 Duane Barry
2.6 Ascension
2.7 3
2.8 One Breath
2.9 Firewalker
2.10 Red Museum
2.11 Excelsis Dei
2.12 Aubrey
2.13 Irresistible
2.14 Die Hand die Verletzt
2.15 Fresh Bones
2.16 Colony
2.17 End Game
2.18 Fearful Symmetry
2.19 Død Kalm
2.20 Humbug
2.21 The Calusari
2.22 F Emasculata
2.23 Soft Light
2.24 Our Town
2.25 Anasazi

Season Three

3.1 The Blessing Way
3.2 Paper Clip
3.3 DPO
3.4 Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose
3.5 The List
3.6 2Shy
3.7 The Walk
3.8 Oubliette
3.9 Nisei
3.10 731
3.11 Revelations
3.12 War of the Coprophages
3.13 Syzygy
3.14 Grotesque
3.15 Piper Maru
3.16 Apocrypha
3.17 Pusher
3.18 Teso dos Bichos
3.19 Hell Money
3.20 Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'
3.21 Avatar
3.22 Quagmire
3.23 Wetwired
3.24 Talitha Cumi

Season Four

4.1 Herrenvolk
4.2 Home
4.3 Teliko
4.4 Unruhe
4.5 The Field Where I Died
4.6 Sanguinarium
4.7 Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man
4.8 Tunguska
4.9 Terma
4.10 Paper Hearts
4.11 El Mundo Gira
4.12 Leonard Betts
4.13 Never Again
4.14 Memento Mori
4.15 Kaddish
4.16 Unrequited
4.17 Tempus Fugit
4.18 Max
4.19 Synchrony
4.20 Small Potatoes
4.21 Zero Sum
4.22 Elegy
4.23 Demons
4.24 Gethsemane

Season Five

5.1 Redux
5.2 Redux II
5.3 Unusual Suspects
5.4 Detour
5.5 Post-Modern Prometheus
5.6 Christmas Carol
5.7 Emily
5.8 Kitsunegari
5.9 Schizogeny
5.10 Chinga
5.11 Kill Switch
5.12 Bad Blood
5.13 Patient X
5.14 The Red and the Black
5.15 Travelers
5.16 Mind's Eye
5.17 All Souls
5.18 The Pine Bluff Variant
5.19 Folie a Deux
5.20 The End

The X-Files movie: Fight The Future

Season Six

6.1 The Beginning
6.2 Drive
6.3 Triangle
6.4 Dreamland
6.5 Dreamland II
6.6 How the Ghosts Stole Christmas
6.7 Terms of Endearment
6.8 The Rain King
6.9 S.R. 819
6.10 Tithonus
6.11 Two Fathers
6.12 One Son
6.13 Agua Mala
6.14 Monday
6.15 Arcadia
6.16 Alpha
6.17 Trevor
6.18 Milagro
6.19 The Unnatural
6.20 Three of a Kind
6.21 Field Trip
6.22 Biogenesis

Season Seven

7.1 The Sixth Extinction
7.2 The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati
7.3 Hungry
7.4 Millennium
7.5 Rush
7.6 The Goldberg Variation
7.7 Orison
7.8 The Amazing Maleeni
7.9 Signs & Wonders
7.10 Sein und Zeit
7.11 Closure
7.12 X-Cops
7.13 First Person Shooter
7.14 Theef
7.15 En Ami
7.16 Chimera
7.17 all things
7.18 Brand X
7.19 Hollywood AD
7.20 Fight Club
7.21 Je Souhaite
7.22 Requiem

Season Eight

8.1 Within
8.2 Without
8.3 Patience
8.4 Roadrunners
8.5 Invocation
8.6 Redrum
8.7 Via Negativa
8.8 Surekill
8.9 Salvage
8.10 Badlaa
8.11 The Gift
8.12 Medusa
8.13 Per Manum
8.14 This is Not Happening
8.15 Deadalive
8.16 Three Words
8.17 Empedocles
8.18 Vienen
8.19 Alone
8.20 Essence
8.21 Existence

