Jonathan Creek: Christmas Specials (2008)

Jonathan Creek: Christmas Specials (2008)

2 episodes, approx 90 minutes / 120 minutes, respectively.

There are more specials than what's included on this particular DVD release, but they weren't made until after its release (2008), so you'll either need to buy them separately if you want them or save yourself some cash and buy the recent 14-Disc Complete Collection (2017) box set - the latter isn't really a good option for me seeing as how I bought the individual releases in a more timely manner, so I'm reviewing them this way.

What you do get are two feature-length specials: Black Canary (1998), which takes place sometime between Series II and Series III, and Satan's Chimney (2001), which takes place sometime between Series III and Series IV.

There's two new characters introduced; one in each of the two episodes. Firstly, there's Gideon Pryke (Rik Mayall) in Black Canary. Gideon is Jonathan's equal in some ways. He didn't become a regular but does make a subsequent appearance in the show, and if things had worked out differently he could've been a great recurring addition. He's woven into a story that involves someone from Jonathan's past reappearing and, of course, needing a head-scratchingly complex murder mystery solved.

Dissolving Classroom (2017)

Dissolving Classroom (2017)

Author + Illustrator: Junji Ito  |  Page Count: 202

"She's a monster!! Her favourite thing to do is frighten people on street corners!"

Five of the seven shorts herein are connected, known collectively as Ito's youkai (dissolving) series, together telling the tale of male high school student Yuma Azeri and his younger sister, Chizumi.

The book has a few of the uncomfortably horrifying moments that the author is known for, but mostly it takes a more gross-out approach, something that's altogether less interesting to me. Frankly, if I'd had the opportunity to read it before buying it then I'd have saved my money for something better.

It's not terrible, but nor is it anything special. The pacing is decent, and the artwork is of the usual high standard, but it wasn't until the fourth story that I felt any kind of chill take a hold of me. Prior to that I was repulsed by the ickiness, but I can get a similar kind of feeling just watching someone eat mac and cheese and it won't cost me a penny (unless I'm forced to pay for the offending foodstuff).

The Quentin Tarantino Collection (2011)

The Quentin Tarantino Collection (2011)

Number of discs: 6  |  Running Time: 625 minutes (combined)

I may get around to rewatching (or in some cases watching for the first time) QT's later films, or I may not, but until then have this, a collection of five features put out by Lions Gate Home Entertainment housed in a cheapo, flimsy cardboard box.

That's the actual box art on the right, with QT looking moody. Perhaps someone accused him of mass plagiarism prior to the photo being taken?

Every time I see it I wonder if it was a conscious decision not to have the cover art for the films in the order they were released or did someone screw up?

Of that order, the first two I'm very pleased to own, and if they weren't included I'd have bought them separately. The next one I'm mostly indifferent to. The final two I don't care for at all, even though I'm a fan of many of the things that inspired them.

Prevent This Tragedy (2010)

Converse Presents: Prevent This Tragedy (2010)

Dirs. Various

It was only a matter of time before I made a post about my love of skating. After some consideration I chose Prevent This Tragedy because, while not the best disc on the market, it's easily available, it's short, it was free (as a cover-mount DVD with Thrasher magazine, also available for a while from their own website) and is currently on YouTube for all to see. Overall, it's a decent and undemanding dip of the toe for anyone new to the activity.

The main skaters are listed in the orange box on the picture on the right, so I won't list them again. Each one gets a segment in which they're the star, often accompanied by a Sabbath-esque tune or two. There's a nice mix of street, small ramp and pool action, sometimes in dedicated skate parks and sometimes not.

Beyond Eyes (2015)

Beyond Eyes (2015)

Genre: Story / Art Game | Players: 1 | Developer: Tiger & Squid (with Team17)

The young girl pictured is named Rae, and she's unusual in a number of ways. Firstly, she has none of the typical video game protagonist powers (run, punch, jump, etc), but in addition to that her connection to her world is defined primarily by what she hears, not what she sees, because Rae is blind - although, it's possible that she can discern shapes when they're very close, it's never explicitly stated. Either way, it's a fascinating and bold premise for a game, a medium that's inherently visual in nature.

The world in which Rae exists is bursting with colour, but she sees little or none of it. Things beyond the girl's hearing and/or limited range of sight aren't even drawn or rendered; they're blank until you move her near them. But rather than being black like a void or an absence of colour, they're bright white like parchment, ready to be written on. As you approach an area it gets filled in, resembling a watercolour painting in real time; I like to think of it as a story book coming to beautiful life in response to Rae's presence.

Ghost in the Shell: Manga Vol 1 + 1.5 + 2 (1991-01)

Ghost in the Shell: Vol 1 (1991)

Author + Illustrator: Masamune Shirow | Page Count: 368

"…[T]here was an 'SOS' literally written in blood on the cyberbrain unit…"

The serialised manga that started the Ghost in the Shell phenomenon is both a product of its time (weird noses and comedy/chibi style reactions) and light-years ahead conceptually and philosophically of where most western comic writers were at the time.

Shirow locates the work in a similar futuristic world to what he'd created for his previous works as a foundation, such as Appleseed (1985) and Dominion (1986), but by introducing GitS-specific concepts he effectively crafts something totally unique.

The blurb on the back makes it sound like what you're getting is the same story that was featured in Mamoru Oshii's much-loved 1995 anime adaptation. That's not strictly true. You do get that story, but it's only a small part of the entire book and it doesn't appear until late in the day. If all you wanted was the movie in manga form, then you'll perhaps be slightly disappointed. Admittedly, Oshii took the best of what the collection has to offer, but on the plus side you get a lot more content herein than was featured in the film, so it's actually better this way.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season 4 (1990-91)

Star Trek: TNG: Season 4 (1990-91)

26 episodes, approx 44 minutes each.

TNG didn't have the same level of continuity as the subsequent DS9 and VOY incarnations of Star Trek had, but not all events passed without consequence and, more than any of the preceding years, Season 4 made an effort to address that situation.

It begins by concluding the Season 3 cliff-hanger, The Best of Both Worlds. The episode that follows directly after it explores the feelings that one key member of the crew was left to deal with after his ordeal at the hands of the Borg had ended. In the remaining episodes there are at least a dozen returning characters from previous years, most of whom upset the apple cart in some way.

Speaking of which, Lwaxana Troi is a wonderfully rich character. She gets an opportunity to show that she's more than just a Betazoid thorn with an elevated libido in Captain Picard's side. (Plus, it makes me grin when she converses with the ship's computer.)