Cultural Wormhole

Cultural Wormhole Presents: DC Wormhole Episode 7

2012-01-31T22:14:00.000-05:00

In this installment of DC Wormhole, we take a look at our ten core title for the first month of 2012.

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Inside the DC Wormhole: Wonder Woman #5, Detective Comics #5, Batman #5, Teen Titans #5, Flash #5, Aquaman #5, Green Lantern #5, Action Comics #5, Superman #5, and Justice League #5.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: The Merc Report Episode 16

2012-01-30T23:30:00.000-05:00

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Reviewed this episode: Deadpool MAX-MAS, Deadpool MAX II #3, Deadpool #47, and Deadpool #48.

Past-o-Vision: Deadpool #2 and Deadpool #3.

Music by Jenki "Girls of Los Angeles"

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 60

2012-01-29T16:09:00.000-05:00

In this installment of X-Nation, we discuss the latest news in the X-Buzz and take a look back at the Month in X for the first month of 2012.

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Month in X – January 2012: X-Sanction #2, X-23 #20, Daken: Dark Wolverine #19, Daken: Dark Wolverine #20, Magneto: Not a Hero #3, X-Club #2, X-Men #23, Astonishing X-Men #46, Generation Hope #15, New Mutants #36, Uncanny X-Men #4, Uncanny X-Men #5, Wolverine #300, Uncanny X-Force #19.1, Uncanny X-Force #20, X-Factor #230, X-Men: Legacy #260.1, X-Men: Legacy #261, Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha and Omega #1, and Wolverine and the X-Men #4.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 59

2012-01-22T13:20:00.000-05:00

In this installment of X-Nation we discuss take a look at seven issues from way back when in Days of X-Men Past.

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Days of X-Men Past: Uncanny X-Men #420, Uncanny X-Men #421, Uncanny X-Men #422, X-Treme X-Men #24, New X-Men #139, New X-Men #140, and Mystique #1.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: DC Wormhole Episode 6

2012-01-10T21:51:00.000-05:00

Witness the horror that is Darkseid! In this installment of DC Wormhole, we take a look at our ten core title for the month of December 2011.

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December 2011: Action Comics #4, Superman #4, Wonder Woman #4, Flash #4, Green Lantern #4, Aquaman #4, Teen Titans #4, Detective Comics #4, Batman #4, and Justice League #4.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 58

2012-01-08T15:38:00.000-05:00

In our first episode of 2012, we discuss the latest news in the X-Buzz, and take a look back at the Month in X for December 2011, as well as the Year in X.

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Download: X-Nation Episode 58

Month in X – December 2011: X-23 #18, X-23 #19, Daken: Dark Wolverine #18, Avengers: X-Sanction #1, Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #8, X-Club #1, Magneto: Not a Hero #2, Astonishing X-Men #45, X-Men #22, Generation Hope #14, New Mutants #35, Uncanny X-Men #3, Wolverine #20, Wolverine and the X-Men #3, X-Men: Legacy #260, X-Factor #228, X-Factor #229, Uncanny X-Force #18, and Uncanny X-Force #19.

2011 – The Year in X: Part Six

2012-01-05T23:22:00.000-05:00

By Paul Steven Brown

Here they are: my personal picks for the top three X-Men series of 2011...

#3 X-23 (#5 –18): This is another surprise. Upon reflection, X-23 was my third favorite X-Book of the year. It’s a real shame that it’s getting cancelled during the first quarter of 2012 and that X-23 is being shuffled off to the Avengers Academy. Still…

Writer Marjorie Liu’s introduction of Gambit as Laura’s co-star was a brilliant move. First, it satisfied starved Remy LeBeau fans, but more importantly it forced the usually closed off X-23 to talk to someone in almost every issue. I’ve always seen Laura as a teenage girl with Asperger’s syndrome, albeit with super powers. This is not a very accessible trait for a character starring in a solo title. But, Liu used this as a reason for Gambit to try to draw X-23 out of her shell.

When the book became less defined by Laura’s internal monologue and focused more about her interactions with other people in her life, it really took off. Whether it was through her debates with mentor figures Gambit and Wolverine, or her new friendship with the extroverted Jubilee, we were given a chance to see X-23 grow and discover who she was beyond a killing machine grown in a laboratory.

Liu went even further and had X-23 team up with the heroes formerly known as the Fantastic Four: the Future Foundation. This was a very unlikely combination, but it was really great to see this character given a chance to interact with folks that did not have the X-Gene. As a result, we were also treated to a more cosmic adventure for the young mutant which allowed Liu the opportunity to tie into a bit source material that I never thought would be readdressed: the Captain Universe/X-23 one-shot from 2006.

This was followed up with fun little adventure that had Laura take on a very different challenge: babysitting Franklin and Valeria Richards. Having such an extraordinary girl partake in such a traditionally teenage activity was plenty fun, especially when the Richards kids can’t help but stir up a little trouble. Also, this arc provided some closure for the on again/off again relationship between X-23 and Hellion.

Throughout the year, X-23 had some really awesome art. The bulk of the work was provided by Sana Takeda. Takeda’s soft manga style seemed like an attempt by Marvel to attract young female readers, but at the end of the day, the woman can flat draw. She has a deft hand at selling emotional moments, pulls off the comedic beats, and manages to supply the right amount of violence suitable for a comic starring a character with adamantium claws.

However, the real artistic highlight of the year for X-23 was the gorgeous four issues drawn by Phil Noto. I raved about his work earlier in the year on Wolverine and Jubilee, but he managed to top that with the story co-starring the FF in X-23. Bravo, Mr. Noto. You gave us eight solid issues of incredible mutant goodness in 2011.

It’s sad to see this title go after such a strong year. Personally, I would rather see X-23 shuttled over to Generation Hope in an attempt to revitalize that book rather than Avengers Academy. At least Marjorie Liu will continue to write Gambit when she takes over Astonishing X-Men in early 2012. She has more than proven with X-23 that she’s ready to take on a book with a higher profile.

#2 X-Factor (#213 – 229, #224.1): If any book benefited from Marvel’s increased double shipping in a single month, it was writer Peter David’s X-Factor. This allowed the prolific writer a much needed extra page count needed to fully feature his large cast. Also, it helped move some of the weaker stories move along a bit quicker than a regular monthly schedule would provide.

This was the year that X-Factor dove head first into the mystic. For most of the year the team of mutant private investigators ran into demons, hellspawns, and ghosts. While magic is not something that I naturally associate with X-Men books (outside of Illyana Rasputin), David managed to tie it back to respective actions and decisions made by Rahne and Layla recently.

What continued to work for X-Factor was the fact that Peter David had a defined cast of characters that were solely his to play with. He does have to share a character like Cyclops or Emma Frost with three other writers. For many, this is a pack of B and C-List characters, but the writer manages to provide A-List entertainment with them. He’s also made them people that I care about. We’re talking about Shatterstar for crying out loud! He was one of the poster children for all the things that were wrong and cliché about ‘90s superhero comics. However, Peter David stripped the sword-swinging warrior to his core, removed the headgear and shoulder pads, and just had fun with him.

David was also allowed to retake ownership of Wolfsbane after she was wasted on Craig Kyle and Chris Yost’s X-Force for two years. Rahne was handed back to him emotionally scarred and impregnated by a Norse wolf prince. Instead of ignoring the recent past, David built upon it. While a Rahne running from cat and wolf demons with the help of the Werewolf by Night for several issues was not my favorite arc in X-Factor during the year, it gave David the chance to capitalize on circumstances that Rahne had been thrown into after her experiences associated with X-Force.

Peter David wasn’t the only person to leave a remarkable stamp on X-Factor in 2011. The bulk of the art was provided by newcomer, Emanuela Lupacchino. While her style was very expressive and not very noir (as had been the tradition since the book relaunched in 2006), it was no less enjoyable to view. Lupacchino did a great job with the comedy and was no slouch in the action department. The always wonderful Leonard Kirk came in for four super solid issues of his own. I can only hope that he’ll return to the book and continue alternate arcs with Lupacchino.

In addition, David Yardin continued to provide spectacular covers each issue. His cover art just got better and more stunning as the year progressed. Highlights included the spooky Rahne plus baby image of #224, they dying Madrox of #228, and the hilarious “one of these characters will die!” cover of #229. He’s provided forty consecutive covers. Here’s hoping for forty more!

X-Factor is just a consistently entertaining superhero comic book. While it is connected to the other X-Books by it very nature and Peter David is fully aware of history tied to his cast, it stands completely on its own merits. This continues to be one of my all-time favorite runs by a writer on an X-Book.

#1 Uncanny X-Force (#5 – 19, #5.1): Here’s what I wrote about Uncanny X-Force at the end of 2010: “So far, Uncanny X-Force is pretty solid read. If it maintains this level of fun and action, it will easily eclipse its predecessor.”

Boy, has it!

No other superhero comic book provided me with as many surprises, heart-aching moments, or thrilling heroics, than Uncanny X-Force.

The year started strong with the shocking ending of the opening arc in which Fantomex guns down the infant version of Apocalypse. This was succeeded by the later reveal that Fantomex was growing a clone of Kidpocalypse, unbeknownst to the rest of X-Force. Then we got Fantomex riding to the rescue with a gaggle of Age of Apocalypse X-Men in tow. Plus, there was that fantastic final page of Fantomex and Psylocke waiting their final confrontation with Archangel. Or how about the fact that Fantomex was raising Kidpocalypse in a virtual childhood that mirrored Clark Kents?

Yes, Fantomex was amazing this year. I never really liked the character until writer Rick Remender realized his full potential. Sure, he continues to be snarky and cooler-than-you, but Remender has add a great need amount of emotional depth and complexity to Fantomex. His advances towards Psylocke may seem simply cavalier at first, but we have grown to understand that the French mutant really does care about her. He also has grown to care about his team.

Most of this development transpired over one of most ambitious self-contained stories to take place in an X-Book in a very long time: The Dark Angel Saga. The title alone conjures up the reminder of what is arguably the greatest X-Men story of all-time: The Dark Phoenix Saga. Those are mighty big shoes to fill, but Remender stepped up to the plate and delivered in a big way.

What helped this nine-part (if you count the prologue issue… which you should) story, other than it being simply jaw-droppingly exciting, was the structuring. Remender set things up simple in the prologue, gave us an adventure in the AoA for three issues, caught up with the villains of the piece for about an issue and a half, and then drove it all home for a rollercoaster ride of issues that wrapped up the story. The narrative ebbed and flowed and never felt overly long, despite being nine issues.

Remender has also managed to make me care about characters like Psylocke, Deadpool, and Deathlok in ways I thought were impossible. The telepathic good-bye between Betsy and Warren was practically tear-inducing as anything I’ve ever read in a superhero comic book. Deadpool remains comic relief, but toned down when compared to his solo books. Plus, the writer has instilled the merc with the mouth with a strange level of sincerity when interacting with his fellow teammates. With Deathlok, Remender has built upon the model of the character established by Jason Aaron in Wolverine: Weapon X, with great effect.

Then there’s Archangel. With Apocalypse’s corruption finally taking hold of Warren Worthington III, the winged mutant was transformed into a complex and tragic villain. While his personality evolved into an evil mastermind bent on reshaping the world in his twisted image, there was an undercurrent of emotion, especially in his dealings with Genocide and Psylocke. Frankly, I would have been perfectly happy if this had been a permanent change for the character.

Artistically, Uncanny X-Force delivered in a big way. While Matt Brooks provided some great work during the AoA issues, it was series regular artist Jerome Opena that really stole the show. For a book with so much violence and action, Opena’s art is wonderfully graceful and delicately penciled. Also, colorist Dean White was a perfect addition to the art team, providing his own level of depth, dimension and texture.

Like X-Factor, Uncanny X-Force stood solely on its own merits. Yes, it was tied to the greater X-Men universe, but it was very self-contained and could be read within its own bubble. With luck, Rick Remender will be able to deliver more excitement and emotion in the coming year.

There you have it, the Year in X for 2011. Overall, I think that this was a step up from its predecessor. The books at the top of this list continued to define themselves and remain distinct. If this consistency can be translated across the bulk of the line, the X-Men books could become the strongest it has ever has been.

2011 – The Year in X: Part Five

2012-01-03T23:58:00.001-05:00

By Paul Steven Brown

In this installment of the Year in X, I continue my countdown of the ongoing series currently in the X-Men family of comics, from least favorite to the best.

#6 Generation Hope (#4 – 14): The problem with Generation Hope from the onset was the fact that Marvel wanted fans to except yet another group of young mutants in a team book after cancelling New X-Men (low selling, but a book with a dedicated cult following) and its follow up, Young X-Men (not as gratifying, but still pulled from the same well of characters). The first few months of 2011 produced some serviceable stories (a new mutant in the form of a telepathic fetus and the true nature of Teon’s powers revealed), but overall, nothing happened that really made me want to like these new characters.

