Pride & Prejudice Review: Episode 4

**Spoilers**
If you have not yet seen this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.


  "Be not alarmed, madam, on receiving this letter, by the apprehension of its containing any repetition of those sentiments or renewal of those offers which were last night so disgusting to you."


           Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...but when Mr. Darcy is scorned he goes back home to write a long, involved, and incredibly soul-baring (not to mention brutally honest) letter. Through the words of the letter, we are given an important glimpse into Mr. Wickham's past that reveals just what a cad he is and how narrow an escape Lizzie had. It also starts to cast everything that we have seen in the series thus far in a totally different light. Suddenly all of Wickham's actions and insinuations start to make all too much sense.

         We also get a rather painful outsider's look at the Bennet family as Lizzie has to concede Darcy's point about her mother, sisters (minus Jane), and even her father having a tendency to make spectacles of themselves. It is here that we begin to see the other side of Mr. Darcy and, while we'll never empathize with his rather extreme pride, we do begin to see the man behind the mask.

        Also in this episode, Lydia takes off for Brighton with the militia (showing us just how spoiled she is in the process) and Lizzie meets up with her aunt and uncle Gardner (the ones Jane had stayed with in London) to take a tour of Derbyshire...including a visit to Pemberly, Mr. Darcy's estate. But only with the promise that the family is not at home. Little does Elizabeth know that Darcy, still in agony over his unrequited love, has rode ahead of his party of friends and is taking a refreshing swim in one of the ponds. The meeting between Lizzie and Mr. Darcy at Pemberly is another highlight of the series. It's just so painfully awkward and yet it gives Darcy hope because he is completely vulnerable, completely caught at an undignified moment, and is granted a chance to show Lizzie a more hospitable, gracious side of himself. He doesn't expect to win her back, but he does try to at least show her some courtesy. One thing that catches Lizzie's eye is the fact that he is all kindness and genuine graciousness to her relatives...the ones that she KNOWS that he knows are not gentlefolk and reside in Cheapside. Lizzie cannot imagine what has caused this change. Her aunt (who is a delightful and wise woman) smiles knowingly.

5/5

Pride & Prejudice Review: Episode 3

**Spoilers**
If you have not yet seen this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.


         "In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." 
       

           So Charlotte Lucas snagged Mr. Collins on the rebound, Wickham has set his sights on a rich young heiress, and Mr. Darcy finally can't take it any longer and gives Lizzie a very flustered and utterly insulting proposal. Poor Lizzie!

         Well, actually I don't feel too sorry for her. She gives as good as she's got and royally dresses him down for being such a jerk. He had it coming...

          That is the climax of the episode (and, I daresay, of the entire series). There's LOTS more that happens. For starters, we have the beginning of the rift between Jane and Miss Bingley. We've long seen that Caroline is a catty, rich snob who only tolerated Jane's company because it was the best to be had in Hertfordshire (aside from Louisa's belching, drunk husband, that is) but Jane was determined not to think the worst of the sister of her prospective husband. In this episode, Miss Bingley comes to visit Jane in London where she is (oh horrors) staying in Cheapside with her aunt and uncle. The uncle who is in (gasp) trade of all things!

       Lizzie then travels with Sir William Lucas and his youngest daughter, Mariah, to visit the new Mrs. Collins in Kent. This also gives them an opportunity to meet up with the esteemed patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. I am very glad that Mariah Lucas was included in this adaptation, as she is a fun character who - for some reason - is often cut. She gives Lizzie the chance to be the big sister to someone actually agreeable. Unlike Lady Catherine and her daughter, who are exceedingly unpleasant and rude. But, because they are rich, they can afford to be.

      But all of this, including the introduction of Colonel Fitzwilliam, is all building up to the big reveal and proposal of Mr. Darcy and Lizzie's subsequent refusal. It is the highlight of the episode. No questions asked.

5/5

Pride & Prejudice Review: Episode 2

**Spoilers**
If you have not yet seen this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.


     "And you should take it into further consideration, that in spite of your manifold attractions, it is by no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be made you."    

   
      What a charmer...

     David Bamber is the quintessential Mr. Collins. Nobody before him so perfectly managed to capture the mix of arrogance and self-abasement that this character ascribes to and now that he has played the role, nobody else can even compete.

      In this episode, Mr. Bennet's cousin (the aforementioned Mr. Collins) arrives for a visit. He is the man guilty of the truly heinous crime of being the relative to which the estate of Longbourn is entailed, and so he has decided to make amends by marrying one of the Bennet girls. He's not particular as to which one. After finding out that Jane is already taken, he just continues on down the line and latches on Lizzie. Lucky girl...

      Mr. Collins is really the highlight of this episode, particularly in the way that Bamber plays off of all the other actors. He gives us a toadying, bumbling, self-centered, patronizing clergyman who is utterly obsessed with his patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh and who has almost no original thought outside of what she has told him. I would not want to sit under his sermons, let me tell you!

     There is competition for the affections of Elizabeth Bennet, though, as no sooner does Mr. Collins arrive on the scene then a dashing young officer named George Wickham also comes to town. Wickham is a charming cad, a romantic rogue, a simpering, smirking, handsome, conniving man who wastes no time in weaseling his way into Lizzie's affections by detecting and exploiting her willful feud with Mr. Darcy. In these early episodes (particularly if you haven't seen/read the story before) Wickham seems the very picture of wronged goodness. He seems like the everyman hero who is put down and crushed by life and yet pulls himself up by the bootstraps every time. Mr. Collins is utterly blown out of the water. He cannot compete with Wickham in Lizzie's eyes, though he certainly tries.

