Television | the m0vie blog

New Podcast! The Spookies Podcast – “The Legacy of The X-Files”

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Darren

I was thrilled to be invited to join the wonderful Michael and Stephanie Black for an episode of their new podcast, The Spookies Podcast.

It was a fun conversation, in which I got to chat a little bit about the legacy of The X-Files. In particular, we basically speedrun the X-Files filmography of writer John Shiban, who is perhaps the most controversial and divisive of the “classic” writers on the show. It’s an interesting and playful discussion about how the show has aged, some of its blindspots and why it feels so strange to revisit it today.

You can listen directly to the episode below or by clicking here.

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Filed under: Podcasts!, The X-Files | Tagged: badlaa, john shiban, michael black, podcast, stephanie black, the spookies, the x-files, x-files | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On “What If…?” and “Mary Sues”…

Posted on August 25, 2021 by Darren

I published a new column at The Escapist today. I’ve been covering What If…? for A Marvelous Escape, and it’s been a very fun experience. However, I have noticed that’s there’s a weirdly pervasive school of criticism that argues that the show has turned characters like Peggy Carter and T’Challa into “Mary Sues”, a criticism that has become increasingly common in discussions of modern franchise media.

Of course, it’s often very hard to come with a clear definition of what a “Mary Sue” is that doesn’t manage to encompass characters that the person using the description would never describe using such a term. It often seems like an “I know it when I see it” accusation, which can apply to Rey Skywalker but not Luke or T’Challa but not Steve Rogers. More to the point it demonstrates how blind some observers are to the appeal of these sorts of empowerment fantasies, and the double-standard that they appear to hold in an era where most franchise media is effectively fan fiction.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: comic books, Comics, fan fiction, fandom, Luke Skywalker, Mary Sue, rey, superheroes, what if | Leave a comment »

New Podcast! The Escapist Movie Podcast – “Ted Lasso and the Onslaught of Optimism”

Posted on August 24, 2021 by Darren

The Escapist have launched a movie podcast, and I was thrilled to join Jack Packard and Marty Sliva for the twenty-third episode of the year. Because Ted Lasso seems to be generating a lot of buzz and attention, we thought it might be fun to talk about the show, about optimism in popular culture and about the half-hour comedy format in general.

You can listen to back episodes of the podcast here, click the link below or even listen directly.

Filed under: Podcasts!, Television | Tagged: comedy, jack packard, marty sliva, optimism, ted lasso, the escapist movie podcast | Leave a comment »

New Podcast! The X-Cast – Season 7, Episode 7 (“Orison”)

Posted on August 21, 2021 by Darren

With The X-Cast moving on to coverage of the seventh season of The X-Files, and the legacy of Millennium lingering on, I was thrilled to be invited back on to talk about the episode Orison, which feels in many ways like Millennium folding back into The X-Files – it marks the first X-Files script from former Millennium showrunner Chip Johannessen and the return of the serial killer (“death fetishist”) Donny Pfaster.

Orison marks one of the rare times that The X-Files has returned to a pre-existing monster outside of the mythology; the only other major examples are the first season episode Tooms and the fifth season episode Kitsunegari. However, what’s particularly striking about Orison is that Donnie Pfaster is just one facet of an episode that has a lot going. In many ways, it feels like a companion piece to Johannessen’s third season scripts for Millennium, episodes like Saturn Dreaming of Mercury and Bardo Thodol.

You can listen to the episode here, or click the link below.

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Filed under: Podcasts!, The X-Files | Tagged: donnie pfaster, kurt north, millennium, orison, serial killers, the time is now, the x-cast, the x-files | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Video! “A Marvelous Escape” – What If – “… T’Challa Became a Star Lord?”

Posted on August 20, 2021 by Darren

With a slew of Marvel Studios productions coming to Disney+ over the next six months, The Escapist has launched a weekly show discussing these series

This week, I join KC Nwosu and Amy Campbell to talk about the second episode of What If…?, streaming on Disney+.

Filed under: Podcasts!, Television | Tagged: a marvellous escape, a marvelous escape, amy campbell, Black Panther, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, kc nwosu, Star Lord, t'challa, the escapist, what if | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On “The Animatrix”, “Into the Spider-Verse”, “Star Wars: Visions” and “What If…?” and the Potential of Animated Spin-Offs…

Posted on August 20, 2021 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. With the release of What If…? on Disney+ and the trailer for the anime series Star Wars: Vision, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at how best to approach the idea of an animated spin-off.

Animation is a unique medium, with its own particular strengths and weaknesses that distinguish it from live action filmmaking. The best animated films and shows understand and exploit this distinction, and it’s frustrating how committed What If…? is to trying to emulate live action rather to take advantage of the opportunities that animation provides like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse or The Animatrix.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: animation, animatrix, spider man, spider-man: into the spider-verse, star wars, star wars: vision, the animatrix, the matrix, what if | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Video! “A Marvelous Escape” – What If – “… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?”

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Darren

With a slew of Marvel Studios productions coming to Disney+ over the next six months, The Escapist has launched a weekly show discussing these series

This week, I join KC Nwosu and Amy Campbell to talk about the first episode of What If…?, streaming on Disney+.

Filed under: Podcasts!, Television | Tagged: a marvellous escape, amy campbell, captain america, captain america: the first avenger, kc nwosu, marvellous escape, mcu, peggy carter, what if | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! Reviewing “What If…?”

Posted on August 10, 2021 by Darren

I published a new column at The Escapist today. I took a look at the opening three episodes of the new animated series What If…?

What If…? is an interesting step into the Marvel multiverse. It is a series of adventures that depart from the existing shared continuity in interesting ways, imaging alternate possibilities within the established superhero framework. The series itself is at its most interesting when it embraces the possibilities of the shared universe, but it suffers from a weird conservatism. At its worst, What If…? feels far too beholden to what has been rather than would could be.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Television | Tagged: continuity, marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios, the escapist, what if | Leave a comment »

New Podcast! Mr. TARDIS – “Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall Leaving. What Next? + Poorly Animated”

Posted on August 5, 2021 by Darren

I was thrilled to be invited to join the very generous Will Carlisle for one of his weekly live streams at Mr. TARDIS.

I joined him to discuss the news that Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall would be departing Doctor Who together, to explore the complicated politics of the era and to ponder what might potentially follow. It was a fun and broad discussion, and I was delighted to join Will to have the conversation.

You can watch the full live stream below.

Filed under: Podcasts!, Television | Tagged: Chris Chibnall, doctor who, jodie whittaker, livestream, will carlisle | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Video! On Why “The Expanse” Was Shut Out of the Emmys…

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Darren

So, as I have mentioned before, I am launching a new video series as a companion piece to In the Frame at The Escapist. The video will typically launch with every second Monday’s article, and be released on the magazine’s YouTube channel the following week. This is kinda cool, because we’re helping relaunch the magazine’s film content – so if you can throw a subscription our way, it would mean a lot.

With the Emmy nominations earlier last month, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look at how the awards work. In particular, why they tend to overlook particular shows, despite positive reviews and consistent levels of quality. In particular, whether the institution has a longstanding bias against genre television or if there are other factors at play.