Things began to pick up midway through the year with a standalone story that mirrored real life events involving cyber-bullying. It was tragic and added some extra depth to Zero, one the series more realized characters. Also, I love any time that writer Kieron Gillen is joined by his Phonogram partner, artist Jamie McKelvie.

Generation Hope really hit its stride with the two issues that crossed over with Schism. This allowed Gillen to chance to tell part of the story from the perspective of Hope’s team, particularly through the eyes of troubled, young Idie. Her story was sad and compelling, plus this also gave ample opportunity for more development of Laurie. Gillen ended his twelve issue run with an epilogue for the event and acted as a smooth hand-off to incoming writer James Asmus.

Asmus finally got the opportunity to step up and write an ongoing title after a few years working on one-shots and anthology stories connected to the X-Universe. For the most part, his handling of the characters has been fine and he has been able to bring in a few familiar characters such as Pixie and No-Girl. The current story involves Generation Hope’s discovery of an amnesiac Sebastian Shaw. How he will work into the cast is anybody’s guess.

Sales on Generation Hope have been really poor. While it has sold better than Daken, it has not been doing as well as X-23, and both of those titles will end in a month or two. What is probably keeping Generation Hope alive is the fact that Hope will be playing a major role in Marvel Comic’s big event for 2012, Avengers vs. X-Men. Unless sales drastically improve after that crossover, I don’t see Generation Hope carrying on into 2013.

#5 Uncanny X-Men (#532 – 544, #534.1, Vol. 2 #1 – 3): Matt Fraction wrapped up his two and a half year run on Uncanny X-Men with a final arc that teamed him up with incoming writer Kieron Gillen. Despite arguably having the most impact on this particular title since Chris Claremont, Matt Fraction left the book with little fanfare. In the end, the writer did re-establish Uncanny X-Men as the flagship book of the line, transplanted the base operations to a little island off the coast of San Francisco, and completely moved it away from being a team book, to a comic about the X-Men as a society led by Cyclops and Emma Frost.

Gillen took over with a Point One issue, which is as good a reason for the gimmick as any. That issue was fairly self-contained and worked as a nice little spotlight for Magneto. Still, the writer was in no hurry to leave his mark on Uncanny. His first solo arc was a follow up to Joss Whedon’s last story involving the Breakworld on Astonishing X-Men from a few years prior. At least he used it to get Kitty Pryde out of that damn spacesuit, something that Fraction never got around to doing.

Uncanny continued to feel much like the book did under Fraction. Gillen pulled from the wide variety of characters that inhabited Utopia, giving the bulk of the panel time still to Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magneto, and Namor, with some focus on Kitty Pryde and Colossus. Still, there wasn’t a defined team.

During the Fear Itself crossover issues, Gillen did take the opportunity to radically change Colossus for the foreseeable future. To stop the Asgardian empowered Juggernaut, Peter became the new avatar for Cytorrak. Basically, Colossus turned into the new Juggernaut, complete with a new harsher outlook and his own shiny helmet.

In an effort to capitalize on any momentum generated by Schism and the launch of Wolverine and the X-Men, Marvel felt the need to relaunch Uncanny X-Men with a new first issue. Sadly, this was the only Marvel title from the silver age that never had to undergo a renumbering, until now. As someone that had been reading the book continuously since issue #204 (published in 1986), I couldn’t help but take this as a sign that my era and ideas of the X-Men were dead and gone.

With the new series, Kieron Gillen finally seemed free to begin putting his stamp on the book. While Uncanny X-Men continued in the Utopia setting with Cyclops as the leader of an endangered species, the writer defined the cast and called them Cyclops’ X-Tinction Team. Not the bet P.R. move that Scott Summers has ever made, but Gillen made the point that the leader wants humanity to rely on the X-Men as heroes, but also fear them.

Gillen also reinvented Mr. Sinister into a very verbose evil genius bent on creating the next great master race. That master race being solely just himself, multiplied several times over. The writer clearly had fun writing dialogue for the villain, but Sinister’s defeat was a little too simple, given the build from the prior issues.

On the positive side, Gillen’s defining of the cast allows for the promise of more centralized character development (hopefully outside of Scott and Emma for a change). While he has left Generation Hope, its star, Hope Summers, continues to be under his pen in Uncanny as a member of Scott’s squad. Also, given the number of heavy hitters currently on the team, Cyclops’ X-Men will be going into the crossover with the Avengers on a more even playing field.

#4 X-Men: Legacy (#244 – 260): Mike Carey came into 2011 with X-Men: Legacy swinging for the fences with the extremely solid Age of X storyline. Despite crossing over with New Mutants, there was a healthy focus on characters that the writer was using already in Legacy, namely Rogue, Magneto, and Gambit. Plus, he used it as an opportunity to put a new spin on an older, underutilized character: Frenzy.

Frenzy had been bouncing around the X-Men books since her first appearance in X-Factor #4, way back in 1986. His treatment of the former Acolyte was the ultimate example of his handling of characterization and continuity throughout his run on the title: a solid knowledge of what has come before and a willingness to make changes that seemed refreshing, while still making sense. Frenzy’s progress at the hands of Carey felt natural and he gave her specific and sensible reasons for making the choice to be an X-Man and leaving her criminal past beyond. And in doing so, she was able to retain her edginess.

One of Carey’s more risky moves this year involved the consummation of sexual tension between Rogue and Magneto, which had been rearing its ugly head off and on since Uncanny X-Men #274 and #275, published in 1991. Despite many fans rewriting history, the pair had never had a relationship until Carey finally had the two mutants talk about their feelings. These emotions were rekindled due to recent missions together and the intensity of Age of X. At the same time, Carey had made sure that Gambit did not come off as a dummy, allowing the Cajun the opportunity to have reasons to put his relationship with Rogue on hold until she knew that is was time for them to try again.

Carey also took the opportunity, after Age of X, to make Legacy a team book once again. Though Rogue has had several characters in her orbit since she took over as the central character on the book, this was the first time since Carey’s first year on the title that he has had an actual cast to play with. Unfortunately, the excitement and freshness of those initial issues was not completely present during the writer’s final three story arcs.

While “Lost Legion” offered the usual strong character interaction that Carey reliably produces, the overall story was fairly repetitive. Each issue involved the X-Men hunting down and confronting one of Legion’s personalities that managed to manifest him or herself in the real world. The arc ended on a high note with the promise of great things to come from this new team. The art by Khoi Pham, while not bad, wasn’t the artist’s strongest work.

Fans really started to complain during the “Five Miles South of the Universe” storyline. While it was great to see Havok, Polaris, and Marvel Girl given the opportunity to come back to Earth after several years of publication off in space, the ultimate result was a fairly mundane story that featured too much Rogue infallibility. Also, while it did supply an interesting antagonist in Friendless, the actual conflict between the Shi’ar and the other aliens didn’t excite me. In addition, Steve Kurth’s art was pretty underwhelming through a great bulk of the story.

Mike Carey’s swan song was a two part story centered on Rogue attempting to rescue Ariel, who was thought to have been killed during the Second Coming crossover. This was coupled with Rogue trying to figure out whether or not to stay on Utopia or join Wolverine’s school. This was a definite improvement over “Five Miles South of the Universe”, but not the sort of story that I would expect to be the last from a writer’s long and mostly awesome run on a title.

So why am I ranking X-Men: Legacy so high on my personal list of ongoing X-Books for 2011? As with the other three books left on the countdown, Legacy had an established cast and a distinct identity that separated it from the flock. There was an internal continuity and a progression of character and ideas. Also, Mike Carey had a fantastic handle on these mutants. Even during the space arc, I was still invested in the characters, if not the plot. This writer has given me more satisfaction as an X-Men fan than any other writer outside of the legendary Chris Claremont. Hopefully, Mike Carey’s legacy on will not be diminished by what was thought of his final six months.

Next time: I will wrap up 2011 - The Year in X with a look at the top three books of this list.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: The Merc Report Episode 15

2012-01-03T22:19:00.000-05:00

Spinning out of X-Nation, The Merc Report is your monthly review of the many Deadpool comic books published by Marvel Comics. This episode Corwin Crowl and Scott Bechtel takes you through the Month in Merc for November 2011 as well as a stroll down memory lane in Past-o-Vision. PLUS special guest star Wendi Freeman from Comics Slumber Party!

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Reviewed this episode: Deadpool #46, Deadpool MAX II #2 and for our Past-o-vision Deadpool Sins Past #4 and Deadpool #1.

Music by Jenki "Girls of Los Angeles"

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation X-Addiction Rewind Episode 3

2012-01-02T12:00:00.000-05:00

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Download: X-Nation X-Addiction Rewind Episode 3

In this remastered X-Nation X-Addiction Rewind, Paul and Antony take a look at the Month in X for September 2008, give more trade advice in the Starter Kit, look at more episodes of the '90s X-Men animated series in Mojo Vision, make more predictions in Destiny's Diaries, and finish things off with more trivia in the Danger Room.

2011 – The Year in X: Part Four

2011-12-28T21:01:00.001-05:00

By Paul Steven Brown

In this installment of the Year in X, I continue my countdown of the ongoing series currently in the X-Men family of comics, from least favorite to the best.

#9 New Mutants (#21 – 35): 2011 started out big with January seeing the conclusion of Zeb Wells’ run on New Mutants. While I had mixed feelings overall about Wells’ tenure on the title, he certainly ended on very high note. It didn’t hurt that the always wonderful Leonard Kirk provided the art for the last major arc. The book was tied up for the next three months as part of the Age of X event.

After the crossover, the writing team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning took over New Mutants with issue #25. Abnett and Lanning had really impressed comic fans over the last few years with their handling of Marvel’s cosmic line of books. With those books the team did an excellent job of juggling large casts of characters while maneuvering exciting storylines.

Unfortunately, the start of Abnett and Lanning’s New Mutants run was far less impressive. The New Mutants were given the job of being the clean up crew for the X-Men. In other words, all the writers needed to do to generate story ideas were to dig around for unresolved bits of X-Men continuity. The first result the reintroduction of Nate Grey and Sugar Man. While the plot and character handling was okay, “Unfinished Business” really suffered due to the extremely lackluster art provided by Leandro Fernandez.

The art from David Lafuente was decidedly better during the Fear Itself issues. Plus, Abnett and Lanning had trimmed the cast down a bit, selecting Dani Moonstar, Sunspot, Magma, Cypher, Warlock, and Nate Grey as the team. New Mutants #30 was a particular high point. This issue had the team stuck in Hell and Magma making a trade in the form of a date with Mephisto, if the dark lord sent the New Mutants to the Norse realm Hel.

The arc that closed the year out saw the reintroduction of another lost X-Character. This time the New Mutants were hunting down the original Blink (not to be confused with her Age of Apocalypse/Exiles version) that had popped up recently during the Necrosha-X event. While not as enjoyable as Lafuente’s work, the art by David Lopez was certainly better than that of Fernandez.

The sales numbers for New Mutants haven’t been spectacular. For the past year, they have been hovering around the same as X-Factor’s figures. X-Factor continues to stick around due to a lack of attrition and a loyal fan base. If New Mutants can sustain its numbers in a similar fashion, the book may be allowed to continue. Also, like X-Factor, New Mutants has a legacy and a recognizable name within the framework of Marvel Comics, which may help prolong the axe from falling too soon.

#8 Wolverine (#5 – 20, #5.1): When 2011 began, Wolverine was finally crawling his way out of Hell. This led directly to the “Wolverine vs. the X-Men” arc. However, we got a Point One issue plopped right in between. Not that Wolverine #5.1 was a bad issue, but jamming it into the middle of an unresolved plotline was very strange.

The biggest story for Wolverine in 2011 involved his confrontation with the folks that sent him to Hell, the Red Right Hand. The central idea from writer Jason Aaron was interesting: what if a bunch of people who believe themselves unjustly wronged by Wolverine decided to band together for revenge? However, in each issue we got a different point of view from a victim’s relative, which got tediously repetitive really quick. Also, the reveal of the true nature of the Mongrels was sussed out by many readers well in advance of the arc’s conclusion.

The fact that Wolverine was tricked into murdering his own bastard children understandably took its toll on Logan, and the mutant spent the next two issues grieving. Unfortunately, we never found anything out about who these offspring or their mothers were. Instead, all the soul searching from Logan was yet another step by Aaron towards Wolverine’s acceptance of God.

I have no problems with religious superhero characters. In fact, my favorite comic book character of all time is Nightcrawler, who was devoutly Catholic. However, Aaron’s push of Wolverine towards God doesn’t seem like a natural direction for the character. It feels more like four color evangelism, which I’m not at all interested in reading.