       Really the climax of the episode comes with the Netherfield ball where Darcy finally gives in to his feelings and asks Elizabeth to dance in quite possibly the best scene of the entire miniseries:

        Then the day after the ball, Mr. Collins (doubtlessly feeling the pressure from both Wickham and Darcy) proposes to her in a scene that is as uncomfortable and infuriating as it is hilarious. He manages to insult pretty much everything about her and then has the audacity to let her know that he is proposing, not because he loves her, but because Lady Catherine de Bourgh feels that he should find a wife. Then, when Lizzie turns him down, he smirks at her and assumes that she is merely playing coy and hard to get in order to further inflame his 'love' for her. Pardon me while I gag.

        The episode ends with Lizzie's father staunchly refusing to make her marry Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas (Lizzie's best friend) swooping in to save the day by inviting the spurned lover to dine with her family.

5/5

NuWho Review: Series 6 Episode 8 "Let's Kill Hitler"

By: Steven Moffat

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet seen this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

        You know, sometimes there are episodes that really make me question myself, both as a reviewer and as a fan. Episodes that all of my knowledge about writing and characters tell me are TERRIBLE, and yet the inner fangirl in me gets bossy and starts shoving to the forefront and demanding that I enjoy it and squee over it and ignore all of the problems. (Rather like those who still enjoy the wanton destruction and zany badness of the Transformers franchise, I suspect.) Those episodes are troublesome because they really bring forth the question of what is more valuable - the quality of the product or the amount of enjoyment that it brings?

      This is my relationship with Let's Kill Hitler. My brain tells me that this is an absolute train wreck of an episode that contains false advertising, a convoluted plot, and is basically Moffat's version of a Mary-Sue fanfic. That is what my brain tells me. However, the fangirl in me is all heart eyes and uncontrollable giggles the whole way through. See my problem?

      Let's start at the beginning. 

Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- I absolutely LOVE the start of the episode with Amy and Rory making a crop circle to contact The Doctor. Funny stuff. Shame Mels ruins it the minute she Mary-Sue's her way into the episode.

- Okay, so I THINK I should explain a bit what I mean whenever I say that Mels is a Mary-Sue because I know sometimes people will just accuse female characters they don't like of being one and, no, I don't do that. Mary-Sue is a fanfiction term that arose from the Star Trek fandom. It is used to describe OC's (original characters) in fanfiction that are just a little bit too perfect in the eyes of their creators. These characters are usually sassy, strong, independent women with a penchant for inserting themselves into the past lives of the actual main characters where they weren't before, warping reality to revolve around them, being extremely flawed but always having an excuse, being flashy and over-the-top just for the sake of it, having long descriptions of their appearance in the most flattering tones, being someone that the audience is just EXPECTED to love, breaking the rules but rarely getting in real trouble, and basically hooking up with the main character and being someone that the author WISHES they either were or that they could date. Mary-Sue's can also appear in original fiction. 

- That describes Mels. She comes right out of nowhere, is over-the-top rebellious, has an attitude that any sensible person would call her out on, is obsessed with her appearance, falls in love with The Doctor, is shot and everybody instantly sympathizes, warps reality by being inserted into Amy and Rory's childhood where she wasn't before, and there is literally no explanation for why she has never been mentioned before or seen whenever we are in Amy's home town. Everything about her just feels like I'm torturing myself with a bad fanfic. They could use her scenes as a PUNISHMENT in The Matrix! 

- Yes I just said that. I really do loathe her character that much. It gets a little bit better once we're back to Alex Kingston (because her performance is less bratty) but Mels is still just about unbearable.

Awww...widdle baby Rory!

- That being said, I really do enjoy the little peek we're given back into Amy and Rory's childhood (also what a great friend Amy is) and the adorable way that they grow up together. Rory is just so totally besotted...but he's so sure that Amy could never notice him that he never says anything. Which, to be fair, I don't really mind that Mels was the one to get them together. I get the feeling that both Amy and Rory would be so equally oblivious and awkward that they wouldn't go and confess their feelings for each other without a bit of help. So that wasn't out of character. It's nice to have little Miss Blackwood back as young!Amy too. Those parts were just adorable and I kind of regret that we didn't get to see more of Amy and Rory when they were kids. That would have been enjoyable.

- Mels shot the TARDIS. Why? What was the purpose of that?

- "That's right, Adolph. The British are coming!" Haha...okay. That line was pretty funny.

- And it was highly satisfying to watch Rory sock ol' Hitler in the jaw, sass him, and then lock him in a closet for the rest of the episode. Good on you, Rory!

- Unfortunately, Hitler being locked in a closet is a pretty good indicator of the rest of this episode. It has almost nothing to do with Nazi Germany or the time-travel-kill-Hitler-when-he-was-a-baby question. The story could take place in 78'th Century Poosh and still be almost exactly the same.

- Rory did get a chance to be a real awesome husband and father in this episode. I'm glad to see that all of the character development building up to that UTTERLY EPIC entrance in A Good Man Goes To War was not squandered. He punches Hitler and steals motorcycles from Nazi's and takes being sucked into a giant, robotic version of Amy in a matter-of-fact, cool-as-a-cucumber way that is just so RORY.

