Star Trek: Discovery

There have been reports before the fact about this series that are the stuff of nightmare, and there is of course the whole concept of having to pay for it as part of CBS' new All Access network, so even before it started, "Star Trek: Discovery" had a hard road ahead of it. First imagined as an anthology series, taking place at any time or place in the mainstream Trek universe (as opposed to in the Kelvin timeline of the last three cinematic films - here, here, and here), this series now might just be about one ship, one crew, and one time - time will tell.

I have been impressed with the previews myself, especially the acting and casting, but not so much with some of the designs, particularly the Klingon ones. Further while I was very happy with the casting of "The Walking Dead"'s Sonequa Martin-Green as First Officer Michael Burnham and one of my favorite actresses Michelle Yeoh as Captain Philippa Georgiou, I was disappointed that Green would take lead as the POV protagonist with Yeoh in a more background role. That said, as with all such things, I should have an opinion until I actually see it, right? It's what separates the Trekkers from the Trekkies, I suppose, pre-perception.

I loved the opening of the first episode, "The Vulcan Hello," as well as the new theme. The composition by Jeff Russo incorporates elements of the original theme, and while it's no country song like in "Enterprise," which I found original, refreshing, and catchy, it is adequate. The visuals are much less exciting, and disappointing. But as noted, the acting and lesson of the intro with Green and Yeoh showed much promise and dedication to the cause. It had my hopes up that I was able to get through the less-than-stellar credit sequence.

Ten minutes in, introduced to Doug Jones' paranoid science officer Saru, and others in the diverse crew of the USS Shenzhou, this was feeling very Trek, from the dialogue, to the uniforms, to the procedural, and I was digging it. This crew gets along, knows each other's quirks, and has a camaraderie similar to later seasons of "TNG." There is however an annoying Motion Picture conceit of showing off special effects and model building, almost like a child jumping up and down and yelling, "Look what I can do!" and it results in scenes dragging and taking much longer than they should.

And then there are the Klingons, some might say drastically different in appearance and conduct to what we have known before. They have been known to change their physical appearance in the past, but this is quite different, and quite possibly what drove fans up the wall when images surfaced. We have more gothic, more bestial, more feudal Klingons here, with a darker, larger, more sinister and menacing bird of prey. I am willing to accept this, after all, who knows how much and how fast Klingons might evolve physically or change culturally.

A more sophisticated explanation from the showrunners suggest that the Klingon Empire is huge, and not all Klingons come from Kronos. Their various cultures and styles and even physical manifestations vary from house to house, their system of power, similar to that of "Game of Thrones" in a way. Just like a New York businessman would look different from an Aborigine shaman for instance, these Klingons are just as different as say Kang and Worf are to each other. Seems like a lot of dancing to just make more fearsome alien monsters and not change the name. And once the thought that they were more like "Doctor Who" monsters than "Star Trek" villains entered my mind, it would not leave.

The setting is ten years before the original series, and the USS Shenzhou has discovered a Klingon ship. Burnham, who has a history with the Klingons who haven't but rarely been seen in generations, goes to investigate and ends up killing one of their Torchbearers. Burnham, we learn was the only survivor of a Vulcan-Human space station attacked by Klingons. Her parents killed, Sarek (yes, that Sarek) took her in, educated, and trained her. So this discovery is a hot issue for Burnham.

As the episode continues we see more of Burnham, as well as Saru and Geogiou, all doing fantastic jobs. The performances are on mark. Meanwhile we are also learning of Klingon culture and how one house is trying to unite all twenty-four houses against the Federation. The cliffhanger on the first episode is a tight one, and must have been very frustrating for those not subscribed to CBS All Access. My take on this however, based on the first episode, would be it's worth it.

Lucky folks outside the United States got to see it on Netflix, it should be noted. And in watching the second episode, "Battle at the Binary Stars," it's evident that the structure of the show fits Netflix to a tee. This is a binge series, and watched best as a binge. It's episodic, with a binge-worthy flow, interspersed with character-revealing flashbacks - this is a Netflix show, and CBS couldn't have found a better formula to copy. It's damn good. I dug this a lot, recommended.