The year ended in a very light fashion with Aaron taking Wolverine through one last romp through San Francisco’s Chinatown. He threw in Gorilla Man from the Agents of Atlas, Fat Cobra from Immortal Weapons, dragons, ninjas, and a whole lot of silliness. Not that this was a bad story, but coupled with the wackiness of Jason Aaron’s work on Wolverine and the X-Men, and it was a little too much for me.

The last issue of the year began what is reported as Aaron’s last arc on the title. Wolverine will finally get renumbered with #300 in January, combining the issue count of all three ongoing Wolverine series since the first issue way back in 1988. Unfortunately, Jason Aaron’s departure leaves room for Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi’s sequel to the much reviled “Evolution” arc. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

A special note should be made about the covers provided by Jae Lee for most of the year. They have been gorgeous. A bit repetitive at times, but beautiful none the less.

#7 X-Men (#7 – 22, #15.1, X-Men Giant Size #1): I’m really surprised to see the current adjectiveless X-Men series score this high on my list. Like Astonishing X-Men, X-Men is in continuity, but not heavy on it. This is a series conceived as an X-Men team up book, where the mutants can interact with other members of the Marvel Universe.

The first part of the year had the X-Men (well, Wolverine, Gambit, Storm, and Emma Frost) hook up with Spider-Man against the Dark Beast. While the story involving children lured underground and transformed into lizard people wasn’t anything to jump up and down about, it was wonderfully drawn by Chris Bachalo. Writer Victor Gischler seemed to have fun with the dialogue between Spider-Man and Emma Frost, too.

Chris Yost jumped on the book for an arc with the “First to Last” story. This was one of those mind-wiped events of the past finally revealed type of yarns, which is convenient device for retconning. However, the use of Emma Frost in the past was interesting and helped add to the wider fabric of the X-Men history. Also, we got really great art from Paco Medina, who handled the present day material, and Dalibor Talajic, who drew the events from the X-Men’s Silver Age era.

Gischler came back to the book for a team up with the Future Foundation. The X-Men and the FF ran around a realm that was very similar to the Savage Land and Lee Forester, a long forgotten X-Men character with past romantic ties to both Cyclops and Magneto resurfaced. Strangely, Lee’s history with either man was never explored. Instead, Gischler had her running around in a leopard skin bikini as if she was some Shana the She-Devil knock-off. Least I forget, a barely remembered character from the ‘70s, Skull the Slayer, also joined in on the action.

Luckily, things fared a bit better when X-Men went into Regenesis mode. For this arc, that teamed up the X-Men with War Machine, Gischler put together a cast that consisted of mostly underused characters such as Domino, Jubilee (whom he reinvented as a vampire), and Warpath. While Storm, Psylocke, and Colossus could still be found in other books, it was still refreshing to see mutants other than Wolverine, Cyclops, and Emma Frost in the pages of X-Men. In addition, Will Conrad’s art on the arc was wonderful. His style has become increasingly more similar to Mike Deodato’s current work, which is not a bad thing at all.

The adjectiveless X-Men book has had a mediocre year. Nothing has been overly offensive (if you don’t count that lousy Point One issue), but neither has anything been outstanding. At least this is a book with a mission statement, which is more than I can say for Astonishing X-Men.

Next time: I look at the next three books on my countdown.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: FF Wormhole Episode 1

2011-12-26T11:58:00.000-05:00

In this premiere episode of FF Wormhole, Antony Ellis and Paul Steven Brown take a look at Fantastic Four #600 and #601 and FF #12. Plus, they crank up Doctor Doom’s Time Platform for a journey back to the silver age for a look at the classic Fantastic Four #1 and #2.

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The Month in F: Fantastic Four #600, FF #12, and Fantastic Four #601

Doctor Doom’s Time Platform: Fantastic Four #1 and Fantastic Four #2

2011 – The Year in X: Part Three

2011-12-23T20:13:00.001-05:00

By Paul Steven Brown

In this installment of the Year in X, I will begin my countdown of the ongoing series currently in the X-Men family of comics, from least favorite to the best. But first, let’s take a look at…

Wolverine and the X-Men (#1 – 3): Since there were only three issues to come out in 2011 of the X-Men franchise’s newest title, I don’t think that it would be very fair to rank it amongst the books that were published throughout all of 2011. Still, I’d like to make a few remarks about Wolverine and the X-Men.

Instead of transforming an existing title like Astonishing X-Men or even X-Men: Legacy (since Mike Carey is leaving), the powers that be at Marvel decided to launch yet another book with the word “X-Men” in the title. I’m sure that they intend to get a bit more extra mileage due to the word “Wolverine” being there, too. Fortunately, writer Jason Aaron and artist Chris Bachelo have made the book unique enough, thus far, to warrant the series’ debut.

The first issue quickly established an “anything goes” sort of mentality from Aaron. He quickly established the teaching staff and a good handful of students, but then proceeded to unleash a whole mess of craziness upon the proceedings. While the first issue was a lot of fun, by the second issue, I could see where this could get a little tiresome if the writer constantly pushed a feeling of madcap zaniness issue after issue. Still, Aaron has proven that he can write X-Men characters other than Wolverine.

Bachelo is a perfect match for Aaron’s over-the-top story. His style remains completely unique; however there is the continued problem of clarity. Sometimes it’s impossible to tell what’s going on. I’m still not sure what Husk was doing in the second issue.

Wolverine and the X-Men is off to a fun and exciting start and I’m really happy to have a classic school setting back in some of the X-Books. Hopefully, Aaron will still find time for some introspective character work once in the while. He was able to do so in the Wolverine solo books that he has worked on over the last few years.

#11 Astonishing X-Men (#36 – 45, Xenogenesis #5): I complained enough about the Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis mini-series at the end of last year, so I have no desire to pick at that particular scab anymore. It was bad and I’m very happy that Warren Ellis is no longer writing the X-Men.

For the most part, Astonishing X-Men continued to be a book that one title created solely for the comic book fans that want to read a book with X-Men characters, but not have to deal with any continuity. As a result, I feel that Astonishing, post Joss Whedon, has been a very soulless exercise. Sure the X-Men have awesome powers and look cool, but it’s the history that keeps me coming back. Astonishing is simply too light for me.

While I wasn’t a fan of Warren Ellis’ run, at least he was a big industry name. So when it came time to find someone to replace him on the X-Men’s boutique book, who does Marvel tap to take over as writer?

Daniel Way.

No disrespect to Daniel Way but he doesn’t have the star power to follow up Whedon or Ellis. In fact, Way has very little in the way of star power. He was best known as the writer of the lukewarmly received Wolverine: Origins. In addition Way’s co-creator, artist Jason Pearson, on his Astonishing X-Men arc, “Monsterous”, was only able to produce an issue and a half of work before being replaced.

In a desperate attempt to keep Astonishing X-Men on a monthly schedule for once, Marvel chose to leap frog chapters with another story arc (this one called “Meanwhile”… get it). The alternating arc had its one separate creative team of Christos Gage and Juan Bobillo. Gage’s work here, a mediocre Brood story, was far from his strongest and Bobillo’s art was no where near as elegant as his past work on Mechanix. Basically, we got two uninteresting stories that bounced around each other in a confusing manner.

Things fared far better by the end of the year. James Asmus delivered a fine Emma Frost and Danger one issue team up. This was followed Greg Pak’s current arc, which has been okay, but not spectacular. However, recent news hit that writer Marjorie Liu and artist Mike Perkins will be taking over the book in a few months. From the sounds of things, they may be on the book for more than one arc. If there’s one thing Astonishing X-Men needs, it’s a focused creative team with a distinct cast and direction that separates it from the other X-Books.

#10 Daken: Dark Wolverine (#5 – 18, #9.1): I’ve never been a fan of Daken. I’m completely fine with his origin has Wolverine’s bastard son (though, we did discover this year that Daken isn’t the only one). I’ve even come to terms with his rather ‘90s look (which comes across much better when drawn by Giuseppe Camuncoli). But frankly, he hasn’t been written in a way or in stories that make me that interested in the guy.

Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu’s take on the character was too repetitive. Daken monologues about his greatness, flirts with folks to unsettle them, makes plans to gain some form of power, monologues some more, achieves said goal with hardly a scratch, wash, rinse, repeat.

Snore.

While the inevitable crossover with X-23 was a slight improvement, it wasn’t until Rob Williams took over as writer that Daken: Dark Wolverine started to get a little more attention worthy. By having Daken addicted to a fictional drug that impaired his healing factor, Williams was able to put the protagonist in actual danger. Also, we were introduced to an interesting foil in the form of Donna Kiel, an FBI agent determined to bring Daken to justice.

While Giuseppe Camuncoli’s art was sorely missed for most of the year, he continued to provide some decent covers. The interior art fluctuated in quality, though. Marco Checchetto had a gritty, but dynamic style, while Matteo Buffagni presented crisp action. Unfortunately, Michele Bertilorenzi’s work made the normally dashing Daken look fairly hideous.

When word came out recently that Daken: Dark Wolverine was going to be cancelled in the early part of 2012, I wasn’t too upset. It is surprising that the character was able to maintain a solo title for about two and a half years. Maybe he’ll get rolled into a team book where he has to interact with a larger cast on a regular basis. That might be the scenario that allows Wolverine’s son to flourish.

Next time: The countdown continues...

2011 – The Year in X: Part Two

2011-12-21T20:39:00.001-05:00

By Paul Steven Brown

In this second installment of 2011 – The Year in X, I will examine the various events that the X-Men were caught up in during the course of the year.

Age of X (Age of X: Alpha #1, New Mutants #22 – 24, X-Men: Legacy #245 – 247, Age of X: Universe #1 – 2): What was so odd about Age of X is that it seems clear, at least to me, this was never meant to be a full-blown event upon conception by X-Men: Legacy writer Mike Carey. While idea had the potential of long term consequences for the characters involved, the effects would only be felt in the two titles attached to the project, X-Men: Legacy and New Mutants. Still, in this day of event hype marketing, one could see where the powers that be at Marvel would take this opportunity to pump up this story a bit bigger than it needed to be.

As for the actual plot, this was one of Carey’s best and boldest ideas during his tenure on Legacy. The reader was plopped down in the middle of the action without preamble (well, there was that unnecessary Age of X #1 prologue issue that added some backstory), and we were left to piece the mystery together as the story progressed. The result was a sort of X-Men meets Lost, combining the best elements of both. By the end of the story, several characters, such as Rogue, Legion, Frenzy, Cannonball, Chamber, and Hellion underwent some compelling transformations and were given some interesting layers as a result.

Carey also did a good job of making sure that the New Mutants had a significant role in the story and that their book wasn’t just being used for padding and page count. Dani Moonstar and company were constantly on the heels of Rogue, Legion was a very important part of the story, and as mentioned prior, Cannonball made decisions that continued to haunt him, even after reality shifted back to normal.

What didn’t work was extraneous material from the prologue one-shot and the two issue Age of X: Universe anthology. These issues seem to run counter to the idea that the Age of X was not a separate universe. As a result, these extra books were unnecessary cash grabs used to make the story feel like a big deal event. All that was needed, or desired from this reader, were the six issues that made up the story in X-Men: Legacy and New Mutants, which were fascinating and exciting.

Fear Itself (Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1 – 3, Fear Itself: Wolverine #1 – 3, New Mutants #29 – 32, Uncanny X-Men #540 – 543): While Fear Itself was truly an Avengers-centric event, focusing on the Asgardian side of the Marvel Universe, its influence was felt across a great deal of the company’s line of books. For the X-Books, two ongoing titles dedicated four issues each to the crossover, while two other books had spin-off mini-series instead.

The problem with the Fear Itself tie-ins associated with the X-Men is that they were connected to the event in name only. The Wolverine and X-Force mini-series were barely connected to the event and focused on villains that were using the chaos of the Serpent’s attacks as cover to hatch their own dastardly machinations. However the Wolverine and the Uncanny X-Force mini-series were unnecessary made even more irrelevant by the fact that the regular series writers were not attached. The tie-ins in New Mutants and Uncanny X-Men worked a little better. New Mutants had Dani Moonstar, who already had a strong Asgardian connection and Uncanny X-Men used Fear Itself as a catalyst to bring some significant change to Colossus.

In all though, these tie-ins were not inherently bad. They were just not very compelling for the most part.

Schism (X-Men: Prelude to Schism #1 – 4, X-Men: Schism #1 – 5, Generation Hope #10 – 11, X-Men: Regenesis #1): The biggest event to impact the X-Men books in 2011 was Schism. At first I found the idea of Wolverine being the most credible rival to Cyclops’ leadership a bit odd. Wolverine has lead teams into battle, but almost always in the service of a superior. Storm or even Beast seemed to be the more reasonable choice for a challenger for mutant leadership.