- I think I'm in love...

- Matt Smith and Alex Kingston were as on-point as ever. They really have a lot of chemistry on-screen and they make the banter between River and The Doctor a lot of fun to watch as they dance around each other. So I do enjoy some of their interactions in this episode. I still think the Graduate joke was a bit much. That was a funny little aside joke from one episode. Don't kill it, Moffat!

- The Teselecta (forever getting confused and thinking I'm talking about the Tesseract) is a pretty cool concept. I could split this episode up into two separate stories: The Mels Saga and Let's Kill Hitler. And both would have been fine in their own episodes.

- I really like the morbidly cheerful antibodies. They weren't exactly scary, per say...but they did make me laugh even while I shuddered. It's a shame they haven't appeared again in the show. They were fun and they certainly created a lot of suspense whenever they started going after Amy and Rory.

- The fact that they're like robotic jellyfish also cracks me up for some reason.

- I'm not entirely sure what the point was of having The Doctor be poisoned? I mean...the Kiss of Death was kind of cool. Almost James Bond worthy, even. And I laugh that it was sap from the Judas Tree that did him in...nice bit of reference irony there.

- But, seriously, what was the point? We KNOW that he doesn't die here! WE KNOW THIS! So the fake-out just kind of felt like padding.

- Even if it DID give us a chance to see Rose, Martha, and Donna again. That tie-in back to the past era of the show was nice.

         I just don't know what to think about this episode. On the one hand, it's awful and painful and kind of annoying. On the other hand, it is an episode that I will watch again and again and again. Rory is awesome. Amy is wonderful. The ending is actually quite nice. But it's such a mess! *sigh* Do I review it based on enjoyability or do I review it on how well-structured it is? The answer is: a combination of the two. Because something can be extremely well-written and visualized and created, but still as dull as a brick. Let's Kill Hitler is a 3/5.

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?

Film Review: The Outsiders

**Spoilers**
If you have not yet seen this film, please go and do so before proceeding.

          There are two versions of this movie - the theatrical release and the special "Complete Novel" edition. I advise that you check out both of them because while the theatrical release doesn't have all the scenes, it does have the original score. The "Complete Novel' edition has had certain parts of the score replaced with Elvis Presley songs. Which, y'know, isn't a terrible thing. But there are scenes that lose something without the original score.

      The Outsiders is a prime example of how a book-to-film adaptation CAN be done almost word-for-word and scene-by-scene without being either boring, tedious, or terrible. I am a huge fan of the book (and one of my friends played Ponyboy in the play) so whenever I heard there was a movie made (a Francis Ford Coppola film, no less) I jumped at the first chance to see it. And I was not disappointed.


    The film stars C. Thomas Howell, Mat Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, and Emilio Estevez as The Outsiders, a makeshift family/gang of boys and young men from the north side (east side in the book) of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a coming-of-age story told by a star-studded cast, set in a time when there is basically an ongoing war between the Socs (the rich, privileged kids) and the Greasers (the poor, wrong-side-of-the-tracks kids) and one of the greasers accidentally kills a Soc. From there on all Hell breaks loose, climaxing in the rumble between the two factions.

      It's a very raw and depressing story, full of hopelessness and anger and gritty questions about prejudice and growing up. And the movie captures it very well, being - as I said - an almost word-for-word adaptation of the source material.





     Sometimes things can be a little bit off (Johnny and Pony spend an almost ridiculous amount of time crying and hugging, for instance) but that doesn't really detract from the experience. The cinematography is gorgeous too...particularly in the scenes containing the sunset themes...and the colors and lighting really go a long way to sweep you up in the emotion of the story. All of the actors bring the unique personalities of the characters from the book to life and their performances carry through even in potentially-clunky scenes. This is also, to date, one of the few movies that can actually make me cry. I highly recommend this film (both version) to anyone. The Outsiders is a 5/5.

 

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?

Film Review: Addams Family Values

**Spoilers**
If you have not yet seen this film, please go and do so before proceeding.
       

       Okay. So after the modest success of the first Addams Family film, a sequel was put into motion. A sequel that Barry Seinfeld was confident would keep all the good of the first film while also fixing a lot of the problems (i.e. the lack of plot). Did it succeed?

      Kind of. There definitely is more of a plot (one stolen from The Beverly Hillbillies movie, no less) but I'm rather bewildered as to WHY they decided to focus in on Fester again?! In this story it's not a faux mother figure trying to manipulate Uncle Fester. This time it's a wife. Meet Debbie, the Black Widow (no, not that one) serial killer who goes after rich widowers or bachelors and seduces them, gets them to sign their money over to her, and then kills them on their wedding night. She comes to the Addams disguised as a nanny for the new baby and, while she is there, snags hapless Uncle Fester in her web. Debbie is a very fun villain. She reminds me in some ways of a less-fur-obsessed Cruella de Ville and Joan Cusack just has a great time hamming the part up. There's even a scene where she has the obligatory villain's monologue and she has a slide show all prepared to illustrate.

There are some problems, obviously. For instance - I will NEVER understand why the climax of the movie consists of Debbie strapping all of the Addams' into electric chairs and then making as if she is going to kill them when, in the last movie, we saw Pugsley and Wednesday electrocuting each other with a similar chair as a game. Also, um, it doesn't really make sense for Debbie to be trying to kill Uncle Fester (and failing every time) and yet we're still supposed to see her as a legitimate threat? Um, hmmmm.