Season Nine

9.1 Nothing Important Happened Today
9.2 Nothing Important Happened Today II
9.3 Dæmonicus
9.4 4-D
9.5 Lord of the Flies
9.6 Trust No 1
9.7 John Doe
9.8 Hellbound
9.9 Provenance
9.10 Providence
9.11 Audrey Pauley
9.12 Underneath
9.13 Improbable
9.14 Scary Monsters
9.15 Jump the Shark
9.16 William
9.17 Release
9.18 Sunshine Days
9.19 The Truth, Parts I and II

The X-Files movie: I Want to Believe

Season Ten (2016)

10.1 My Struggle
10.2 Founder's Mutation
10.3 Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster
10.4 Home Again
10.5 Babylon
10.6 My Struggle II

Season Eleven (2018)

11.1 My Struggle III
11.2 This
11.3 Plus One
11.4 The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat
11.5 Ghouli
11.6 Kitten
11.7 Rm9sbG93ZXJz
11.8 Familiar
11.9 Nothing Lasts Forever
11.10 My Struggle IV

Related Links

Doux Top Twenty! Number 8: The X-Files
Five Fandoms I Happened to Catch at the Right Time
The X-Files movie: I Want to Believe
The X-Files returns in 2016. Get ready!
The X-Files movie: Fight The Future
Aquarius pilot review
The Fall reviews

Cast

Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully)
David Duchovny (Fox Mulder)
Mitch Pileggi (Walter Skinner)
Robert Patrick (John Doggett)
Tom Braidwood (Melvin Frohike)
William B. Davis (CGB Spender)
Bruce Harwood (John Fitzgerald Byers)
Dean Haglund (Richard 'Ringo' Langly)
Nicholas Lea (Alex Krycek)
Annabeth Gish (Monica Reyes)

Wonderfalls

Reviews | Cast |

Wonderfalls is a delightfully quirky comedy series from Bryan Fuller, in which we meet Jaye Tyler, a sarcastic graduate of Brown University who lives in a trailer park and works as a clerk at a Niagara Falls gift shop to annoy her über-successful family. In the pilot, Jaye begins receiving cryptic "missions" from inanimate objects that speak to her. The only way to silence the objects is to figure out what the mission is and complete it. Wackiness and hilarity ensue.

Although the premise is incredibly bizarre, Wonderfalls is quite funny and often heartwarming. The cast is extremely talented and appealing, especially Caroline Dhavernas as Jaye. Sadly, the show proved too bizarre for mainstream audiences and FOX pulled it after airing only four episodes in 2004. However, 13 episodes were produced and are available on DVD for your viewing pleasure. Although short-lived, Wonderfalls is a highly enjoyable and satisfying series, and well worth checking out.

Reviews

1.1 Wax Lion
1.2 Pink Flamingos
1.3 Karma Chameleon
1.4 Wound-Up Penguin
1.5 Crime Dog
1.6 Muffin Buffalo
1.7 Barrel Bear
1.8 Lovesick Ass
1.9 Safety Canary
1.10 Lying Pig
1.11 Cocktail Bunny
1.12 Totem Mole
1.13 Caged Bird

Cast

Caroline Dhavernas (Jaye Tyler)
Katie Finneran (Sharon Tyler)
Tyron Leitso (Eric Gotts)
William Sadler (Darrin Tyler)
Diana Scarwid (Karen Tyler)
Lee Pace (Aaron Tyler)
Tracie Thoms (Mahandra McGinty)

True Blood

Season 1 | Season 2 |
Season 3 | Season 4 |
Season 5 | Season 6 |
Season 7 | Related Links |
Book Reviews | Cast |

True Blood (2008-2014) is an HBO series based on the delightful Southern Vampire books by Charlaine Harris. It's about a mind-reading waitress named Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) who lives in a world where vampires have recently "come out of the coffin" and are trying to integrate into human society. True Blood is known for its outrageous storytelling and over the top supernatural sex and violence. And Eric Northman.

