Art

Dali: Painting and Film
(at the Museum of Modern Art)
Special Exhibition of the loopy Spaniard's work. MoMA's website includes a (more limited) online version of the exhibition, accessible here.

Museum of Modern Art
A general wander around the museum, which has a few genuine pieces of art amongst an awful lot of dreadful tosh.

Days in New York...

20

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

Films

The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience (2008)
[#48a in 100 Films in a Year 2008]
This is the second time I've seen The Dark Knight. Read my first review of it, from a normal screening, here. (IMAX review now available too.)

Days in New York...

21

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Mad Men
1x09 Shoot

Days in New York...

22

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Mad Men
1x07 Red in the Face
1x08 The Hobo Code

Days in New York...

23

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Mad Men
1x05 5G
1x06 Babylon
Another intricately paired set of episodes -- the opening of Babylon had a lot more to do with the episode that preceded it than what followed.

Days in New York...

24

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Mad Men
1x03 Marriage of Figaro
1x04 New Amsterdam
A well-paired, er, pair of episodes. Mad Men is the sort of on-going-story-based show (which most dramas seem to be these days, of course) that works well when watched in multi-episode chunks, because the storylines flow across episodes. Of course, it means the line between what happened when is harder to remember -- and there are obvious pacing issues in reducing a one-week gap to one-minute!

On another, related, note, Blu-ray is annoying -- the films/TV themselves may be pretty, but the slow games console-style loading times and ugly menus are a right pain.

Days in New York...

25

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

Films

Presto (2008)
[#47b in 100 Films in a Year 2008]
Amusing Pixar short that's currently playing before WALL-E in cinemas.

WALL-E (2008)
[#48 in 100 Films in a Year 2008]
And Pixar's aforementioned latest CG triumph.

Days in New York...

26

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Jimmy Kimmel Live
(18/7/08 edition)
Batman-centric, just like the whole of America at the minute. Understandable, mind, considering its quality, and that Maggie Gyllenhaal was a guest. So too were Ant & Dec -- more British hosts trying to conquer America. Also a very funny segment where things that didn't need censoring were bleeped/pixelated, turning clean things dirty. (Despite the name, Kimmel Live is "recorded tonight". Absurdity!)

Films

Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Though only chunks here & there. It's notably superior to its two sequels.

Art

The Frick Collection

Days in New York...

27

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

Films

The Dark Knight (2008)
[#47 in 100 Films in a Year 2008]
Read my review at 100 Films.

I Am Legend: Alternate Theatrical Version (2007)
[#47a in 100 Films in a Year 2008]
While I saw the theatrical cut of I Am Legend earlier this year (see my 100 Films review), this is the first time I've seen the barely-different DVD "alternate theatrical version".
Also, the first film I've watched on Blu-ray. It was... sharp.

Days in New York...

28

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

Watchmen trailer

Turns out Empire's exclusive Watchmen trailer is about as exclusive as a cheap hooker. Check it out in HD over at Apple.

That said, be sure to check out Empire's comic-to-film comparison, which is mildly diverting if far from comprehensive.

Days in New York...

29

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

CBS 2 News at 11PM
Foreign programming is funny -- it just has a completely different set of conventions to British equivalents.

Late Show with David Letterman
(17/7/08 edition)
A record-breaking ninth appearance by Ricky Gervais, who just finished a few nights at Madison Square Garden here in NY. Also, his Extras Christmas special has just been announced as having six Primetime Emmy nominations (best writing, direction, editing, made-for-TV movie, lead actor and supporting actress).

Films

Watchmen Teaser Trailer
Stunning.
The trailer is premiering online exclusively at Empire Online (doubt that'll last!) Also showing attached to The Dark Knight here in the US from midnight, which will now be opening to more booked-out screens than ever before. Presumably that's why the trailer debuts at 5AM on a British site! (I'll be getting to see it on the big screen on Saturday morning, then.)

Fiction

Captain Hammer: Be Like Me! by Zack Whedon & Eric Canete
Free online comic (just follow the link) about Captain Hammer, a character from Dr Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog. There are no songs in this one though.

Days in New York...

30

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

Days in New York...

31

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Mad Men
1x01 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
1x02 Ladies' Room
On Blu-ray! Mmm, HD...

Articles

Review of The Dark Knight by Mark Dinning
(from Empire Online)
Empire magazine's glowing first review of the new Batman sequel, out in the States this Friday and the UK the week after.

Wanted more?

To quote my own recent review of Wanted: "I spent much of the film presuming it would finish on an open-ended note, as the structure reminded me of films like X-Men and Iron Man: all set-up and origin story... done with an eye (or, indeed, both eyes) on a sequel. Wanted doesn’t really end that way, which in an age where the franchise is everything is admirable… apart from that the film leading to that ending still feels franchise-friendly."

And, lo, it turned out to be so.

Maybe next time they won't cram all the best bits into the trailer.

Days in New York...

32

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

Days in New York...

33

As regular readers will know, I'm currently in New York doing four weeks' work (plus a week's holiday). This is a countdown til I'll be back in the UK.

Films

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
[2nd watch]

Time Zones

While I'm in New York, posts will be made at their usual just-before-midnight times... but on GMT-5:00. This seems to make sense, all things considered.

DVD Extras

Munich: An Introduction by Director/Producer Steven Spielberg
Short but interesting introduction by Spielberg to his film Munich, one of the few extras to have made it onto the R2 DVD. (Watched primarily to test the MacBook Air SuperDrive I got with my new MacBook Air.)

Non-Fiction

Tricks of the Mind by Derren Brown
Part Four
- Hypnosis and Suggestibility
- A Brief History
- What is Hypnosis?
- Seemingly Unique Hypnotic Phenomena
- How to Hypnotize
- Neuro-Linguistic Programming

Fiction

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Book Four [the end]

Days til New York...

Today is New York Day!

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Would I Lie To You?
2x01 (11/7/08 edition)

Articles

The Timeline of a Time Lord: Tony Lee Talks Doctor Who by Remy Minnick
(from Comic Book Resources)
Article about the forthcoming US Doctor Who comic miniseries, The Forgotten, which sounds very interesting indeed.

Covers for Doctor Who: The Forgotten #1, #2 & #3
(click to enlarge)

Days til New York...

1!

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Gilmore Girls
4x19 Afterboom

Lab Rats
1x01 A Snail

Mock the Week
6x01 (10/7/08 edition)

Spooks
5x04 World Trade

Days til New York...

2

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Doctor Who [classic]
20x23 The Five Doctors [anniversary special]
See here for my thoughts on this story.