      But really, this movie belongs to Wednesday. Her subplot is by far the best part of the film and is further evidence why Christina Ricci was just made to play this part. Wednesday and Pugsley are shipped off to a summer camp in an effort to distract them from attempting to commit fratricide on their poor, unsuspecting new baby brother, and there they meet an assortment of painful white suburbia social commentary stereotypes, as well as a fellow outcast named Joel. Throughout the summer they wreak havoc at this camp, culminating in the end-of-the-year obligatory play portraying the First Thanksgiving. There is just something very uncomfortable about that play and the satisfaction whenever Wednesday breaks character and starts laying down some cold, hard facts (before torching the set) is definite. The small romance she shares with Joel is oddly sweet and very well done too.      

       Morticia and Gomez are wonderful as always in this film. I feel like Morticia rather liked Debbie, even after she 'betrayed' them. (See what I mean about villains and the Addams' not meshing very well?) It is interesting, though, about these two films; each of the villains only really work whenever they are trying to do one thing. And that one thing is break the Addams family apart.

      All in all, this film is a fun and kooky little horror comedy. In some ways, it is almost better than the first movie. Certainly the villain is stronger and a lot more fun. Sometimes the social commentary can be a bit heavy-handed, but in the end that doesn't really detract from anything. There is an odd subplot about Pubert (the baby) suddenly going golden-curled and normal-ish whenever Uncle Fester is gone? Uh, yeah. That didn't make a whole lot of sense. But for the most part it's just a great, funny movie to watch. Addams Family Values is a 4/5.

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?

Castle Review: Season 1, Episode 9 "Little Girl Lost"

 By Elizabeth Beall

**SPOILER ALERT! If you have not seen this episode, please go and do so before continuing!**

Oh Castle.... What's a relationship without a little competition to add drama? So far on the show we've been treated to at least two ex-wives for Rick, but Beckett... Well, she's still single, and she is still not quite falling for a certain someone's "ruggedly handsome" charms.
This case hits a little close to home for Beckett: a young child abducted from the home. She's dealt with it before, and it didn't end well. That and--oh look! The FBI is involved... and the agent on the case is an ex-boyfriend of Beckett's.

The "Good Parts" Version:

-Castle is trying to earn "boyfriend points" by greeting Beckett on the scene with her favorite donut and order of coffee. Trouble is, he also brings up his fan site... Which Beckett is apparently familiar with--for "research purposes", of course--and Castle's ribbing about it ("You subscribed to my website? Wait a minute... are you Castlefreak1212? Castlelover45?") earns him a bear-claw in the mouth. Lesson learned: No woman wants sass before she has her coffee.

-The case involves the abduction of a two-year-old girl from the home of her hard-working parents. Mom works at the hospital, Dad paints for a living. He was in the next room when it happened; one moment, the girl was there, the next moment, gone.



-Enter the suave, dashing, smooth-talking, driven Agent Will Sorenson. He's got the history with Beckett that Castle wants, he knows things about her that Castle can't possibly get her to confess, and in short, he's got the position that Castle thinks he wants--and yet, Beckett seems reluctant to be working with him again.... And on the plus side, we get more of the Wisecracking Castle!

-"Really? You're going with the instincts of Nancy Drew, here?"
"Is that supposed to be an insult? Because Nancy Drew solved all her cases."

-Beckett: "Oh, why don't you two just drop your pants and get it over with!"
Castle: "I'm game!"


-Beckett ends up sending Castle home because Will doesn't want him around... and poor Rick discovers that Martha's "money-making scheme-of-the-week" happens to be working out of his office as a "Life Coach." "Mother, can I interest you in the kitchen as a better location? The wide open space... proximity to beverages... and sharp implements..."

-Can I just also take a moment to point out that THIS EPISODE MARKS THE FIRST MENTION OF JENNY O'MALLEY, RYAN'S THEN-GIRLFRIEND, PLAYED BY SEAMUS' (THE ACTOR'S) REAL-LIFE WIFE JULIANNE!!! He was my favorite character to begin with... and the fact that he's the first one to have a steady girlfriend.... portrayed by his wife... I was over-the-moon. Granted, it's just a mention, but... The tie says it all...


-The ransom demand has been made... and it's oddly specific: exactly every penny the couple has, and not a cent more. Could the kidnapper be closer to the victims than just a stone-cold professional on a spree?

-When it comes time to make the drop, Beckett finally stands up for Castle in the face of "the Feds", deciding to allow him to volunteer to make the drop.

-This episode really plays up the "Will They/Won't They" angle... because all networks know that, "If all else fails, use romantic tension to make viewers want another season." But while Castle is getting ready for a potentially dangerous money drop with an as-yet-unidentified killer, Beckett comes in... and she's more worried about this Nikki Heat novel that he is working on, and the cover image ("It's just a silhouette. She's holding a gun." "She's *naked*!" "She's posing strategically.") than about his actual safety... at least as far as she'll let on. ("Castle? Screw this up and I'll kill you.") Oh yeah, they definitely will.

-Of course, it all goes south, because the kidnapper seems to know exactly what they're going to do just before they do it, and can prepare accordingly--But Castle proves more clever than Will gives him credit for, because though they lost the bag with the money, he managed to slip the burner phone into it--right after texting Beckett from the phone. So now they can track it till the signal dies.