But, from a purely marketing position, the selection of Wolverine makes sense. After all, Logan is the most popular and easily the most recognizable X-Men character in the stable. Plus, there is something to be said about having such a loyal soldier like Wolverine taking a stand against the Captain America of mutants.

Unfortunately, the lead up to the event was marred by a tremendously awful prologue mini-series. Prelude to Schism was a shameless cash grab on Marvel’s part. It added nothing to the actual event. Furthermore, the characters in Prelude give major lip service to some oncoming threat that is never revealed and never comes into play in Schism. Even the writing by Paul Jenkins was full of trite analogies and obvious metaphors. This was an easy paycheck for the writer and waste of money for me.

As for the actual mini-series event, Schism worked reasonably well. There was a chain of events that lead to an outcome that was understandable. While many fans have argued that Wolverine should be the last person decrying the use of child soldiers in the mutant militia, I personally had no problem with it. I’ve always seen Logan as the guy that did all the dirty, ugly killing so everyone else didn’t have to. Also, when Shadowcat or Jubilee was running around with him, it felt more like a mentor and student situation. Cyclops, who had a good argument of his own, was building an army and did not have intentions of any one-on-one nurturing or development. I’m sure Scott didn’t want anyone to get hurt, but in his mind he was fighting for the survival of his species.

Of course, the intellectual fight gets thrown out the window once Jean Grey was mentioned during Cyclops and Wolverine’s big brawl. This was a big eye-roller. I would have been perfectly fine without the specter of Ms. Grey popping back up to drive the wedge between Logan and Scott even more.

However, through the five issues, writer Jason Aaron proved that he was ready to move beyond the Wolverine solo title and take on the wider X-Universe. He appeared to know his history and was able to make the characters sound right. Each issue had a different artist, and all produced some fantastic work. The two issues of the Generation Hope tied to Schism did an excellent job of showing the events of the story from the view point of the younger mutants.

Schism was given a decent epilogue in the X-Men: Regenesis one-shot. While the tribal metaphor was a bit too on the nose, Kieron Gillen did a fine job of give the readers reasons why particular characters decided to stick with Cyclops on Utopia or move back to Westchester with Wolverine.

Next time, I will take a look at the newest ongoing mutant title, Wolverine and the X-Men. Plus, I will begin my countdown from least favorite series of 2011 to the best.

2011 – The Year in X: Part One

2011-12-20T21:14:00.001-05:00

By Paul Steven Brown

2011 was a noteworthy year for the X-Men franchise for a few reasons. We saw the transition of the writing duties on Uncanny X-Men from Matt Fraction to Kieron Gillen. New Mutants received a new writing team in the form of the reliable pair, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. Mike Carey, the longest running writer currently on an X-Book, other than Peter David, announced that he would be leaving X-Men: Legacy in December. And there was a little event called Schism that resulted in the launch of a new core title, Wolverine and the X-Men, and the renumbering of the flagship book, Uncanny X-Men.

It is also worth noting that 2011 was the year that Marvel Comics initiated a very aggressive double-shipping policy that saw some books in the X-Men universe occasionally published twice a month throughout the year. Add in the odd Point One issue (marketing ploy with varying degrees of success) and the result was a few titles that had at least seventeen issues published by the end of the year.

Luckily, the increase in output from the ongoing series resulted in fewer mini-series. Even better was the dramatic reduction in anthology mini-series and Wolverine and Origin one-shots. In other words, more killer, less filler. The short run series that we did get were significantly better than those in years past.

In this series of articles, I will take a look at the bulk of the X-Men publishing scheme for 2011. The first few articles will tackle the mini-series and the events of the year. After which, I will detail my opinion on the ongoing X-Men related books that were published, starting with what I felt was the weakest of the batch and ending with the strongest. As always, this is how I saw the Year in X for 2011. Feel free to comment, agree, or disagree here or at the Cultural Wormhole forums.

First up, let’s take a look at the mutant related mini-series that were published in 2011.

Wolverine and Jubilee (#1 – 4): Writer Kathryn Immonen’s work on the Pixie mini-series last year was amusing and at times a bit too goofy for my taste. Her work on Wolverine and Jubilee was a considerable improvement. Sure, the last issue dove head first into some crazy, conceptual material, but for the bulk of the series, Immonen did a fantastic job getting me to care about Jubilee again.

Jubilee’s vampirism as a result of the opening arc in the new adjectiveless X-Men title felt like a desperate attempt to inject something new into a character that was considered as a leftover from a past decade. However, Immonen was able to use Jubilee’s new status quo as a spring board to examine the mentor/student relationship between the young, former mutant and Wolverine.

We also got to see some fantastic artwork from Phil Noto on Wolverine and Jubilee. He has a clarity of style that is enviable and his characters look great. Noto began the year with some lovely work on this book and ended 2011 with four solid issues X-23. Not a bad output, from Mr. Noto.

X-Men: Escape from the Negative Zone (Uncanny X-Men Annual #3, Steve Rogers: Super Soldier Annual #1, Namor: The First Mutant Annual #1): Technically this was not a mini-series, but a collection of three annuals tied together by a single story, written by one person, James Asmus. Asmus has been providing work for the X-Office for the last few years, mainly on anthologies and one-shots. However, 2011 was the year that he got to finally move a little closer to the big leagues, resulting in his taking over Generation Hope as series writer.

Escape from the Negative Zone could have easily been a throw away story, and technically it wasn’t too deep or appears to have any lasting impacting on any characters or books beyond the three issue scope. However, it was fun. Asmus told an exciting little sci-fi romp that had the characters involved coming across as true to how they had been portrayed in the past.

Also, the art by Nick Bradshaw, Ibraim Roberson (who continues to work with Asmus on Generation Hope), and Max Fiumara was solid across the board. Ultimately, X-Men: Escape from the Negative Zone was filler, but it was entertaining filler that looked great.

Magneto: Not a Hero (#1 – 2) and X-Club (#1): Both of these series have barely begun, so I don’t think it would be fair to go into too much depth on them. I will admit that both are off to decent starts. I find Magneto: Not a Hero to be the stronger of the two, though. X-Club, while amusing, relies too heavily on having Dr. Nemesis spouting crass, snarky comments. This is not to say that a good handful of these aren’t funny, but sometimes it feels like writer Simon Spurrier is using this gag as a way of proving how clever he is. Spurrier has chops, but he doesn’t have to play at being Warren Ellis.

The surprise of Magneto: Not a Hero is not the return of a “better left dead” character from X-Men ‘90s lore, but the fact that Skottie Young, best known as an artist on New X-Men and Marvel’s various Wizard of Oz series, can deliver a fairly solid plot and script. So far, it hasn’t been an overly complex piece of work, but that is more than okay. This is solid comic book writing and character work that is true to the voice the subjects involved. It also doesn’t hurt things that Clay Mann continues grow and dazzle as a penciler. His work here is not an exception.

Next time: I take a look at the various events, internal and external, that involved the X-Men.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: DC Wormhole Episode 5

2011-12-06T19:23:00.000-05:00

In this installment of DC Wormhole, Chris and Paul take a look at seven new books from the third month of the DC Comics relaunch. They even talk about Superman #3.

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In the DC Wormhole: Batman #3, Justice League #3, Wonder Woman #3, Superman #3, Aquaman #3, Teen Titans #3, and The Flash #3.

Cultural Wormhole Present: X-Nation Episode 57

2011-12-04T20:05:00.001-05:00

In this installment of X-Nation, Antony, Elizabeth, and Paul talk about some recent cancellation announcements in the X-Buzz and discuss the Month in X for November 2011. And because no one demanded it, we've got the return of the X-Nation outtakes at the end of the episode. So join us for Mutants, Muppets, and Skyrim in Episode 57!

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Month in X: X-23 #16, X-23 #17, Daken: Dark Wolverine #17, Uncanny X-Force #17, X-Factor #227, X-Men: Legacy #258, X-Men: Legacy #259, Wolverine #18, Wolverine #19, Wolverine and the X-Men #2, Magneto: Not a Hero #1, Astonishing X-Men #44, X-Men #20, X-Men #21, Generation Hope #13, New Mutants #33, New Mutants #34, Uncanny X-Men #1, and Uncanny X-Men #2.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: The Merc Report Episode 14

2011-11-30T18:35:00.000-05:00

The Merc Report is your monthly review of the many Deadpool comic books published by Marvel Comics. This episode Corwin Crowl and Scott Bechtel takes you through the Month in Merc for October 2011 as well as a stroll down memory lane in Past-o-Vision.

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Reviewed this episode: Deadpool #44,#45 Deadpool MAX II #1, and for our Past-o-vision Deadpool Sins Past #3.

Music by Jenki "Girls of Los Angeles"

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation X-Addiction Rewind Episode 2

2011-11-27T17:50:00.000-05:00

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It's another remastered flashback from the early days when X-Nation was called X-Addiction! In this installment, Antony and Paul look back at the Month in X for August 2008, give trade advice for new readers in the Starter Kit, crank up the Mojovision with a look at the first four episodes of the original X-Men animated series, make some prediction in Destiny's Diary, and dive into some X-Men trivia in the Danger Room.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: DC Wormhole Episode 4

2011-11-22T23:14:00.000-05:00

In this installment of DC Wormhole, Chris and Paul take a look at seven new books from the DC Comics relaunch.

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The Flash #2, Teen Titans #2, Aquaman #2, Superman #2, Action Comics #3, Detective Comics #3, and Green Lantern #3.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 56

2011-11-12T17:36:00.000-05:00

In this installment of X-Nation, Antony, Elizabeth, and Paul take a look back at seven classic(?!) comics in Days of X-Men Past.

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Days of X-Men Past: X-Treme X-Men #22, X-Treme X-Men #23, Mekanix #6, New X-Men #137, New X-Men #138, Uncanny X-Men #418 and Uncanny X-Men #419.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 55

2011-10-30T22:32:00.000-04:00

In this installment of X-Nation we discuss some of the news from the New York Comic Con in the X-Buzz and look back at the Month in X for October 2011.

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Month in X: X-23 #15, Daken: Dark Wolverine #15, Daken: Dark Wolverine #16, X-Men #19, Astonishing X-Men #43, Uncanny X-Force #16, New Mutants #32, X-Factor #226, X-Men: Legacy #257, X-Men: Schism #5, X-Men Regenesis #1, Generation Hope #12, Wolverine # 17, Uncanny X-Men #544, and Wolverine & the X-Men #1

Cultural Wormhole Presents: The Merc Report Episode 13

2011-10-30T13:36:00.001-04:00

Spinning out of X-Nation, The Merc Report is your monthly review of the many Deadpool comic books published by Marvel Comics. This episode Corwin Crowl and Scott Bechtel takes you through the Month in Merc for September 2011 as well as a stroll down memory lane in Past-o-Vision.

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Reviewed this episode: Deadpool MAX #12, Wolverine Vs The Marvel Universe #4, Deadpool #43 and for our Past-O-Vision Deadpool of the Sins Past #2.

Music by Jenki "Girls of Los Angeles"

Cultural Wormhole Presents: DC Wormhole Episode 3

2011-10-20T23:40:00.000-04:00

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In this installment of DC Wormhole, Chris and Paul dive headfirst into the second month of the DC Comics relaunch with reviews of Action Comics, Detective Comics, Green Lantern, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Justice League.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 54

2011-10-16T15:46:00.000-04:00

In this installment of X-Nation, Antony, Elizabeth, and Paul take a look back at fourteen X-Books from early 2003 in a giant-size edition of Days of X-Men Past.

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Days of X-Men Past: Mekanix #4 & 5, Uncanny X-Men #414 - 417, X-Treme X-Men X-Pose #1 & 2, X-Treme X-Men #20 & 21, & New X-Men #133 - 136.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: DC Wormhole Episode 2

2011-10-04T21:21:00.000-04:00

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In this installment of DC Wormhole, Allison, Chris, and Paul discuss the first issues of Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, Superman, and Teen Titans. Plus, we take a look at some other DC books that came out over the past two weeks.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 53

2011-10-02T15:09:00.000-04:00

In this installment of X-Nation we review the X-Men: Destiny video game and take a look back at the Month in X for September 2011.

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Month in X – September 2011: Fear Itself: Wolverine #3, Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #3, Uncanny X-Men #543, New Mutants #31, Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #7, X-Men #17, X-Men #18, Astonishing X-Men #42, X-23 #14, Daken: Dark Wolverine #14, Wolverine #15, Wolverine #16, X-Men: Legacy #255,X-Men: Legacy #256, X-Factor #224.1, X-Factor #225, Uncanny X-Force #15, X-Men: Schism #4, and Generation Hope #11.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: The Merc Report Episode 12

2011-09-26T18:22:00.000-04:00

Spinning out of X-Nation, The Merc Report is your monthly review of the many Deadpool comic books published by Marvel Comics. This episode Corwin Crowl and Scott Bechtel takes you through the Month in Merc for August 2011 as well as a stroll down memory lane in Past-o-Vision.

