Comments on: This week at your comic shop – 10/10/2012

By: dailypop

dailypop — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 23:07:46 +0000

Always nice to hear that these posts are being appreciated (and read!).

By: Hal

Hal — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 00:08:04 +0000

My review of Uncanny Avengers #1 : Yuck! (quite nice art though)

By: Hal

Hal — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 00:04:11 +0000

Cont’d
strand involving Kryten playing “chinese whispers” with vending machines until the end when they all rather mechanically mesh together. The Pree plot movement from secondary to primary position when it links with the Lister and Lister plot isn’t terrible but there isn’t enough of a sense of threat even when Lister resigning from Dwarf service leads to Pree blowing him out an airlock and then psychopathically attempting to fly the Dwarf into the heart of a sun (cue Rimmer – “You mad goth bastard!”). This is in contrast to some of the classic Dwarf episodes while Pree herself though amusing, brings to mind Queeg and Cassandra two other troublesome computers (though Queeg was – SPOILER – actually Holly!) from better episodes. The episode as a whole was a little draggy, the pace uncertain while Doug Naylor should perhaps have left the direction to others. In comparison to Red Dwarf II-VI there’s a rather stagey airless feel with performances that aren’t always pitched correctly (also compare the way earlier Dwarf was directed to this). All that said, there are things to enjoy here, the good jokes *do* land and there is enough Dwarf character to entertain just not as much as one might hope. Perhaps Naylor is too intent on over-loading the scripts when a simpler approach might work. Certainly Fathers and Suns (nothing to do with Turgenev then!) is at its best when the characterization, jokes, and concepts are integrated. My rating: 6/10.

By: Hal

Hal — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:39:48 +0000

For the edification of precisely no one it’s another Red Dwarf X reviewette! This Week’s Episode: Fathers and Suns.
RD X’s premiere episode (Trojan) was arguably the finest and funniest since the show’s glory days (with the possible exception of Cassandra) so could Episode Two keep up that standard? Not really, no. It’s not that Fathers and Suns is hopeless it isn’t, but the flaws within Trojan come to the fore here with a somewhat muddled disjointed script that struggles to make the most of some strong concepts. Aside from this the characterizations of the regulars fluctuates with Rimmer and Kryten coming off as rather *too* cartoony and the Cat hardly being there at all. Craig Charles gives a rather more effective performance this week and is much better served by the writing. However, he’s pretty far from having the energy and conviction of series III-VI as it appears he’s imported his acting style from the soap opera Coronation Street which isn’t very Listerish. These criticisms aside Doug Naylor does manage to make something of his peculiar notion of linking back to VII’s dubious Ouroboros; the concept of Lister being his own father leads to two funny if slightly cruel scenes of Dave “Senior” drunkenly communicating with his “son” by ingenious Listery means, and berating “Junior” for making a mess of his life! There’s also a supremely silly scene featuring a cut-out guitar and references to Lister’s delusions about his playing ability.
The major problem with the episode is slackness and the variability of the humour which often lacks vital spark. Rimmer and Kryten are involved with a sub-plot involving predictive computer Pree (lovely Rebecca Blackstone) who predictably proves to be less than reliable as she “predicts” that supervising officer Rimmer would cock up and does it for him. This is quite funny (as is the scene in which Rimmer “disinterestedly” makes sure Kryten picks a computer image of a 25 year- old blonde with 36D boobs) but it isn’t well-integrated with the other plot or a third (dubious)cont

By: hobgoblin238

hobgoblin238 — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 04:19:16 +0000

This is my favorite thing that you post! Got to get that Twoface mask!