Gilmore Girls
4x18 Tick, Tick, Tick, Boom!

Top Gear
11x03 (6/7/08 edition)

Graduation

I graduated from university today. This is my first degree, a BA in English With Film Studies. (Next academic year I'll be doing an MA in Creative Writing.)

Not necessarily the most exciting thing for independent readers, but a piece of my cultural experience nonetheless.

Days til New York...

3

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Babylon 5
1x20 Babylon Squared

Gilmore Girls
4x17 Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doin' the Twist (aka Gilmore Girls Gone Wild)

Shark
2x16 Wayne's World 3: Killer Shark [series finale]

Spooks
5x03 The Cell

Fiction

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Books Two & Three

Days til New York...

4

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

The Graham Norton Show
3x12 (3/7/08 edition) [season finale]

Heroes
2x11 Powerless [season finale]
Everyone involved seems to think the 'Big Twist' at the end of Volume Two was a total shocker (based on what they had to say in Heroes Unmasked), but, really, that's just about the most predictable thing that can happen to someone giving a big tell-all speech. A bit of a rocky season, though nowhere near as poor as some claim; but let's hope they can still up the ante next year.

Heroes Unmasked
2x10 From Heroes to Villains [season finale]
See above.

Mine All Mine
Part 6 (of 6) [2nd watch]
Utterly, utterly barmy... and brilliant because of it! And oh-so very Welsh too. Such a shame it flopped.

Shark
2x13 Bar Fight
2x14 Leaving Las Vegas
2x15 One Hit Wonder

Spaced
1x07 Ends [season finale]

Fiction

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Book One
As with Watchmen and Batman: Year One, one of the seminal late-'80s tales that helped shaped the way mainstream comics still are today.

Days til New York...

5

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats
6x03 (27/6/08 edition)

Babylon 5
1x18 A Voice in the Wilderness Part I
1x19 A Voice in the Wilderness Part II

Spaced
1x06 Epiphanies

Spooks
5x02 Gas and Oil Part 2
While a lot of this story pushes believability to the limit, the 'emergency measures' plot strand scenes of police attacking protestors are all too believable.

Wimbledon 2008
The longest -- and surely most tense -- men's singles final in Wimbledon history, Federer vs Nadal (for the third time) ended with the Spaniard winning. In the process he's put a stop to both Federer's near-record-breaking run of consecutive Wimbledon wins, and halted his near-five-year run of unbeaten matches on grass. Who'd've thought Federer would end up looking like the underdog too?!

Fiction

Batman: Year One by Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli
Chapters One - Four [the end]
See here for some of my thoughts on this book.

Batman: The Man Who Laughs by Ed Brubaker & Doug Mahnke
Like the film it inspired, Batman: Year One ends with newly-promoted Captain Jim Gordon informing Batman about a rising threat: the Joker. As The Dark Knight will do on film, The Man Who Laughs follows directly from this moment... Written very recently (2005), The Man Who Laughs mixes elements of Year One, the Joker's origin from The Killing Joke, and Batman's original first battle with him (in 1940's Batman #1), to retell the story of the Batman's first encounter with his nemesis. It's part of a new wave of creators retelling early Batman stories: 2005/6's Batman and the Monster Men is set during Year One and tells of Batman's first encounter with Dr Hugo Strange, while 2006/7's Batman and the Mad Monk retells another tale from Batman's first few appearances in Detective Comics, and leads directly into The Man Who Laughs (all three of these stories are collected in The Batman Chronicles Volume 1).

Batman: Made of Wood by Ed Brubaker & Patrick Zircher
(from the Batman: The Man Who Laughs hardcover)
Only tenuously linked with The Man Who Laughs: same writer and major involvement for (a retired) Gordon. In some ways it mirrors the construction of Man Who Laughs (which in turn mirrors Year One), with Gordon and Batman pursuing different lines of inquiry, narrated in journal-style text boxes. The story itself concerns a series of murders from the '40s, when Green Lantern patrolled Gotham. Consequently it's a bit of a team-up tale, a genre I don't care for on the whole, especially when it's someone with silly superpowers intruding on Batman's superpower-free world. On the plus side, the last page gives some nice extra meaning / modified perspective on what went before.

Not that this really matters to anyone, but... normally I keep what I've read/watched to alphabetical order, but have here stuck to the order I read them because my comments flow that way.

"Batman: Year One" by Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli

Batman: Year One is one of the key late '80s tales (like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns) that are credited with re-defining the comics medium. It's as much Jim Gordon's story as Batman's, succinctly showing how Batman's emergence began to change things in a corrupt, ruined Gotham. It's clear that a lot of this formed the basis to Batman Begins, though I'd argue the film's embellishments improve on this version.

The most recent edition also includes a page from an L.A. Confidential-style gossip rag, 'The Crime Blotter'; an introduction by Denny O'Neill (written in 1988); an interesting illustrated afterword by David Mazzucchelli ; a selection of script pages and corresponding layouts; a gallery of sketches and covers (including more roughs); to-scale reproductions of original art and newspaper-print pages; and, finally, another afterword, by Frank Miller.

These extras represent 40 pages, much of it very interesting. Especially intriguing were Mazzucchelli's early '80s submission pencils, which show a detailed realistic style, which was largely abandoned for a scratchy, sketchier style through Year One.

Days til New York...

6

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Babylon 5
1x17 Legacies

Doctor Who [classic]
The TV Movie (aka The Enemy Within) [4th watch]
See here for my thoughts on this story.

Doctor Who [new]
4x13 Journey's End [season finale]
See here for my thoughts on this story. [coming soon]

Shark
2x12 Partners in Crime

Wimbledon 2008
A fair bit of 14-year-old Brit Laura Robson beating Noppawan Lertcheewakarn to the girls' singles title. Hurray for the British! Also, the Incredible Hulk had two matches. I didn't watch either.

Near the end of Wimbledon they had a bank of four trailers... all for Olympics-related programmes. Dear God, it's going to be a bad summer. At least the football's over.

Fiction

24: Based On the Hit TV Series by J.C. Vaughn, Mark L. Haynes, Renato Guedes & Manny Clark
Collection of the first three 24 one-shot comics, including One Shot, Midnight Sun and Stories. See here for my thoughts on all three.

Dan Dare (Collector's Edition / Oversized UK Edition) by Garth Ennis & Gary Erskine
Chapters 1 - 3 [the end]
See here for my thoughts on this book.