-The nature of the case has made Castle nostalgic. He goes home and starts imagining what it would be like if someone abducted Alexis... Which of course gives him the break he needs to realize that the kidnapped child had a favorite bunny that she carried all the time. A stone-cold kidnapper would have just taken the kid and left the bunny... so where is the bunny?

-It was just the break they needed, and by looking for the bunny, they find the girl, not far away--at the house of her Aunt. The overworked Mom had arranged the whole abduction, intending to use the money to take custody of their daughter away from her neglectful husband. The big reveal and wrap-up gives a sour note to the end of the episode--almost as if the writers were still trying to figure out the best way to end an episode.

-Of course, Will keeps dropping hints that he wants to get back together with Beckett--he'd even like it if she decided to come back to Boston with him--but she is not sure anymore if that's what she wants. The Beckett he knew was very career-driven, but meeting Castle seems to have brought a sense of "family" to her that she probably never expected. She turns him down.

Again, I am not really digging the whole "crime without a criminal" method. It was fun to find out a little more about Beckett's past, both in the ex-boyfriend and the return of the murdered mother case. 

However, I believe it must have been sometime about this episode, or the last few, that the network confirmed a second season, because already we're getting deeper into the lives of the characters with their own arcs and back-stories—things aren't quite so "temporary" anymore. It took nearly ten episodes for this show to get itself organized with the crime solving technique and the character involvement, but in the words of Casablanca, "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship." 

"Little Girl Lost" gets a 4/5.

The X-Files Review: Season 1, Episode 1 "Pilot"

*Spoilers*
(But mainly because this show is over 20 years old)

I'll try not to give too much away!

The 1990's brought us The X-Files, and with it one of the most famous and beloved detective duos since Holmes & Watson: FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, played by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson respectively.

UFO's and paranormal activity was all the rage, there were posters proclaiming "I want to believe" everywhere, and this episode right here is what started it all.

It's 1992 and something weird is happening in North West Oregon. A scared young woman is running through the woods at night, wearing only a nightgown. All of a sudden, there are leaves swirling up around her, and a white light blinding everyone in sight. Her body is found the next morning with two marks on her back that could be insect bites or taser burns. All the audience knows is that "it" is happening again.

Cut to Washington, D.C. and the J. Edgar Hoover building, the Headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The exterior of the FBI building is something fans will learn to recognise very quickly. It’s here that we meet a fresh-faced Special Agent Dana Scully.

She is being reassigned to a department dealing with unexplained cases known internally as X-Files. Scully is supposed to report back on her new partner, Oxford-educated psycho-analyst Special Agent Fox Mulder, who has become obsessed with the paranormal cases and gained the nickname “Spooky Mulder.”

We also meet The Smoking Man for the very first time, a man whose identity and agenda will not be revealed for several seasons yet. He does, however, seem to have influence at the FBI as well as access to the archives of the Pentagon.

Mulder's office is located in the basement of the building, past rows of archives and next to the janitor's closet. Upon entering, Mulder tells Scully that "there's nothing to see down here but the FBI's Most Unwanted," a phrase that endeared Mulder to millions of viewers. He's clever, he knows he's being hidden away so he doesn't cause too much trouble. But he also knows he's too good at what he does for the FBI to let him go. He knew sooner or later they'd send someone to spy on him. So when he first sees Scully all he asks is "who did you piss off to be stuck with this detail?"

Dana Scully is quickly established as a scientist and sceptic, while Mulder is open-minded, asking her whether she believes in the existence of extra-terrestrials. Mulder must have found out about Scully before she was appointed as his partner, because he as read her dissertation and says so upon their first meeting.

On this very first case together, they travel to Oregon to investigate the girl's death in the woods and several similar cases from the same town. They experience several phenomena on the way, like turbulence on the plane, the car radio switching stations randomly, all electronics failing simultaneously and the unexplained loss of a few minutes' time. Mulder is unfazed by all of this, only commenting that "this must be the place" before he spray paints a large X on the road, because X marks the spot.

The investigation reveals that there have been other victims, all of whom belonged to the same graduating class with only three of the friends still alive and the entire town conspiring to cover it up. An exhumation turns up the corpse of a monkey, an autopsy reveals a small implant of unknown origin and Scully finds a mysterious substance in the woods. 

When Scully notices that she has the same marks on her back as the victims, she runs to Mulder like a damsel in distress. The duo is met with hostility at every turn. A hotel fire destroys nearly all the evidence the two have managed to gather so far and Mulder, while disappointed, doesn't seem surprised. All the clues lead them to a boy named Billy, who the two agents have met before. The only problem is: Billy has been in a waking coma since he and his girlfriend Peggy (a wheel-chair bound girl who died as she ran out onto the Highway into oncoming traffic) were in an accident several years prior. 

Mulder is convinced that the teens were abducted by aliens and someone or something is collecting them for testing, luring them to the forest. Scully and Mulder start to learn to see things from each other's point of view when the conclusion of the case reveals an unlikely suspect as an accomplice. Mulder gets to witness what actually happens in the woods, while Scully, crucially, is left on the fringes and can't collaborate his account of events.

Back in Washington, she has to defend her report in front of her supervisors, who point out that she doesn't have any evidence she can base her conclusions on. However, it turns out she can, as she pulls the only piece of evidence that survived the fire, the implant of unknown origin, out of her pocket. It just might not be as unique as she thinks.