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Reviewed this episode: Deadpool #41-42, Deadpool MAX #11, Fear Itself: Deadpool #3 and for our Past-o-vision Deadpool: The Circle Chase #4, and Deadpool Sins Past #1.

Music by Jenki "Girls of Los Angeles"

Cultural Wormhole Presents: DC Wormhole Episode 1

2011-09-15T23:50:00.000-04:00

In this installment of DC Wormhole, Allison, Chris, and Paul take a look at a selection of titles that came out during the first two weeks of the new DC relaunch.

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In the Wormhole: Justice League #1, Action Comics #1, Detective Comics #1, and Green Lantern #1

On the Edge of the Wormhole: Animal Man #1, Batgirl #1, and Batwoman #1

Plus, quick glances at the rest of the DC books that came out over the past two weeks.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 52

2011-09-04T15:09:00.000-04:00

In this installment of X-Nation we take a look back at the Month of X for August 2011.

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Month in X – August 2011: Fear Itself: Wolverine #2, Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #2, Uncanny X-Men #542, New Mutants #29, New Mutants #30, X-23 #13, Daken: Dark Wolverine #12, Daken: Dark Wolverine #13, Wolverine # 13, Wolverine #14, Astonishing X-Men #41, X-Men #15.1, X-Men #16, X-Factor #223, X-Factor #224, X-Men: Legacy #253, X-Men: Legacy #254, Uncanny X-Force #13, Uncanny X-Force #14, X-Men: Schism #3, and Generation Hope #10.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: The Merc Report Episode 11

2011-08-30T20:38:00.000-04:00

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Reviewed this episode: Deadpool #40, Deadpool MAX #10, Fear Itself: Deadpool #2, and for our Past-o-Vision Deadpool: The Circle Chase #2,3.

0:00:00 General Talk/Comic Con

0:30:03 Fear Itself Deadpool #2

0:43:30 Deadpool #40

0:55:01 Wolverine/Deadpool Decoy

1:02:42 Deadpool MAX #10

1:14:41 Deadpool Circle Chase #2

1:22:11 Deadpool Circle Chase #3

Music by Jenki "Girls of Los Angeles

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 51

2011-08-15T19:47:00.000-04:00

In this installment of X-Nation, we discuss the latest news in the X-Buzz and take a look back at the Month of X for July 2011.

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Month in X - July 2011: X-Men #14, X-Men #15, Astonishing X-Men #40, X-23 #12, Daken: Dark Wolverine #11, Wolverine #12, Uncanny X-Force #12, Generation Hope #9, X-Factor #222, X-Men: Legacy #252, New Mutants #27, New Mutants #28, X-Men: Schism #1, & X-Men: Schism #2.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: DC Wormhole Episode 0

2011-08-08T23:19:00.000-04:00

In this preview episode of DC Wormhole, Chris Partin and Paul Steven Brown discuss the big DC Comics reboot and examine the creative teams and their expectations for the ten titles that they will cover on this podcast.

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Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation X-Addiction Rewind Episode 1

2011-08-03T23:21:00.000-04:00

Journey back to the very first episode of the podcast that would become X-Nation! This is X-Addiction Episode 1 in all its original glory (with some minor sound remastering). Join Antony Ellis and Paul Steven Brown has they discuss the Month in X for July 2008. Plus, they go over the news out of the 2008 San Diego Comic Con and make predictions in a segment called Destiny’s Diary.

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Download: X-Nation X-Addiction Rewind Episode 1

The Month of X – July 2008: Astonishing X-Men #25, Cable #5, Young X-Men #4, X-Factor #33, X-Force #5, Uncanny X-Men #500, X-Men: Legacy #214, Wolverine #67, and Wolverine: Origins #27.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 50

2011-07-30T12:18:00.000-04:00

In this special 50th episode of X-Nation, we look back at the history of X-Nation and its previous incarnation, X-Addiction. Plus, we take a look the X-Men’s involvement in Marvel’s big summer crossover, Fear Itself.

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Fear Itself: Fear Itself: The Deep #1, Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1, Fear Itself: Wolverine #1, Uncanny X-Men #540, & Uncanny X-Men #541.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 23

2011-07-24T15:31:00.003-04:00

In this installment of X-Nation, we take a look back at seven more classic issues in Days of X-Men Past.

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Days of X-Men Past: Mekanix #3, X-Treme X-Men #18, X-Treme X-Men #19, Uncanny X-Men #412, Uncanny X-Men #413, New X-Men #131, & New X-Men #132.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: The Merc Report Episode 10

2011-07-24T09:16:00.000-04:00

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3:30 Deadpool MAX #9
14:21 Deadpool #38 & 39

29:16 Fear Itself Deadpool #1

44:24 Incredible Hulks Annual #1
52:35 Past-O-Vision: Deadpool The Circle Chase #1

Music by Jenki "Girls of Los Angeles"

Derby City Comic Con 2011

2011-07-17T00:10:00.002-04:00

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 22

2011-07-10T16:53:00.000-04:00

The wait is over! Did you miss us? We certainly missed you! The X-Nation crew get back into action with a look back at the Month in X for June 2011!

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Download: X-Nation Episode 22

Month in X – June 2011: Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #6, Astonishing X-Men #39, X-Men: Prelude to Schism #3 & 4, X-Men #12 & #13, X-Factor #220 & #221, New Mutants #26, Uncanny X-Force #11, X-23 #11, Daken: Dark Wolverine #10, Wolverine #10 & #11, X-Men: Legacy #250 & #251, Generation Hope #8, Uncanny X-Men #538 & #539.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: The Merc Report Episode 9

2011-06-21T18:33:00.000-04:00

Spinning out of X-Nation, The Merc Report is your monthly review of the many Deadpool comic books published by Marvel Comics. This episode Corwin Crowl and Scott Bechtel takes us through the Month in Merc for May 2011.

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10:23 Deadpool MAX #8
23:25 Deadpool #37...err X-Men First Class tangent...
31:07 Deadpool #37
40:15 Deadpool Annual #1
53:56 Past-O-Vision: New Mutants #98
1:09:57 Special Guest! Elizabeth Jurgens!

Music by Jenki "Girls of Los Angeles"

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 21

2011-06-11T15:13:00.000-04:00

In this installment of X-Nation, we look back at seven more issues from yesterday in Days of X-Men Past.

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Days of X-Men Past: New X-Men #129, New X-Men #130, Mekanix #2, X-Treme X-Men #16, X-Treme X-Men #17, Uncanny X-Men #410, & Uncanny X-Men #411.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 20

2011-06-05T13:40:00.000-04:00

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It's too sexy!!! In this installment of X-Nation we take a look at our favorite mutants' latest adventure on the big screen in X-Men: First Class.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 19

2011-05-29T17:45:00.000-04:00

In this installment of X-Nation we take a look back at the Month in X for May 2011.

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The Month in X: Namor: The First Mutant Annual #1, Astonishing X-Men #37, Astonishing X-Men #38, X-Men: Prelude to Schism #1, X-Men: Prelude to Schism #2, X-Men #11, X-Men Giant-Size #1, Daken #9, Daken #9.1, X-23 #10, Wolverine #9, X-Men: Legacy #248, X-Men: Legacy #249, New Mutants #25, X-Factor #219, Uncanny X-Force #9, Uncanny X-Force #10, Generation Hope #7, & Uncanny X-Men #537.

Doctor Who - "The Rebel Flesh"

2011-05-22T23:20:00.000-04:00

Rory (Arthur Darvill) and Amy (Karen Gillan) go lurking through a dank, acid-leaking castle.

Review by David Lowbridge

'Doctor Who’
Season 6 – Episode 5
“The Rebel Flesh”

Everyone likes to believe they’re one of a kind. Alas, in the words of Tyler Durden, “you are not a beautiful and unique snowflake”. There’s a lot of pathos and comedy to be mined from a doppleganger situation. In recent cinematic memory Duncan Jones explored the consequences of a man coming face to face with himself. 2009’s Moon was poignant, claustrophobic, blackly comic. Clones aren’t just a trope of sci-fi either; four hundred years ago, Shakespeare employed twins and disguises for his comedies of error.

So I was looking forward to tonight’s first part of a two part story: The Rebel Flesh. The opening teaser boded well; fantastical but grounded setting (clearly a redressed National Trust property of somesuch), endearingly overambitious CGI, kooky industrial costumes. Best of all, a man melting into an acid pool while his colleagues looked on with nary a hint of hysteria. He was calmest of all; the victim of a childish workplace prank. In a theme that is becoming a little overplayed for my liking in more recent Who, death wasn’t the end. Still, so far so good-ish, though the lead into the opening titles was textbook anti-climax.

And then the wheels came off. The story just died on the screen. After a promising setup the characters just were not developed, the drama left to peter out until I was looking at my watch, slouching on the sofa just waiting for something to happen. The irony was that in an episode about uniqueness, this was the most hackneyed hodgepodge of tired story elements yet; blue collar workers trapped in their workplace, being picked off one by one by a creature/lack of oxygen/religious zealot. See Alien, The Thing, The Abyss, Sunshine… bloody hell, even The Poseidon Adventure makes a decent hash of it, though in the latter examples it’s scruffy scientists and posh people respectively. The Doctor himself has been trapped in a similar scenario an average of once-a-season: Dalek, The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit, 42, Midnight, The Waters Of Mars. All of these succeeded because there was a real threat, even if, in the case of Midnight, you never even saw it. In fact, the villain was so insidiously creepy in that Season Four stunner because it turned you against yourself.

The biggest threat here was painful over-emoting during the obligatory existential whinge (‘I’m really a human being honest! I remember my kids and everything.’). Poor Arthur Darvill got left with the shoulder-to-cry-on duties, though at least this week he got to verbally address his propensity to die and be reborn like the ‘gangers themselves. That’s so meta. Yawn.

The only real character here was Matt Smith’s Party Animals co-star Raquel Cassidy as foreman Miranda Cleaves (cool name) who had by far the best line (“You see that is just so typically me.”), though I’m finding the jokes thin and far between this season. It’s a scientific fact that laughs are inversely proportional to scares and the only other good one this week involved a northern accent. It’s only a matter of time before Peter Kay (Love and Monsters) makes a return.

I’m at risk of turning into a right old man here, but as I addressed in my review of Day Of The Moon, Doctor Who is a difficult show to write. You need to please fans of the original run, those who have come to it since 2005 and even those who only dip in for the occasional one before going out for a few down the pub. The stories need to resist linearity but still not to the point they become so ‘timey-wimey’ we all give up and get the bus up town early. It’s a fine line to tread and this season has merrily skipped one side or the other without really finding a balance, except perhaps with The Doctor’s Wife. This one is definitely in the linear camp with a climax foreshadowed to the point that I was actually surprised the episode was ending. “That’s not really the end is it?” I asked incredulously, though with more than a sigh of relief. Perhaps writer Matthew Graham* and director Julian Simpson can reanimate this so-far lifeless story next week, but there’s only so many times my interest in this lacklustre season can be killed off and brought back to life… unlike Rory.

*This guy wrote Fear Her. Worst. Episode. Ever. Be afraid, be very afraid of next week’s episode.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: The Merc Report Episode 8

2011-05-18T20:00:00.001-04:00

Spinning out of X-Nation, The Merc Report is your monthly review of the many Deadpool comic books published by Marvel Comics. This episode Corwin Crowl and Scott Bechtel takes us through the Month in Merc for April 2011.

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Reviewed this episode: Deadpool #35 & #36, Deadpool MAX #7, Deadpool Family, and Amazing Spider-Man Annual #38.

Music by Jenki "Girls of Los Angeles"

Doctor Who - "The Doctor's Wife"

2011-05-15T17:27:00.000-04:00

Idris (Suranne Jones) meets the Doctor (Matt Smith).

Photo Credit: BBC

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Doctor Who'
Season 6 - Episode 4
"The Doctor's Wife"

The nature of the TARDIS has always been one the cooler, more fanciful, aspects of 'Doctor Who'. We know that the Doctor stole, or in his words "borrowed", it long before his adventures begam being televised in the mid '60s. Also, the TARDIS doesn't always take the Doctor where he wants to go, but quite to where he is needed. There are times when the little blue box seems almost alive.

The Neil Gaimen penned "The Doctor's Wife" does the remarkable and gives the TARDIS it's own voice. Gaimen takes things even further by actually have the soul of the machine downloaded into a young woman's body. The result is an excitingly fun and enlightening hour of 'Doctor Who'.

