Mum's Monday: The Brink by James S Murray and Darren Wearmouth

This story starts off in London, sadly, after watching an amazing television program, the date takes a very bad/dark turn.

Now we jump to reading about Berlin in Germany in 1945. It is really clever how they interweaved real life with the evil, strange, murderous creatures.

Now in the United Kingdom, it seems the foundation could be in trouble. This book is well written with everything described in great detail, however, it still keeps me intrigued enough to read on. A clever book.

In chapter five it is a surprise at the lengths Van Ness has gone to, to negotiate with the president of the United States of America. I would have thought they would be both on the same page to save humanity. It is however, clever to include Van Ness attempting to profit from gloom, it does give the story more depth, I just wonder what will happen next. It is intriguing to read that I do want to read further, a sign of a good story/book. Also surely the time would have been better spent coming up with solutions to the big problem of the creatures for an all-round win.

Chapter six is an eye-opener it seems Van Ness has the upper hand, I feel I understand more now and as so I feel now as though there has been a twist in this story, but luckily there is a solution to deal with the creatures. Again it is clever to see real life interweaved into fiction. Van Ness has been busy after the second world war.

The threat level has become more and more serious, the creatures have evolved and with help from Van Ness they are being controlled. It is refreshing, yet, horrifying to read of all the new challengers the characters face in defeating the creatures. Luckily there is a way to kill them, but how much more blood shred will there be before all the creatures are eliminated/extinct? The intrigue continues.

It is ‘Edge of you seat’ stuff to read that the threat to London and part of the United Kingdom has just got a whole lot bigger.

The foundation’s grip on the situation has become more serious, families are at risk and also with families’ things have become more gruesome and evil. There does seem no way out, so the intrigue continues on further in this action packed book/story, although, it isn’t action as you normally know it, but the story has certainly become more severe. It is a bit like a film or television program where it looks like there is no way out of the situation, so far. You could say they are on ‘The Brink’ of something, which makes this a clever title, play on words, also story to match the title of the book. It could be said to be like it will be alright like some films or programs but who know in the end so far.

Now I feel the twist didn’t occur, so it is not at all good to see profiting from the threat from the creatures. Again they all should be on the same side and help one another. How this all is worked out is well written but I as yet, apart from a powerful secret computer, I cannot see how this story/book will ultimately be resolved and end.

This is continuing to be action packed and intriguing and now I don’t want to put this book down, let’s hope the mission gets completed with not too much more loss of life in a truly shocking way. Also I forgot about the ‘Hybrids’. This book certainly makes you one, question loyalties and two makes you have to work out and think about what Van Ness was actually trying to achieve. It now turns out ‘Revenge’ and ‘Legacy’ all really well worked out in intricate detail. Great book/story.

The Written Podcast: Guilty Pleasures

It should be made clear that anything that makes you happy shouldn’t make you feel guilty. Unless you’re doing something dodgy of course, but that’s another kettle of fish entirely. The term, “guilty pleasures” is used when someone likes something niche or likes something despite knowing it is of poor quality.

Everyone has their own guilty pleasure whether they want to admit it or not, and some have multiple. Some have one guilty pleasure in each category, be it film, television, music, fashion, or something else. We generally don’t choose our guilty pleasures, they just become them.

Whilst I could write about every guilty pleasure I have, I’m only going to write about one, and that’s a film series. The live-action Transformers series to be exact. They are my guilty pleasure. But, with most things, I like to be awkward about it and state I only like the first four, not the fifth. Even I must admit, Transformers: The Last Knight is a film I cannot enjoy. The first four on the other hand; they are my guilty pleasure.

The live-action Transformers series has been widely ridiculed by critics and the public alike, yet, the box-office numbers contradict those reviews, with the third and fourth film both breaking $1billion dollars. For a film series that’s constantly berated as having no story, hardly any character development, and nothing but fight scenes, breaking a billion is quite an achievement. It seems that the series isn’t just my guilty pleasure, but many others as well.

But why are they my guilty pleasure? If I’m honest with you, the reasons I have for them being such may not be justifiable to some people, but they make sense to me.

Reason no. 1:

I used to collect the toys when I was younger and play with them all the time. I had the entire set of the Amada series – and I watched the cartoons as well. I essentially grew up with Transformers, so when I discovered a live-action film had been made, I went to the cinema to watch it. (Fun fact: The Transformers series (except Bumblebee which is regarded as a reboot and not part of the main five) is the only series I went to the cinema for every film. No other franchise did I watch all their films at the cinema, but instead waited for some to come out on DVD first.) In 2007, I was 13 years old. Back then, Transformers was an epic action piece with incredible special effects. Through my 13-year-old eyes, a film which included 90% fight sequences between two gigantic robots was nerd heaven.

Reason no. 2:

If the first one was epic, the sequel would be, too. Revenge of the Fallen came out in 2009. I was 15 and still in high school. Two years had passed since the first one was released, and the MCU had officially kicked off with the likes of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk being incredible to my nerd-self. They are way better than the Transformers films, but it was hard to resist the calling of a fresh Transformers movie, with new action sequences to sink my eyes into. Explosion after explosion after explosion for a teenager’s mind was all that kept me happy when it came to film back in those days, and the second ramped up the explosions to a whole other level entirely.

