Akira: 35th Anniversary Box Set (2017)

Akira: 35th Anniversary Box Set (2017)

Author + Illustrator: Katsuhiro Otomo  |  Publisher: Kodansha | Page Count: 2530

I knew in advance that Katsuhiro Otomo's seminal six-volume AKIRA manga was 2000+ pages, in total, but I wasn't expecting Kodansha's 35th Anniversary box set to be as mammoth as it is. It's the size of a hat box and heavier than a baby!

The scale of the work deserves a review that's a lot more in depth than I've time to give — the phenomenal world-building alone is worthy of a mini dissertation — so I'll limit my words to the presentation of the physical product, pictures of which are at the end of the post. (The image to the right is edited to fit my posting template.)

I suppose that means it's partially a review of the packaging, but that's not my goal. Given the costly RRP, it's about whether I feel it's worth it or not, but opinions on value will, of course, differ.

The Dark Crystal (1982)

The Dark Crystal (1982)

Dirs. Jim Henson / Frank Oz

TDC is a tale set in an "age of wonder," populated with creatures that are bizarre, cute, and often colourful. The world is rarely at rest; flora and fauna react when something shuffles by, while things scuttle in and out of the frame often, helping the world seem alive.

A v/o narration at the film's beginning is our introduction to the land's history and of the races that populate it. The majority of the story revolves around three of them:

The gentle urRu Mystics, who are like benevolent druids with sad, dog-like faces; they live at peace with nature and appear to be accepting and respectful of its seasons.

Their antithesis is the evil Skeksis, selfish and cruel vulture-like beings that shuffle and stoop menacingly. Terrifying nightmare fuel, the Skeksis give the impression that if you were to get up close to them they'd smell of carrion and mildew (and perhaps a whiff of aristocracy). They scared the crap out of me as a kid... and I loved every minute of it.

The Tyrant King (1968)

The Tyrant King (1968)

Dir. Mike Hodges / 6 episodes, approx 24 mins each.

Adapted from a 1967 children's adventure book (The Tyrant King - A London Adventure by Aylmer Hall, a pen name of Norah Eleanor Lyle Cummins), the story follows three bored British teenagers, siblings Charlotte and Bill and their friend Peter, who overhear a shady man's phone conversation while exploring a stranger's house (aka trespassing).

Overcome with curiosity, and partial good intentions, the trio make it their business to solve the cryptic coded words of the mysterious stranger.

The tagline promises 'A Prog Rock Odyssey Through Swinging London', which is glamorous speak for what's essentially a visual tour of the city incorporated into a Children's TV show.

The New Adventures of He-Man (1990)

The New Adventures of He-Man (1990)

65 episodes, approx 23 mins each.

Jebus, it's really bad. It's not even funny-bad. It's just shit. If you find it on sale for a few notes and actually buy it, then it's the seller who got lucky, not you. I suffered the twenty best episodes as voted for by fans of the series. It's all I could bear to watch. It would be more appropriate to call them twenty of the least worst. I know because I watched most of it on TV the first time around.

New Adventures' version of He-Man is an imposter with a scaled down physique and a different Power Sword. (He isn't really an imposter, but for my own peace of mind I like to pretend that he is.) It continues the story from the original Filmation series, so you'd expect that to mean it's faithful to the character if not the design. But no, it isn't.

The first episode sets up the series: a small group of humans from a future society travel back in time to Eternia. Their mission is to convince a hero to leave his home and help protect the last humans on the planet Primus from the mutant bad guys of a neighbouring world called Denebria.

Suspiria (1977)

Suspiria (1977)

Dir. Dario Argento

Some folks don't connect with Suspiria. I can understand that same feeling with regards to certain other 'classic' films, but even if you hate Argento's film, you can't deny that it's a daring and uniquely constructed piece of visual art.

I agree that it doesn't always make sense and that at times it's little more than staged set-pieces stitched together, but what a stunning canvas they make when viewed as a whole!

Jessica Harper plays Suzy (perfect casting), an American ballet student who's in Freiburg, Germany, to attend a renowned dance academy. The competitive bitchiness of the other students is to be expected, but the mystery surrounding the den of evil that co-exists, that's hidden from plain sight, is the real focus of the story.

Many of Dir. Dario Argento's methods are unconventional. The coloured lights and filters aren't at all naturalistic but like everything else on screen — even the subtle use of flowers on a side table in a corridor — exist for one purposeful reason: to heighten the dramatic effect.

Supernatural: Season 04 (2009)

Supernatural: Season 04 (2009)

22 episodes, approx 42 mins each

There's a four month gap between the end of Season 03 and the beginning of Season 04. What happened in the intervening months?

You won't get the answer straight away, but you will eventually, so stick with it. It's just one of the mysteries that get explored in more depth as the season progresses.

The covers of each Blu-ray box set up until now have been pretty standard and similar. There was the bag of salt on Season 01, but nothing much noteworthy beyond that. The cover of Season 04, however, whether by accident or design, is a lot more interesting.

The third figure, the one positioned between the two leads but set back, as if perched on their shoulders (the right of one and the left of the other, suggesting ambiguity or unclear alliance?), whose voice would be heard as a whisper... yeah, it's probably pure coincidence, but still a pretty cool thing to ponder.

