'The Last Kingdom' first episode review and initial thoughts.

The Vikings as a subject has been chronicled throughout television and film and a recent addition to that 'The Last Kingdom' is one out of the many which attempt to narrate it. The recent example being 'Vikings' which is currently plundering the area and has been received well. I was looking forward to the first episode of 'The Last Kingdom' because not only did it look interesting, but I was interested to see what it would do.

The episode begins in the brightly beautiful land of the saxons and we are introduced to the characters gradually. Matthew Macfadyen (Edmund Reid in 'Ripper Street') travels a couple thousand years back in time to his usual nineteenth century typecast and fits in extremely well. He is believable and although his time on screen is short-lived, his costuming and his normalcy rather than an extreme warrior as often suggested through TV everybody around this time in this position was is useful for 'The Last Kingdom' to begin with because it sets the scene and makes the threat larger than we would imagine it to be.

Joined by Ian Hart who serves the show as the knowledgeable and religious man with intent and loyalty solely to the lord and not those who want to be (Think Varys in 'Game of Thrones', 'Gaius' in Merlin) and he does it incredibly well. His character always seems as guiding as unchanged as he is in E4's 'My Mad Fat Diary' something else where he excels in this type of way but then would be productive to watch as things as never as they seem with characters like these.

Uhtrid, the second son is introduced as a very likeable and questioning character. At first, he does seem to be the 'black sheep' which is often the case in any TV show with a kingdom in it but that isn't too unforgivable but it's how the plot can can be driven. But what sets Uhtrid apart is unlike most young, 'king'-to-be  he actually does seem like a child and the actor who portrays him is good at making him small and not solely a 'already-king' in the suit of a child.

Things I already like about this show is that there is immediate links and contrasts with pagan life and christian life and the line after Uhtrid is baptised 'Welcome to the christian world" is a very metaphoric look in the life Uhtrid is about to have, being put into something he has no part of. As for the Vikings, at first, I would be lying if I said they weren't the average 'viking' package subscribed by how time has passed. They are joking, merry, and never seem to appear as if they are entirely trying because just because these things are consistent in TV does not necessarily make them untrue. Yet, what changes my mnd even though that part is always enjoyable and is deisnged to show the stuffiness of the saxons during the battle 'The Last Kingdom' is more detailed than what is usual for Viking depictons and in this case, it is more apparently and underlined what made them so frightening and advanced. (With devices such as pagan tongue and complex shield defence from both sides.)

It's not long before Uhtrid is captured by the vikings which is an interesting concept. Choosing to keep him is not as easy to believe, but understandable why they do. Uhtrid's lack of struggle and ties being cut to his heritage and finding place with the danes is unusual yet common to show a struggle between being pulled equally from each place. We quickly meet the characters within the viking section and 'The Last Kingdom' is definitely good at, although we know and we see saxons being brutally killed everywhere, we feel warm and homely for the vikings and it begins to warp what the first part told you and removes the accessibility to be able to accurately choose a side which is the way it should be yet in dong this the saxons become more easier to lose because we are no longer with them. Perhaps that is to do with a poor structuring of that side which I'm sure will be explored in the second episode when Uhtrid returns. But not having that person to connect with on that side does contribute to the challenge that the show produces and I hope continues to go with.

We meet the eldery blind viking who entrusts and asks Uhtrid to cut chicken for him and creates an alliance very quickly. Again, nothing new, But I trust and like this character a lot for his wisdom and love for the vikings and what happens. I am interested what is history is and whether or not it was similar to Uhtrid in some way. The viking way of making each other learn and treatment of each other is a stark difference and something the show really plays on which is good. How Uhtrid fits and his humour belongs with them is endearing. A comparison of symbolism of how when Uhtrid was with his 'family', they came close to drowning him with baptising him within a religion and then with the vikings, he is offered but not told to take the pagan necklace which he then goes to tell the saxons that he was 'forced to wear.' Where they force in brutal ways, they don't in others and it seems the exact other way round on the opposite side. Whereas the baptism occurred with the saxons, Uhtrid was playfully thrown off a viking horse into the river.

A scene where Uhtrid looks at his father pinned to a post in a field reverberates and a part which really speaks to you is when he falls on the ground silently and he blends into the long grass. In my opinion, this makes a brief 'show and tell' of his birthright and the culture which he was born from but which he needs to break away from. The way children in 'The Last Kingdom' are used in general to reflect the times and adult subjects. There is a scene where a viking son attacks the other children with a threat of a real sword and rips off the top half of a little viking girl's clothes. It's extremely piercing and scary and you almost cheer on the viking leader who punishes this until you remember that this is typical behaviour, just not when it's a certain child or a child doing it.