By giving the TARDIS a human body, at least for one episode, we learn that "she" and the Doctor are perfectly matched. He may have stolen her initially (though it is implied that she left herself unlocked on purpose), but she's the one that stole him away so they both could continue to journey through space and time. Also, Suranne Jones imbues "Irdris" with madcap excitement that made me wish that the TARDIS could have stayed in her human form for a few episodes more. Still, the door is open for the TARDIS to possess another body again, if the story warrants it.

While the soul of the TARDIS is off running around a junkyard with the Doctor, Amy and Rory become rats in the maze that is the TARDIS, which becomes possessed by a being referred to as House. I think this is the first time since the modern relaunch of 'Doctor Who' that I can remember seeing other rooms or corridors inside the ship. It's all wonderfully old school 'Doctor Who' from the retro looking hallways and the fact that Amy and Rory are forced to run down them over and over.

Unfortunately, this is the third episode in a row that Rory Williams "dies". He was shot on Hoover Dam by Feds (though a ploy by Agent Delaware). He drowned last week, but was resucitated by Amy. This week we seem him aged due to timey-whimey nature of the TARDIS and then as a skeleton. It was all mental trickery played on Amy by House, but Rory's "dying" this frequently has really lost its punch. Besides, he died for real last season, so I'd think that creatively this is a dead end.

There were other bits of "The Doctor's Wife" that were great fun. When Irdris is instructed to send a telepathic message to "the pretty one" on the TARDIS, she assumes Rory is the pretty one. The look on the Doctor's face when he realized that she had contacted Rory instead of Amy was priceless. It was also cool to see the console room from the Ninth and Tenth Doctor's seasons back for a brief scene. When Irdris said that the TARDIS archived all the old ones, I half expected to see on of the stark white ones from the '60s. Plus, the TARDIS liked being called "Sexy" and as result deemed it a proper name for herself.

Overall 'The Doctor's Wife" was a wonderful episode, and the best so far this season. It was weird, wild fun, but it also had plenty of room for some heart-warming moments. Hopefully we can get Mr. Gaimen to write another script in a year or two.

Doctor Who - "The Curse of the Black Spot"

2011-05-11T18:09:00.000-04:00

Rory (Arthur Darville), Amy (Karen Gillan), and the Doctor (Matt Smith) just realized that it's going to be one of those episodes of 'Doctor Who'.

Photo Credit: BBC

Review by Antony Ellis

‘Doctor Who’
Season 6 – Episode 3
“The Curse of the Black Spot”

Doctor Who, in my opinion, has two types of episode. Ones which mainly build the seasons overarching plot, and those quieter ones which are set pieces, if you will; done-in-one adventures in time and space. I’m a continuity whore – I love the stuff – so it was weird for me to be looking forward for the done-in-one adventure that “The Curse of the Black Spot” provides, however, I put that down to the terribly confusing and illogical opening to Season Six with “The Impossible Astronaut” and “Day of the Moon”.

“The Curse of the Black Spot” sees The Doctor, Amy and Rory suddenly aboard a 17th Century pirate ship after the TARDIS picked up a distress beacon. There are a few early laughs as our heroes adjust to life aboard a pirate ship in the 1600s, but in the early stages of the story the episode plays with another genre Doctor Who gets regularly right – the disaster movie.

See – the crew of the ship are getting picked off one-by-one by a mythical Siren come real (played in all her ugly pretty glory by supermodel Lily Cole who doesn’t have a lot to do, but does it well). Whenever one of the pirates gets a cut, is burnt slightly or at all feels a little queasy, their palm is coloured with a black dot, and then the consumes them with a sultry song and a single touch.

The fun of the episodes comes from trying to work out the mystery along with The Doctor, Amy and Rory and unlike the previous two stories before it, it is much easier to do and is less pretentious in narrative. It’s just a simple story with a pirate ship, a stowaway, a mutinous crew and a siren who travels through reflections.

The episode also plays another familiar Who riff by tackling family drama in the relationship between Captain Avery (played in an increasingly impressive manner as each minute of screen time by Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville) and estranged son Toby (Oscar Lloyd) as Captain Avery struggles between a life on the high seas without responsibility and that of a single father to a young boy. Of our principal cast, Matt Smith plunders most of the best lines, and to the season’s credit, I’m loving Rory’s promotion to co-companion as he brings an identifiable character to the TARDIS crew.

To discuss this episode further, would give away some of the great twists and turns the story takes, however, whilst it did take a while to grab my attention, like the Siren at the heart of the story, I was caught in her charm by the end and am cautiously staying aboard the good ship Who for (at least) the rest of the spring half of Season Six.

Stargate Universe - "Gauntlet"

2011-05-10T21:28:00.000-04:00

Rush (Robert Carlyle), Eli (David Blue), and Col. Young (Louis Ferreira) prep the stasis pods.

Photo Credit: Syfy

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Stargate Universe'
Season 2 - Episode 20

"Guantlet"

I've mentioned before that I was never a viewer of 'Stargate SG1' or 'Stargate Atlantis', but I decided to give 'Stargate Universe' a try because of Robert Carlyle and the very fact that it look totally different from the previous shows. It didn't hurt that it was promoted as being new viewer friendly. For the most part, it was different (less 'Star Trek' and more 'Battlestar Galactica') and I was able to jump into it with ease and with very little knowledge of the Stargate franchise.

Now 'Stargate Universe' comes to an end, cancelled prematurely, but still able to complete it's second season without the style of a one day marathon dump that 'Caprica' had to expire in. Given that the cancellation announcement came about during the mid-season hiatus, there probably wasn't much time for the writers and producers of 'SGU' to course correct and set up a credible series ending.

Amazingly enough... they did. Is it a perfect ending for a television series? No. But it was far from the worse that I've ever seen.

The drone threat was dealt with in a fashion that gave the creators an interesting place to put the show on hold. The entire cast, save Eli Wallace, are literally put in stasis. However, it works in the context of the story. The real masterstroke is that Eli is left to watch over everyone, at least for the two week window that he is given to fix his own stasis pod or find a new way to generate power for Destiny.

Luckily, this season has been pretty good about charting the growth and potential of young Mr. Wallace. We got to see him reconnect with his mother, who upon seeing what he was really up to, had nothing but love and admiration for her son. Eli fell in love and it was recipocated. He tragically lost that love (twice). He continued to be the person that could come up with the outside the box solutions and had the smarts to figure out how to implement them. He saw what he was capable of as a leader, historian, and educator through the journals of his time lost double. Finally, and probably more importantly, he came to the realiztion that he was smarter than Rush, or anyone else on Destiny.

This is by no means Eli buying into his own press. He finally developed the confidence to make a stand so that the right solution to stasis pod/energy drain situation was reached. And in true hero fashion, Eli knew that he had to be the one to stay out of stasis. Young didn't have the scientific acumen to fix the last pod. Rush, though he had come a long way morally, could have potentially panicked and sacrificed a few pods to preserve his own life or Destiny.

Then there is that final scene. The creators of 'Stargate Universe' could have given us a definite answer, but they left us with a more somber and sweet moment. Eli, alone on the observation deck right after the Rush and Young were placed in their pods, looking out into void as Destiny streaked off towards the other side of the galaxy. David Blue sells the moment perfectly: Eli is full of wonder and awe of universe around him. Eli is scared that he might now make that two week deadline. Eli has been able to live an amazing adventure of a lifetime.

It's all there on his face and in his eyes. Roll credits. We never find out if the crew wakes up after the planned three year nap. We never find out what happens to Eli in the meantime. We end with Eli, the chubby, geeky gamer, genius manboy. Eli, the ultimate sci-fi fanboy POV character, if there ever was one.

I'd like to think that Eli was there smiling, alive and healthy, when everyone woke up three years later.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 18

2011-05-08T20:31:00.000-04:00

The Silents will jiggle! In this installment of X-Nation we take a look back at the Month in X for April 2011. Plus we have some listener voicemails and thoughts from the forum.

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Month in X – April 2011: X-Men: Legacy #247, New Mutants #24, Age of X #2, Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier Annual #1, Daken: Dark Wolverine #8, X-23 #9, Wolverine #8, Wolverine & Jubilee #4, X-Factor #218, Uncanny X-Force #7, Uncanny X-Force #8, X-Men #10, Generation Hope #6, Uncanny X-Men #534.1, Uncanny X-Men #535, & Uncanny X-Men #536.

Fringe - "The Day We Died"

2011-05-07T14:19:00.000-04:00

Ella (Emily Meade), Astrid (Jasika Nicole), Peter (Joshua Jackson), and Olivia (Anna Torv), fifteen years into the future.

Photo Credit: FOX

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Fringe'
Season 3 - Episode 22
"The Day We Died"

One of the problems with some science fiction stories that take the narrative into a possible future, is whether or not such a side trip is even necessary. Does the story impact the bigger picture in anyway, or is this just a tale told just for the sake of it? Luckily, the little fifteen year jaunt that we see in "The Day We Died" does have some significance for the greater narrative of 'Fringe'.

The most noteworthy is the revelation of exactly who the First People were and where the Machine came from. Now, I can see how this may have been too quick and simple of an answer for some, but I think that the idea that Walter from the future (with the possible help of Astrid and Ella) puts a nice little button on this thread. Drawn out any further than this and the writers run the risk of going down some of the exposition roads taken in the last season of 'Lost'.

Honestly, 'Fringe' still has enough going on with parallel worlds and the unexplained Observers (that last shot of the a whole mess of them standing outside the Statue of Liberty was awesomely chilling), that a protracted development of a mythology around the First People and the origin of the Machine, would have been way too much. This is a world (or worlds) that are rich enough and the writers really don't need to complicate matters any further.

For the most part, the future version of Fringe Prime was interesting. Some of the aging on the characters was hit and miss. Astrid looked decidedly older with a new hairdo and makeup routine. Peter was done well with the higher hair line and graying. Olivia really didn't seem that much different, and the talk about having children with Peter seemed odd given that she was supposed to be in her late 40s. I found Broyles' digitally altered right eye to indicate some kind of blindness or trauma a little distracting. Nina didn't look any older, but it was cool to see a twenty-something Ella on the Fringe team.

Then there's John Noble. My God, the man is amazing. The two Walters came off as being old for separate but well-realized reasons. Our Walter apparently suffered from a stroke or injury at some point since Noble was only speaking out the side of his mouth and using his left hand. Walternate had very silvery hair and was bitter beyond repair. Too bad the Emmys ignore sci-fi, or Noble would be a lock for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama.

Brad Dourif really didn't have much to do in this episode. I wonder if there are plans for the character Moreau next season. It just seemed odd that a well-known genre actor would show up on a show and have two scenes and maybe even fewer lines.

I really enjoyed how the ending of "The Day We Died" played out. As soon as Future Walter came up with the plan and the idea that he created the Machine and sent it back in time through one of the wormholes, and how he needed Peter to somehow get a message back to himself in the past, the episode went right to the present. We didn't need to see the Machine being built or sent back. Nope, as soon as the idea left Walter's lips... bam! We were back in 2011.

The creation of the Meeting Room was pretty neat. Now we have a location that parties from both universes can meet and work towards some sort of peace. Also, this will might allow for easier transportation between the Red and Blue universes without needing some crazy cortexiphan induced explanation or disappearing bridges. If FOX had not decided to renew 'Fringe' this could have worked as a season finale in a pinch, though not a totally satisfying one.

Then there's the mystery of Peter Bishop. He never existed? Was this to be his role the entire time? Was preventing the destruction of two universes and creation of the Meeting Room his true purpose? The statement from the Observer makes it seem like there was only one Peter Bishop, but we know that there was at least two. Have all the Peter Bishops in the multiverse been erased? It'll be interesting to see what becomes of Peter when the fourth season begins in the fall.

Stargate Universe - "Blockade"

2011-05-04T21:20:00.000-04:00

Eli (David Blue) runs through some calculations.

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Stargate Universe'
Season 2 - Episode 19
"Blockade"

As 'Stargate Universe' nears the end of its run, it's pretty clear that the creators were not given much wiggle room to wrap things up in a more final fashion. "Blockade" is the penultimate episode of the series, but it certainly plays as it was originally intended, an episode before a "season" finale. Alas, Syfy deemed the show not worthy of a second season and it looks like the show could likely end without a satisfying resolution.

All signs point to a big loud conclusion to the robot drone plot thread and that's about it. Not that it wouldn't be an interesting season finale under normal circumstances, but these aren't those. I'm pretty sure that it will be revealed that some of the descendants of the time lost doubles of Destiny are responsible for the creation of the drones. There have been enough clues to indicate that this is where the story is going, especially if Destiny keeps running into off-shoot colonies, abandoned or otherwise.