Scream! and Misty - Halloween Special (2017)

Scream! and Misty - Halloween Special (2017)

Authors: Guy Adams / Grainne McEntee / Feek / Kek-W / Hannah Berry / Alec Worley | Artists: John Stokes / Frazer Irving / Tristan Jones / Henry Flint / Simon Coleby / Warwick Fraser-Coombe / Ben Willsher / DaNi / Mike Hoffman | Page Count: 52

'His thirst for blood could be sated, but his longing for something else took hold. He wanted to be part of the hedonism, the nihilism, the dawning of another cycle in life's great illusion.'

Both Scream! and Misty have enjoyed a revived success of late, with two collected editions each (so far), so it made sense for publisher Rebellion to give us more. But what I wasn't expecting was that they'd give us NEW stories set in those worlds!

And they've been updated, set now in the current era of ubiquitous mobile phones and internet access. I can't speak with regards Misty, because I didn't read it back in the day, but the Scream! stuff works just as well despite the cultural and social sea-change since its original run (1984).

There are six stories included, two for each of the titles already mentioned, and two others that feature or bring together characters from other long-dead comics (e.g. Thunder, Buster, Speed, and Jet) that were not deemed important enough, it seems, to get a mention on the front cover and whose surprise inclusion makes it feel like we're getting less of what was advertised by the eye-catching cover art.

The Osterman Weekend (1983)

The Osterman Weekend (1983)

Dir. Sam Peckinpah

A government agency seeks to use one man to catch a group of other men in a political game of cat and mouse. Or is it cat and cat? Maybe it's mouse and mouse?

It's an adaptation of a 1972 Robert Ludlum novel of the same name, so there are the usual scenes of important men getting nervous over dodgy dealings and a twisty-turny ending. It makes you aware that not everyone sees friendship in the same way, and may even stir you to question if the people who claim to be your friends really are when they aren't beside you.

There's an unusual car chase and a few scattered moments where Peckinpah piqued my interest technically, but despite a strong cast his cinematic swansong isn't as memorable as much of what preceded it.

Child's Play / Chucky Movie Collection (1988—)

Child's Play (1988)

Dir. Tom Holland

Charles Lee Ray, aka the Lakeshore Strangler, is hunted by police. As a last resort, and thanks to some convenient knowledge of voodoo magic, the killer manages to transfer his consciousness to a popular kid's toy, the Good Guys doll.

Six-year-old Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) loves the Good Guys franchise; he watches the cartoon on TV, eats the breakfast cereal, and wears the branded clothing. Andy's mom, Karen, a single parent, does her best to give the boy what he wants, and what Andy really, really wants is a Good Guys doll, naturally.

That's the basic set-up. Young Alex Vincent isn't annoying at all, which is not something that can be said for a lot of kids in films, and actress Catherine Hicks is believable as a mother with a 'compensating for absent father' attitude. But the most memorable character is the doll, Chucky, voiced by Brad Dourif. He's a sadistic, vindictive, foul-mouthed and merciless little shit. If you're a fan of black humour, he's also pretty damn funny at times.

Now and Forever (2007)

Now and Forever (2007)

Author: Ray Bradbury  |  Page Count: 240

'For even the thundering rocket, which rips the soul on Earth, walks silently some few miles high, treads the stars without footfall, as if in awe of the great cathedral of space.'

The book contains two previously unpublished Ray Bradbury novellas, both of which are preceded by a short introduction from the author, just a few pages in length, giving a brief but welcome insight into some of the circumstances, people, or locations that influenced each story's genesis and evolution. Thereafter the stories themselves do the work, split into perfectly structured chapters, not too short and not too long.

The first novella is titled Somewhere a Band is Playing, a bittersweet story set in a small town in Arizona. The second is Leviathan '99, set far above any town, aboard a ship in deep space. They're really quite different from each other, but both are thoroughly entertaining.

The Dracula File (2017)

The Dracula File (2017)

Authors: Gerry Finley-Day / Simon Furman | Illustrators: Eric Bradbury / Keith Page / Geoff Senior | Page Count: 96

'As the agent reeled back, a fearful shape rose to its full height..."You will raise no alarm this day!"'

Collected editions of stories from the short-lived Scream! comic continue to return to store shelves thanks to Rebellion's acquisition, of which, at time of writing, The Dracula File is the most recent.

However, unlike last year's Monster (2016) softcover collection, TDF is a hardback, which is a change that I have mixed feelings about. I prefer HB editions over PB, as a rule, but what I like even more is that companies stick to one format, design, and size, so that each successive book can sit nicely beside the first. Is such consistency really too much to ask of a publisher that's as respected and successful as they currently are? I think not.

Regardless, the book itself is an impressive edition, with a fair amount of bonus content at the back, including covers featuring the fearsome vampire and even some never-before-seen and unlettered pages of original art from back in the day.

Children of the Dog Star (1984)

Children of the Dog Star (1984)

Dir. Chris Bailey | 6 episodes, approx 28 minutes each.

While staying at her uncle's New Zealand farm, twelve-year-old Gretchen is drawn to the unusual "brass daisy" weathervane located atop the barn.

Neither her aunt nor uncle knows when, why or how it got there. Gretchen later learns that local Maori legends tell of something unnatural sleeping nearby that mustn't be awakened. When she begins to experience strange dreams she suspects that all the separate incidents may somehow be connected.

Children of the Dog Star was a mid-80s children's TV show that wasn't afraid to offer lofty concepts to its young target audience, while simultaneously keeping things simple by utilising basic character types/traits that would connect with a wide range of viewers; types such as the inquisitive child, the neglected child, and the misunderstood child that frequently finds trouble even when not seeking it.