Flashing forward to Uhtrid becoming older at the end of the episode was good and the actor who takes over is just as good and is able to make him greatly acted. There are elements of plot missing and it seemed like a large jump to make but the way it was ended with the attack and destruction of the viking group was a perfect move because you believe that you are going to spend the entire show getting to know them but that is far from realistic to expect and it toys with that.

Overall, 'The Last Kingdom' does have promise and I do want to want to watch more but there isn't anything too special about it yet. You would definitely enjoy it if you are interested in historically-based shows and there is a huge undeniable awesome cast on their way in future episodes including David Dawson (Also 'Ripper Street', 'Peaky Blinders', 'The Banished.') There is something slightly Starz 'Spartacus' about the music at points (Also adult Uhtrid- Nasir from 'Spartacus' anyone?) and there does seem to be inspiration from HBO's 'Game of Thrones' in the title sequence but inspiration can only be a good thing even if it doesn't truly set it apart.

I'm not very impressed with the diversity or much in the way of well-rounded female characters in the first episode which is crucial but It will be seen if given time for the story to be open us, this happens. But just like Ragnar in the episode described as he dipped his finger into the water and tasted it; this show could be 'Sweet water.' I haven't seen in take of in any visible popularity yet but the show can grow and make it and survive and I hope it will prove to be good enough to with so many-start up series more than ever meeting their early graves however being part of the BBC guarantees it as least two series.

I rate this episode at around 3.5 stars. Have you seen the 'The Last Kingdom'? What do you think about it?

You can catch 'The Last Kingdom' on BBC2 in the UK and on BBC America in the US.

'The Man in the High Castle' pilot review.

I just consumed a pilot for a show which I have been waiting for. That show is the 'The Man in the high castle.' Based on a book of the same title, the show rotates around the premise of the world had Nazi Germany won the second world war. The pilot grasps that subject with both hands and throws you into the streets of post-war and a take on the life which has formed. So much of the world shown is almost noticeable yet vastly altered. The makes great a fine sense of the small, large and strange normalised ways change has entered the world. Alongside more 'in your face' images you would never believe you could ever see such as the infamous time's square infiltrated by Nazi advertising. I use the word advertising because of propaganda because it's a world where time has converted propaganda to plain old advertising and the concept is fascinating and your mind is constantly grabbing onto the unfamiliar yet not dissimilar world. The hybridity of that such as seen in Sheriffs driving around in Nazi uniform like it was always that way is endlessly interesting.

Opening with "You want your country back? You never had it." and the introduction of young people sets up that context for the whole show where we are then introducing to several characters which convey the people who are dissatisfied and uncomfortable of the situations which the world have found itself in. Martial artts Juliana and brief, but sweet in the hysterical hope for 'the reason' Trudy and their scenes are an open door to the general feeling. Juliana and Trudy seem like characters from the period - who we all know so well from depictions from that time are those, but injected with something else which has never existed and live within the characters which make them incredibly odd, and fantastic to see it.

Characters like Ed and Frank analysing Hitler's health on the television with quips like "How much longer do you think he's got?" is charming to watch and the humour and commentary is rife in the pilot. Juliana's mother in front of a game show which features Browncoats looking upon the camera and gleaming, being clapped by dropping that they had been in the hitler youth is not only satirical but shows just how far the actual war is becoming in a world that has spread and continues to be submitted to a reality from something which is becoming removed and legendised almost like it is today and creates a strong parallel. 

What happens to Trudy in the pilot is a sad reminder of what the world would be, and Julianna acquiring the film and the scene which it leads to where she is faced with the footage of British and affiliated countries winning the war which she plays over and over is a version of events nobody has been witness to is so powerful. The shots of the scene and the slightly industrial feel to the sets in general are very atmospheric and feed into the narrative.

It's good to see Joel de la Fuente (Hemlock Grove), sinister as ever and good at it on the heels of Trudy and Julianna and Frank caught in the middle. Brutal storytelling of Julianna leaving Frank behind enforces the no need to even question anything which might change anything. One of my favourite scenes is of the bus which transports the destination Trudy was meant to go to. Implications of the bus and who rides it is very moving and resembles discrimination which exists in this world without the Nazi regime surviving. There often seems to be a comparison to be made.