Reason no. 3:

When the third one came around, I was committed. But I wouldn’t have gone to see that in the cinema if it weren’t for my friends inviting me out. A group of boys going to the cinema, we certainly weren’t going to see a romantic comedy, were we? No, Transformers kept us happy. Dark Side of the Moon was the biggest in the franchise yet, and was ridiculed as being the one with the least story and character development yet, but I enjoyed it because it’s yet another film with gigantic robots in huge action sequences; and I was with my friends.

Reason no. 4:

Probably the most controversial reason on this list, but one I have to include to be honest. It allows me to shut my mind off. The franchise having no story, having no character development and only action sequences is enough to send me into a trance-like state and forget about the world and its problems for 2-hours. I don’t have to concentrate on what’s going on, I can just sit back and enjoy.

Reason no. 5

All the above every time I re-watch one of the films. The first reminds me of when I was a teenager and all I needed to keep myself occupied was with that film. The second reminded me that there was more of what I enjoyed whilst still being a teenager. The third reminded me of the time when my friends and I were able to unite together easier than today due to having next to no responsibilities. It was simpler times back then, and those films remind me of that. This reason does include the fourth film, Age of Extinction. It came out in 2014, the year I finished college. I was about to enter the big wide world and the Transformers franchise allowed me to cling onto those moments during my teenage years. Now I’m 25 and fast approaching 26, watching those films to forget about my troubles has some peace about it, you know.

Why not The Last Knight?

Whilst it may seem I’m contradicting myself by saying how the next sequel was more of what I liked and yet the fifth was the one I didn’t, it’s because it was truly that bad. I was ready to shut my mind off to the world, but I couldn’t. The fifth did what the previous four hadn’t – have an actual story, and it was a bad story, so bad it involved about half a dozen sub-plots that only lasted five minutes. I couldn’t enjoy it as much as I did the other four, which is a shame because I still to this day consider the first four as guilty pleasures for the reasons above.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Film of the Week: Sonic the Hedgehog (I Gave It a Chance)

I wrote an article a couple of weeks back explaining how the filmmakers changed the appearance of Sonic due to the overwhelming negativity from the first design. They delayed the film to rework his design and as a result the animation studio went bust. I wrote the article stating how we owe it to those who worked on the redesign and the filmmakers who did what many studios wouldn’t have done.

I gave it a chance and my conclusion to the film is… not bad. Due to it not being a direct adaptation of a specific game but an original story, the filmmakers were able to create a story from scratch. What they developed was more of an origin story for Dr Robotnik (who was never referred as Dr Eggman), played by Jim Carrey, Sonic’s character was merely introduced to the audience, and the story that they were both involved in saw the two tangled up in their common rivalry seen in all the video games and TV programs. You can’t have one without the other, which will make it interesting to see how Dr Robotnik returns since becoming trapped in the mushroom world.

Even though most of the negativity came from fans of the franchise, who are mainly comprised of adults, the final product is intended to be a family film, therefore must be suitable and be understood by children. This does make the film feel a little clunky in areas and rushed in others; flitting between emotions at speeds rivalling Sonic’s.

Sonic the Hedgehog isn’t the best film ever made, nor was it made to be. Everyone knew it wasn’t going to be, but the fact that the studio redesigned Sonic’s appearance tells me that they at least wanted to make the best film they could. The final edit was bouncy, action packed, and overall enjoyable. To be completely honest, Jim Carrey held a lot of this film solely on his performance alone; he captures Dr Robotnik’s craziness and runs with it. He stated how much fun he had whilst making this film, and that rubbed off on me as I watched it, because every time he came on screen, the whole atmosphere got a little bit zanier. It may have had a bumpy ride during production, but it smoothed itself out as much as possible by the time it was eventually released. Could it have been better, sure, but at least we didn’t get the version with Sonic’s first design – those teeth are the stuff of nightmares.

This is the second video game adaptation which didn’t succumb to the curse which surrounded previous films – the first being Pokemon: Detective Pickachu. As of writing this article, the figures state Sonic has surpassed Pokemon’s box office total, becoming the highest earned video game adaptation of all time. That’s impressive considering what it went through, which does mean people have been given this a chance.

Do I hope there’s a sequel? I do. Do I hope it’ll include the other two characters, Tails and Knuckles? I do, and from the mid-credit’s scene, if there is a sequel, that’s exactly what we’re going to get.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: Last Tango in Halifax

Seven years after Celia (Anne Reid) and Alan (Derek Jacobi) married and two families merged into one. Although they met at school this still reminds me of the BBC Sitcom ‘As Time Goes By’. With Geoffrey Palmer and Judi Dench as Lionel and Jean. However, they first met back Lionel was in the army and Jean was a nurse, before they drifted their separate ways and then met again and married years later.

Now in Last Tango in Halifax I like at the beginning when they flashed back over the last seven years. It looks like there have been some ups and downs, family fall outs, as people have changed. I can see how a daughter would want to protect her father, but ultimately he has his own mind, although the heart attack must have been traumatic. I am not sure about the playing of ‘The blame game’ though.