Supernatural: Season 03 (2008)

Supernatural: Season 03 (2008)

16 episodes, approx 42 mins each

We've come a long way since Dean the hunter called upon Sam the pre-law student to help him find their missing father.

The simplistic Dean = acceptance / Sam = denial standings that served as a basic foundation for Season 01 have evolved. The brothers are now more complex characters with attributes and emotional responses that give rise to even deeper inner conflicts, an element that's crucial to all good drama, regardless of the genre it's tethered to.

Unfortunately, Season 03 doesn't make best use of that growth. The Writers Guild of America strike (November '07 - February '08) had a direct impact on the show. Series creator Eric Kripke has revealed that the strike caused a number of things to be truncated, changed or pushed back in order to accommodate the problematic schedule. The planned number of episodes also took a hit, reduced from the usual 22 to just 16.

.hack//Liminality (2003)

.hack//Liminality (2003)

4 episodes of varying lengths (45 mins or 30 mins long; 132 minutes in total)

A small but significant number of players have fallen into a coma while playing a game, an MMORPG titled The World. While the bodies of the afflicted lie in a hospital bed their online avatars have gone mysteriously missing. A group of concerned Player Characters band together to find out if there's a connection and, if there is, how to reverse the process so that they can get their friends back.

.hack// is a huge franchise. I've played games, read novels and manga, watched multiple anime (series and films) and own soundtracks. Sometimes the works are standalone and sometimes they aren't. The .hack//Liminality OVA requires knowledge of the larger universe, specifically the first four PS2 games (info HERE) to understand its history fully; the events that occur in the games are happening concurrently with events in the real world, although the main characters in each aren't the same.

ICO: Castle in the Mist (2008)

ICO: Castle in the Mist (2008)

Author:  Miyuki Miyabe  |  Translator:  Alexander O. Smith  |  Page Count: 370

'Whatever it was that dripped from the cage, it was blacker than pitch, the colour of melted shadow.'

The story as presented in the ICO video game (2001) was purposefully vague. It encouraged players to speculate about the backstory of the characters.

The act of filling in the blanks gave rise to a more personal experience for the player, making us not just the protagonist but also the teller, the narrator of the story as it was being lived/directed in real time.

Reading someone else's version of those same events, comparing and contrasting them with your own, can be an interesting or even rewarding undertaking for some folks. But when put into context, isn't a published version of such simply fan-fiction being sold at RRP?

Regardless of whether or not that's a fair assessment, I made sure while reading to judge the work for what it did well (or otherwise) with regards world-building, characterisation, etc, and not for being different to my own interpretation of the game's story; to have did otherwise would be a disservice to everyone involved.

Hawk the Slayer (1980)

Hawk the Slayer (1980)

Dir. Terry Marcel

A cheesy Sword and Sorcery flick that I loved as a kid. I'd a recorded-off-TV VHS copy back in the day, but times have changed and I no longer have a VHS player, so I bought it on Blu-ray and treated my memories to a rewatch in 1080p.

It borrows plot from quite a few different sources, including Tolkien, the Western genre, and a well-known sci-fi film that I refuse to name (hint: it rhymes with bar wars).

John Terry is Hawk, a leading man with an impractically-balanced magic sword, but the script doesn't push him to the fore like you might expect. If you were to add up his screen time, it's probably not much more than some of the other heroes. He's too phlegmatic to be considered charismatic, so it's not much of a loss.

F for Fake (1973)

F for Fake (1973)

Dir. Orson Welles / François Reichenbach, Oja Kodar, and Gary Graver (uncredited)

In Orson's own words, it's a "film about trickery," which is something that's explored in both the subject matter and through the medium via which it's presented.

Part documentary, part biopic, and part essay on the nature of what's real and what's fake, the film twists viewer perceptions while remaining wholly faithful to its own agenda, whatever that may be at any given time.

Its carefully constructed randomness is anything but. Hiding insight inside of hindsight, at times it's as frustrating as it is revealing, but about what exactly is something that's very much open to debate. Ultimately, it's a work made and narrated by Orson, but might be more about him than anyone else featured in it, real or constructed.

NOTE: depending where you look, or which edition you prefer to own, it's variously listed as having been released either in 1973, '74, or '75. The earliest screening date I can find is 1973 (San Sebastián Film Festival), so I went with that.

Supernatural: Season 02 (2007)

Supernatural: Season 02 (2007)

22 episodes, approx 42 mins each

It starts at the exact point that Season 01 ended, putting the brothers in a real world, relatable problem but with a freaky twist.

Some weighty decisions that will have consequences further down the line are made, adding a layer of hurried danger that continues in the majority of what follows.

There are still plenty of standalone episodes included, but the Yellow Eyes story arc is in the spotlight more, even though there's technically less episodes in which it takes actual centre stage. What I mean is that the Yellow Eyes influence is better integrated into the season as a whole, in a more unified manner, whereas previously it felt like a revolving door schedule whereby it was Yellow in one week and then out the next.

Doctor Who: Sylvester McCoy (1987-89)

Doctor Who: Sylvester McCoy (1987-89)

The Seventh Doctor / 42 episodes, approx 25 mins each.

Given the name of the blog that you're presently reading it seems fitting that I should give Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy's incarnation of Doctor Who a post of his own, seeing as how he was the Seventh Doctor and, as it was believed at the time, the last.

But you can't keep a good Time Lord down, and it turned out that he was merely the last incarnation in what's since become known as the 'Classic Era' of the show, which began in 1963 with English actor William Hartnell.