Fleabag

I have to admit that until her name came up as a possibility for the role of the thirteenth incarnation of The Doctor on "Doctor Who," I had never heard of Phoebe Waller-Bridge.  She's apparently an award-winning playwright as well as an actress, but I didn't know.  Neither she nor the other favorite Kris Marshall of Love Actually, got the role, it going instead to Jodie Whittaker.  We'll have to wait until at least Christmas to see how that goes.

Back on track I was surprised to see Phoebe's name again recently as I was browsing Amazon Prime.  She is the star and writer of a show called "Fleabag."  The ongoing saga of a young single woman in London as she tries to make her way through life after the death of her best friend might not sound like anything special, but Waller-Bridge makes it work wonderfully. 

As the title character, Phoebe's dry sarcastic wit, self-deprecating humor, and breaking of the fourth wall bring this series to a level above most sitcom dramas.  The characters, situations, and problems are all very real, her caustic wit severing them all with precision.  It feels like the later meaner seasons of "Seinfeld" and the earlier more earnest seasons of "Girls," mixed with "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "I'm Sorry," with just a touch of Britcom sensibility and "Sex and the City."  Yeah, all that. 

I love this show, so funny, so clever, and so tragic.  My mind reels to wonder what she would have been like as The Doctor.  Perhaps someday we'll see, until then we have "Fleabag," definitely recommended. 

The New Doctor

The announcement has been made, the shots have been fired, and finally after two days, one might hope the smoke has cleared. The new Doctor, who we will not see officially until Christmas evening, several months away, will be a woman. The new Doctor Who (if that is, indeed, his/her name, hmmm, I wonder if The Doctor will need to choose new pronouns…) will be played by Jodie Whittaker.

Now, first things first, the fact that The Doctor will be a woman doesn't bother me one bit. It's been known in fandom circles for decades that Time Lords/Ladies can change gender, race, even species, when they regenerate. Such a gender switch was verified as canon on the television series itself in the episode "Hell Bent" as a white male Time Lord regenerated into a black female Time Lady. Since then, we have seen, and loved, Michelle Gomez as missy, the female regeneration of The Master. It happens, it's canon, and that's how it's going to be.

If anything, my disappointment in the choice of new Doctor was more about it not being Hayley Atwill ("Agent Carter") or Kris Marshall (Love, Actually) than it being a woman. My only doubt is in the fact I have never seen Jodie Whittaker's work, so I'm not even sure what kind of Doctor she'll be - but then again, finding out is half the fun with any new Doctor. I just hope she'll have good stories. Bad stories can ruin even the best Doctors, as in the cases of both Sylvester McCoy and Peter Capaldi, in my opinion.

And now a word about fandom, and this is where it will get ugly. There have been a few distinct factions at war on social media regarding the announcement of the new "Doctor Who" as a woman. There are those true fans of the show who know it is canon, and know it has been hinted at and telegraphed over the span of seasons that eventually The Doctor would regenerate into a woman, and they were cool with it - granted, hesitant as they would be with any new Doctor, but not over gender.

Then there were those who were only casual fans or who only knew the show by reputation and had no idea how regeneration works, let alone what it is. Typically these folks probably voted for Brexit or Trump and wouldn't know a TARDIS from a police box. They were outraged that another male icon was being stolen from them. They were also typically the same folks who spell it 'Dr. Who' as opposed to 'Doctor Who.' For the record, this is Dr. Who, and this is Doctor Who, get it right. Not true Whovians and not worth my time.

Also not worth my time are the folks who have never seen the program and yet still have an opinion. You know what you can do with your opinion. If you don't watch, you don't get one. Just my opinion. And this includes all those folks trying to use the idea of an iconic male role becoming female for your own agendas. You don't get to do that if you know nothing about the mythos.

I welcome Jodie Whittaker to the Who family, and cannot wait for her adventures to begin. I think she's going to rock.