Now we come to the start of episode one, of this new series, Alan has a job in a supermarket, this is after some news of his brother Ted (Timothy West) coming to visit. The scenes jump around from one set of character’s conversation to another, although this is consistent you have to keep up with what is happening. What I do know is ‘They don’t need a new kitchen’ and a father wants to help his daughter. I hope he can. This part is actually hard to watch. Has Celia got too much control? Answer, their families think so and there is a little evidence of it being the case. The drama continues, Ted could be lost in Hong Kong. I feel scared for the characters watching this part. It is like an empathy type thing. And well now the birthday party could be described as ‘Awkward’ I can actually see both sides of the argument it just depends on who gets the final say. When they say ‘Always leave them wanting more’ this doesn’t disappoint as this episode ends on a ‘Cliff hanger’.

Episode two, it is nice to see after the awkwardness in the first episode a heart to heart between Celia and Alan. Well Ted has arrived with more than just luggage this is odd to watch. It is now a question as to where they will accommodate all. Also the art work is causing quite a stir. I feel this episode is either going to get more awkward or fun to watch it seems Celia is not so ‘Good with people’ let’s see. However, first the art work strikes again and the script is cleverly interweaved with the phone call and Caroline (Sarah Lancashire) talking to herself. It is lovely to see Celia happy with her new house guests for a little while anyway. Ted is causing a stir and it seems Alan’s new job a little as well. Well now John (Tony Gardner) did say ‘Yes’ to marriage, I can really sympathise with him it looks like things are quickly going to spiral out of control. All of it feels awkward, whether they were going for making people who watch this program come to that conclusion or not it is the vibe I am getting from this. I am glad to see a little light-heartedness with Caroline’s dinner date. Sadly, it doesn’t last long and we are back to awkwardness again. ‘No, no’ when it is so obviously a ‘Yes’. The morning after we know where some are as she is making enough noise, but where is Ted?

Episode three, I am glad to see Ted back. It is sad to see a blur between professional and personal lives. It high-lights a very good reason why they shouldn’t mix. Oh so no kitchen, no high profile painting and now no sheep. I don’t like how this episode has taken a very negative turn. They have found the sheep and vodka. Alan’s job is causing quite a stir and I can actually see Celia’s point. Well now Angelina and no money. I can also sadly see why Gillian (Nicola Walker) wants to sell the farm, and now a shocking twist, crazy but funny and yet another shock. I feel for the characters I wouldn’t want to have no kitchen any longer than necessary.

Episode four and final in this series, as school runs go, this is written really well, well first we hear an awkward line of questioning, that could have gone better. It is simple but when answering a child, a little different as we see. Then some people are popular however, not with other road uses, or with stating clearly, as clearly as they can that a dinner date is out of the question as yes, I see she did wreck her marriage. it is obvious now. I suppose when I first heard the revelation I was one, in shock and two, too busy thinking this is amusingly weird/crazy. And don’t get me started on who was supposed to have murdered who. That was even before the school run but the mention of Caroline helping Gillian with the farm with an idea she’s had reminded me of a previous in car conversation. On the bright side Celia and Alan should have a kitchen back. That is a nice gesture. Ted has gone ‘Bridlington AWOL’ Caroline’s ideas some good, her first good but I can see the logistics sadly, wouldn’t work in the long term as described well in this episode. It is now nice to see a caring boss. The conversation between Celia and Alan is a good one full of life lessons, realisations and a nice gesture. I agree to the outcome than I would have if they would have chosen a holiday it is heart-warming. Now we see a tragedy, we had warnings but it is still really sad. I felt sad when the warnings started. I don’t condone but I imagine beer and a car engine don’t mix well. I want to say the funeral is nice, well as nice as it can be but they have used this storyline to tie up loose ends and a baby has been born. We knew she was pregnant but it was all been skipped over that part. This episode has quickened it seems they had more ideas than time to process, write the script for or film.

To sum up each episode in one word, the first episode, awkward. The second episode, stir. The third episode, negative and the fourth episode, denial (in and not in). to sum up the whole series, The seven year itch.

The Written Podcast: When the Doctor Became the Doctor – Jodie Whittaker’s Moment: Spyfall: Part 2

If there’s one thing that remains consistent with Doctor Who is, it’s constantly changing. Starting when William Hartnell was too ill to continue, so they introduced the idea of regeneration into the show, and from then on, the show never remained the same. From the moment William turned into Patrick, so many doors were opened. Over the years, the show has since gone through numerous changes, from actor to actor, head writer to head writer, continuity to different continuity, Doctor Who’s longevity is purely down to how often it renews itself.

When Doctor Who returned in 2005, the show had to go have a major overhaul. Russell T. Davis introduced the concept of the Time War, and the idea that the Doctor is now the last of his kind. This allowed for more doors to open, and that concept was continued forward and explained further when Stephen Moffatt took over. The 50^th anniversary’s storyline was entirely about the Time War and one of the next biggest changes in the show’s history – a hidden incarnation. Played by John Hurt, introduced at the end of The Name of the Doctor, fans across the world were in awe at the surprise, and took to the internet to talk about it for months on end until the 50^th came along. He was well received – it was handled well, making the idea of a hidden incarnation a natural part of the Doctor’s life.