McCoy's introduction was atypical in the series history because he was introduced at the beginning of a new season (Season 24), rather than at the end of a previous one.

But that's the only noteworthy aspect of his arrival. The actual regeneration scene, in which he transforms from a fatally injured Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) is damned awful.

The Physics of Star Trek (1995)

The Physics of Star Trek (1995)

Author: Lawrence Krauss | Page Count: 188

'Thanks to Albert Einstein and those who have followed in his footsteps, the very fabric of spacetime is filled with drama.'

It's common knowledge that Star Trek not only 'boldly' ignored the laws of grammar, but that it wilfully ignored the laws of physics, too, However, in some instances the real-world science behind the fictional quick-fixes is surprisingly close to the TV show technobabble. Most fans will know why transporters were introduced, but not how they would theoretically work. TPoST provides answers.

It doesn't set out to debunk or discredit TV writers — it's not trying to achieve credibility by standing on the ashes of others — instead it aims to inform and explore the reality of what would be needed to achieve the life-changing physics used in the show. It's not just another boring cash-in book designed to milk the wallets of every weak-willed Trek fan ever.

Escape Into Night (1972)

Escape Into Night (1972)

Dir. Richard Bramall | 6 episodes, approx 25 mins each.

Adapted from British novelist Catherine Storr's Marianne Dreams (1958), Escape is the story of what happens when a young girl's dreams become a kind of second reality for the incapacitated youth.

Marianne (Vikki Chambers) is confined to bed by the family doctor, on account of a cracked leg bone obtained in a riding accident. She's told it may take up to six weeks to heal. The news displeases Marianne, who's normally a very physically active child, so to pass the time she picks up a drawing pad and an old pencil and exercises her imagination.

When she dreams her drawings are brought to life in a peculiar way. She's able to walk around inside and around them. But when the young girl's thoughts become troubled in real life her dream place takes on a similarly dark tone, shaped by her adolescent frustrations and troubled, emotional outpourings.

Real Lies (2006)

Real Lies (2006)

Author + Illustrator: Lee SiYoung  |  Page Count: 230

"I want to share a drink with her at a street bar and talk about life..."

Stylised as ReaLies on the cover but referred to as Real Lies inside, it's a Korean manhua with three short tales about human interaction. It's labelled as Volume 1, but to date there hasn't been a Volume 2, at least not one translated into English.

The first story is the longest of the three, How Martians Conquer the Earth. The title makes it sound straightforward enough, but it's not like that at all. It's really quite unusual and I admit that I didn't grasp all of it until afterwards, when I read the short author's note at the end of the book that clarifies a little of what the aim of the work was.

It's partly because I wasn't yet attuned to Lee SiYoung's methods and partly because those same methods are structurally messy. It's something that's perhaps exacerbated by the translation, but the confusion itself is very much there, in the presentation, in words spoken and even in timing.

Payback Time Triple Feature (2017)

Blind Fury (1989)

Dir. Phillip Noyce

Three movies on one Blu-ray disc. There's no special features, but PQ is decent, at least.

First up is Rutger Hauer in Blind Fury (1989), an American remake of Japanese director Kenji Misumi's Zatoichi Challenged (1967) that somehow isn't as bad as I'd feared it would be.
Rutger was a good choice to play the blind swordsman; his cheesy factor is balanced out by his strength of character and his ability to play it wryly comical when needed.

The plot has the sword-wielding Vietnam vet taking on the role of protector to a kid who's wanted by the one-note villains. It's part escort mission and part revenge drama that descends into something resembling an episode of The A-Team that, for me, worked in its favour because I love The A-Team.

Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos (1986)

Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos (1986)

5 episodes, approx 22 minutes each.

Chuck's cartoon counterpart is a United States government operative who moustaches his way through five chucklesome episodes with the help of his ethnic stereotype Karate Kommandos.

Chuck and his righteous team fight for freedom against the evil Claw, the leader of VULTURE and owner of a dangerous metallic fap hand. I've no idea what VULTURE stands for or if it's even an acronym.

The Claw has his own team of subordinates that he sends into battle against the Kommandos; among them is the awesomely named Super Ninja. Being a villain means he's doomed to never win, but with a name like that he's a winner every day of the week.

It's a good thing that the neckerchiefed hero has "nerves of steel and strength to match," because his recklessness gets him into all kinds of near-death scrapes. And it's because of him that his Kommando friends get into fights, too. Sort your shit out, Chuck. It's also rather worrying that he's a role model who teaches by example but allows a teenager with nunchucks on his team! The kid even gets kidnapped more than once. Sheesh.

Django (1966)

Django (1966)

Dir. Sergio Corbucci

Corbucci's notorious Spaghetti Western is surprisingly less violent than its history of classification in the UK implies, but BBFC decisions being 'partially reactionary' shouldn't really be news to anyone, right?

Franco Nero is the charismatic anti-hero dressed in black coat and hat, dragging a full-sized coffin behind him. The mysterious figure and his deathly cargo arrive in a mostly abandoned town that's under siege from a gang of Mexican bandits and a racist ex-Civil War Confederate Major (Eduardo Fajardo) who kills Mexicans for sport, a situation that was no doubt inspired by Yojimbo (1961).

Django stands up for the abused when it suits him, including coming to the aid of a beautiful prostitute named Maria (Loredana Nusciak).

Supernatural: Season 01 (2006)

Supernatural: Season 01 (2006)

22 episodes, approx 42 mins each

The excellent pilot episode kicks off with an unforgettably dramatic event that sets a precedent for the whole season to follow.