The Japanese influence on the states is really engaging and exposes the fragility of Nazi rule. But then again, in the pilot we are also presented with the opaque permanence of Hitler's vision with scenes of Joe on the road, witnessing remnants of hospitals burning unfit patients and details such as Buddy Stuart's 'Angry words' playing on the radio. 'Angry words lightly spoken' in a passive-aggressive drawl  links itself to people stifling their voices and to stay that way.

There's something really scary and really riveting about witnessing German boots hitting the floor of streets after 1945. The characters are great and the twist concerning Joe in the last moments of the pilot gives a jump-start to something which I'm excited to get to delve into it more and discover what else can become of the world where the worst possible outcome. It floats well, and there's nothing deeply unrealistic about the crisp imagining of an alternate history. Not to mention I love the recurring slogan of the 'The grasshopper lies heavy' on the film reels. I love that it's set in San Francisco. I love it. 

Check out the trailer for yourself here: 

Pilot now available on Amazon Prime.

Halt and Catch Fire (Episodes 1 and 2) Review/First thoughts.

The eighties was a turmulous time where there was a conflict between what was possible and what could be imagined and the aim to convey that is what Halt and Catch Fire aims for. Colouring darkened on purpose and initially a protagonist which you don't have much desire to watch made me unsure but something pulls you in by Joe from the get-go. The series is set in 1980s Dallas and from the most part, the show is skilled at laying the environment well by taking was is presented historically as an exciting technological time, as a dreary, and industrial, littered by 'Beige boxes' like Cameron, one of the characters consistently points out. Cameron is a character which excites me. At first glance, it's a forumalic choice to have a girl who's aggressive, rebellious, and 'differs' from a usual girl which is something I don't like because it suggests a separation from females being able to be the same.But, it's true for that time and it is easy to see that it would have helped for her appearance and name to be stereotypically masculine and she encapsulates all sorts of tensions, including fashion and conventional standards with links to the music movement atypical and a large part of the eighties.

Joe is a driving force which portrays a really watchable lunacy and unstoppable determination, smirks and a loss of control contained. He is a character we hope there is on any technological project, who seeks more and recruits people he believes can help him do it. His flaws and his potential to take credit are blindingly obvious but what is more softer and subtle is his talent which when is shown through the LED in the garage scene carries a sweetness which Lee Pace often uses articulately and like tapping the viewer on the shoulder and producing a lollipop produced from behind him. He was my main draw to the show and within the first two episodes you are almost shown a colour shade palette of all of the layers and stages which Joe has and can be and his provoking stoicness within the meeting rooms with IBN, and his relentlessness with Cameron and Gordon.

Gordon is a character which had hopes and aspirations in his abilities but was confined by practicability and legalities which is a basic trope used often but works because it is a reality far more documented than success. And so far, there hasn't been much distinction from characters like him but it sets the way for character development to come and where there is silence now, there will be a voice because you see him begin to rescue his confidence, intimidated by Joe and Cameron's. Three main characters is a strange amount and the show seems like an empty plate sometimes. Whether that is because, we are used to having strings of large amounts of characters in television or if there just isn't that much exposition on the characters yet to fill the time. We visit Gordon's wife and children which is a Mad Men-led standard which AMC knows it can use which is enough but is slightly wooden in comparison and the wife has been established to be more talented than she is given credit for (And I get the uneasy sense that it was her article that Joe became interested in Gordon for) and I hope for her to come into the development of the personal computer. I predict that she will, and then the marriage will be even more strained and consequently she might sleep with Joe.

The show is good at making you feel excited at what the characters are doing and it's really enjoyable to be swept away by the emotions. The 'goofs' and 'anarchisms' on the side ruined it occasionally but I found it useful to be aware that the truth is altered quite a lot for plot development (as are all shows) but mainly to do with time frames which isn't that important for me to be exact, as long as the element of truth happened previously or after. Some things aren't made clear, and a lack of insight into what the companies are working on yet leaves the viewer slightly immbolised, unable to decide if 'better' isn't already being worked on which is hard to believe and perhaps that is purposeful, to isolate these three characters and make it be perceived that they are individual and that's a story-arc I'd find interesting.