The next biggest change in the show was one that would make history. During classic Doctor Who, when it was time for Tom Baker to hang up his scarf, the idea of a female Doctor started to grow, and it never went away. Over the years, as society changed, the show needed to change along with it. The concept of regeneration implies and has been explored via throwaway lines of dialogue or shown on screen, a Time Lord can change gender. This was also shown when the Missy was revealed to be the Master’s new incarnation. When Peter Capaldi was ready to leave, the idea of a female Doctor was stronger than ever, and Jodie Whitaker was cast, making her the first ever actress to play the Doctor.

Stephen Moffatt had stepped away, allowing Chris Chibnall to pick up the pen, Jodie Whitaker had stepped into the Doctor’s shoes, the show has gone through another major change, and fans were torn as to whether they happy about the idea, but both sides of the argument admitted they need to see the first episode before making any actual judgements.

The Woman Who Fell to Earth was Jodie’s first ever episode, and it was a strong one, with a decent story and incredible performance from Jodie. Her first ever appearance was falling through a train carriage all high on regeneration energy. Forgetting the word tongue, making casual passing references to having been a white-haired Scotsman, immediately taking control of the situation at hand without really knowing what’s going on, and struggling with her new body, she was the Doctor.

But, you might be wondering why, if I’ve just labelled The Woman Who Fell to Earth as Jodie’s moment of becoming the Doctor, is this article got the episode, Spyfall Part 2 instead. That’s because of Chris’s involvement. You see, he wanted to essentially induce a soft reboot of the show to ease fans into the idea of Jodie being the Doctor and allow new fans to enjoy the show without getting entangled up in all the continuity. Jodie blew it out of the water in her first few moments playing the character, but Chris ultimately wanted to have as little information about the character as possible. Existing fans knew who the Doctor was, new fans can enjoy learning who the Doctor is, and being high on regeneration energy isn’t really who the Doctor is, but instead just an interlude between her previous personality and her new one.

Chris’ attempt at this idea didn’t really go down well. There wasn’t a particular moment in the series that sold me. The Doctor was just the Doctor, there wasn’t a standout moment for Jodie. Until Spyfall Part 2 came along. Series 12 essentially did the exact opposite of what series 11 did and explore so much of the Doctor’s past and the show’s continuity, by bringing back the Master. Right at the end of the episode, when Graham, Ryan, and Yaz were pushing for the Doctor to tell them more about her, she obliged and said that her name is the Doctor, she’s from Gallifrey and she’s a Time Lord. We all knew that, but Jodie never really told us that in the previous series whether it be by words or actions.

Her moment came, when she truly became the Doctor, is when she basically just told her companions and subsequently us, the audience, the basics: her name, where she’s from, and her species. Plain and simple, and cemented her as part of the show’s history. In fact, it was that moment which inspired me to write this series of articles.

Series 12 would then go on to shattering what we knew of the Doctor’s life, creating the biggest canyon between people who like and hate it the show has ever had the pleasure in being a part of.

Doctor Who has had so many changes, it’ll be hard to list them all from the top of your head. You’ll have to do research to make sure you’ve got every single change. The big changes such as a secret incarnation, the destruction of Gallifrey, and the Doctor becoming a woman, and the biggest change when it was revealed the Doctor was the one who gave the Gallifreians the ability to regenerate after being discovered standing by a portal leading to another dimension – essentially putting the mystery back into the title of the show after Stephen Moffatt played heavily on revealing as much of the Doctor’s background as possible; it’s all part of the show’s DNA, and it will forever be a part of the show’s DNA.

The day Doctor Who doesn’t change will be the day it ends.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Film of the Week: Brightburn

This film asks and answers the question, what would Superman do if he turned against humanity? Brightburn gets as close to retelling Superman’s origin story as possible before diverting off course. We don’t know where the alien baby came from, what species he belongs to, and why they are channelling their intent on destroying Earth via the spaceship the baby crashed landed in, but what we do know is Superman could take over the world if he wanted to and there’s practically nothing we could do to stop him.

Blending horror and the superhero genre into one, this dramatic origin story to a conquer of worlds is every bit horror and every bit super, but none of the hero. Due to it being a rare genre, there wasn’t much that the filmmakers could do to divert from the clichés of the horror genre otherwise make it complicated. By keeping it simple, the unstoppable threat the boy achieves is felt via the superhero part of the genre, and the two do create a fair amount of decent jump scares which really do leave you on the edge of your seat. What I especially liked is how they introduced a weakness which the mother nearly used against him, but instead got the better of her, and became something the world was not prepared for. Only two people know of his weakness, and he killed them both.

With it being a horror, the deaths scenes could be ramped up to the max, to the point where I squirmed during two of the death scenes, actually closing my eyes during one of them – if they’re going to do horror, they’re going to do it properly.