It effectively lays the groundwork for an intriguing story arc that resurfaces from time to time - in about 8 of the 22 episodes.

It could be argued that its influence is ever-present because it's the reason that the Winchester family are driven to do what they do (i.e. battle supernatural forces, hunt and kill demons, banish evil spirits, etc), but in reality it gets pushed so far into the background that it's often forgotten about.

Even Ep 02 is a disappointing drop in quality, chiefly little more than another X-Files clone but with male leads that can actually act.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Hive (2013)

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Hive (2013)

Authors: Brannon Braga (story) / Terry Matalas + Travis Fickett (script)  |  Artist: Joe Corroney | Page Count: 104

"The last world of the old Federation fell over a century ago. Resistance was futile."

That's quite the cover art: the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E, Borg cubes, Borg spheres, Borg drones, the Borg Queen, Seven of Nine, Locutus of Borg and Captain Picard arranged like a first year art student's scrap book. Something tells me it might be a Borg story.

It also suggests that what's inside is either very exciting or a desperate 'all eggs in one basket' bullshit ploy.

With expectations set for the latter, I discovered that it's really neither. It's standard non-cannon comic book nonsense that's set sometime after the end of TNG's Nemesis (2002) film and the Voyager TV series.

Jean-Luc Picard is still captain of the Federation's flagship, but he has a new number one because Riker is off being beardy and smug on the Luna-class USS Titan.

Mad Max: Video Game (2015)

Mad Max (2015)

Genre: Action / Adventure / Sandbox | Players: 1 | Developer: Avalanche Studios

An open-world sandbox game with a lot of actual (er... virtual) sand to futz around in. The setting is a similar post-apocalyptic wasteland landscape to that of the Mad Max films; it isn't based on any one feature, instead taking ideas from them all, but draws most heavily from MM: Fury Road (2015).

You play as the titular anti-hero, Max. Again, it's a new but familiar version, not rendered in the likeness of either Mel Gibson or Tom Hardy, but he's just as taciturn and gruff.

He's a standard video game tough guy, the kind that can survive getting hit by a speeding car but can't manage to jump over a foot-high fence that's blocking his way or manage to even walk while aiming his gun/projectile.

Jonathan Creek: The Judas Tree (2010)

Jonathan Creek: The Judas Tree (2010)

Dir. David Renwick | Approx 93 minutes

The Judas Tree had Jonathan's spirited opposite, Joey Ross, return for another of the feature-length outings that kept the series sporadically alive for years after the regular weekly format ended. The unlikely duo investigate a macabre mystery involving a ghostly apparition and an unexplained death.

The Adam Klaus character is once again shoehorned into the story but it's less forced this time.

However, I did get the feeling more than once that creator/writer/director David Renwick was overcompensating for something by filling the story with multiple twists and turns, some of which ask the viewer to make some sizeable leaps of faith and logic. Perhaps the BBC's decision to chop the budget had him worried? To his credit, though, he managed to not let that aspect visibly weaken the production; it looks just as good as what he had delivered previously.

Death Note: Films (2006-08)

Death Note (2006)

Dir. Shûsuke Kaneko

The Death Note is a notebook that causes the death of anyone whose name is written on one of its pages. Any fool can use it, but it takes a sharp mind to exploit it fully; such a mind belongs to college student Light Yagami.

The film isn't as good as the original manga or the 37-episode anime series that preceded it, but for a TV production it does okay.

The shorter running time means it lacks the depth or complexity inherent in the source, but the biggest problem is with the Shinigami (Death God). Ryuk could've been amazing, but he's rendered in a cartoonish CGI that doesn't fit with the realistic aesthetic of the rest of the film. The argument that he's supposed to appear otherworldly won’t change my mind about that.

The first film is the first half of the story only, ending with a cliff-hanger that gets resolved in its sequel, The Last Name (see below).

Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)

Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)

Dir. Hayao Miyazaki

Opportunities don't often just fall from the sky, but sometimes inexplicable events do happen. For Pazu, resident of an elaborately constructed mining town, Sheeta is that event – a young girl with a destiny that he helps to uncover, while trying to keep her safe from a gang of pursuing sky pirates.

Outwardly, Pazu is a typical plucky anime kid, the kind we've seen dozens of times before. Beneath that, however, giving him depth, is a deep-rooted issue relating to a remarkable discovery that his father once made.

Sheeta is quieter, mysterious and harder to read; i.e. a more interesting character. I'd like to have seen more of her past revealed, but in truth the film was lengthy enough as it is.

It's a slow-moving story for a long time, and may even test the patience of some viewers, but the last thirty minutes have a pace that makes everything prior fall nicely into perspective.

Mad Max Trilogy (1979-85)

Mad Max (1979)

Dir. George Miller

As enjoyable as the first Mad Max film is on its own, in hindsight it works better if you look upon it as an extended prologue to the more entertaining sequel, The Road Warrior (1981), where the world is no longer on the verge of going to shit, as it is here, but has actually tipped over and fell face-first into it.

It has the feel of a B-Movie, but the on-the-road carnage is much better than what you'd normally get in that kind of commercial venture, and it's not without some black humour to keep it from sinking under the weight of its own gloomy subject matter.

The crew is to be applauded for making the scenario believable. Max (Mel Gibson), however, is kind of boring as a family man/highway interceptor. It's not until he gets his 'mad' on that he becomes interesting.

George's Marvellous Medicine (1981)

George's Marvellous Medicine (1981)

Author: Roald Dahl  |  Illustrator: Quentin Blake  |  Page Count: 96

'She had pale brown teeth and a small puckered-up mouth like a dog's bottom.'