 Because overall, I think the computer corporations to be slightly overgeneralised but not untrue as money is the most important factor and it is factual for this to have been the focus at the time. The texan accent of one of the heads of the company is slightly extreme, but there are a couple of scenes which have really blown me away such as the parking lot scene in episode two where Joe opens himself up (truthfully or falsely) to the Gordon and Cameron who are both dysfunctional too. It made a scene which is really well-acted by Pace, and a lot of emotional foundation for the show to build on. Other scenes of note are scenes which contain Cameron and Joe meeting, the dialogue and details like the arcade machine and the coin are really viewable. Their interactions and the darkness behind it are really interesting in general and the characters bounce off each other really well. Even referring right back to the opening scene of an armadillo walking across the road before Joe uncaringly collides with it sets up many foreshadows for the show. Contrasted with the innocence of all characters involved - whether it be Cameron trying to try on clothes to try fitting in, not being able to ask for the secretary's help and Joe seeing that or whether it be Gordon quietly fixing and modifying his two daughter's toy early in the dead of morning. 

These are characters which could all prove to be too big for each other. (In 'The Social Network' style) I'm looking forward to seeing how that plans out and for the period to open up and grasp me even more in the other introductory episodes to come.

Check out the trailer for yourself: (or if you have seen the show yourself, let me know what you thought.)

Sidenote: I really love the promitional material that Halt and Catch Fire has such as this because of the insight and meaning associated between the keys and the characters. Details like the title itself 'Halt and catch fire' and what that command meant for computer technology are really great and I really appreciate them in a really nerdy way. 

  

Wayward Pines 1x01 'Where paradise is home' review.

I was excited for Wayward Pines for all kinds of reasons. Maybe being so attracted to shows which circle around the dark and unusual towns where life is captured in a really small-town reflective way. I am a fan of shows such as Under The Dome, Top of the lake, Intruders, Happy Towns, Les Revnants, Hemlock Grove so this kind of theme and how it is portrayed is not new to me and not new to anybody. So being my favourite kind of show, I geared myself for the twisted and realistic utopian reflection of America. And alright, it does fulfill that instantly. The empty space, the pyscological terror which felt occasionally flat (but not necessarily branding it as a bad show, after all it's only the pilot) and the terrified but stoic like a true 'secret agent' who begins to unravel (Reminiscent of Kevin from The Leftovers but not quite achieving it fully.) With a town that looks like Eureka's which I do like but felt a little exhausted but the scenery is one of the main things I like about shows like this so I enjoyed it however the plot felt slightly lifeless and the characters were slightly wooden (such as the secetary for the sheriff) however the nurse in Wayward Pines's hospital was a character which succeeded in disturbing me. So whereas Ethan (Ethan - why are all main characters called Ethan?) seemed like a washed-up Matthew Mcconaughey at the moment, walking around aimlessly and still having time to lust over his old partner. (But he was looking for her, it's understandable and you can't not stare if you've just found her in a way too suburban town you can't escape and "she never would have styled her hair like that, geez!") So, I like the plot of Ethan being unable to escape and unlike other shows, I feel like almost everyone is out to get him and if it continued like that, I think I'd be really interested in the motive for that/if the town is an experiment/and why. I liked the inclusion of the decomposed body in the house and I felt that had a good effect (which might eventually turn out to be him - I watch too much television, the tropes begin to feel natural.) Tough-guy sheriff tested by limits is something I've seen hundreds of times but I remain hopeful as new characters begin to solidify. Nothing is genuinely chilling yet and Ethan's wife and son initially feel like they were together in a casting call that isn't entirely right and I can't put my finger on it. Not much seemed to happen but again I will say that it's a pilot and it's setting up but I am going to continue watching because I'm hoping for better things because it could have the potential. I can see a relationship will probably form between Ethan and Beverly and she'll probably offer him something to wear from her dead husband-s closet is a slight hunch I have. The biggest incentive(aside from Terence Howard eating an ice cream cone sassily enjoying Ethan's internal pain at what is happening) to keep watching is Toby Jones who is an incredible actor who be an intensely troubling character without even breaking a sweat. It has the Twin Peaks aspiration (why the sign of 'wayward pines' although I love homages made me cringe a little bit only because it's so overdone) but so far its only shadowing it but I really hope it can come into its own. I'm really intrigued by the digital episodes and I'm ready to become addicted to this show if it starts performing. 

I'm looking forward to finding out.
Wayward Pines 1x01 'Where paradise is home.' 3 out of five stars.
Check out the trailer for yourself and check it out and feel free to let me know what you think of it.