Jackson A. Dunn plays the alien who is called Brandon, and he plays the part well. Upon discovering he has powers he quickly sets about testing them before realising he has many. Every power Superman has, he has, from super strength to flying. The film starts off with him being another Clark Kent before the spaceship activates. The mother, played by Elizabeth Banks, is a borderline stereotypical mother within the horror genre – when things start getting hairy, all she’s there to do is be the victim and scream. The dad, played by David Denman, does his best to stop things from developing, but fall victim when he does. David’s acting during the woods scene when his character discovers Brandon is bullet proof was the best scene in the film. The amount of emotions his character goes through during a short period of time must have been difficult to nail without taking a least a couple of attempts first.

In conclusion, we know what Superman is capable of if he turned bad – his powers are committed to memory by everyone at this point, so it’s easy enough to visualise what could happen if he turned bad, and there have been so many stories detailing when he does that Brightburn technically felt unoriginal as it’s just adding/adapting to what we already know, but by adding a strong dosage of horror into the mix creates just enough uniqueness required for us to be engaged and entertained.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: Sandylands

When I first saw the trailer to this program it was billed as an original. However, my first thought was of another program ‘The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin’ 1976 with Leonard Rossiter. Where the main character also faked his own death and came back. Although watching the first episode this is where the similarities between the two programs end.

So in episode one, it is a bit of a cliché really, people living in their own little world by the sea set in their own unique, strange, funny and unusual ways and a young lady Emily (Natalie Dew) who managed to escape into the big wide world or in this case London, comes back more, now I don’t want to be mean but the only way I can describe it is as, worldly wise. A part that is amusing yet awkward is karaoke duets with one person singing, yeah it doesn’t work. Well when it comes to ‘The morning after the night before, this could be classed as a different to the normal hangover, Dad Les (Sanjeev Bhaskar) is alive.

Episode two, it the day of the memorial but it is alright ‘Daddy’s here’ and amusingly that is the problem. It is nice to hear the heart to hearts between father and daughter. I actually like the music that was chosen just before the memorial. I have to mention the CD music not the recorder playing that is. Well the memorial started off with a lovely tribute by Emily, and then well an unexpected guest nearly gets caught and now the memorial is done with, and now another guest has shown up at the Bed and Breakfast.

Episode three, ‘Step one, fake death, step two who knows? Peru or Thailand ‘Picture the scene’, take your pick. This is amusing to watch a little exasperating though. Someone should also know that arresting someone is not a date. So Tina (Harriet Webb) has well ‘Hello Les’ fun to watch but very LOUD! Well it ok I now know where Peru is, I can safely say it is ‘Over there’ I love the Geography lesson, so funny. It ends. I know they say ‘Always leave people wanting more’ but this is an extreme case of this.

I don’t condone insurance fraud and I like how that was tackled. Overall this three-part series has been amusing and somewhat heart-warming to watch.

The Written Podcast: When the Doctor Became the Doctor – Peter Capaldi’s Moment: The Zygon Inversion

The circle of Doctor Who starts and ends with a regeneration. When David Tennent left, us fans were sad. When Matt Smith was announced to be his replacement, many people were sceptical about him being so young. Matt Smith subsequently blew everyone’s expectations out of the water and when it inevitably came around to his departure, people were sad once again. Peter Capaldi was then announced to be his successor, and many people were repeating themselves by being sceptical about how he’d portray the Doctor.

For a decent chunk of the audience, it took a while to warm to Peter Capaldi’s incarnation of the Doctor, mainly because of how alien he was compared to his previous regenerations. Because they’re the same person, starting from Christopher Eccleston’s incarnation to Matt Smith’s, there was some form of development with him dealing with the loss of his people and being the only one to still be alive. He went from being dark to caring to becoming a dangerous combination of the two, until finally being what the Doctor truly stood for when he settled down and protected the town of Christmas on the planet Trenzalore. 900 years he spent on one planet, saving humans, being what the Doctor has always stood for. So, it was a bit of a shock for us audience when Peter’s incarnation was dark and alien. Stephen Moffatt stated that this incarnation was born out of the war on Trenzalore, but I had a difficult time believing that and a theory of my own began to form. My theory stated the reason why the Doctor was darker was because of the new regeneration energy given to him by the Time Lords, a race not commonly associated with being light-hearted.

(Note, that theory is somewhat strained after the recent revelations from Season 12’s finale, with the Doctor being the timeless child and has no limit to how many times she can regenerate, but that’s a discussion for another time)

It did take a while for me to get used to Peter’s incarnation. His darker, ruder personality was hard to digest at times over the course of season 8, and there are moments that reference past episodes on the show, and could be considered when this incarnation became the Doctor we all know and love. A notable episode would be The Mummy on the Orient Express, in which a classic mystery needed solving, the Doctor had a difficult decision to make meaning he had to use his experience, cunning, and intelligence to solve it.

But the moment for me when Peter Capaldi’s incarnation truly became the Doctor was during series 9, The Zygon Inversion – the second part of a two-part story, following The Zygon Invasion. That two-part story is considered a sequel to the 50^th anniversary and did make many references to that incredible episode. Series had the most two-part stories since returning in 2005. This allowed the writers to flex their muscles and write a bigger story than if they were only confined to 45-minutes.