More than two decades of insomnia has hammered my brain so much that some days I can barely remember what I did the previous afternoon, which makes it all the more amazing that I can still recall easily the first time I read about George Kranky's Marvellous Medicine; Roald Dahl's storytelling has that kind of power.

It was a long time ago. I was aged ten. Four separate classes in the school that I attended (and loved) were gathered together in one room for an important presentation. As usual, I positioned myself next to the bookcase. It was there that I spied the book. After checking to make sure that I wasn't under scrutiny by anyone important, I borrowed it from the shelf.

Star Trek: Fan Collectives (2006-09)

Star Trek: Fan Collective: Borg (2006)

Dirs. Various  |  Number of episodes: 12 + 2 feature-length (FL) movies

The Fan Collective box sets are a collection of various themed episodes culled from each of the live action Star Trek TV series and packaged together in shiny new boxes. The cynic in me thinks it's nothing more than a lazy cash-grab from Paramount, once again exploiting fans who'll buy anything with a Trek logo on it. The optimist in me is forced to agree.

So, with Paramount's shameless tactics established, what do we actually get in each Collective box?

First up, the Borg ("Sounds Swedish") collection contains every episode from both TNG and ENT in which the semi-mechanical, drone-like menaces appeared, which amounts to six TNG and one ENT.

The remainder of the four-disc box is VOY episodes. The Borg played a major role in the VOY series, but it was too much of a good thing. The overuse turned them from a mysterious threat into a collective of chumps. Although it did give us Seven of Nine, who turned out to be one of the best characters in the entire VOY series, in my opinion.

Mindwarp (1992)

Mindwarp (1992)

aka Brain Slasher

Dir. Steve Barnett

I suspect the reason there's a sliver of Ash in most of Bruce Campbell's characters is because there's a lot of Bruce's own personality in Ash.

He maybe accentuates certain traits, but they spring from something real. Furthermore, if he's one of the main stars of a film, then there's a good chance he'll be facing off against some kind of evil creature. Mindwarp is no different.

It goes for a 70s style version of the 21st century, which is something that I really like; the poor-man's pre-Matrix (1992) VGA port in the back of the neck was hilarious.

The synthetic world that the female protagonist (Marta Martin) wants to escape is kind of similar, too, but the remainder of the film isn't.

Much of it is set underground where the lighting is bad, but on the plus side it helps hide budget limitations and makes sense because underground is where the aforementioned evil lives.

Wonder Woman '77: Volume 02 (2017)

Wonder Woman '77: Volume 02 (2017)

Authors: Amy Chu / Trina Robbins / Amanda Deibert / Ruth Fletcher Gage / Christos Gage / Marc Andreyko  |  Illustrators: Richard Ortiz / Christian Duce / Dario Brizuela / Andres Ponce / Cat Staggs / Staz Johnson / Wayne Faucher / Tom Derenick / Tess Fowler  |  Page Count: 160

"Release Agent Trevor and I'm all yours."

Before we even open the book the cover works its magic. I know that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, that's not what I'm doing - I'm judging the cover by itself. It shows Wonder Woman in a running pose, but because it's Wo Wo '77 it's a safe bet that it's a slow-mo running pose! Yes, even the cover is respectful to the essence that is '77. Even before reaching page one I'm smiling.

Once inside things are just as good, kicking off with a puntastic title for the first story. Steve Trevor has man-flu, so it's up to Diana and her spangly alter ego to save the day, which is what she'd be doing anyhow, even if Steve was able to man-up and do something useful.

I loved how the little things weren't neglected, some being as entertaining as the more pressing concerns.

Jonathan Creek: The Grinning Man (2009)

Jonathan Creek: The Grinning Man (2009)

Dir. David Renwick | Approx 118 minutes

A feature-length adventure (of two whole hours!) that saw the wooly-haired sleuth return to our TV screens after a lengthy five-year absence.

It's written and directed by series creator David Renwick, so the quality is high. The only dip is with the inclusion of an entirely superfluous subplot featuring magician Adam Klaus. I mean no disrespect to actor Stuart Milligan, but it goes nowhere interesting and serves no purpose other than to give the character something to do; its removal would've strengthened the pace of the main plot considerably.

When last we saw JC he was being tormented by Carla Borrego (Julia Sawalha), but she's moved on to graze in pastures new. What is it with the women of the series? They never stick around for long enough.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Dir. Hayao Miyazaki

It was officially released before Studio Ghibli existed but a great many of the themes and techniques that the famous animation studio is now known for were birthed in Nausicaä.

The residents of the titular valley harness the full power of the wind to survive. It powers their post-apocalyptic machinery, but it also carries poisonous spores from the polluted forests and swamps that cover the Earth. So while it supports life, it also carries death.

The relationship between man and nature is a delicate one that's thrown into turmoil when a neighbouring nation pushes their hostile ambitions too far. The Princess Nausicaä finds herself stuck in the middle, forced to weigh her reverence for all life against the need to preserve and protect the innocent.

The three-decades-old animation is less sophisticated than modern Ghibli, but when placed in its own time it really shines, with the compassionate, level-headed Nausicaä on her glider being especially memorable. The ending is a little too abrupt for my tastes but the scenes played over the credits do help compensate.

The Complete Skizz (2017)

The Complete Skizz (2017)

Authors: Alan Moore / Jim Baikie  | Illustrator: Jim Baikie  |  Page Count: 272

'Everyone was running that night. Some of them were running in the same direction...'