Class

This is the "Doctor Who" spin-off that was originally planned for BBC's streaming access earlier this year. It has been broadcast after "Doctor Who" on Saturday nights after its mother show on BBC America. It's set in Coal Hill Academy (formerly School), the school that the original "Doctor Who" series began at, and recently returned to a couple seasons back.

The premise surrounds a group of students and teachers at the school, who all have their own various secrets and backstories. The school, as background of so many "Doctor Who" adventures, has become a structurally weak point in the universe, both dimensionally and temporally, allowing all manner of nasties to enter.

I was expecting something along the lines of "The Sarah Jane Adventures," a show about kids, for kids. I was very surprised at watching the pilot episode, which of course guest-starred Peter Capaldi as The Doctor, because it was so dark. And by dark I don't mean the monsters which were living shadows, this was a mature show. This is a mature show for mature viewers, much more in line with "Torchwood" than "Sarah Jane."

So you've got high school students, doing high school things, and mixing in with, and mixing it up with some pretty nasty aliens. Most of the kids for me are interchangeable. If I'm being honest I wouldn't know if they switched them around every week, but there is one character who does stand out. That's Miss Quill.

Teacher Miss Andrea Quill, played with precision and a bit of charismatic madness by Katharine Kelly, formerly of "Coronation Street" and "Mr. Selfridge." She is a shape-shifting alien bonded to one of the students, and she's smart and mean and infinitely watchable. Really Kelly is the only thing worth watching in "Class" as far as I'm concerned. Even the ongoing Shadow King subplot doesn't grab me, these monsters in particular are a bit hokey, reminding me of the clay people in Heavenly Creatures more than anything else.

If "Class" isn't renewed, I hope that Miss Quill might join The Doctor as a companion, or better yet, as an adversary. Until then, "Class" is really only worth watching for the most hardcore Who fans.

Free Comic Book Day 2017

Having recently moved to Florida from New Jersey and not getting that many comics any more, I was at a loss as to what to do for Free Comic Book Day this year. I dearly miss All Things Fun! up in my home state, along with Ed, Dina, and Allison, who I did the All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast with (which you can still see here), but it's just too far a drive these days.

The Bride and I decided to drop in at a newer comic shop here in downtown Lakeland, Uncanny Heroes. They had Darth Vader, Chewbacca, George Lowe from "Space Ghost Coast to Coast," and a DeLorean parked out front, I was sold, let's stay a while. Having Max 98.3 FM broadcasting live and barbequed hot dogs and burgers was just a bonus as far as I was concerned – Uncanny knows how to celebrate Free Comic Book Day. I picked up a handful of the free comics, a cool Krypto shirt, and Batman/Shadow #1. Here's what I thought of some of the books:

Batman/Shadow ~ I was wary of this one as my friend and podcast partner Ray thought I might like it. Anyone who listens to The GAR! Podcast knows that's never a good sign. I can't say I hated this, but I didn't like it either. The Shadow is the antagonist here, not the way I want it, and Scott Snyder and Steve Orlando get it right except which side of the law the Shadow is on, and I did love the Maniaks reference. This book earned a second issue and a second chance, but a tentative one.

From the free comics I picked up Riverdale, which was very readable but in the long run not as enjoyable as Archie Comics of the past. Very hooked into the CW show of the same name these two tales are set in that continuity. And if you dig the show, there's a cool character guide in the back of this one.

In anticipation of the upcoming live-action The Tick series on Amazon (I loved the pilot) I picked up that comic, fun but not as good as it used to be. Hmmm, seems to be a pattern. Underdog, from American Mythology, the company that currently publishes Eagle, was fun, with both a new story and an old one. I just may pick up the new Underdog comic based on this. And then there's Wonder Woman. I was not a fan of Greg Rucka when he wrote the character before and I remain unimpressed.

The Bride picked up a few of her own as well. The nice thing about Uncanny Heroes is they had no limit on how many free comics you could get. It's important to note that even though the comics are free to customers, the stores till pay for them, so remember that every Free Comic Book Day and buy as well as get free stuff. Jenn picked up four books from the FCBD selection.