Eli has been earning a lot of respect in the last few episodes. A while back, Brody admitted to others that Eli was probably the most brilliant person he'd ever met. Eli's time lost twin demonstrated the his potential as a leader, historian, and educator. In "Blockade" Rush says that Eli is the only person that could recalibrate Destiny on the fly as the ship made its dangerous refueling trip into the blue super giant.

Other than Dr. Park getting blinded by the blue star (a plot thread that could have been interesting if given some time), not much else happened. Everyone got to run around a ghost town and gather supplies before getting set upon by the drones. The drones anticipating Destiny's refueling needs is an interesting idea. Other than than, there's not much else to comment on.

Game of Thrones - "Lord Snow"

2011-05-03T21:17:00.000-04:00

Littlefinger's (Aiden Gillen) intentions are misunderstood by Ned Stark (Sean Bean)

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Game of Thrones'
Season 1 - Episode 3
"Lord Snow"

While defined plans have not been concretely laid out after three episodes, there is still a feeling that sharks are circling their prey. The thing is, not all the sharks and prey are aware of their roles. Some characters are just now realizing their true potential.

Jon Snow may be Ned Stark's bastard that was sent to the frozen north to guard a huge wall, but he is quickly realizing that he could be a leader of men. Tyrion Lannister certainly sees it and his advice guides Jon into taking the men that he brutally beat in sword practice under his wing, rather than potentially become a target of their jealousy. Tyrion says he traveled to see the wall for himself, but could his real intentions been to set Jon Snow on this path of self-realization?

Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys Targaryen is becoming aware of the power that may be with in her grasp. She can stop a huge caravan of warriors and when her brother Viserys viciously chastises her for it, one of her husband's warriors savagely interrupts him with a whip around the throat. This is also Viserys reaping the whirlwind that he sowed when he whored out his sister for an army.

Down in King's Landing, Ned Stark is beginning to see that his youngest daughter, Arya may actually have the makings of a warrior, despite her gender. While Ned seems amused at first by her sword training, his grin slowly fades as the practice continued. Could he have a secret weapon in the making?

We got more insight about the politics of King's Landing. The king has the title and the power, but it's the King's Hand (Ned) and the other advisers that keep the realm running on a daily basis. Also, Littlefinger, a former admirer of Cat Stark, could be an intriguing ally for Ned against the machinations of the Lannisters.

'Game of Thrones' continues to deliver a story that is sweeping in scope that looks great and is extremely well acted. A lot of story gets crammed into each hour, but none of the episodes have ever felt over stuffed.

Fringe - "The Last Sam Weiss"

2011-05-01T18:10:00.000-04:00

Sam Weiss (Kevin Corrigan) helps Olivia Dunhamn (Anna Torv) get an artifact of the First People.

Photo Credit: FOX

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Fringe'
Season 3 - Episode 21
"The Last Sam Weiss"

What?! And there's still one more episode left in this season?! Take it easy on me, 'Fringe'! I don't think I can handle this intensity!

"The Last Sam Weiss" certainly had the punch and ending of a classic season ending cliffhanger, but the showrunners aren't done yet. The twist at the end was of the sort that left me completely off guard, because I never saw it coming. While there have been rumors and theories about a third (commonly refered to as the "Yellow Universe") parallel world, I think the writers had a little fun by building up our expectations and then throwing a huge curve ball at them: time travel.

Yep. Peter stepped into the Machine and had his conciousness shot into his future self's body, about fifteen years. Notice that his hair is graying which indicates that Peter's body did not travel, only his mind. Nice twist there, since we've already dealt with people interacting with their dopplegangers enough this season, we don't need to complicate things further with young Peter and old Peter running into each other.

As the episode hints, we finally get some actual background into Sam Weiss. He's not ancient, it's just that he is the last in a long line of men that have studied the First People and have passed on that knowledge to their sons, all named Sam Weiss. An interest injection into the show's overall mythology. The First People, like the Observers, are still clouded in mystery and I hope we start getting some answers about both in the coming season.

Once again, the writers are drawing upon material from the first season and using it to flesh out some of the current plot threads. I don't know that the creators had Olivia's ability to switch off the Machine in the Redverse when they wrote her telekinetic bomb disarming scene in "Ability" way back in season one, but it the pieces fit smoothly together. This will make going back and rewatching the entire series all the more exciting.

One more episode to go in season three. After the ending of "The Last Sam Weiss" it better be a doozy, because the cliffhanger of this past Friday's show was a homerun.

Doctor Who - "Day of the Moon"

2011-05-01T17:38:00.000-04:00

Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) does her best Dana Scully imitation in "Day of the Moon".

Photo Credit: BBC

Review by David Lowbridge

‘Doctor Who’
Season 6 – Episode 2
“Day of the Moon”

“Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.” So said Adolf Hitler, but I imagine a similar mantra was adopted by Russell T Davies during his tenure as the Doctor Who show-runner.

Doctor Who is founded on a colossal lie after all; that this is a science fiction show. The fact that our favourite Time Lord is more human and certainly more humane than most carbon-based bipedal lifeforms, is tacitly acknowledged by all, if not openly. The stories can be typed according to which genre they ape; the horror episodes, the action episodes, the disaster episodes, and so forth. With notably few exceptions, sci-fi amounts to the details; the settings, the modes of transportation, the hair-dos. Sci-fi is the sprinkles on top, made palatable by metaphor (see what I did there).

Davies did a great job of making this supposed sci-fi relatable, more ‘kitchen sink’. Now though, I’m having trouble connecting on any level. This disturbs me frankly, as I have loved Who since its resurgence back in 2005. I flirted with its younger incarnations, largely because my parents were both huge fans as children and we watched lots of re-runs over the years. We watched the first of Davies’ run as a family, expecting a disaster. We were instantly smitten with Eccleston’s portrayal and everything else, but chief of all the quality of the writing. Since then, we’ve remained loyal, conveniently forgetting the odd terrible episode (“Fear Her”, “Voyage Of The Damned”) and forgiving the more-indulgent-than-eating-a-whole-pack-of-profiteroles instalments (“Journey’s End”, “The End Of Time”).

But now I’ve hit a rough patch. The rest of my family have already filed for divorce. I’m in the counselling stage and I desperately hope I can save our relationship, but it’s not looking good. The reason? Irreconcilable differences in plot mechanics.

The first time I suspected Moffat of cheating on me was following “The Pandorica Opens”. I was genuinely baffled as to how he would write himself out of the hole he’d dug for himself. “The Big Bang” that ensued was a total whimper for me because he lied his way out of it in the first five minutes. Not only did the “deadlocked” Pandorica get opened with a sonic screwdriver (which we had known since Eccleston’s time could not open deadlocks) but the screwdriver was delivered to Rory by a future Doctor who couldn’t have existed because he was still trapped in the Pandorica. You might accuse me of being hung up on details, but any narrative relies on logic. It doesn’t matter how fantastical your yarn is, the audience will buy into it as a long as you lie convincingly and, more importantly, consistently. Needless to say, “deadlocked” has subsequently become a dirty word in my household.

Last week’s “The Impossible Astronaut” was impossible to follow without getting bogged down in the mumbo jumbo. I didn’t care what happened to any of the principal characters and we’ve seen each of them die at least once in the last twelve months so the Doctor’s ‘death’ was met with complete indifference on my sofa, and the ripped-off-from-Buffy bad guys certainly didn’t cause us to seek refuge behind it.

I was preparing to give up for good on the strength, or lack thereof, of this week’s episode. I’m happy to report that I shall continue trying to make this work, at least for another five weeks. “Day Of The Moon” was sufficiently coherent to be sporadically amusing and exciting, if not very satisfying.

The children’s home sequences were arguably the most effective, largely because they were comfortably within the idiom of the ‘haunted house’ story, complete with Hammer Horror thunder and lightning.

But for every bunch of flowers there’s a black eye waiting to be explained. There are more questions posed than answered by The Silence. Why did they need a spacesuit? Foremost in my mind, however, is can we really have been kept waiting a whole season for these guys? There’s the lie again; something Earth-shattering is promised and the pay off is, well... okay I suppose. And why did the Doctor arrange his own death last week? Are we really expected to wait until the mid-point of the series, or longer, to discover why? How much patience does Moffat credit us with? More importantly, will we even care by the time we get there?

I was the first to defend The X-Files and Lost, shows which developed a ‘mythos’ (or, another dirty word in my house, ‘lore’) which made it trying for the die-hard fan, let alone the casual viewer to enjoy them. However, both shows disappeared up their mythological backsides long before they finished and I fear that Who is heading in a similar direction. This would be fine if it was cult viewing, but here on the BBC it’s a staple of Saturday night television, the only glimmer of greatness amongst a gamut of gameshows relying on abusive amounts of canned applause to persuade viewers that someone out there is having a good time. They even use an animated Matt Smith in their ‘idents’ as if to say ‘everyone loves Doctor Who so love us too’. Perhaps an international audience without the cultural baggage of being brought up with the BBC will be more forgiving. For this Brit, however, it feels like Doctor Who ‘date night’ is becoming something to almost dread, the potential for disappointment being so great.

I’m looking forward to next week. It looks like a straightforward pirates and killer mermaids story, as you do. And the week after it’s Neil Gaiman’s go; a perfect fit for Who if ever there was one. He specialises in the off-kilter rendition of everyday. The title worries me however: “The Doctor’s Wife”. I sense a lie coming; let’s just hope it’s big and simple enough for us to believe in it.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 17

2011-04-30T14:48:00.000-04:00

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Download: X-Nation Episode 17

Med-Chun! In this installment of X-Nation we discuss seven classic issues in Days of X-Men Past: New X-Men #127, New X-Men #128, X-Treme X-Men #14, X-Treme X-Men #15, Mekanix #1, Uncanny X-Men #408, Uncanny X-Men #409.

Game of Thrones - "The Kingsroad"

2011-04-26T19:58:00.001-04:00

Beware of smiling Lannisters (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), young Jon Snow (Kit Harington).
Photo Credit: HBO

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Game of Thrones'
Season 1 - Episode 2
"The Kingsroad"

The premiere had to do the heavy lifting of introducing the viewers to this fantastic world as well as the many faces that populate and shape it. This week, "The Kingsroad" gets to stretch its legs a bit and start the work of pushing the story. As a result, a few characters began to show some interesting growth and potential. However, others need to be deepened.

One aspect of 'Game of Thrones' that I hope is changed soon is the how unforgivably unsympathetic the villains are portrayed. The Lannisters, outside of Tyrion, are complete bastards. Jaime can't help but rub Jon Snow's face into the fact that he's a bastard and that the young man's relocation to The Wall is practically and exile. Prince Joffery is a little twit and a bully, who must rely on his title to gain any sense of worth or respect. Queen Cersei is vindictive and decides to punish her future daughter-in-law when she can't take it out on the younger Arya, mostly as a signal to Ned Stark that she has power.

Let's not forget that Jaime pushed young Bran Stark from a tower when the boy found him and his sister Cersei shagging. Oh, and who do you think sent the assassin? I'll give you one guess. Luckily, Catelyn is a badass woman of the woods and that dire wolves are apparently insanely loyal to their masters.

We don't get as much of the other blond jerk, Viserys Targaryen, but his sister Daenerys made some moves this week that indicate that she may quickly grow beyond quivering, naked trophy wife. Hey, if she can make a man mountain like Khal Drogo change things up in the bedroom, who knows what she may be capable of.

So far Peter Dinklage remains the standout of the cast*. The combination of his stature coupled with Tyrion's bravado his really great to behold. I'm really looking forward to his adventure to the northl. Tyrion is apparently very smart and he has decided to visit The Wall and befriend Jon Snow for a reason. So far, this is the most interesting part of the series.

*Don't get me wrong; Sean Bean is really great, but he's playing a role that isn't very far removed from Boromir in 'Lord of the Rings'.

I said last week that I thought the map-based intro was a great idea that gave the viewer a concrete depiction of the world that these characters inhabit. They took it a step further this week and altered it to highlight that we would be spending time more inland across the Narrow Sea. That's going above and beyond.

Stargate Universe - "Epilogue"

2011-04-26T18:52:00.000-04:00

Alternate versions Greer (Jamil Walker Smith) and Park (Jennifer Spence) grow old together 2000 years in the past.

Photo Credit: Syfy

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Stargate Universe'
Season 2 - Episode 18
"Epilogue"

What really makes "Epilogue" work, unlike Lt. Scott's small town fantasy in "Cloverdale", is that the events are a "What if?" that actually happened within the context of the 'Stargate Universe'. Also, the historical data highlights the potential of a few people, the hint of possible romance, and the spectre of disease for at least one crew member. Once again, no communication stones or call backs to the previous two Stargate series. Not bad gang.

