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The X-Files – 2Shy (Review)

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Darren

This November (and a little of December), we’re taking a trip back in time to review the third season of The X-Files and the first (and only) season of Space: Above and Beyond.

A lot of the success of the third season of The X-Files came for learning what had worked earlier, and trying to hone that.

So, for example, the epic mythology of Colony and End Game enabled episodes like Nisei and 731 along with Piper Maru and Apocrypha. Shows like Die Hand Die Verletzt and Humbug had proven that the show could do comedy, so it wasn’t as big a risk to commit to stories like Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose or Jose Chung’s “From Outer Space.” Even episodes like Fresh Bones had helped to define what a standard “monster of the week” should look like.

Freak like me…

This approach to the third season had its drawbacks. It seemed like the first chunk of the first season was stuffed with supernatural revenge stories, to the point where it is surprisingly easy to confuse The List and The Walk on the basis of title and theme alone. However, it was a very effective way of producing television. It is very hard to fault any approach towards television production that could turn “fat-sucking vampire” into a premise that works.

The genealogy of 2Shy is quite easy to trace. It is the obvious synthesis of Tooms and Irresistible, two of the more memorable and effective monster stories of the first two seasons. 2Shy may have some very serious problems, but it does what it says on the tin.

Fresh bones…

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Filed under: The X-Files | Tagged: chris carter, David Nutter, fat shaming, fatshaming, internet, jeff vlaming, mulder, nineties, on-line dating, online dating, scully, serial killers, sexism, Television, timorthy carhart, weightism, x-files | 3 Comments »

“You Shiver In Such An-tici-pation”: Upcoming Releases and the Waiting Game…

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Darren

It’s a bit of a defunct popular witticism that the actual purpose of the internet is not to increase global communication or facilitate and encourage the development and spread of ideas, but exists solely for pornography. I don’t think that’s necessarily true (in fact, it only accounts for 1% of the internet). Instead, I’d argue that the internet exists primarily to provide spoilers, casting calls, plot summaries, set pictures and gossip around all the upcoming releases. In an era where even fictitious characters have facebook and twitter accounts, it sometimes feels like information overload, with constant updates about the status of a given project and director and cast.

All at sea?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bloggers, Captain Haddock, Crab With the Golden Claws, critics, film discussion, green lantern, Hergé, internet, Red Rackham's Treasure, review, Secret of the Unicorn, spoilers, steven spielberg, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, tintin | 6 Comments »

When the Sheen Comes Off: The Lonely Ballad of Charlie Sheen…

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Darren

It’s human nature to want to rubberneck at some grotesque car wreck. I have no idea where that grim compulsion is rooted, but it is buried deep within our human nature – we can’t resist it, like some form of morbid curiosity. In fact, on major motorways, the problem is so intense in that it has been suggested in the Netherlands that police should erect blank screens to stop passing drivers from peering at accidents. As I watch Charlie Sheen’s continuing descent into madness (because it seems – defying the laws of nature – like there is no rock bottom), I can’t help but wonder if we should do something similar about the actor’s recent attempts to train wreck his career.

He's not Half the Man he used to be...

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Filed under: Movies, Television | Tagged: actor, addiction, CBS, CharlieSheen, Chuck Lorre, democratic media, drugs, giving the people what they want, Health, internet, media, Platoon, Television, Two and a Half Men, Wall Street | 5 Comments »

Do We See Too Much of a Film Before It’s Released?

Posted on July 11, 2010 by Darren

Last month I bemoaned the fact that trailers give away too much of a film, but I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t just the general way that the Hollywood publicity machine works. I bring this up because I’ve been thinking a bit about Inception, which in opening this week. With the exception of the (rather excellent sounding) trailer, I’ve been trying really hard not to spoil the film for myself. And, in attempted to so, I’ve only really started to notice just how much of a movie we put on-line before its official release.

The internet is flooded with Inception clips...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Christopher Nolan, clips, films, Inception, information, information age, information overload, internet, Movies, previews, sneak peaks, spoilers, too much, web | 10 Comments »

Seeing it First Here, It’s Great!

Posted on July 10, 2009 by Darren

I’m so used to watching American television and movies that I’ve almost forgotten what it feels like not to know what happens next. The era of the internet means that anything that has aired anywhere is up for discussion anywhere. Sure, you’ll have the odd spoiler notice, but most American web sites take that down once the episode has aired. If you want to participate in the discussion about the shows, you have to jump into the pool of information already circulating out there. So, when Torchwood did the unthinkable during its five-episode run this week (I won’t elaborate here, for any readers in countries still to receive the show), I was shocked.