The first was Avatar, which didn't do much for me, but I am excited for the film sequels and the new park in Disney's Animal Kingdom. The next one was also Disney-related, a manga version of Descendants from Tokyopop that was interesting, but I prefer the movie. Next was Doctor Who from Titan Comics with a fun tale of four Doctors that I dug quite a bit.

The Bride's final choice was All-New Guardians of the Galaxy as a dessert to seeing the movie the night before. The comic wasn't bad, pretty much in line with the real series of the same name, but what really irked me was the second story of this Marvel FCBD book - Defenders. So Bendis is writing a book called Defenders featuring the Netflix version of that team, nothing I can do about that, I guess, it's typical Bendis, but do they have to use the original logo? To me that logo means the real Defenders – Doctor Strange, Hulk, Sub-Mariner, Nighthawk, Valkyrie, Hellcat, etc., not these guys. How about a new logo, huh?

Marvel had two other offering for the day, one a reading chronology for the "All-New, All-Different Marvel" that is basically a glossy and pretty book of ads for Marvel's trade paperbacks – in correct reading order to be sure – but still a book of ads. And then there's Secret Empire, a heart crushing addition to the Captain America as Hydra agent saga where the villain (Cap, as hard as that is to believe) defeats the Avengers by wielding the hammer of Thor. Yes, it defies logic, like all of this story. Thankfully it's followed by a sneak peek at Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man featuring Spidey, the Vulture, and the new Trapster. That's kinda fun at least.

For the most part, a fun Free Comic Book Day, thanks to Uncanny Heroes.

Daredevil S02 E04: Penny and Dime

We open this episode of "The Punisher"... um, I mean, "Daredevil," with the arrival of Finn Cooley in New York City. In the Punisher comics, this IRA explosives expert walks around with half of his face blown off, but here he's played by suave Scottish actor Tony Curran, who I know best as Vincent Van Gogh from "Doctor Who," but has quite an impressive career beyond his cool geek cred.

After wrecking his own family's funeral Finn goes on a meticulous and vicious rampage that gets him closer to the Punisher than Daredevil in three episodes. I mean, it's not like it's old hornhead's show or anything. As what's left of the Irish mob leaves Frank's apartment, with his dog in tow, kidnapping it John Wick style, the Punisher watches. Yeah, this is going to be ugly.

After the credits, Karen goes to pick up Matt, and they share an intimate tie knotting moment, before attending the lonely funeral of Grotto. Also in attendance is Foggy and, returning from last season, Father Lantom. Even though the gigantic church is empty and echoey, Lantom performs the service as if it was full. His sermon reinforces the drives of both Matt and Karen.

While Karen goes in search of the Punisher, Daredevil pays a visit to Melvin Potter. He's got a new cowl for him as well as gauntlets. He also mentions old contacts are back in town coming to him for weapons but he's turned them down. Melvin is a bit concerned with the hero's well-being, tells him to take care. When DD wishes the same back Melvin replies that he is a reveals the Gladiator chest plate beneath his shirt. Enough foreplay, guys, ditch the Punisher and bring on the Gladiator!

There is a subtle line being drawn in this season so far, and was hinted at strongly in "Jessica Jones," especially in the episode "AKA 99 Friends," that battle lines are being drawn between human and non-human. This all led to Captain America: Civil War and continues in the fourth season of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," but it is interesting that it's rearing its ugly head here in the Netflix corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Witness Officer Mahoney's distinction made between cops and criminals and 'you people' in his brief discussion with Daredevil.

Now you folks who have been following along as I've reviewed "Jessica Jones" and the first season of "Daredevil," you know I write these reviews as I watch them, so my expectations and speculations are sometimes a bit off. There was unfortunately one aspect of this season that was spoiled for me - Karen Page and the Punisher getting together. For me, that makes the brief gentle moments that Karen and Matt keep having both bittersweet and exceptionally cruel. Because of that foreknowledge, I kinda hate them.

Despite all that, I have to marvel at Karen's ability to track down the Punisher right down to his origins, and even his former family home. This is more than the police, the Feds, or even the Irish mob was able to do - and the Irish were able to take the Punisher down. I joked about the title of this series at the start of this review, but really how much of a hero is the titular hero when he's so ineffectual and supporting cast and B level bad guys show him up so easily?