In The Zygon Inversion, during the scene when a Zygon duplicate taking the form of Clara was negotiating with the head of Unit, Kate, with their hands hovering ominously over buttons which could cause mass hysteria and death of both humans and Zygons alike. The Doctor performed an incredible speech, rivalling that of any Matt Smith did during his tenure, Peter’s delivery was incredible; full of passion. I hung onto every word he said. Every word made complete sense and the subtle increase of atmospheric music only made the scene and his words stand out more. He talked about how he fought in the war, how he made regrettable decisions not knowing who would be impacted. During that scene, it was clear he’s the same person he’d been during the 50^th anniversary. He was the Doctor.

That was when the Doctor became the Doctor, but there is another, more prominent episode. If The Zygon Inversion didn’t happen, then Heaven Sent would have been the moment when the Doctor became the Doctor. Rivalling that of Blink’s greatness – by turning the tables from being a Doctor-light episode to the Doctor being the only character throughout most of the episode, Heaven Sent was Stephen Moffatt’s greatest masterpiece as head writer. Peter Capaldi’s performance was on point throughout; the Doctor showcased just who he is as a person – someone who believes in doing the right thing no matter what, never be cruel or cowardly, never give up, and never gave in. I could have easily named Heaven Sent as being the episode when Peter’s incarnation became the Doctor, but The Zygon Inversion came before, and so it must take that achievement.

It is such a shame a fantastic episode containing two incredible stories had to be followed by series 10, a series which showed Stephen Moffatt’s tiredness. He’d used up his remaining energy during series 9 – he himself admitted he was ready to leave, but decided to stay at the last minute, and unfortunately the series he created wasn’t well received. He did make it up near the end with a multi-master storyline and a double-doctor Christmas special between the 12^th incarnation and the first… (not a word)

When it was time for Peter to say goodbye to the TARDIS and hand it over to someone else, talks about a female taking over the role reignited once more. And those talks became true when Jodie Whitaker was cast as the Doctor, and the show changed forever. Not only was the Doctor going to change gender, but Stephen was handing the reigns over to Chris Chibnall, a writer who wrote Broadchurch, an amazing detective story, and some of the lesser received episodes of Doctor Who, and the universally panned episode of Torchwood, Cyberwoman. Chris had quite a rollercoaster of a CV, so it would be interesting to see where he would take Doctor Who when it was his turn to control the pen.

Boy were we in for a surprise.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Film of the Week: Frozen 2

When Frozen came out, everyone sang the song, every shop sold its merchandise, and from that equation, it was inevitable there would be a sequel. It became a phenomenon, and it only died down when the minions came on the scene, and by the time the sequel came around, Frozen’s merchandise was limited to festivities only, such as Frozen Christmas crackers, Frozen Easter eggs, Frozen Halloween costumes – I was bracing myself for when the phenomenon skyrocketed back up again. But that’s the thing, it didn’t. Sure, there were a few pieces of merchandise to go along with the film with the focus mainly on the toys. The sequel’s impact was not as big as the first film, and that did get me wondering.

Were people bored of it now? Were there no longer any original products left to put the Frozen stamp on? Or were the shops noticing that the public’s care for the film wasn’t as big the second time round?

After finally getting around to watching the film, those three questions returned to the forefront of my mind. I hoped they wouldn’t change my perception of the film, but I don’t think they did. Frozen 2 is a decent story that extends upon the lore of that world, developing the characters further by explaining their backstory, which ultimately pandered towards those who want a sequel, the kids. Only the kids would want to go and see Frozen 2, not the entire family like the last time purely because the parents must have become tired from seeing Frozen everywhere they go, even in the most obscure of corner shops.

Disney put a considerable amount of effort into the film, from the animation, story, and the music, making a visually pleasing, pleasantly sounding, and quite interesting film families wouldn’t have a hard time watching together instead of just plonking their kids in front of the telly to keep them quiet for 2 hours. They could have only put half the effort into it because they knew it was an easy way to make a quick buck, but they didn’t. Their merchandise might not be as big as it was the first-time round, but that didn’t matter. Those who watched the first film would want to see the second, and they cannot disappoint by making only half a decent film.

The overall product was classic Disney. The first subverted our expectations by not having a true love’s kiss be the solution to the problem, but instead just be the love between family, this film continues that philosophy forward and switches roles for the two main characters – Elsa is the one who gets frozen and Anna is the one who saves her. And they all lived happily ever after.

In conclusion; we all knew there was going to be a sequel, I was surprised there wasn’t as much merchandise as there was before, but it didn’t matter how much was sold because Disney knew those who brought some form of merchandise would return, and for that they made sure to put a lot of effort into making it a decent film with a strong story, good music, and well-developed characters.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: Notting Hill

This film starts as any other normal day, complete with annoying customers that is until the famous actress Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) walks into William’s (Hugh Grant) shop. I do like how he carries on as his normal self. Including catching a thief.

It is strange to see William and his flat mate Spike (Rhys Ifans) watching a film Anna is in after their encounter.

I don’t think ‘Afternoon tea at the Ritz’ is going to be as William thought it would be. We do get an insight into the busy world of a celebrity though. So now you can see why Anna, having been treated like a normal person off the street, by William how that would make William appealing to get to know better. Sadly, virtually no privacy and awkward. The other interviews are fun to watch though.

