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Daredevil First Impressions: Into the Ring

So here we are with the first of Netflix’s Marvel shows.  And so far, I’m pretty impressed.

  • Foggy: He’s going to be the breakout side character that everyone loves, I can pretty much guarantee it.
  • I like how they show off Matt’s abilities.  Bringing up the sound of the things he’s listening for gives the audience a way to get Matt’s perspective across in a visual medium.
  • Speaking of Matt’s abilities, other than his exceptional hearing he doesn’t have any “super-powers” per se.  Which means that he gets beaten up a lot during the course of the episode, and I liked that.
  • Bad Guys: Typical Corporate Douche (I forget his name) being less worried about the vigilante taking out his partners because superheroes are good for business was amusing.
  • I also liked how Kingpin stayed off-screen for the entire episode.  D’Onofrio is probably the most recognizable name in the cast, and I know that he’s a phenomenal actor and keeping him out of sight for the first episode gives the rest of the cast the chance to shine.
  • I liked that Karen joined Team Nelson & Murdock (can someone please come up with a catchy nickname for our heroes please?) at the end of the episode.  She seems to be a good balance between Foggy’s slightly mercenary attitude and Matt’s overwhelming desire to do good.

So that’s the first episode in the bag.  I have to admit that I’m interested in seeing how well this grittier take on the MCU gels with the rest of it.  The good thing about having it on Netflix is that I don’t have to wait a week to find out.

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See How He Rises Up: Farewell Sir Terry Pratchett

Wow, just when we’d said goodbye to one nerd god, we have to say goodbye to another.

This one hits me hard.  I am a big fan of Sir Pterry’s work; his wit and ability to play with language in an interesting way made his books all the more enjoyable for me.  He really did make the Discworld live in a way that can really never be duplicated.  He wasn’t necessarily a satirist, although his work is filled with satire, he was a fantasy author whose stories are undeniably human at their core.  And that is, I think, why his work resonates so well with so many people, myself included.

At times like this, we have a tendency to remember moments that made an impression on us.  Like the time Lord Ventinari managed to keep his dignity intact after getting a pie thrown at him*, or the time that one of Sybil Ramikin’s dragons managed to literally fart his way to glory**.  Of course there’s also the sadder parts, like Constable Cuddy’s untimely demise***, and what happened in Ankh-Morpork to Agnes (Perdita X.) Nitt****.  Why, yes, I’m still a bit bitter about that last one.

Anyway, to borrow a phrase from the master himself, “No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away…” and Sir Terry left us with seventy books worth of ripples that will, with any help from whatever Gods of Luck you happen to believe in, continue to affect the world long after the coolest anthropomorphic version of a state of being has taken us all to whatever comes next.

If there’s any more of that luck I talked about floating around, I may end up a little wood worm who gets to eat some really —-ing good wood!

* From Making Money

** From Guards! Guards!

*** From Men at Arms

**** From Maskerade

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Fair Winds and Following Seas: Farewell Leonard Nimoy

Nimoy

Today we lost one of the great ones.  I can’t really sit here and say that I was a big fan of his, not to say that I didn’t respect the man enormously for his contributions to Science Fiction and Entertainment in general, but it stings less than say the loss of Tom Baker would.  I’m not a big Trek fan, my most vivid memories of Mr. Nimoy come from his stint hosting In Search Of.  Back in the dark times, before the internet, I watched quite a bit of that show (the episode I remember the most being the one on the Hope Diamond), and Nimoy’s voice seemed suited to the often odd material that In Search Of covered.  Everything from Sherlock Holmes to Ancient Aliens, as I recall.  But Leonard Nimoy is a cultural icon with an impressive body of work that he’s left behind for us to enjoy, and perhaps that’s the best way to remember him, as someone who brought us happiness through his abilities.

And so, farewell Mr. Spock.  Put in a good word for the rest of us.

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Doctor Who: Last Christmas First Impressions

Can my house being gutted right now be a dream too?  ‘Cause I’d really like that.

  • Up On the Housetop: Was one of the elves driving?  ‘Cause if one of them was, they’re a crappy driver.
  • Nobody likes the Tangerines: My mom likes tangerines, I don’t however.
  • The Dancing is Working: Hell, if it’ll keep your mind of something that it shouldn’t be thinking about, I say dance your heart out sister!
  • Telepathic Aliens: Can I just say that I really liked the idea of these monsters.  Their introduction is really well done, the exposition is delivered in a way that gives us just enough information to know they’re a threat without giving the whole game away.
  • Danny is Dead: Well, that was inevitable.
  • Santa Claus is Coming to Town: Nice entrance there Big Red, little overdone for my liking but nicely done all the same.
  • Santa Goes Badass: I liked Nick Frost’s Santa, for a (spoiler alert) dream construct, he’s not gonna put up with any crap.
  • A Second Sled: If I didn’t know any better, I’d be saying that Santa is a Time Lord.
  • Alien is Offensive: The Doctor’s never seen Alien?  You’d think that someone would have shown it to him somewhere along the way.
  • Clara’s Dream: Yup, Danny’s there and giving her everything that she wants for Christmas, gotta be a dream.
  • Danny and Clara’s Last Christmas: Interesting how even in her dream Danny’s first instinct is to sacrifice himself to save Clara.  Even Dream!Danny is still Danny.
  • We Are All Dead: I was wondering about that, and (for once) Moffat delivered a satisfying answer.
  • All the Touchy-Feely Stuff: The Doctor’s never been good with the touchy-feely stuff.
  • Missing the Obvious: And yet again, Moffat doesn’t use a cheap cop-out to explain away something that has been simmering away in the back of the viewers minds.  I’m not going to say that Moffat’s writing has turned a corner with this episode, but I like how he’s not taking the easy way out and just hand-waving everything away.
  • Who You Gonna Call?: The guy with the sleigh that’s bigger on the inside of course!
  • Santa’s Midnight Ride: You know, I really love it when the show leaves the angst on the side and just has some fun.
  • Waking up from the Dream: Interesting to see what everyone’s lives are really like.  The dream could be a reflection of what they would like to be, instead of what they are.
  • 62 Years: The Christmas Cracker, just that damn Christmas Cracker.  Ouch.
  • Second Chances: So Clara isn’t leaving; okay Moffat, I’m willing to go along with you on this one, just quit with the “Clara is the answer to everything” plot resolutions please.

So that’s another Christmas Special in the bag, now the long wait begins for the next season, let’s hope it will be better than the last one.