With Finn, it's quite a character reveal that with much of his family dead, including his son, at the hands of the Punisher, that what he really wants once his prey is in his grasp, is his money back. The Punisher apparently stole millions from the IRA, and Finn is going to get it back even if he has to drill his point home. Frank gets one point for compassion when he gives up the location of the money after Finn threatens his dog. I still don't like the character.

I did like the subtle stealth and almost casualness with which Daredevil attacked the Irish mob's hideout. It was like he was taking a walk in the park, with his eyes closed - and I guess with Daredevil, that's almost a given everyday. Unfortunately after that however, it falls apart. Rather than letting Daredevil rescue the Punisher, the showrunners give the latter some sort of weird precognition that allowed to know what the Irish were up to, so he rigged his van with the money to explode, and sewed a razor blade into his arm for later. Holy Shark Repellent Bat-Spray!

Daredevil and the Punisher escape from the villains' lair like they're buddies in a seventies issue of The Brave and the Bold. They have a little after party in the cemetery, with Frank opening his heart to DD about the rhyme he says before he kills people. The episode title references it and the tale he tells is one of tragedy that many veterans of war know. Has our hero forgotten about all the people this villain has killed? All the horrible things he's done, all the crimes he's committed? Again props to Jon Bernthal's performance, but he is still the bad guy... why has DD forgotten that?

He hasn't. And when the police arrive, thankfully Daredevil does something heroic. He allows the police to take the Punisher in, specifically Officer Brett Mahoney, and makes sure he takes the credit in an attempt to clear any blurred lines he may have caused with the police. I'm just surprised the Punisher went in without a fight.

The episode almost ends with more gentle moments with Matt and Karen, and most significantly a very sensual kiss in the rain that both reminded me of, and consciously tried not to be, the kiss in the rain from the 2003 Daredevil film. I know that kiss is with Elektra and this one is with Karen, but Deborah Ann Woll is very Elektra here... which is a shame because the real thing is waiting for Matt when he gets home...

Next: Kinbaku!

Justice League Rebirth

I've looked at the comic that started the whole Rebirth thing for DC Comics, and several of the Rebirth restarts for various characters. Now I'm looking at the restart of one of my favorite comic book franchises, Justice League Rebirth.

The monumental task of relaunching DC's major superhero team goes to Bryan Hitch, handling both writing and illustrating duties. Hitch has worked on the team before and is probably best known, at least to me, as the artist who brought Marvel Comics Ultimates - a super-realistic version of their Avengers - to life. I admired the attempt, disliked the story and the characters, but dug the art. I still like Hitch, somewhat (he draws an ugly Wonder Woman, sorry, but it's how it hits me), but this is not his best work, or perhaps his style is not right for the Justice League. I think it might be the latter, at least on the visuals. His Flash also bothers me, never looking like the Flash, but more like just some guy in a Flash suit.

Bryan Hitch is aware of the new continuity, and the old continuity. He's better than some of DC's guiding editors in this instance. I loved how he wove in the new/old Superman and the two semi-new Green Lanterns into the story to aid the remaining five Leaguers - Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg - against an oncoming alien threat.

At first, the giant alien monster attacking the unnamed city seems almost Lovecraftian, then kinda downgrades to a cheap Starro knock-off. Either way, the Justice League's triumph is straight out of "Doctor Who," specifically that first Matt Smith episode, "The Eleventh Hour," when he tasks the Atraxi to run, and tells everyone that Earth is defended.

Despite some problems, I liked this issue, not as much as some other Rebirth books, but enough to give it a chance if I come across it again.

Arrow S04 E22: Lost in the Flood

In the last episode of "Arrow," the town of Havenrock was nuked in order to save the much more populous city of Monument Point. The unavoidable death toll is in the tens of thousands instead of millions. The disaster has made Damien Darhk near invincible. He's powerful enough to kill Green Arrow and Spartan, but he doesn't, so they will live long enough to die in the armageddon when Darhk gets the rest of the missile codes. Rookie James Bond villain mistake - always kill the heroes, always.