"24: Based On the Hit TV Series" by J.C. Vaughn, Mark L. Haynes, Renato Guedes & Manny Clark

24: Based On the Hit TV Series is a collection of the first three 24 tie-in comics. It includes:

24: One Shot by J.C. Vaughn, Mark L. Haynes & Renato Guedes
You might think 24's split screen style could lend itself to comics, especially with the potential to depict terrorist attacks unachievable on TV, or, conversely, tell more contained, dramatic tales than a Fox action show would attempt. But no. This, the first 24 tie-in comic, tells of Jack Bauer's first day at CTU, so it's set before season one, before his affair with Nina (you see them meet for the first time), etc etc. Unfortunately, it tries & fails to replicate the 24-hour format, it's padded out (numerous pointless frames), the dialogue's poor, the story implausible, the art heavily photo-referenced, the colouring like Photoshopped photos... Hopefully the other two tales will be better.

24: Midnight Sun by J.C. Vaughn, Mark L. Haynes & Renato Guedes
The creative team from One Shot return for this story, set between the show's second and third seasons, and only bring some of their previous faults with them. Guedes' art is definitely improved: it's done 'properly' this time out, with improved colouring to boot, and while this sometimes means you have to guess which character Chase is, everyone else is clear. The storyline is more engrossing and better handled than the last, with fewer pointless frames, though some still repeat the same image for no good reason.

The permanent daylight of the Alaskan setting is a good concept, but 24 always seems to work best after dark, and this plot is a bit action-light. The villains aren't especially menacing, and there are times when the writers seem to just be playing out male fantasies -- for example, when Jack's undercover, the women all support him while the men distrust him, and at least one attractively-drawn girl is apparently happy to be sleeping with a middle-aged balding geek. Better than before, then, but still far from essential.

24: Stories by J.C. Vaughn, Mark L. Haynes & Manny Clark
The final one-shot in the collection is also set before season three, during the time Jack was undercover with the Salazar drug cartel. They send him to LA on an errand, where he gets caught up in a hotel siege by a Chechan liberation group. Vaughn & Haynes' script is passable though not exemplary, as before, while Clark's art is unusual: unquestionably edited together from photos, which have then either been treated or painted over (or both) -- if you've ever played Max Payne, think of the comic strip cut scenes from that. It's an effective idea for TV tie-ins, but an odd style to get used to as a reader.

So, taken as a collection, it seems 24 doesn't really convert very well to the comics medium -- at least not in this incarnation. A second 24 graphic novel has been released that tells the story of Operation Nightfall, the mission Jack performed several years before the start of season one that directly led to all of that season's events. Hopefully, with a whole book to play with and a story less bound to the show's normal generic structure, the creative team on that came up with something better.

"Dan Dare" (Collector's Edition / Oversized UK Hardcover) by Garth Ennis & Gary Erskine

This volume collects the first three issues of Virgin Comics' Dan Dare revival, written by Preacher scribe Garth Ennis, in which an older Dan Dare is brought out of retirement to help defend Earth from a reappearance of his arch-nemesis, the Mekon. In this respect it seems primarily aimed at long-term Dare fans, as many of the early character reveals and past references are near meaningless (I only understood some thanks to Ennis' introduction, while others surely passed me by).

The book's quality is disappointingly mixed in just about every respect: Ennis attempts to mix obvious commentary on our current political situation with pro-British high adventure (not a comfortable pairing), while Erskine's art is variable -- some panels are great, but often his proportions are off and it's occasionally tricky to follow who's who from frame to frame. It's helped by Parasuraman A.'s colours though, which are suitably modern. Also, despite being a British hero, from a British author, launched by an originally British company, at the behest of its British founder/owner (Branson is even quoted on the cover), the book still has irritating displays of Americanism -- mainly in the spelling ("color", for example). Hardly a major point, but it annoyed me.

This particular collection is mainly a promotional tool, I feel, as it only contains the first three issues of the new miniseries, albeit in a nice oversized hardback format. Somehow I doubt there'll be another matching volume to round out the series, especially as it would be almost twice as long (four issues remain, and one is double-length), so if I want to know what happens I'll either have to track down the remaining issues individually or buy the inevitable complete collection. At this point, I'm undecided.

Doctor Who: The TV Movie

First broadcast on the second May Bank Holiday weekend of 1996 -- six and a half years since new Doctor Who has last graced British TV sets (it sounds hardly any time at all now, but it seemed like forever back then) -- the American-produced Doctor Who TV movie (or TVM for handy abbreviation, or The Movie as the DVD would have it, or The Enemy Within as executive producer Philip Segal would have it) was a ratings success in the UK, but flopped in the US where it was scheduled against the final episode of popular sitcom Roseanne. In many ways, retrospectively, this is a good thing -- if it had been a success it would've led to a US-produced new series, which would probably have lasted seven years at the absolute best, at variable quality, and then disappeared again. Instead, we've had a hugely successful and artistically sound revival, which has so far lasted four years, will definitely do two more, and most likely more beyond. For many Who fans, who view the TVM as an Americanised aberration, this can only be a good thing. But they're wrong, you know, because the TVM is actually a lot of fun.

Let's start with the point nearly everyone can agree is good: Paul McGann. Right from the off, he's a brilliant incarnation of the Doctor, arguably the only actor to have nailed the part so confidently in their initial performance. The greatest loss is that we didn't get further TV adventures with him, though thanks to the Big Finish audios those with a decent disposable income can enjoy a raft of stories with the eighth Doctor. The rest of the cast are great too, right down to the supporting artists (having been watching Babylon 5 lately, I've seen how bad minor-role actors can be). Daphne Ashbrook's Grace would make a great companion, as would Lee, played by Yee Jee Tso. Eric Roberts' version of the Master is often highly criticised, but there's nothing wrong with his camp panto villain portrayal, which seems to suit the character rather well. John Simm's turn in the new series could be seen to be developed from this as much as any other variation on the part. Several other highly criticised elements have also emerged in the new revival -- the kiss(es), hand-holding, fast pace, action-packed, etc etc. The revelation that the Doctor is half human may still cause debate among fans, but, really, it's not that bad -- it can be see to add to the mythology, or written off as a quirk of his eighth life, or any other number of sci-fi explanations.

The same can be said for the climax of the plot. Bringing Grace and Lee back to life may be somewhat dubious, and "temporal orbit" barely makes sense either, but if you care enough for them to bother you you should be able to come with some explanation or another (I'll make some up for you, if you really want). Otherwise, Matthew Jacobs' much criticised script is actually a joy. Yes, the opening is exposition heavy, and is awkward enough to follow even for knowledgeable fans, but if you can sidestep that the rest is pretty straightforward, packed with exciting sequences and great dialogue. There are laughs aplenty, especially from the Doctor, and for once they're not at poor production design. Even jokes that some call nonsensical -- the Doctor saying he's English, for example -- make sense -- in that example, he's speaking with an English accent, so why wouldn't he say "I suppose I am" when called English! The 'car chase' is brief, not executed out of character, and helps keep the plot moving. Geoffrey Sax's direction serves the same job. It's exemplary, in fact, with some great shots and fantastic editing -- look at sequences like the Doctor choosing his outfit while Lee searches through his items; the Genghis Khan moment; the furiously-edited climax... It's great to watch.