The first Skizz story appeared in Progs 308-330 (1983) of 2000 AD, long before I was a reader. It wasn't until a belated sequel appeared in 1992 that I got a proper introduction to the character.

There are three distinct arcs in Skizz's story, all of which are included in the book. The first is written by Alan Moore, illustrated by Jim Baikie. The second and third are both written and illustrated by Baikie.

The story's beginnings aren't anything special. The benevolent Zhcchz is a Tau Cetian interpreter on his way home when his ship crashes on a blue planet, in a place named Birmingham (incidentally, not too far from Moore's hometown of Northampton). I can't presently think of any other sci-fi books that are set in Birmingham, so in that it's somewhat unusual.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season 7 (1993-94)

Star Trek: TNG: Season 7 (1993-94)

26 episodes, approx 44 minutes each.

Longtime fans of TNG will get the most from what the seventh and last season offers. There's a lot of looking back, while also moving forward. A number of significant events from previous years are referenced or recalled, right back even to the Farpoint mission, the very first episode of Season 1 (1987-88).

Family plays an important role; mothers and sons mostly, but also fathers, brothers and the extended family you create for yourself from people who become closer than just friends, who earn respect a thousand times over just by being who they are at heart, free from any kind of ingratiating agenda.

And while strange new worlds are indeed explored, new life and new civilisations thoroughly sought out, there's also a dangerous limitation to be considered, one that has consequences for more than just the crew of the Federation's flagship. It's something that doesn't get forgotten by the next episode, which does sometimes happen in these kinds of episodic shows, and I'll be looking out for it as I progress through TNG's successor, the Deep Space Nine series, which takes place in the same time period.

Knightmare (1987–94)

Knightmare (1987–94)

8 Seasons, 112 episodes, approx 25 mins each.

As a young Faustus I loved all things fantasy and supernatural: HeroQuest gaming sessions; Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy books; the many Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms novels; etc, so it's no surprise that Knightmare fit perfectly into my life.

Four adventurers (kids under sixteen) entered the Castle of Confusion in the hope of conquering its dungeon. One wore the Helmet of Justice, which limited what he/she could see, and entered the dungeon proper. The remaining three stayed behind to act as guides, able to see on a screen where their Dungeoneer friend was, to direct and attempt to keep them from falling into imaginary pits of doom and suchlike.

The rules of the game were overseen by a Dungeon Master named Treguard of Dunshelm (pictured right), a noble(ish) born Saxon knight, he would give occasional clues and hints to either encourage a train of thought, help solve a puzzle or feed the team's nervousness. Among Knightmare fans, Treguard rocks!

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Grave Danger (2005)

CSI: Grave Danger (2005)

Dir. Quentin Tarantino | Season 05, Episodes 24 + 25

I don't usually watch Crime Scene Investigation, it's not the kind of police/crime drama that I enjoy, but I made an exception for the Grave Danger episodes because they were directed by Quentin Tarantino. I'm not a QT fan-boy, either, but I was curious to see if he could make me care about a show that I otherwise disliked.

The short answer is no, he didn't, but it was okay overall and the level of bullshit coincidences and deux ex machinas wasn't as overblown as I feared it would be – that is, once it was explained to me by an actual CSI fan that one of the characters had a specialised interest in something that was instrumental in the team solving the case.

I don't know if the regular characters were respected and/or faithful to how they usually are in the standard weekly episodes, but anyone familiar with the director's work will be able to spot his trademarks, such as the overly-staged scenes, the round the table dialogue, and people toying with guns while chatting; there's even a victim in the trunk of a car and a sly QT nod to other filmmakers (including Eli Roth and Lucio Fulchi, although classifying Roth as such is a kindness at best, a misnomer at worst).

The Girl with All the Gifts (2014)

The Girl with All the Gifts (2014)

Author: M.R. Carey  |  Page Count: 460

'Sometimes he cries, and says he's sorry – not to the children, but to someone else who isn't really there, and whose name keeps changing.'

I stumbled upon TGwAtG in the autumn of 2014, before the promotion surrounding the movie adaptation made me more aware of what it was actually about. The only thing I knew regarding the novel prior to picking it up was that the author, M.R. Carey, was a pen name of Mike Carey. Because I'm a huge fan of Carey's work in comics, I bought it. I didn't even read the blurb on the back cover, not that it would've helped much anyhow.

Furthermore, if I'd known at the time of my stumbling what genre the novel was a part of, then I'd maybe have placed it quietly back on the shelf and continued toward the music section of the store, which was my original destination before deciding to check out the book aisle. But if I'd did that then I'd have missed out on a novel with solid worldbuilding and some interesting characters that had more to say than it seemed at first.

Jonathan Creek: Series IV (2003-04)

Jonathan Creek: Series IV (2003-04)

6 episodes, approx 60 minutes each.

The first three series of JC can be seen as one collective era because they share the same two principal actors, Alan Davies and Caroline Quentin.

But Caroline chose not to return after Series III, which left a gap needing to be filled, because Jonathan's character needs an ancillary to bounce ideas off and to get (unintentional) inspiration from.

That gap was filled by Carla Borrego (Julia Sawalha) and, happily, Carla made the show even better. She's a wonderfully rounded character who brought a similar kind of resourcefulness and determination as Maddie had shown but with a whole new self-important attitude supporting it. She's sometimes vulnerable beneath the hard outer shell, but goes to great lengths to hide that fact from the world.