Felicity is taking it hard, and she had a hard choice, she didn't want anyone to die. They're going to need help to keep the codes from Darhk, so she enlists Curtis, who more than a little starstruck by her hacker dad, the Calculator. I loved when he said to Felicity that she now made so much more sense, and also the WarGames reference. Of course, in retaliation Darhk enlists Cooper Seldon from "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak" to work the opposing side of the hack. I loved the Eye of Sauron on the screens when Cooper took over the Team Arrow computers.

Meanwhile Thea is being held prisoner by dear old dad Malcolm Merlin inside Darhk's Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (yeah, I went there) after Anarky killed her boyfriend, who was not Dr. Davis after all. Anarky, who's hunting Darhk, may actually be more of a monkey wrench in his plans than Team Arrow. I am so sick of deus ex machina in these superhero shows of late, Anarky better not be the one to take out Darhk.

While Felicity is called away to deal with the domestic trainwreck that is her parents, and Green Arrow and Spartan discover Darhk's underground EPCOT, Quentin Lance is alone in the Arrowcave. It's during this time that Sara Lance returns from her time journey with "DC's Legends of Tomorrow." If you watched the season finale the next evening you know what happens when she learns Laurel has been killed. Like on "Doctor Who," Laurel's death is a fixed point in time and cannot be altered. Sara returns to the time stream.

On Flashback Island, Taiana is possessed of the power of Reiter's Khushu Idol, and planning to bring it home to her village to take revenge on the warlord there, a guy named Kovar. Interesting, the only Russian named Kovar in the DC Comics Universe is the superhero Starfire/Red Star, decidedly a good guy last I checked. Unfortunately, Reiter is still alive and isn't letting anyone leave with the idol.

Back at Darhk's Noah's Ark/EPCOT Thea been drugged and wants to kill Oliver. Merlyn steps in and says the most truthful thing that's ever been said in four seasons of this series. Oliver has always had an inability to do what is necessary. What's he going to do? It's already been established he's not going to kill Merlyn. Only John Barrowman. Cold hard truth. And right there, with those words, Merlyn takes the crown as Green Arrow's archenemy.

Inside the Ark, things have gone to hell, for exactly the reasons I had feared. Team Arrow has nothing to do with actively defeating the bad guy, again. While they stopped Darhk from getting the missile codes and foiling his plan, it's Anarky who makes the crushing blow. While the whole ark city is going up in white dwarf star alloy powered flames, little Lonnie Machin kills Ruve Adams.

As you can imagine, Darhk is at the end of his rope. And why he didn't kill Merlyn for his continued failures is beyond me. Malcolm and Oliver are just different sides of the same coin. As Darhk visits Felicity, Curtis, and Donna he promises to bring hell to them.

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode and anything else in the Arrowverse, please join the Arrow Discussion Group on Facebook.

Next: Schism, the season finale!

Jessica Jones S01 E08: AKA WWJD?

Here's the problem, and it's a most disturbing one. David Tennant, who plays Kilgrave here, and played The Doctor for several years on "Doctor Who," is so damned charismatic. As one of the most diabolical and immoral villains of the Marvel Universe, when he's trying to be nice, trying to get into Jessica Jones' good graces, we almost believe him, as if we too have been influenced by his powers...

In a bit of stalker-ish sociopathology Kilgrave has purchased Jessica's childhood home, refurnished it just as it was, invited her to live there with him, all done without the benefit (?) of his powers. To say this is effed up is an understatement. Mutual consent, her choice, and her love, is all that he wants.

The edge is thick in the air as Jess tours the home of her past surrounded by ghosts, as well as Kilgrave, and his paid bodyguard Hank, plus a chef and a maid. Through dinner, breakfast, conversation with a neighbor, Kilgrave tries desperately for domestic bliss, all with the undercurrent of sociopathic house arrest.