Despite the low opinion many fans hold of the TVM, it's one of my most-seen Who stories. It's fantastic fun, especially once you get past the rather leaden first half hour. McGann is great, the script is exciting and witty, the direction glorious to watch. It's not perfect, but it boldly dragged Who into the '90s and had a great time doing it. Really, I don't think I'd've minded some more.

Days til New York...

7

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats
6x04 (4/7/08 edition)

Criminal Justice
Part 5 (of 5)
The show with TV's most boring title sequence comes to an end. While justice is served it's pleasingly not a "and they all lived happily ever after" ending -- major characters lose relationships, careers, and even their lives. In spite of a final half hour that show the legal system coming through for Ben, it's too little too late to restore any faith you may have had in it, which was surely shattered by the rest of the series.

Mine All Mine
Part 5 (of 6)
When Mine All Mine first went out, they were offered a fantastic slot (between one of those talent shows and Christmas, I think)... but it was only five weeks and they'd made six episodes. So out went most of part five, with the necessary bits edited into a longer final episode. Hence why I'm seeing much of this one for the first time. Incidentally, Mine All Mine is utterly hilarious and massively underrated, if you ask me.

This Morning
(4/7/08 edition)
A brief and relatively uninformative interview with Doctor Who boss Russell T Davies. It was great when the Dalek woke up though.

Wimbledon 2008
Bits and bobs, but most substantially: half of the more likable Murray brother sadly losing his mixed doubles semi-final; and the end of unseeded Brit Laura Robson beating Romana Tabakova in the girl's semi-final. Tabakova = stroppy Slovak; Robson = amusing and likable. Clearly, if there is a theme to my thoughts on Wimbledon players, it's "be likable". And it helps if you're British.

Fiction

Master of the Future by Brian Augustyn & Eduardo Barreto
(from Batman: Gotham by Gaslight)
Longer sequel to Gotham by Gaslight, which sees a Victorian-era Batman face an airship-owning madman who wants to burn Gotham to the ground. The added length allows Augustyn to develop his story more fully this time, though it still feels as if it's missing most/all of a second act. Barreto's art is more mainstream in style than Mignola's, and he produces some excellent splash pages, but it does make for an interesting contrast: Mignola's almost cartoonish style is on the grittier, more realistic tale, while Barreto's more realistic style covers the more fantastical, cartoonish one. Such is comics, I suppose.

Mouse Guard: Autumn 1152 (aka Mouse Guard: Fall 1152) by David Petersen
Chapters One - Six
Epilogue [the end]
The first collected volume of David Petersen's acclaimed Mouse Guard (currently publishing a second series, with at least three more to follow that). Beautifully drawn and well plotted, if quick to read (while each chapter/issue is a usual 24 pages, they're smaller than normal and filled with bigger, text-light frames).
The collection also includes maps of Mouse Territories and Barkstone, guides to Lockhaven and common mouse trades, a gallery of pinups by "esteemed authors & friends", and... a preface.

24 Hours...

...'til Journey's End!

Days til New York...

8

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Babylon 5
1x15 Grail
1x16 Eyes

Criminal Justice
Part 4 (of 5)

Derren Brown: Trick or Treat
2x04 Escape
2x05 Confidence
2x06 Superstition [season finale]

Mine All Mine
Part 4 (of 6) [2nd watch]

Shark
2x11 Shaun of the Dead

Spaced
1x05 Chaos

This Morning
(3/7/08 edition)
Normally I wouldn't even mention this, but I saw a bit of Paul Ross previewing next week's TV and wanted to state what an idiot he is. "For the second series Dexter has moved to FX" -- no, it hasn't, it started there -- "so it's not on ITV1 any more" -- yes, it is, at a later date... just like the first series was! How can a man whose job is to be a TV critic know so little about TV?! (Incidentally, Dexter is fantastic, and if you haven't seen it you should. And Russell T Davies -- job: 'Who supremo' -- is going to be on tomorrow's This Morning, undoubtedly saying nothing at all about the season finale, the Christmas special, or next year's specials, thanks to that last cliffhanger meaning anything he could say is a spoiler. Tsk.)

Wimbledon 2008
The end (as always) of Serena Williams vs Jie Zheng. There are two things Serena Williams make me think of: 1) a man in drag; and 2) the Incredible Hulk -- "you wouldn't like me when I'm angry!" I don't like Venus any more, mind, so I certainly won't be bothering with the fourth all-Williams final this Saturday. Also, the end of the Bob & Mike Bryan / Jonas Bjorkman & Kevin Ullyett men's doubles semi-final, which saw the two 36-year-olds beat the first seeds to make it to the final. Especially nice for Bjorkman as it's his last Wimbledon.

Fiction

Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Chapter XI
After the Masquerade by Doug Roth
Chapter XII [the end]
Stunning conclusion to the justifiably acclaimed masterpiece. You owe it to yourself to read this. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to pre-order all the action figures from the forthcoming film adaptation.

Non-Fiction

Licence to Thrill: A Cultural History of James Bond by James Chapman
Chapters 6 - 9 [the end]

Days til New York...

9

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Babylon 5
1x14 TKO

Criminal Justice
Part 3 (of 5)
Some glimmers of hope as BBC One's super-depressing murder/prison/legal drama enters the trial phase.

Derren Brown: Trick or Treat
2x03 Time
David Tennant is the 'ordinary member of the public' in this episode from the last series of Derren Brown's trickery show. The first two stunts are almost mundane, as they're pretty standard Brown fare, but the third defies belief and reason -- exactly why I love this man's programmes.

Mine All Mine
Part 3 (of 6) [2nd watch]

Wimbledon 2008
Unsurprisingly, some bits of Andy Murray vs Rafael Nadal -- with it's equally unsurprising result -- and most of the second (and final) set of Jamie Murray & Liezel Huber vs Daniel Nestor & Chia-Jung Chuang, which went the way of the more likable of the two Murray brothers.

Fiction

Gotham by Gaslight by Brian Augustyn & Michael Mignola
Published in 1989, and now considered the first Elseworlds tale, Gotham by Gaslight combines two interests of mine by pitting a Victorian Batman against Jack the Ripper. Although double the length of an average issue of a comic, the story feels a little short, with not enough room to develop fully. Nonetheless, it's a great idea and a good story.

Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Chapter IX
Sally Jupiter scrapbook
Chapter X
'Veidt' documents
With no shortage of twists and turns, as well as the usual doses of great art and juxtaposition, things rattle on towards the story's climax. Only two chapters to go!

Non-Fiction

Licence to Thrill: A Cultural History of James Bond by James Chapman
Chapter 5
Did you know that Moonraker was the second highest-grossing Bond film until GoldenEye? Were the people of the '70s really so blinded by the sci-fi trappings (so popular at the time thanks to Star Wars) that they threw out all pretense of taste? That said, look at some of the films that are released and are successful today -- some things never change...

Days til New York...

10

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Criminal Justice
Part 2 (of 5)

imagine...
11x06 Werner Herzog: Beyond Reason
Interesting documentary about the somewhat loopy Bavarian filmmaker.

Films

Wanted (2008)
[#46 in 100 Films in a Year 2008]

Quantum of Solace Teaser Trailer
Cool.

Fiction

Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Chapter VIII
New Frontiersman Thursday, October 31st, 1985

Doctor Who: Decide Your Destiny

Regular readers of this blog will have seen that, over the past three weeks (it feels longer), I've published a series of reviews of the Doctor Who: Decide Your Destiny books. These are a collection of gamebooks in which you join the tenth Doctor -- and, most of the time, Martha -- on adventures in time and space. Having now covered all 12 of the books (there may be more in the future, though none have been announced), I thought I'd compile all of my reviews into one handy guide.

This is that guide.

1) The Spaceship Graveyard
"The plot isn't a bad idea, though it disappointingly doesn't all come together... all of the decisions you make are aimed at the reader and not the character... It's disappointing because you have no control over your actions."

2) Alien Arena
"several action-packed sequences and a real sense that you have choices and your decisions will matter... a fantastic final sequence in which you wind up in the titular arena, battling aliens! This is how a Decide Your Destiny book should be done."

3) The Time Crocodile
"Your choices are often limited to directing the story rather than your actions, and most routes lead to pages that just say the same thing but with different words... a weak entry, both in terms of plot and quality of play."

4) The Corinthian Project
"Moore has clearly spent as long creating the setting for this adventure as the actual plot... frequently, once you've chosen a path via two or three decisions, you're shuttled from page to page... Where's the choice in that?"

5) The Crystal Snare
"the first historical of the range, and it uses its setting well... isn't quite as much fun as [Alien Arena], but the setting makes a nice change, the gameplay is more appropriate than Brake's entries, and the plot less bogged-down in linearity and technicalities than Moore's book."

6) War of the Robots
"Get the right path and Baxendale's book provides an entertaining read with moderately varied choices and some exciting sequences; but get the wrong one and you'll be shuttled through a dull denouement... Even with this, it's one of the series' better efforts."

7) Dark Planet
"engaging, with a couple of decent incidents and a fair backstory... there are three notably different adventures to be had from this book -- good value for money... one of the series' better efforts."

8) The Haunted Wagon Train
"[the plot] is OK, though not exceptional... Compared to the range's only other historical, the amount of detail is negligible and the setting isn't exceptionally well evoked. Another weak effort from Mr Brake."

9) Lost Luggage
"It will come as no surprise that all the problems evident in Brake's previous three books are present here... Brake's style of choices sap much of the fun out of playing this kind of book, and when you pair it with an over-ambitious plot [you've got] an entry at the lower end of the spectrum."

10) Second Skin
"it's a Who-like story of a technology company gone wrong, and an alien parasite turning ordinary people bad... [It] isn't my favourite entry... but it plays well and has a decent story. Certainly one of the series' better books."

11) The Dragon King
"a mixed bag. There's no plot to speak of, at least on the path I followed... and the ending was utterly lacklustre... I seem to have missed noteworthy things on other paths [meaning] it's the book I'm most likely to re-read."

12) The Horror of Howling Hill
"set entirely on present day Earth [and] taps into one of Who's main genres -- creepy goings on in apparently lovely places... an atmospheric adventure... one of my favourites"

So, having reached the end, I can say that they're a bit of a mixed bunch. Those written by Colin Brake are, to be blunt, best avoided, as they don't properly capture the spirit of this style of book. Other books may be lacking in some elements, but most have something to enjoy regardless; his four entries, on the other hand, represent the lowest rank in my opinion, and while some are passable they're style still obstructed the having of fun for me.

By a similar token -- only, the other side of it -- Richard Dungworth's books are all a safe bet, with Alien Arena enduring as my best-remembered experience of the range (though it should be noted that it was only the second book, and so being flat-out better than the first may have given it a small boost). Aside from Dungworth's three (numbers 2, 5 and 10), I would most recommend Davey Moore's Dark Planet and Jonathan Green's The Horror of Howling Hill, both being exciting tales in their own right -- the former especially, as it contains three very different routes.

While I've been fairly critical of some of these books -- finding something bad to say about all of them, I must admit! -- they were almost all fun in one way or another, all well written (considering their target audience), and most captured the characters of the Doctor and Martha suitably. Certainly the less-critical eye of a younger reader -- some of whom would surely miss the distinction between "directing your character" and "directing the story", the much-cited primary flaw of Brake's efforts -- would be likely to get even more unquestioning enjoyment out of them than I did.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to read some books where the page numbers always go consecutively...

Days til New York...

11

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Babylon 5
1x13 Signs and Portents

Criminal Justice
Part 1 (of 5)
BBC One's grim new drama, showing nightly this week, about a 20-something accused of a murder he may or may not have committed. Sounds like standard police drama fare, but this is more than that -- possibly a damning indictment of our legal system, or possibly just a depressing miscarriage-of-justice/prison-is-hard drama. It'll take an episode or two more to find out; so far, however, it's grim and depressing, and set to get worse.

Wimbledon 2008
Bits here and there, as usual, mainly from Andy Murray vs Richard Gasquet, which really pushed the light at five sets ending at 9:30 (and delaying Criminal Justice! On the other hand, if the BBC hadn't moved the tennis to One and delayed their schedule, I'd be stuck trying to find time to watch it on iPlayer before tomorrow's second part). Murray was bloody lucky to get that far, of course, losing the first two sets and only winning the third with an impressive -- though lucky rather than skillful -- final shot in a tiebreak. That boy knows how to work a crowd though (a British one, at any rate). I doubt he'll be so lucky in his quarter final against Nadal.