Season One

1.1 Strange Love
1.2 The First Taste
1.3 Mine
1.4 Escape from Dragon House
1.5 Sparks Fly Out
1.6 Cold Ground
1.7 Burning House of Love
1.8 The Fourth Man in the Fire
1.9 Plaisir d'Amour
1.10 I Don't Wanna Know
1.11 To Love is to Bury
1.12 You'll Be the Death of Me

Season Two

2.1 Nothing But the Blood
2.2 Keep This Party Going
2.3 Scratches
2.4 Shake and Fingerpop
2.5 Never Let Me Go
2.6 Hard-Hearted Hannah
2.7 Release Me
2.8 Timebomb
2.9 I Will Rise Up
2.10 New World in My View
2.11 Frenzy
2.12 Beyond Here Lies Nothin'

Season Three

3.1 Bad Blood
3.2 Beautifully Broken
3.3 It Hurts Me Too
3.4 9 Crimes
3.5 Trouble
3.6 I Got a Right to Sing the Blues
3.7 Hitting the Ground
3.8 Night on the Sun
3.9 Everything is Broken
3.10 I Smell a Rat
3.11 Fresh Blood
3.12 Evil Is Going On

Season Four

4.1 She's Not There
4.2 You Smell Like Dinner
4.3 If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin'?
4.4 I'm Alive and On Fire
4.5 Me and the Devil
4.6 I Wish I Was the Moon
4.7 The Cold Grey Light of Dawn
4.8 Spellbound
4.9 Let's Get Out of Here
4.10 Burning Down the House
4.11 Soul of Fire
4.12 And When I Die

Season Five

5.1 Turn! Turn! Turn!
5.2 Authority Always Wins
5.3 Whatever I Am, You Made Me
5.4 We'll Meet Again
5.5 Let's Boot and Rally
5.6 Hopeless
5.7 In the Beginning
5.8 Somebody That I Used to Know
5.9 Everybody Wants to Rule the World
5.10 Gone Gone Gone
5.11 Sunset
5.12 Save Yourself

Season Six

6.1 Who Are You, Really?
6.2 The Sun
6.3 You're No Good
6.4 At Last
6.5 Fuck the Pain Away
6.6 Don't You Feel Me
6.7 In the Evening
6.8 Dead Meat
6.9 Life Matters
6.10 Radioactive

Season Seven

7.1 Jesus Gonna Be Here
7.2 I Found You
7.3 Fire in the Hole
7.4 Death is Not the End
7.5 Lost Cause
7.6 Karma
7.7 May Be the Last Time
7.8 Almost Home
7.9 Love is to Die
7.10 Thank You

Related Links

The Northman movie review by Logan Cox
TB vs. VD: Which is more infectious? (True Blood vs. The Vampire Diaries)
True Blood poll results: Yes, it's all about Eric (season 2 poll)
Charlaine Harris
Buffy the Vampire Slayer reviews
The Vampire Diaries reviews
Six Feet Under reviews

Book Reviews

Sookie 1: Dead Until Dark
Sookie 2: Living Dead in Dallas
Sookie 3: Club Dead
Sookie 4: Dead to the World
Sookie 5: Dead as a Doornail
Sookie 6: Definitely Dead
Sookie 7: All Together Dead
Sookie 8: From Dead to Worse
Sookie 9: Dead and Gone
Sookie 10: Dead in the Family
Sookie 11: Dead Reckoning
Sookie 12: Deadlocked
Sookie 13: Dead Ever After
The Sookie Stackhouse Series
Sookie short stories: A Touch of Dead

Cast

Anna Paquin (Sookie Stackhouse)
Stephen Moyer (Bill Compton)
Alexander Skarsgard (Eric Northman)
Sam Trammell (Sam Merlotte)
Ryan Kwanten (Jason Stackhouse)
Rutina Wesley (Tara Thornton)
Chris Bauer (Andy Bellefleur)
Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette Reynolds)
Jim Parrack (Hoyt Fortenberry)
Carrie Preston (Arlene Fowler)
Todd Lowe (Terry Bellefleur)
Deborah Ann Woll (Jessica Hamby)
Kristin Bauer (Pam)
Lois Smith (Adele Stackhouse)
Joe Manganiello (Alcide Herveaux)

Supernatural: The Rapture

Jimmy: "When you've an angel inside of you, it's kind of like being chained to a comet."
Dean: "Well, that doesn't sound like much fun."
Jimmy: "Understatement."

With four nearly full seasons behind them, I honestly believe that Supernatural has never given us an outright bad episode. Nearly every one has been good, or outright terrific. There have only been a handful of episodes that were so-so, mostly in season one. Unfortunately, this episode was so-so.