The one vital thing we learn about Mulder is that his obsession for the X-Files and the paranormal stems from his desire to find out what happened to his sister when he was a child. He believes she was abducted by aliens, can remember the night it happened thanks to hypnosis, and has devoted his life to uncovering the truth and finding her again.

It's this little display of trust towards Scully that helps her understand his reasoning and fascination with the paranormal. To her, he is no longer the "Spooky Mulder" she heard about, the mad guy chasing aliens. He's essentially still the little boy looking for his sister, trying to find an answer and using everything at his disposal to do so. It's this genuine vulnerability that makes Scully trust him and side with him even in front of her superiors.

A perfect partnership is born.

The chemistry between the two main characters and their actors is evident from the start, which makes The X-Files so special. It's something the show became famous for. Mulder immediately treats Scully as his equal, despite him being several years her senior, and runs his theories by her to get her point of view as well as her scientific reasoning.

Back in 1993 when The X-Files first aired, the fashion and technology were cutting edge, but if you ever had any doubts about when this show was made, you'd just have to look at the oversized coats and especially Scully's wardrobe, gold-rimmed glasses, haircuts, phones, car models and computers. By today's standards it all seems horribly outdated.

Actress Gillian Anderson, who got her international breakthrough thanks to this role, was only 24 in real life, yet her clothes and hairstyle make her look at least 10 years older as Dana Scully is meant to be in her mid-thirties. Chris Carter, the show's creator, wanted her for the role from the start, but the studio bosses were not convinced and wanted someone older, better known and with more sex appeal. A scene, in which Scully strips to her underwear in front of Mulder during a power cut to examine the marks on her back was probably included to prove the studio wrong about the sex appeal part. But as "Pilot" was the very first episode of a brand new series, it probably also served to appease the male audience, sexist as it might be.

"Pilot" already includes everything that makes The X-Files such a brilliant show. A great dynamic between the two leads with banter and teasing, aliens, unexplained phenomena and conspiracy. 

Hint: 
If you watch this episode on DVD, make sure you enable the Deleted Scenes Special Feature. While watching the episode, an "X" will appear on your lower right screen to indicated where two deleted scenes used to be (during the shot of the plane as well as towards the end when Scully looks at her alarm reading "11:22"). Scully was originally meant to have a boyfriend, a TV producer called Ethan. The deleted scenes feature him briefly.

Film Review: The Addams Family

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet seen this film, please go and do so before proceeding.

          So...adapting old sitcoms into feature family films was a 'thing' in the 90's. The Beverly Hillbillies is the one that usually jumps into my mind when thinking about this, as it is the prime example of the reason WHY these sorts of films usually didn't work very well. And, in order to properly review The Addams Family, we need to talk about this.

       Most older sitcoms tend to really hinge most of their premise around just one joke. And, for television, that's fine. Sitcoms can get away with being formulaic, provided they are clever with it and the characters are really interesting. Some of my favorite shows (such as Hogan's Heroes or Green Acres) work this way. I know the formula and I can practically recite it by heart, but the ingenuity and the sheer force of personality that the characters have brings me back time and time again. And The Addams Family really is no different. Their gimmick is this: A casually rich family is obsessed with all things dark and deadly. That's literally it. Most of the jokes come from the fact that they are so strange and bizarre and yet they're living in suburbia. The sitcom was actually based off of a series of one-panel comics from the 1920's, and those also hinge off of the one joke.

     But as much as the sitcom does follow the formula of being centered around that one joke, it also surprisingly subverts most of the other tropes that you see in this kind of show. While normally families are portrayed as not understanding each other and being dysfunctional, one of the main things to define the Addams' is that they DO all stick together and enjoy each other's company. Morticia and Gomez are very much in love and, instead of the comedy coming from them arguing and being impatient with each other, they are very supportive and generally get into hijinks together as a team. They also share most of the job of parenting their children, Wednesday and Pugsley, together...with Gomez being just as likely to comfort one of the children after a nightmare as Morticia is.

 

           But how does this family work when applied to a 90's Hollywood 3-Act structure? Well...actually not as badly as you would think. Now the plot of this film is almost not there at all. It's very weak. And it centers around Uncle Fester, of all people! (To me, Uncle Fester is always the character that was the equivalent of the gargoyle dog from Gargoyles...he's comic relief. So I'm bewildered as to why the movie is all about his story.) He's being manipulated by a mother figure who only gets creepier the more times I watch her interactions with him. Not the good kind of Addams creepy and kooky either!

          Fortunately, though, the big, melodramatic climax that all these types of films have is very underplayed and I almost feel like the film is self-aware and more of a satire than an actual horror-comedy. And it does honestly adapt the atmosphere and charm of the sitcom very well. Everybody is perfectly cast and the dark humor and matter-of-fact way that the Addams' go about their lives is very well done. They're weird and they kind of know it and they really don't care. 

      I haven't talked much about the plot of this film, because there almost isn't one and really the best parts of the story are when things are focusing on the interaction of the family rather than the money-grubbing-lawyer-and-fake-mother plot that is duller than Wednesday's wooden sword! But this is really worth the watch and, in my humble opinion, is probably the best of the remake-old-sitcoms films batch. It's funny, it's touching, it's gross (in some places), it's dark, it's all about family...I love this film! The Addams Family is a 4/5.

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?