She got her introduction in the 2001 Christmas Special. It's not necessary to have seen it, but it's advisable because it shows the genesis of their relationship and helps explain the boundaries that exist from the offset in Series IV.

The Tempest (c.1610-11)

The Tempest (c.1610-11)

Author: William Shakespeare  |  Page Count: 128

"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here."

Reading Shakespeare for pleasure, outside of an academic environment, takes considerable pressure off a reader. You won't be asked to give an opinion or answer difficult questions. Maybe you don't need to know what every little nuance in the text represents, or you care little about sociopolitical context and postcolonial concerns. Sometimes all you ask is a good story be told in a language that's praised for its beauty, and there's nothing wrong with wanting that.

The Tempest isn't a play that gets chosen often by people who just want to dip a toe, but it's one that I return to time and again. Many of the themes within its pages he's used before, but in a different way.

A shipwreck gets the players to where they need to be, as in Twelfth Night (c.1601–02). Someone who's been wronged seeks revenge (too many too mention). The fantastical is there, but it's less comical than his other famous work that uses it, A Midsummer Night's Dream (c.1590–96). There's still a lot of laughs to be had, however, because it does after all have elements of tragicomedy, but there's a lot of weight to it, too. It's also a romance, proving that one thing can be many if the author intends it.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season 6 (1992-93)

Star Trek: TNG: Season 6 (1992-93)

26 episodes, approx 44 minutes each.

Something I noted in a previous TNG post rings true again here: that a common theme serves as the basis for a number of different episodes throughout the entire season. This time it's 'transformation'. There's the emotional growth kind, of course, but there's also social, temporal changes (such as ageing), and even a number of actual species transformations!

It begins by concluding the Season 5 cliffhanger, Times Arrow. Thereafter, things progress steadily.

Overall, it's not the most memorable season for fans of TNG, but there are some notable episodes that need to be watched. I don't feel that any of them are actually the best the season has to offer, but they each have lasting consequences. Some examples are:

Ep. 20: The Chase, an episode that explores a question that a great many observant Trek fans have been asking themselves since the TOS days.

Donnie Darko (2001) : Arrow Video Edition (2016)

Donnie Darko (2001)

Dir. Richard Kelly

I'm one of the people who consider Donnie Darko to be a modern classic. But did we really need another edition of it? The film had been previously released and re-released a number of times on disc, even distributed free to thousands of people in a UK daily newspaper years ago.

After having watched the new edition, my short answer is a sincere yes, we did need it. The picture quality on the previous discs was always less than perfect, and when played back on modern equipment it looked even worse.

The Arrow Films remaster was supervised and approved by Dir. Richard Kelly and DD's cinematographer, Steven Poster. It's sourced from the original camera negatives, scanned at 4K (encoded at 1080p to fit on the disc), and includes both the Theatrical Cut (113 mins) and the Director's Cut (133 mins) of the film. Visually it's a little darker overall than the US Blu put out by 20th Century Fox, but it's not as soft and the film grain is lovingly retained.

The Illustrated Man (1951)

The Illustrated Man (1951)

Author: Ray Bradbury  |  Page Count: 294

'...[P]erhaps ten minutes elapsed while the first terror died and a metallic calm took its place. Space began to weave its strange voices in and out, in a great dark loom, crossing, recrossing, making a final pattern.'

Perhaps because of the 1969 filmed version of the same name — or perhaps in spite of it, if like me you don't consider it to be a very good adaptation — the book is one of Ray Bradbury's more well-known anthologies.

The sixteen stories that are included weren't written specifically for the collection, but were gathered together with a newly penned bridge narrative that explains how each individual tale is represented as an inking on the human canvas that is the illustrated man.*

While they take place across many different times and locales, thematically most of them have a connecting cynical edge, something that the master fantasist is more proficient at than people often give him credit for. It's a theme that complements the temperament of the titular man, a drifter who feels that the pictures on his skin have a weight that burdens his soul.

Hell Comes to Frogtown (1987)

Hell Comes to Frogtown (1987)

Dirs. Donald G. Jackson / R. J. Kizer

The 'Hell' of the title refers to Sam Hell, an independent man in a post-war world run by women. The war left the majority of the population sterile, but not Sam. He's not filled with blanks. Sam has the highest damn spermatozoa count on record! So he's tasked with seeking out fertile women and, calling upon his record-breaking potency, impregnating them... for his country, of course. Good work if you can get it. Except, it's not, because it means venturing into the dusty wasteland.

Roddy Piper does what Roddy Piper did best (other than rowdy wrestling, I guess), which is be the downtrodden hero in a world that's gone to shit. He may not have been a natural actor, but Roddy was a natural entertainer in his own unique way.

Children of the Stones (1977)

Children of the Stones (1977)

Dir. Peter Graham Scott | 7 episodes, approx 28 mins each.

Young Matthew Brake (Peter Demin) and his astrophysicist father, Adam (Gareth Thomas), arrive in Milbury, an English village built inside a megalithic stone circle. Adam's there to examine the stones, as his job dictates. Matthew begins to carry out his own investigation into the townspeople, who resemble something from a pagan Village of the Damned.

Prior to my most recent viewing of the Children of the Stones series it had been over twenty years since I'd last seen it. It had scared the living hell out of me as a kid, and while watching the opening credits again it was clear that it was going to give me a dose of the wiggins as an adult. It sure did. It's uncomfortably eerie, and bleeds atmosphere from every twist and turn. It's like Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man (1973) for children, as wrong as that sounds.