Fiction

Doctor Who - Decide Your Destiny: The Horror of Howling Hill by Jonathan Green
See here for my thoughts on this book.

Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Chapter VII
Blood From the Shoulder of Pallas by Daniel Dreiberg
See here for my thoughts on these chapters of Watchmen.

Non-Fiction

Licence to Thrill: A Cultural History of James Bond by James Chapman
Chapter 4
Somewhat academic book placing the Bond films in social/historical context. I read the first three chapters a while back for an essay I was doing, so am now continuing it -- it's interesting enough, clearly.

"Watchmen" by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Chapter VII

Moore moves his focus to a pair of character in this chapter, as Dan Dreiberg and Laurie Juspeczyk -- a.k.a. the second Nite Owl and the second Silk Spectre -- chat, bond, hit it off, nearly have sex, resurrect their superhero IDs, accidentally rescue people from a burning building, manage to have sex (it's the excitement of the costumes and the superheroics, you see), and possibly come to a fairly shocking decision...

Once again Moore leaves the other character's storylines in the background, focussing on just two members of the (actually nonexistent) group of superheroes that the book's main plot revolves around. It's mainly about Dan's memories, though there are no flashbacks here: it's as much about how two old acquaintances become re-acquainted. It seems a difficult chapter to find much to say about. It's not treading water or marking time, but nor are there bold gestures or big action sequences -- well, apart from the tenement building rescue, which is somewhat exciting, but also has a share of laughs (importantly, not at the heroes or their abilities, but rather at things like Nite Owl having a coffee machine on board), or many significant plot points... beyond those I already outlined, anyway.

Moore slides a few of his chess pieces around, reveals that Dan is impotent while Nite Owl is not (this seems bordering on a cliché, though Watchmen was probably ahead of the curve on that and it's just 20 years later that it looks old hat), and sets up where things are probably heading next. And next is...

"Doctor Who - Decide Your Destiny: The Horror of Howling Hill" by Jonathan Green

And finally, the end is here: the twelfth, and last, book in the Doctor Who: Decide Your Destiny series. The Horror of Howling Hill is written by gamebook stalwart Jonathan Green, which is promising as it would be nice for the range to go out on a high. After a three-book absence, Martha's back, for an adventure in which you must "help the Doctor and Martha discover the truth behind the legend of Howling Hill, before the horror that stalks the night catches up with you..." Ooh, horrific.

Despite being the range's final book, it can claim a first to its credit: it's set entirely on present day Earth (in a small village in Wiltshire, to be precise). It makes for a nice change, and allows it to tap into one of Doctor Who's main genres -- creepy goings on in apparently lovely places. Who's horror aspect has been largely ignored by these books, and while Howling Hill is hardly scary it at least incorporates some elements of the genre to good effect. Nighttime setting? Check. Cursed ancient monuments? Check. Old artefacts with mysterious powers? Check. Fantastical folk tales that may have an element of unlikely truth? Check. Creepy woods? Creepy church? Creepy graveyard? Check check check. Geeky-type investigating things in a caravan? Check. Monster hiding in the shadows? Check. All it needs is a large group of characters who exist solely to get killed off and you're there. It's atmospherically written, with a long and engaging plot. There are also numerous references to past Who adventures, spanning both the classic and new series, and even the new series novels. Spotting them can be good fun for fans of all ages.

Unfortunately, the way I chose to read this book brought out some of its shortcomings. I tried to follow every path at once -- loopy, it would seem, but for most of the book entirely possible. If you pick the right paths then you'll end up reading most of the book before the story's out. There are some variation. For example, the vicar knows a lot, but without cheating like me no one path allows him to offer all his information (ironically, one result ends with the Doctor saying "we've learnt all we can here", in spite of the fact there are two or three more things the vicar could tell you about!) Another is the town's museum, which you may end up in early on, or may only visit later. On the other hand, choose the wrong path and you might be whisked through the adventure at quite a lick, skipping the church, vicar, and that geeky guy in the caravan. Indicative of this hidden linearity, the book has just two final entries. There is some variety to the climax that occurs before these, to be fair, and ultimately you're just sent to either a version where it's just you, the Doctor and Martha, or a near-identical one where the geek's still with you. It's quite sensible, really, as it doesn't waste space with more near-identical final sections just for the sake of appearing to have multiple endings.

So, while the choices Green offers are in an appropriate style, they ultimately extend or cut short your adventure, rather than changing it. I even noticed a glaring error -- as you can avoid meeting the geek, a couple of times you're told "If he's with you, go to X, if not, go to Y." A selection of the latter all point to one page... where he's with you! And you can wind up having the monster abduct him twice! Oh dear. While most of the book's lack of consequential choice would be hidden from the reader (unless, as I say, you manage to miss some of these encounters on one read or another), this one is glaringly obvious. Obviously the books needed a better proof reader by this point, as something similar appeared in Second Skin (also part of the final batch of four books).

Ultimately, if I hadn't cheated I wouldn't've noticed this flaw in the book. It's an atmospheric adventure with some good locations and characters, and provided you make the right choices (avoid going to the Hill for as long as possible, so as to hit the church and museum, and make sure to head to the caravan) you can experience the majority of the best bits with one straight read. Lacking in re-play value then, perhaps, but the pros more than outweigh the cons to make this one of my favourites. The Decide Your Destiny books have certainly had their ups and downs, but at least they end on a high.

Days til New York...

12

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
14x22 (20/6/08 edition)

Mine All Mine
Part 2 (of 6) [2nd watch]

Spaced
1x04 Battles

Spooks
5x01 Gas and Oil Part 1
Spooks now seems to be aiming to outdo 24 in the believability-stretching -- even more so in the second part, based on the trailer.

Top Gear
11x02 (29/6/08 edition)
Coincidentally, featuring Rupert Penry-Jones and Peter Firth from Spooks.

Films

Miami Vice (2006)
[2nd watch]

Days til New York...

13

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Doctor Who [new]
4x11 Turn Left [2nd watch]
4x12 The Stolen Earth
See here for my thoughts on Turn Left. (A review of The Stolen Earth will appear with its second part next week.)

Mine All Mine
Part 1 (of 6) [2nd watch]

Wimbledon 2008
The odd point from Andy Murray vs Tommy Haas and the end of Rafael Nadal vs Nicolas Kiefer.

Fiction

Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore & Brian Bolland
As well as the main story, there's an introduction by Tim Sale, an afterword by Brian Bolland, and a selection of art from the files of Brian Bolland included in the recently released Batman: The Killing Joke - The Deluxe Edition.
See here for my thoughts on The Killing Joke.