Castle Review Season 1 Episode 8 "Ghosts"

By Moira Kirkland

***Spoilers! If you haven't watched this episode, please go and do so before continuing!***

Kudos to the creative team behind Castle for coming up with so many unique ways for a person to die in just the first season--which had such a quick run, it couldn't even be termed a full season! Here we are, already at the eighth episode, and today's crime scene features a woman drowned in a tub full of motor oil. Seriously, nothing is quite so creepy as a face that appears in what you thought was a black screen.... Stolen identities, ghostwriters, bombs on an oil tanker, environmental activists... and a past that hasn't quite let go like people always assumed.

The "Good Parts" Version:

-Castle's got a new poker crowd! This time, it's the gang from the 12th Precinct who are fast becoming best buds with the "ruggedly handsome" mystery writer--and also getting a dose of Martha! "When he blinks too much, he's bluffing.... Oh, now he's tapping, that means he's got a good hand..." Nobody calls tells like a mother, which is why Susan Sullivan is quite possibly the best actress to ever play the mother figure for somebody like Nathan Fillion; the pair are wonderful, and the wits are perfectly matched, one can't help but sense the fictional genetics in the chemistry.

-Speaking of chemistry, what better way for a guy to show he likes a girl than to fold on a perfectly good hand just so she can win the pot? Things are looking good for the Caskett ship!

-I'll admit, Castle had me hooked with his "soccer mom lover's liaison" angle as to why a woman like the unfortunate victim would be in a sleazy hotel like that one in the first place! It was fun, though, to see that, gradually, Castle is winning the guys--they're not writing him off (no pun intended) as just a crackpot tag-along anymore. Trading theories with Espo--how fun!

-So the identity was stolen--but the layers lead back to a true crime writer that I recognized: Joanne Kelly from Warehouse 13! Joanne doesn't quite pass off the writer-vibe as well as Nathan Fillion does, but that's okay, because she's just a ghostwriter who has been recording the story from the victim's past that she had been running from her entire life, which may have been the thing that caught up with her.

-The woman, Cynthia, had teamed up with two others to plant a bomb on an oil tanker, which blew too soon and injured the captain who was still on board, and killed one of the others. The fact that the killer drowned Cynthia in motor oil was more than just poetic justice--it was personal. So the question becomes: who else knew about the bomb plot and would have the motive and means to kill Cynthia?

-After a brief interview with the one surviving member (and the guy who built the bomb and blames himself for the faulty fuse that caused the early explosion), Castle notices that his account diverges from the story Cynthia wanted to publish. Being a writer, he knows something about how and when to reveal key information, depending on the kind of message the writer wants to send--so why would Cynthia be giving her ghostwriter false information? Or perhaps the ghostwriter is taking creative liberties? If so, why?

-The more leads they find because of the ghostwriter, the more people they encounter who know about the book that Cynthia was going to publish, which gives rise to a new motive--true crime novels are one thing when published under the watchful eye of the perpetrator--but now that Cynthia is dead, the ghostwriter could be sitting on a bestseller, with very few people who would care if she sensationalized the story. Of course, the airtight alibi exonerates the writer--but if she didn't, who did? A connection is coming--but what could it be?

-In talking with the family of the captain who had been on the oil tanker, Castle and Beckett discover that the son had been trying to hunt Cynthia down--but it turns out that was only to find out why she'd been sending regular checks to his mom, accompanied by a note that said "I'm sorry." The trouble is, the ghostwriter--who should have known about it, since it would have aided casting Cynthia in a more favorable light--knew nothing. So if Cynthia didn't send the money, who did?

-Can I just point out how much I miss these poker games scenes? I can't recall exactly when they were phased out, but one just doesn't see them much anymore on the show! It takes a poker game with the "Gotham crew" (the judge, the mayor, and the police chief) to figure out this new twist in the mystery. Plus, Beckett demands in because she is mad at Castle for "throwing" the last game... and yet, when given the chance, Beckett "throws" it right back! Who says romance has to involve kissing and bedroom scenes?

-A well-placed comment in the middle of a flurry of contemplation prompts Castle to come up with another wild theory: what if the conspirator everyone thought was dead, really wasn't? And what if she was the one who murdered Cynthia, after living all this time under a false identity, just like Cynthia had?

-And BOOM. Turns out the writers have one more twist for us: Cynthia had discovered this woman was alive... and Cynthia had invited Susan over to kill her in the motor oil and so the story could be told however Cynthia liked... but Susan figured it out and turned the tables on her.

-As a final wrap-up for the case, Castle figures out the ghostwriter's slimy ploy to publicize the fact that she was in contact with Cynthia, which would only invite more publicity for her book if Cynthia were actually arrested and placed on trial. (And yes, I do believe there is a sleazy "tabloid reporter" based on the ghostwriter as a character in Castle's books!) Lesson learned: don't mess with a writer. Even if you "succeed" in hoodwinking them, you'll more than likely end up as material, and the portrayal will not be flattering.

-Finally, Castle and Beckett confront each other about intentionally throwing the poker games... and decide on a rematch. The pot? Gummy bears.

On the whole, I think this episode was on the weirder side, as far as the mystery goes. There weren't any intensely action-packed chases, a lot of it was subtle, mess-with-your-mind-and-emotions kind of stuff. I liked seeing the relationship between Castle and Beckett develop further, as everyone in the Precinct begins to welcome him more as one of them instead of passing him off. I'd give this episode a 4/5.