Trish calls, worried about Jess, and worried about her new beau Will Simpson. He's gone AWOL. We find he's in the house, has planted a bomb to finish off Kilgrave once and for all. Jessica disarms it and sends Will packing. When Trish does catch up to him, he still doesn't tell her the truth - what else would one expect of a future super-villain? Instead he tries to convince Trish to forget about Kilgrave, and that Jessica can take care of herself.

All of it however pales in comparison to the heated discussion at the heart of the episode. Kilgrave raped Jessica. He raped her physically, mentally, and emotionally. He is a true monster. He may have given her everything she wanted, pampered her with fancy clothes and hotels and restaurants - but she wanted none of it. Not to make light of the situation, but bottom line, no means no.

Just when the writing veers into something real, it slingshots back to supermax idiocy. Jessica tries to make the Purple Man a force for good. It's a fun idea, it's a comic book idea, and not one fitting to the psychological crime noir that is "Jessica Jones." Somewhere along the way, and especially in this talky flip-floppy episode, the show has run off the path.

As much as I worried early on about the chemistry between Jessica and Luke Cage, perhaps I should have been more worried about it between her and Kilgrave. Their scenes together are not as tense as they should be. Separately and reacting to each other they are great, but together on the same side, no. It's just one of the flaws of the show, like the Jeri Hogarth divorce that I just don't give a crap about.

But it always comes back to Kilgrave. As earnest and charismatic as the monster is, he always defaults to evil, from having knives at the throats of the paid help to the humiliation of Jessica's neighbor to the brutal final ending of this episode, Kilgrave is ever the villain. Thankfully Jessica remains true to herself as well... even if I never expected her to fly...

Next: Sin Bin

The Monsters Are Back

In this season of "Penny Dreadful," we have moved beyond the world of the penny dreadful and into the one of its American counterpart, the figuratively more expensive dime novel. As the protagonists have all gone their separate ways and formed new alliances - Lily and Dorian, Hecate and Ethan, Victor and Henry, Malcolm and Kaetenay - and spread to different corners of the world, it gives the show an HBO vibe with quick cutting to display the many characters. This tact also builds anticipation for when our 'heroes' once again meet and merge subplots.

As a fan of the original stories I was excited to see Caliban/John Clare, our Frankenstein monster, in the Arctic. I was yet equally excited to see him searching for his lost past in Chinatown. Might it be too much to wish for an appearance by another Victorian villain, Fu Manchu? Or might the legal rights be too difficult to navigate?

The concept of Victor Frankenstein and Henry Jekyll (a black man in this continuity) being old school chums and fellow outcasts is a charming and imaginative one. I like it quite a bit. Their clashing and contrasting philosophies of science and the evil of man make their partnership one of both madness and wonder, and I love that they are currently quartered in Bedlam, the prime place to conjure horror of that age. Think how they could anger God together.

I applaud the addition of Patti Lupone to the cast, though not in the part she had been playing (and should have gotten a Emmy for, the Cut-Wife), but as Dr. Seward, a gender-switched version of the character from Dracula. Notably she is a distant relative of her former role, and is not the only new addition from that book. We also have Renfield, complete with fly obsession, as her secretary and the titular monster himself in the guise of Alexander Sweet currently romancing Seward's patient Vanessa Ives.

Dracula is of course not the only big bad waiting in the wings, as Lily and Dorian Gray are still plotting a domination of the human race and are teaching a young girl, Justine, their evil ways. Reeve Carney and Billie Piper are deliciously evil and have certainly come a long way from Spider-Man and Rose Tyler, Defender of the Universe.

Patti Lupone is not the only new cast member this season, there's also award-winning Native American actor Wes Studi. Unfortunately he is filling the role of the magical Negro that Danny Sapani's Sembene thankfully avoided in the first two seasons. Hopefully there is more than meets the eye with his Kaetenay character in the dime novel sequences of this season.

I am unsure where the subplots in the American West are going, even though I am enjoying them the most, but I do hope the London stories end with that old kaiju eiga trick of turning the monsters against each other. That would be awesome. Either way, I'll be watching this season.

For a different point of view on "Penny Dreadful," please check out friend and author Marie Gilbert's reviews of the series here at Biff Bam Pop!.