Blood Fever by Charlie Higson
Chapters 28 - 30 [the end]
An odd final few chapters, in which James faces off a string of increasingly minor enemies. Still, all in, an even better book than the first. Next up, the apparently Da Vinci Code-esque Double or Die.

An Innocent Guy by Brian Bolland
(from Batman: The Killing Joke - The Deluxe Edition)
Short Batman story written and drawn by Brian Bolland. Originally published as part of the Batman: Black & White strand, it's presented here in a coloured form.

Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Chapter VI
Walter J. Kovacs files
See here for my thoughts on these chapters of Watchmen.

"Watchmen" by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Chapter VI

Major spoilers follow. You may well have gathered that I don't tend to do spoiler-free reviews, but there are some extra big ones in this entry.

Watchmen reaches the halfway point with a chapter focussed solely on Rorschach, much like the Dr Manhattan-focussed Chapter IV. Leaving all the other characters and stories aside for the moment, Moore focusses in on a series of interviews between Rorschach -- whose identity has been revealed to be Walter Kovacs; no one of importance, but we've seen him almost since page one as the guy wandering round with an apocalyptic placard -- and a prison psychoanalyst, who's attempting to find out what led Kovacs to become a vicious vigilante. Rorschach is a character who is, initially at least, easy to sympathy with. He had an horrendous childhood, later driven to extremes trying to protect the innocent. His efforts to murder childkillers, rapists, and other scum seem like the sort of thing we all might wish we could actually do, but he perhaps has a tendency to take it too far...

As well as showing how Kovacs came to be Rorschach -- including the origins of his incredibly shifting mask -- Moore follows the psychoanalyst as his obsession with the case leads to sleepless nights, perhaps the end of his marriage, and a general deterioration in his psychological state. It's an effective way of showing the effect of these truths of humanity on an ordinary, seemingly well-adjusted human being. As I've surely said before, this is really why Watchmen is so great and so acclaimed -- ostensibly it's about superheroes, but really it's about people, why they're driven to do things, and how they cope with the consequences. And all the while, in the background, (nuclear?) war is brewing...

Halfway through, Watchmen continues to be a stunning achievement. There are many mysteries left to be solved, undoubtedly including some that, like the identity of the placard-man, I don't even know need solving.

"Batman: The Killing Joke" by Alan Moore & Brian Bolland

As regular readers will have noticed, I've been reading a lot of stuff by Alan Moore lately. Moore is widely credited with revolutionising the comics medium over a series of works, and I'm finally beginning to catch up with them. Most of his stories are wholly original tales, such as Watchmen (the most praised of them all) or V for Vendetta; when not, they're usually his own tales from re-used material, such as From Hell (a take on Jack the Ripper) or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (which takes Victorian literary characters and makes a superhero team out of them). In this context, The Killing Joke is a rarity, because it's a Batman story -- a well-established existing character, obviously. Published in 1988, the 46-page tale is from the same era as Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, and not long after Watchmen -- all part of the growing-up and 'darkening' of comics in the '80s. Arguably this can be seen in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film, but with 2006's Batman Begins taking elements from Year One and Dark Knight Returns and the forthcoming The Dark Knight reportedly using Killing Joke as the basis for its version of the Joker (not to mention Watchmen finally being released next year), it seems the full effect of this particular movement has taken a bit longer to hit our screens.

But enough of that, what of the tale itself? It has two prongs: a 'present' element, in which a recently escaped Joker kidnaps Commissioner Gordon and psychology tortures him, attempting to prove that anyone can be driven mad as the Joker was; and a past thread, in which a young father-to-be has quit his job to be a comedian, but is considering a crime to make ends meet... Within this, Moore packs in all his favourite regular tricks and techniques: there's the opening few panels that pull out from extreme close-up to long shot; two stories told in parallel, one revealing the past of a character; a version of match-cutting in and out of these; zooming in and out of items/faces across multiple panels; retaining the same static 'shot' across multiple panels, often while something develops in the background; long passages with no dialogue; using several panels to show a character performing a simple action; an act of sexual violence as a key plot point; a deliberate blurring of the line between hero and villain; long, wordy, philosophical speeches; and mirroring techniques in the structure -- here, for example, the opening line of the finale is inserted as the book's first line, while at the same time Batman's opening dialogue is repeated over the climax. To say Moore is repetitive or constantly copying himself may be a bit much, but he certainly has a tendency to re-use a certain set of techniques in new arrangements to craft his tales (a bit like Steven Moffat with Doctor Who, then).

The story aside, Bolland's art is fantastic. Stylistically, it looks like it was drawn now, not 20 years ago, which in part must be due to fresh colouring. Bolland was never happy with the original colouring of the book -- he was scheduled to do it, but ran out of time and so it had to be completed by John Higgins, who didn't have the same vision as Bolland -- and so he was glad to have the chance to re-do it for this new edition. I haven't seen the original to compare fully, and it will surely upset some purists, but it looks brilliant. Bolland has clearly utilised all the modern computer-based techniques available to colourists, creating a subdued pallet that suits the story's nature. While the gaudy colours of Watchmen create a thematic counterpoint to the grim, realistic story, here I think such a technique would just undermine the point, so Bolland's new work fits like a glove. From the odd frame I've managed to find of the original colouring online, I'd actually quite like to get hold of that just for the sake of comparison.

IGN voted The Killing Joke as the 3rd greatest Batman story ever. I'm yet to read most of those that surround it on that list, so can't really comment for myself, but, in spite of Moore's increasingly familiar tropes, it's an engrossing story. The recent oversized hardback re-release, called The Deluxe Edition on the cover, is certainly worth owning -- while its £12 RRP is steep for a 46-page main story, 8-page second strip, and 6 pages of other stuff, it can be had for less and seems worth it to me.

While I'm primarily reading Watchmen at the minute, don't be surprised if more graphic novel reviews -- primarily Batman ones, I expect -- crop up over the next week or two.

Doctor Who: Turn Left

"Unrelentingly bleak" is probably the most accurate way to describe the penultimate story of Doctor Who's fourth revived season. It's certainly the darkest thing you'll've seen broadcast as part of a family show so early on a Saturday evening -- tonight's first half of the finale two-parter, full as it's likely to be of apocalyptic slaughter, is unlikely to equal the real-world horror of what happened after Donna turned right. Obviously the chances of a replica Titanic obliterating London are slim, but the increasingly disastrous consequences of a major destructive incident in Southern England are all too believable.