I can see why Anna just wanted some normality in her life and a family birthday party will accomplish that. Also why couldn’t Anna compete for the ‘Brownie’ a life isn’t always as it seems. And now yes ‘Nice garden’ it is a heart-warming part.

Oh I love the improvised glasses part; it is amusing to watch. What is not so nice to watch is the part in the restaurant. We all have to remember famous people are real people. I do like the shocked looks and reactions though.

Well now there is another guest who has arrived and this film has taken a slightly dark turn but the new guest is not very nice. This film is realistic that we sometimes some of us do have the tendency that if something bad happens or our hearts are broken we do make ourselves ‘our own worst enemy’ and overload ourselves dwelling on it. In this case and film William goes to see Anna’s latest movie.

Now this film is back on the romantic track, it is nice that Anna got her, you could say ‘Bolt hole’.

I can see why they included the ‘Morning after’ scene, although a bit cliché waking up with reality but the scene had to be played out to make it realistic in this ‘Film star meets ordinary boy next door film’.

It is sad to see William get a lesson in the life of a famous film star. Although it is mentioned there are more serious things in the world but real is real. This film does have its ups and downs with some downs where not is all as it seems and some heart-warming ups. This film does go back to basics and ends after a funny ‘copycat’ kiss on an enormous heart-warming up.

The Written Podcast: When the Doctor Became the Doctor – Matt Smith’s Moment: The Eleventh Hour

Matt Smith had some big shoes to fill. David Tennent’s tenue as the Doctor wowed almost everyone, highlighting him as one of the best Doctors of all time, alongside Tom Baker from the classic era. It was a sad moment at the end of The End of Time – Part 2, when the Doctor stumbled into his TARDIS, knowing he must succumb to this regeneration after successfully deflecting the energy away, preventing him from changing his face. But this time, he must go. David Tennent would leave the TARDIS.

It was also a big moment for the production team, as Russell T. Davis was also putting down his pen, allowing Stephen Moffatt to pick it up. Stephen had written on the show numerous times. In fact, he wrote Blink, my very first ever episode of Doctor Who, so I was extremely excited when he was announced as head writer from series 5 onwards. He had big shoes to fill as well. Doctor Who would undergo the biggest change since returning in 2005, and it needed to impress from the very start.

Matt Smith was a relatively unknown actor, and the youngest ever person to be cast as the Doctor, which did trigger a few people into stating that he would be too young, but others defended that decision by explaining how regeneration worked. The Doctor changes when he regenerates, into anyone.

When series 5 rolled around with its feature length episode to hit the ground running, and boy, did it knock it out of the park. By the time Matt Smith took over, I had watched every episode of the show from Rose until David Tennent’s last, so I knew who the Doctor was as a character. Stephen Moffatt knew who the Doctor was as well, because he’s been a life-long fan of the show, and even wrote the hilarious Red Nose day special episode, Doctor Who and the Curse of the Fatal Death. Being head writer for the show was certainly a dream come true for him, and so he wanted to make it clear he knew what he was doing, and I’d say he showed me he knew exactly what he was doing.

Matt Smith’s moment when he became the Doctor was near the end of the Eleventh Hour, the first episode of series 5. After he had successfully deterred an alien ship from destroying Earth, he called them back just so he could tell them off. The Doctor wanted to make sure they knew exactly who he was and why they shouldn’t return to Earth, ever again. The enemy was the Atraxi, and we don’t see them ever again after this episode; the Doctor made sure of that, by having him scan him and look him up. Every incarnation of the Doctor flashed before ours and the Atraxi’s eyes, and that scared the hell out of the alien. Then Matt Smith’s incarnation of the Doctor stepped through the hologram and uttered the words, “hello, I’m the Doctor,” just to make it clear that he’s officially taken over from David Tennent.

Matt Smith’s tenue as the Doctor was superb. He had many wonderful moments, most notably when he made one of his epic speeches. Matt Smith’s ability to carry a speech made more writers want to write one for him, and he delivered each one awesomely. His first big speech was at the end of series 5, The Pandorica Opens, when every enemy he’d ever fought has gathered around Earth to see what’s inside the Pandorica, only to discover the Doctor had gotten there first, and he wanted them to back away to give him the chance to try and crack it open. With each word he said, it wasn’t as if he knew he had complete control over the situation, but instead making it up as he went along, but believed what he was saying would undoubtedly work. That belief carried over to us, the audience, too, because there have been many completion videos of Matt Smith’s speeches, each one just as good as the last.

Another epic moment came in series 7, The Rings of Akhaten, when he offered his memories to the parasite that looked like a gigantic sun. The heavy words in that speech detailing just how long the Doctor has lived for, and the things he’s done and seen, Matt Smith wowed me; practically taking my breath away. The Rings of Akhaten is one of my favourite episodes, and I would say does count as one of the moments when the Doctor became the Doctor, but it wasn’t the first for Matt Smith. That came way back at the beginning with the Eleventh Hour, when the Atraxi made the mistake of messing with the wrong person.