Castle Review, Season 1 Episode 2 "Nanny McDead"

By Barry Schnidel

**SPOILERS!**
If you have not watched this episode, please do so before continuing!

Sooo once again, disturbing image in the first scene: body in the washing machine, while a cell phone rings with Pink's "So What." Oddly enough, the song kind of relates to the nature of the mystery—more on that later. As we foray into the world of homicide in New York, this episode shows the darker side of the business of nannying, and makes us wonder if all big-city freelance jobs resemble a daytime soap, and also makes us grateful for rigorous psych evaluations in the hiring process--more on that later.

The "Good Parts" Version:

-So Castle's got a bunch of waivers to sign if he wants to dog Beckett. She gets a call about the body in the middle of it and thinks she's left him behind. Ha!

The only adequate response to "Whaddaya know? He's a fan!"

-Beckett starts heading up to question the family who employed her, and Castle's just waiting outside the elevator. How did he know she'd be there, and how long was he waiting? Who knows? He's got info on the family, too—from the doorman, who is apparently a fan. 

-D'aww! We have Castle's first-ever intro! "Just NY." Yyyeeeaaahhhh.... We're gonna have to work on that one.

-In the world of Crime Tropes, this one takes it: the couple takes turns getting home in time for dinner, and on the night the nanny was murdered, guess whose turn it was? The husband's.

-This of course gets Castle started: it's the perfect setup for a novel plot! Husband carrying on an affair with the nanny? And according to nanny Sarah's good friend Chloe, those nights when he was supposed to be home were the nights Sarah stayed late... Suspicious?

-Heightening the mystery is the fact that no one can seem to find Sarah's cell phone, which could hold the most pertinent evidence of all.

-"Three men around a computer. That better not be porn, and if it is, I want in." Watch who you're talking to, Castle! One of those men is the Chief of police!

-The husband's alibi is the fact that, yes, he was having an affair—but with his secretary. The nanny would stay late to cover for him while he carried this on at work.

-Castle directs their attention to "The guy who lives in 8B" (next door to the family employing Sarah) He engages in a full-blown premise that leaves everybody staring, hanging on his every word. Such is the gravitas of a writer, and only Nathan Fillion could pull it off with such panache.

-I love how supportive his family is of all this: Alexis asking "Who got murdered today?" and Martha swaggering in crooning, "Catch any perps, kiddo?" Susan Sullivan I think enjoyed the "veteran of the screen and stage" persona, being a veteran herself; while the claim of being the "crazy homeless lady on NYPD Blue" is fictionalized, I did discover that she has been on crime dramas like Perry Mason and S.W.A.T. Go Martha!

-Heehee, I forgot that one usually wears protective covering when examining a body at the morgue. Castle points this out—and I do believe this is about the only time they ever do that. "I thought you guys usually hang around eating ham sandwiches and cracking jokes, like gallows humor stuff." Only on TV, right?

-Castle makes comments on Beckett's straight-faced interrogation style, and invites her to poker.

"What, you mean your hangout with James Patterson and the rest of the New York Times Bestseller List? Too rich for my blood."

"We could always make it strip poker."

"No thanks; I prefer mystery to horror." PERFECTION!!

-Ryan: "I'm telling you, marital bliss is a thing of the past. Name one happily married couple."

Castle: "DeGeneres and DiRossi."

Really, Castle?? I gotta say, Kevin Ryan is my favorite character. He's just so sweet and charming and innocent! While sexual tension ranges all over the map with other characters, Ryan dates a girl, likes her, proposes, marries, and becomes a father over the course of the show. He's probably the cleanest, steadiest character, being in only one relationship (with his IRL wife, I might add!!) which also means he's no good at flirting (or recognizing advances... He's a good-looking dude, after all!) and he's got great moral values. I like him a lot.

-Reviewing the security footage, Castle realizes that when Sarah made the second trip down the elevator to the laundry where she would meet her killer, it was just a few seconds longer—which means she wasn't coming from the same floor. They figure out that the extra time puts her on the fifteenth floor: where the family Chloe works for lives.

-When they're questioning the couple, the husband hedges suspiciously when Beckett mentions Sarah. From then on, it's a cinch: Sarah's cell phone under his bed, the fact that Chloe obsessed about him leaving his wife and taking up with her (she'd had a copy of a picture she took with the family, but when Chloe framed it, she cut the wife out of the photo), the fact that Chloe would know Sarah's schedule, and discover that the man she thought loved her was actually getting with her friend.

-They go looking for Chloe, hoping to find her before she kills again.

-Castle: "I'm coming with you!"

Beckett: "Okay, but remember, this is accompany and observe, not participate and annoy."

Castle: "Participate and annoy is more fun, but whatever."

 
-of course, it doesn't come out till then just how psycho Chloe is; she's sitting in the laundry room cutting herself as she confesses to killing Sarah out of jealousy.

-The perp is caught, and Castle begins writing his first Nikki Heat novel.

As far as episodes go, this one was actually rather lousy in the "crime" department. The whole string of clues, evidence, and conclusions was very cliche and straightforward. Not that I think all crimes should be messy, but I was never really intrigued at all. The conclusion was far too inevitable. It does go a little further in advancing Castle and Beckett's effectiveness as a crime-solving team, and for a technical "first case" it isn't that bad. I'd give it a 6/10.