Aside from scaring viewers witless, Turn Left allows the series' recurring characters to shine. There are great scenes for both Bernard Cribbins and Jacqueline King here, showing the calibre of actor that Who can cast in even the smallest of roles. But, as was so insisted before the episode's broadcast, it really is Donna's episode. Truth be told, in spite of what people liked to say in the hype, Tate's performance here won't convince many (or any) of those who hate her. That's not because she's no good -- she's brilliant -- but it's the performance she's been giving for the last 10 episodes, plus a resurgence of her one from the 2006 Christmas special, combined and pushed to their utmost quality... but if you hate her in the first place, you're not going to like her any more now. Your loss, but there you go.

Davies' script cunningly re-appropriates elements from the present-day-Earth episodes from the last two seasons, showing how badly wrong things could have gone without the Doctor. The silly moment from the last Christmas special when the Titanic just missed Buckingham Palace becomes the chilling event which wipes out London and ruins Britain. The cute little Adipose, whose creation only resulted in the death of one person back at the start of this season, wipe out swathes of America. The Sontaran's Atmos is stopped, but at the cost of the lives of all Torchwood's remaining team members; the Doctor stopped the Judoon from killing anyone (well, mostly), but Martha, Sarah Jane and her friends die trying to stop them, along with everyone else in the hospital. And to top it all off, the BNP seem to have come into power as ethnic minorities are shipped off to 'labour camps'. Somehow, I don't think it's for "education education education".

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this episode, however, is that, after two Christmas specials and almost two whole seasons, Rose is back... and I've written three paragraphs without even bothering to mention here. Such is the extent that Donna dominates this episode, the return of one of the Doctor's most beloved companions -- certainly of recent years -- is actually an almost incidental element of the episode. The best bit of it is the re-appropriation of Bad Wolf, the first season's intriguing thread that led to a denouement many felt was lacking (personally, I never had any problems with it). It seems Russell T Davies has found new significance to give to it -- as, I suspect, he will do with many things from the preceding seasons in the next two weeks -- and that's probably a good thing.

Certainly, it's easy for the surprising final moments, and the exciting trailer for The Stolen Earth, to take all attention away from the episode itself. Such is the nature of excitement for a season finale which has, as ever, been building since episode one (and possibly longer). Turn Left is still a great, if highly depressing, episode, though difficult to love because it's about as much fun as torture by mosquitoes. I don't imagine it will be topping any Best Of Season polls.

Days til New York...

14

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.

TV

Nelson Mandela: Happy 90th Birthday
Big ol' concert for the South African's 90th birthday, reportedly his last major public engagement. Amy Winehouse looked like she shouldn't've been allowed out of hospital (doesn't bode well for her Glastonbury set tomorrow, not that I'll be watching), Queen were of course excellent, and the interview with Stephen Fry was likely the most intelligent set of thoughts you'll hear about Mandela, his role, and the future of his causes.

Wimbledon 2008
Though saw hardly any today -- brief snippets here and there, mainly from the barely-finished match between Mario Ancic and David Ferrer (which we switched off for the Mandela concert).

Films

The Incredible Hulk (2008)
[#45 in 100 Films in a Year 2008]
Immeasurably more entertaining than Ang Lee's dull 2003 effort.

Fiction

Blood Fever by Charlie Higson
Chapters 25 - 27

Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Chapter V
Treasure Island Treasury of Comics Chapter 5
See here for my thoughts on these chapters of Watchmen.

"Watchmen" by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Chapter V

Chapter V returns to Rorschach's hunt for the murderer of the Comedian, as Adrian Veidt (aka Ozymandias) becomes the latest former superhero to be attacked, though this time unsuccessfully. After the last chapter's internal musings of Dr Manhattan, this one is more plot-centric, also touching upon the potential burgeoning relationship of Dan Dreiberg and Laurie. Moore also continues to use Tales of the Black Freighter, this time to mirror the news vendor's ongoing musings on life.

The chapter ends with Rorschach lured into a trap, which leads to a rare action sequence and his capture... and the removal of his mask! While I feel left with little to comment on about this chapter -- it's a strong, plot-driving episode, but with little else to mention, clearly -- it sets up what should be an interesting sixth part, as the mystery of Rorschach's true identity has lingered around much of the story so far.

"Watchmen" by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Chapter IV

Alan Moore is clever. The fourth chapter of Watchmen focuses on Dr Manhattan, the only superhero in the book with any actual superpowers. Having run off to Mars at the end of the preceding chapter, Manhattan reflects on his life to date -- essentially, this is his backstory. The clever part comes from the way Moore re-uses images and the way he's seeded them in earlier chapters. For example, Manhattan remembers an argument he had with his then-girlfriend at a superhero meeting. We saw this same meeting in Chapter II. Flicking back to that chapter now, you can see the argument going on, they just don't have the speech bubbles to spell it out to us. There are a couple of other instances of this kind, which both add to the story's depth and are great fun for the reader -- it's sort of in the tradition of the best Agatha Christie stories, where all the clues you need are sat under your nose from the start, you just don't know what to do with them.

Within the chapter itself, Moore structures things cleverly. Manhattan sees time as the fourth (or fifth?) dimension, and so in some way is experiencing all of the past and all of the future at once. Moore uses this to slot his backstory together in a variety of ways, drawing parallels and connections between time periods without ever becoming too confusing. Events make sense the first time they're witnessed, but then Moore adds something and places the old events around it, giving them new or altered meaning in their new context. The clarity of Gibbon's art means that there's no need to retell events every time -- with repeated frames, sometimes even from earlier chapters, the reader vividly recalls the relevant scene; sometimes the colouring or focus is even modified to help draw our attention to another element, be it for a different meaning or just for a different transition (such a visual technique is, again, hard to adequately describe with words).

Previously I've moaned about Moore repeating himself. Another frequent trope turns up in the 'supporting documents' -- the autobiographies, magazine articles, etc, that sit between the chapters -- not only the one attached to Chapter IV, but also the autobiography that preceded it. Moore has the characters writing the documents refer to events we know nothing of as "well documented elsewhere", and then doesn't explain them himself. At first it seems an amusing way of maintaining mystery -- inevitably, these events are things Moore wants to reveal at a later point -- but when overdone it's just repetitive, and also unrealistic. In my experience, the sort of works Moore is parodying are all too happy to re-explain well-known things, or at least give a brief overview of them. If not those, they assume people's assumed knowledge; they don't make a point of telling the reader that they know about this (and then not telling them it). This could be seen as a minor point of course, and when the heart of the story is so good it really is, but it taints the edges and takes the sheen off things.

Nonetheless, the main thrust of Watchmen continues to be a completely engrossing story. There's much still to be revealed across its many plot strands -- I can't wait to see how Moore brings them all together.

Days til New York...

15

For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.