Doctor Who: Kill the Moon

This review contains minor spoilers for the Doctor Who season 8 episode, “Kill the Moon.”

The Doctor Who episode “Kill the Moon” was a cool concept and I liked the episode overall. The visuals were great. But there were a few things that really irritated and worried me about the episode.

This episode, I thought the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) was very out of character all the way around. From the beginning, the Doctor told Courtney (Ellis George), a student of Clara’s at Coal Hill Elementary that she wasn’t special. This bothered me a lot. One of the common factors of all the Doctor’s has been their love and fascination for humanity. The Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) often declared his love for humanity and the individuals he met.

The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) once said, “In 900 years of time and space, I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important” (Episode: A Christmas Carol). In “Kill the Moon”, the Doctor was unwilling to tell a young, troubled girl that she was special. This bothered me a lot, as it also did Clara (Jenna Coleman) throughout the episode.

BBC. Kill the Moon Promo Picture. Source

Another thing that bugged me about this episode was the Doctor’s complete lack of guidance and support for Clara and the other humans as they tried to make the decision to destroy the moon and or risk the creature inside destroying the Earth. In the episode, the Doctor leaves completely. He disappears for most of the episode after telling Clara to handle the situation.

The Doctor made a point that this was a turning point in the future of humanity, therefore, he said he shouldn’t be involved in the decision. The Eleventh Doctor dealt with a similar crucial point for humanity in the episode “Cold Blood”. In this episode where he, Amy, and a couple of other humans meet the reptile people living below the Earth. Once again, the Doctor steps back and tries to let the humans handle the decision making for their own future. But he also stays close by and helps them with this important choice.

The Doctor’s complete lack of help seemed out of character. I’ve seen many people online saying that Clara’s anger at the Doctor at the end of this episode was childish and misdirected. But I think she was completely right with her frustration at being left alone to make a seemingly impossible decision.

I’m not even going to go into the blatant parallels between the Clara’s decision in this episode and the pro-life, pro-choice debate. But if you would like to know more about that Claudia Boleyn talks about in her review of the episode. To watch that video click here.   

I’m still not sure whether I like this episode, because as I said in the beginning, I really liked the idea, the writing was great, and I thought Clara had a lot of great character development. All of the actors did a great job with the intense theme of the episode. But the Doctor’s characterization seemed off from his usual principles and ideals and that worried me quite a lot. 

Castle: Season 7 Premiere

The following contains spoilers for the season 7 premiere of Castle, 

Castle Title Screenshot. ABC. Source: Wikipedia

I’ve only been watching Castle sporadically for two years. Last season is when I began watching the show regularly. Nevertheless, I love Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Kate Beckett’s (Stana Katic) relationship and was excited for their wedding in the season 6 finale.

Of course that went up in flames, which carried us over to this season premiere. I honestly don’t know what happened in this episode. Every time I thought I had figured out what was going on, there would be another big flip or reveal that would change the course of the episode.

The episode, which covered nearly three months, felt like unneeded added drama to the situation. Between Castle’s memory loss and Beckett not knowing why Castle disappeared for months was a huge set back in their relationship. I think they will eventually pull through once the truth about Castle’s last two months has been revealed.

But until then, as Castle said they can’t just pick up where they left off. The couple is now on different planes, as the last scene showed. To Castle it seemed like the day before they had been happy and together about to get married. But Beckett has dealt with months of fear, confusion, and betrayal that will take time to fix.

For long term fans, the wedding between Beckett and Castle had been built up since they met in season 1. Even as a more recent viewer, I felt a bit like we were being cheated out of the happy ending these two characters had fought for. The added drama seemed unnecessary and the lack of explanation was maddening. At the end, no one knew what was happening, and many fans were left unsatisfied with this turn of events.

Obviously, Castle’s memory loss and past couple months will most likely be the main reoccurring theme throughout the next season. At least for me, I hope to get answers sooner rather than later. The quicker this is resolved and Castle and Beckett’s relationship gets back on track, the better. 

Once Upon a Time: Frozen

This may contain spoilers for the the season 4 premiere of Once Upon a Time.

I have watched Once Upon A Time (OUAT) on and off since the first season. I tended to drop in and out of love with the show as storylines shift. I was not a fan of the Neverland storyline last season, but the Wicked storyline was okay. 

Once Upon A Time Cast Promo Poster. Airs Sundays at 8/7c on ABC

Like many people, I loved Disney’s animated movie Frozen. Therefore, I went into OUAT’s season 4 premiere partly skeptical and partly excited. At the end of the episode, I still had the same feelings.