When it was time for Matt Smith to bow out of the TARDIS, he didn’t go out with a speech, but via the same energy he had at the beginning. Stephen took Matt’s age into account when creating his incarnation of the Doctor, making him incredibly energetic and hyper, zany and goofy, but serious and dark when either required to be or forced to be. Matt Smith’s performance saw an old man trapped in a young man’s body. When people saw a young man walk up to them and looked into his eyes, they saw multiple life-times worth of experience behind those eyes, contradicting his age entirely. That contradiction was displayed perfectly within his first episode, when the Atraxi realised just who this young, immature-acting, and innocent man called him back.

When David Tennent was scheduled to go, there were strong rumours that Doctor Who would end, because his performance was so good, no one would want to watch another actor play the role. That opinion and rumour was quickly quenched when Matt Smith absolutely blew everyone’s expectations out of the water, and when it was time for him to say goodbye, we wondered just who could follow that spectacular performance.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Film of the Week: Sonic the Hedgehog

This review is going to be a little different, mainly because I haven’t actually seen the film. I know what you’re thinking already, how can I comment on a film I haven’t seen? Surely, that’d be a silly thing to do. But hear me out.

Sonic the Hedgehog hasn’t had the smoothest of developments, which started to become a very bumpy ride when the first trailer was released. Sonic’s design was hideous. Panned by critics and fans of Sonic alike, the trailer was instantly disliked. Tim Miller tried to defend Sonic’s design by stating that they had to make him look like he would fit in the real world. That doesn’t make much sense considering Sonic is a walking talking blue hedgehog – strictly speaking there’s nothing “real world” about him. In fact, but redesigning the character, they’ve made it less “real world” than he would be if he just remained the way we all know him to look like.

But, the filmmakers did something most do not, and that’s listened to the out pour of negativity and did something about it; they changed Sonic’s look by reverting back to how we know him. In a way, the filmmakers didn’t have much choice. Too many people would have boycotted the film and made it a flop, resulting in the studio losing money. They pushed back the release of the film by a few months whilst they worked on making Sonic look like Sonic the Hedgehog. When the trailer was released featuring the redesign, it was clear there was plenty of praise.

I am writing this article because we owe it to those who listened to go and give this film a chance. We also owe it to the people who’ve lost their jobs, which is absolutely absurd. A special effects studio which only followed the orders of one Tim Miller and created that abomination, and then worked tirelessly to fix the problem, shut down. Why? All the information we have explaining why, is practically contradicting itself. We owe it to them to watch the film.

There was what can be regarded as a tradition when it comes to film adaptations of video games, and that it did poorly. That tradition seemed to have been finally broken when Pokemon: Detective Pikachu came out. A decent video game movie was finally made, and as I stated in that article, I believed it was down to the fact Pokemon was more than just a game series, it was an anime and film series as well, with each media outlet following different stories, so it was easy enough to make a film, because you’re not really adapting a game, but instead adapting the brand into a live-action film. That’s what I see in Sonic the Hedgehog. They’re adapting the brand, not one singular game.

All that leaves me to do is go and watch the film and pay my respects to the company which shouldn’t have shut down by following orders.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: Coming to America

This film starts off setting up the story really well. Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) is extremely pampered, but it seems the pampering is not as great as you would think. I can see how it could be suffocating. When we see the actual life of Prince Akeem play out there is to be a change in the royal circumstances. However, not after one, you could say a ‘Red herring’, some cringingly awkward singing and a very obedient yet I want to say annoying, yet this doesn’t seem quite the right word on its own but coupled with the word unworldly, you can see why Akeem wants to meet someone else in America.

The logic of this film is great, I am not sure of the coin toss but it works out well, also I can see that if you don’t know which part of a huge country to go to, east or west, a coin toss it is, but there is only one place for a Prince to go to find his bride/Queen, that is ‘Queens’. For a rich pampered Prince, let’s just say Queens New York is not the most luxurious place to go. The enforced change of clothing helps Akeem and Semmi (Arsenio Hall) to fit in better.

It is good to see that the best way to meet someone is naturally. Also two businesses can be different but not too similar. Let the Garbage’ careers begin.

It seems it is a small world as Akeem is recognised, this is played out really well, it could have gone two ways, first it could have been over the top and disastrous and second, subtle and light-hearted in which it was the latter and well done.

The training Akeem received back home pays off when an undesirable person enters the restaurant. This is a comedy but it is also an intelligent, well thought-out film.

Oh boy, she is annoyed. It is nice to see Akeem and Lisa Mcdowell (Shari Headley) are on the same page, but things are still a little complicated.

This film shows you should one, be careful what you say and two, be careful who you leave in charge of sorting out an apartment.

Someone is happy, sadly, it don’t last long. There seems to have been an unexpected guest and a role reversal. I can see that Akeem actually likes that. It is a surprise but the logic continues. He is meant to be poor and he still is.

Another unexpected guest or guests have arrived, it is a surprise but when you ask for money and what could be considered too little or too much, I should really have expected a consequence more than I did initially.

It is sad, that attitudes have changed Akeem’s initial aim is unravelling. Again the script handles it really well.

It is great to see Akeem’s mother seeing/talking sense and Lisa’s father stand up for his daughter.

Yes go after her! And what a beautiful surprise ending.