First, I would like to say, I thought the actresses and actor of Elsa (Georgina Haig), Anna (Elizabeth Lail), and Kristoff (Scott Michael Foster) were perfect for the parts.

I also loved seeing the returning characters. The traditionally “evil” characters have always been my favorites on the show. Therefore, I was excited by how much the premiere focused on Regina/the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla). Throughout the episode, she yo-yoed back and forth between good and evil. I think her newest journey to reclaim the happiness that Emma (Jennifer Morrison) inadvertently stole from her, and her internal struggle between good and evil will be a staple of this season. 

I also liked watching Mr. Gold/Rumple (Robert Carlyle) experience a similar back and forth with the desire to control the dagger and the power it holds. Regina and Gold have been two of my favorites characters since the beginning of the show, so I’m excited to see what is next for them this season.

After the first episode, I am still a bit skeptical about the combination of Frozen and OUAT. I think it is still too soon since Frozen came out. It’s been a little less than a year since the movie debuted in theatres. Most of the stories integrated into OUAT have been around for more than a decade. For me, part of the charm of the show is the reworking of fairytales I grew up with. I’m not saying that I won’t like the shows inclusion of Frozen, it’s still a bit too early to tell, but I feel as though it’s too soon. I was also not impressed with the rock trolls in this episode. While OUAT has always had cheesy moments, the trolls went too far for me.

I do think that once Elsa starts interacting with the residents of Storybrooke the storyline will improve. This episode, she was mostly just running around town hiding, but I think when everyone meets it will make an interesting dynamic, especially for Regina and Elsa. They are both women who were once considered monsters, but have since redeemed themselves to varying extents.

 It will also be interesting to see how the town takes to Elsa, whose magical powers seem to be nearly equal to Regina’s. (And yes, I know Emma has magic too, but look at what her magic did to the snowman compared to Regina’s. There’s no competition between Regina and Emma in terms of magic… at least not yet.)

As an ending note, I loved the scenes between Gold and Belle, especially the Beauty and the Beast ballroom scene. I also loved Killian’s scenes with Emma. Those are my two favorite ships in the show.

Overall, I’m excited to see what they do with the characters and storyline but also a bit apprehensive. Really though, it doesn’t matter what they do, I’m too invested in the OUAT universe and characters to stop watching, but I hope that this season enthralls me more than last.

Selfie Premiere

I've watched the pilot episode of Selfie twice, mostly because I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. I thing that the next couple of episodes will really make or break the show.

Selfie promo with Karen Gillan and John Cho (Tuesdays at 8PM on ABC)

The basic idea behind Selfie is that Eliza Dooley (Karen Gillan) is a self-obsessed, attention seeking, Internet addict who has substituted Internet fame for real friends and a happy life. Upon realizing she has no friends, Eliza turns to her coworker Henry (John Cho) to ‘rebrand’ her and change her image.

Honestly, I didn't have high expectations for Selfie. However, I decided to give it a shot because  I love Karen Gillan (Amy Pond from Doctor who). I wasn't too impressed with most of the show. Overall, the episode seemed disjointed. Scenes and characters changed abruptly and the characters’ motivations seemed to turn on a dime. Karen Gillan’s character, Eliza Dooley, was so far removed from reality, many of the situations seemed absurd.

Both characters, Eliza and Henry, were so extreme that I they didn't seem real. Eliza had no grasp on any face-to-face contact. Throughout the episode Henry would have to instruct her in ordinary small talk, such as asking someone how they were doing. Henry, on the other hand was outwardly judgmental  and rude towards Eliza and made sure to show her that he was better than her

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Despite all of that, there were some funny moments in the episode. There were many clever pop-cultural references. These references were funny but they may date the episode in the future and distance long term audiences. There were also many singular moments which were relatable, such as Eliza coping with her feelings of isolation and Henry admitting that he isn't as perfect as he wants everyone to think.

While most of the episode didn't impress me, the last two minutes were sweet. Henry and Eliza sitting on the porch, both talking about their shortfalls was a relatable and thoughtful moment while still being funny. More scenes like this could make the show good. I do think I’ll watch the next couple of episodes and see how Selfie begins to evolve. I’m not sure if the show will last long, especially with the amount of sit-com/rom-coms debuting this Fall. But, Selfie has potential with its great cast and modern concept. I hope in the following episodes the show will grow from the pilot.