Poor TJ. It's bad enough that she lost her baby at the beginning of the season, now she's doomed to have Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) commonly refered to as Lou Gehrig's Disease. To make matters worse, she'll potentially start feeling the symptoms in about five years, if she is to go the way of her time lost alternate self. Still, come on 'SGU'; spread the pain around. I don't understand why they keep dumping this stuff on her. The writers must hate blonds.

While Eli has been saddled with the slacker/gamer label, it's always been pretty obvious that he's a genius. His timelost self exposes a nurturing, scholarly side that is lying under the surface. He eventually becomes the Novus historian and starts the first school. Not bad. Also, his eventual marriage to a redshirt background solider character was pretty funny.

There was a lot of hooking up; except for Brody who appropriately aged into a bitter old man. Most were predictable such as Greer and Park, Young and TJ, and Chloe and Matthew. Varro and Lt. James was unexpected, yet not unfathomable. Both are strong, physical, and attractive people, so it made sense.

I thought that Greer and Park's pairing was the most charming. The soldier and the scientist. However, we know that they have slept together before and they have had quiet moments on screen such as the one at the end of "The Hunt". I loved old man Greer's warm, smiling response to Park's stating that they had about six children and fifteen grandchildren: "I'm tired." Very sweet.

I'm over the TJ/Varro/Young love triangle of unspoken desires. It's old and everyone keeps dancing around each other. Maybe with Varro being in a coma, Young will finally make a move and they can put this thread to bed.

Like season one, this second year seems to be finally hitting the good notes as it nears the end. There's only two episodes left until we say good-bye to 'Stargate Universe'. I hope they can make them count.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: The Merc Report Episode 7

2011-04-25T22:07:00.000-04:00

Spinning out of X-Nation, The Merc Report is your monthly review of the many Deadpool comic books published by Marvel Comics. This episode Corwin and Scott takes us through the Month in Merc for March 2011.

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Download: The Merc Report Episode 7

Reviewed this episode: Deadpool #33.1, 34, Deadpool Team-Up #883, Venompool, Deadpool Corps #12, 5 Ronin #5: Deadpool and Deadpool MAX #6.

Music by Jenki "Girls of Los Angeles"

Doctor Who - "The Impossible Astronaut"

2011-04-24T19:58:00.000-04:00

Matt Smith returns as the Doctor.

Photo Credit: BBC

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Doctor Who'
Season 6 - Episode 1

"The Impossible Astronaut"

The powers that be at the BBC finally wised up and decided that it would be in their best interest if episodes of 'Doctor Who' aired in the UK, the US, and Canada on the same day. Before there was a lag of several weeks, resulting in those who were impatient and technologically inclined to download the episodes illegally. Because I do not want to pay extra for an expanded cable package just to watch BBC America, I have opted for the next best legal option: an iTunes season pass. While not instantaneous, this does allow me to watch the newest episode of 'Doctor Who' within less than twelve hours of the US broadcast.

Yeah, technology!

Anyway, I'm very excited to have 'Doctor Who' back. Matt Smith's variation on the theme has been my favorite of the 21st century reboot. Even in this season premiere he continues to wow me with an excellent balance of zany humor and calm gravitas. He's a wonderfully realized package of young and sexy meets nerdy and bumbling. "The Impossible Astronaut" opens with a great montage of quirky adventures, quickly reestablishing just what kind of crazy character the Doctor is.

This episode has a few trademarks that let us know that showrunner Stephen Moffat wrote the script:

1. Time travel as Ouroboros - When the TARDIS gang first meet up with the Doctor, we're given a few clues that we're watching the man in different point in time relative to what we're used to. Namely, his age is two hundred years older than the last time he was running around with Amy and Rory. Then he dies. Yep. Dead. Without any regeneration. Enter the Doctor again, but the 900 and whatever years old one that we're used to. Snake eating it's own tail indeed.*

*I recommend that you find the two part little short adventure that Moffat wrote for Red Nose Day. You can probably find it on YouTube. The man really goes to town on the idea of time and space in just under fifteen minutes. It's short, but wonderfully classic Doctor Who.

2. Aliens and the eye - Remember those glorious Weeping Angels that could only move when no one was looking at them? Now we've got aliens that you can only remember if you are looking directly at them. Once you turn away, you forget about them. Also, these buggers are scary. Plus, they provide one of the most graphic murders I can remember on this show.

3. River Song is back! - I wonder if Moffat has a "hands off" clause when it comes to Dr. River Song? She only appears in episodes that he writes. This makes sense in the fact that she has a very complex relationship with the Doctor that moves in opposite directions through time. Alex Kingston once again all but steals the show away from the Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill.

The early moments of "The Impossible Astronaut" were filmed in the western United States and it looks gorgeous. It's fun to see the Doctor and Co. running around a terrain outside of Europe. Director Toby Haynes takes full advantage of the location with some great establishing scenes and some gorgeous long shots. Also, it's fun to see a show that is so identifiably British set up shop in America for an episode or two. There's even a great bit fun too when the Doctor questions the need for the secret service to point so many guns at him. River's answer? "They're Americans!"

As far as setting up a new season, "The Impossible Astronaut" is off to a solid start. We have strange and layered mystery for the Doctor and friends to solve. We've got some super creepy aliens to deal with. Plus, we get some great appearances by noted character actors William Morgan Sheppard and Mark Sheppard (nice touch having the father playing the older version of the son). There's even some movement on a plotline left over from last season (that certainly looked like the other TARDIS control room from "The Lodger" to me). I'd say things are off to a strong start.

Fringe - "6:02 AM EST"

2011-04-24T00:17:00.000-04:00

Olivia (Anna Torv) and Nina (Blair Brown) discuss the mysterious Sam Weiss.

Photo Credit: FOX

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Fringe'
Season 3 - Episode 20
"6:02 AM EST"

This week's 'Fringe' was a very welcomed return to form. While the rest of the season has not been as strong as the opening eight episode "switched Olivia" arc, the only real weak hour was last week's "LSD". Season three has been the strongest yet for the show and "6:02 AM EST" is any indicator, we're in for a hell of closing run.

Bouncing between two parallel worlds could potentially be confusing, but I think that the writing and editing really kept things sorted out. There were a few great transition establishing shots that indicated when the story was taking us back and forth. Most effective are those New York City skyline switches with our green Lady Liberty getting replaced by the Alt-Fringe bronze version or the sudden appearance of the World Trade Center and blimps.

One of the highlights of "6:02 AM EST" is the recognition of how close the Fringe Prime team have become. There is the strange little family of Walter, Peter, and Olivia developing as later continues to spend the night. Her run in with a naked Walter in the hallway was pretty hilarious. Broyles has a few nice moments with Walter and Peter before the machine is dealt with. Astrid and Peter have become a very sibling pairing, since she has become Walter's default caretaker when Peter is not around.

John Noble is pretty outstanding this episode. Walter is almost broken when Peter is hurt by the machine and even resorts to talking to God for answers. Noble conveys the complexities of Walter's amazing mind and emotional depths. His virtually wordless good-bye to Peter was heart-wrenching. I still don't understand why this man has not been nominated for an Emmy yet.

Another big moment in the life of the series is when Fauxlivia finally realizes what Walternate is up to and decides to take matters into her own hands. She will not let him sacrifice billions of lives on the other side in an effort to save their own universe. While we've been pushed into siding with the Olivia from our universe, Fauxlivia is still a noble and decent person at her core. Both Olivias are more similar than either would like to admit.

"6:02 AM EST" was an excellent start for a three part conclusion to an already amazing season. I'm really looking forward to finding out just who Sam Weiss is and I'm really glad that we'll be getting more Kevin Corrigan next week.

Stargate Universe - "Common Descent"

2011-04-19T20:35:00.000-04:00

Lt. Scott (Brian J. Smith) checks out a new world on the other side of the gate.

Photo Credit: Syfy

Review Paul Steven Brown

'Stargate Universe'
Season 2 - Episode 17
"Common Descent"

Finally, after several lukewarm episodes, 'Stargate Universe' delivers one that not only builds on material generated from within this series, but with some compelling ramifications. No communication stones. No mix bag of unrelated subplots. No ideas that would make more sense if I had watched the other two Stargate programs. This was more like it.

Still, this was an idea that had been used before, most notably for me on a 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' episode called "Children of Time". In that episode, the DS9 crew got caught up in an incident that allowed them to meet their descendants that developed on a planet several hundred years ago after the Defiant crashed. It was a really great idea and a great episode. 'SGU' does a justifiable enough treatment of this theme that it can stand on its own.

I think it's pretty obvious that the two clashing armies whose conflict led to the creation of the drone ships are the folks from Novus and Futura*. I'm sure that the reveal will be a big idea, but it will fall flat because the hint is so strong. Better to admit it and get it over with.

*I loved the gag about Brody being the one to come up with the name of colony that followed Rush's ideas and the fact that Volker and Park ribbed him about it being a font. Speaking of Brody and Volker, both Peter Kelamis and Patrick Gilmore made appearances on this week's episode of 'The Killing'. The northwest must only have thirty character actors.

I don't really have much else to write about "Common Descent" beyond the fact that I really liked it. This is the kind of episode that drew me into 'Stargate Universe' in the first place. Hopefully, this will be the story that the show can ride out for the remainder of the season as the series comes to a close.

Game of Thrones - "Winter is Coming"

2011-04-18T20:53:00.000-04:00

Lord Ned Stark (Sean Bean) deals with a deserter.

Photo Credit: HBO

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Game of Thrones'
Season 1 - Episode 1
"Winter is Coming"

I remember when 'Deadwood' premiered on HBO several years ago. The very first scene ended with lawman Seth Bullock holding an angry group of men, hellbent on killing his prisoner, at gun point while he performed the hanging himself, lawfully. That was a hell of a way to kick off a show. Then again, HBO can do things that other networks can't.

'Game of Thrones' doesn't shy away from the violence or sex, either. Within the first episode there are two decapitations, a disembowelment, incest, a dwarf covered in four naked women, a several moments of men taking women from behind, and infanticide. Go big or go home, I guess.

I have never read anything written by George R.R. Martin, whose fantasy novels are the source material for this series. I do plan to until this show runs its course. I want to be able to judge it solely as a television series without my judgement effected by what I may or may not have read in the novels. So far, 'Game of Thrones' is certainly making for a really strong television show.

One of the smartest and welcome aspects of 'Game of Thrones' is the opening credits. Not only is this sequence visually compelling, it is also a map of the fantastical world of this show. The continents are laid, seas shown to separate two major land masses, and four important locations are clearly defined. This will be a helpful reminder week to week, where everyone is from or going, and the scope of the setting.

There is plenty of political and sexual intrigue to go around. While I haven't completely grasped all the names and the connections of each major character, it hasn't detracted from my enjoyment of the show. I'm sure I'll pick up on all the background information as the series progresses. 'Deadwood' had an entire subplot devoted to process of a state's admission into the union and all the legal jargon that went with it, but I still kept coming back for more.

The only real weak thread so far concerns the exiled Targaryen siblings. Brother Viserys is quickly established a real evil son of a bitch that will do anything to reclaim his family's "rightful" throne. He actually tells his sister Daeneyrs, who spends most of the episode nude and whimpering, that he'd let an army have their way with her if it meant he'd reclaim that power. He even marries her off to the king of a tribe of wild horse riders. Their savagery reaches almost comical proportions. I get it... they're badasses. King Khal Drogo looks like a '60s Klingon and talks like a '90s version.

The rest of the cast and characters fair far better. Sean Bean, no stranger to swords and leather, is very convincing as Lord Stark, a fair but strong overseer of the King's northern lands. Peter Dinklage is Tyrion Lannister, one of the queen's brothers that happens to be a dwarf. He's drunk, but he seems to be able to make up for any physical deficiencies with intellect. His brother Jaime is a bit more sinister and has an interesting rapport with their sister Queen Cersei.

'Game of Thrones' off to a strong start. Hopefully, the writers can continue to develop this layered drama with it becoming too cumbersome or have the characters become cliches.

Fringe – “Lysergic Acid Diethylamide”

2011-04-17T14:48:00.000-04:00

At least Broyles (Lance Reddick) had fun during this episode.

Photo Credit: FOX

Review by Paul Steven Brown

‘Fringe’
Season 3 – Episode 19
“Lysergic Acid Diethylamide”

I wonder if this is going to be a tradition now. Last season, right before the very few remaining episodes of season two, the creators of ‘Fringe’ delivered the very strange, but rather lackluster “Brown Betty”. It was a half-hearted attempt at a noir/musical episode. As with this week’s “Lysergic Acid Diethylamide“, “Brown Betty” was named after and fueled by a drug of Walter Bishop’s choice.

Once again, this is another example of creators of ‘Fringe’ coming up with a wacky idea, but not going all in. “Brown Betty” was disjointed and the musical numbers were not frequent enough to really send it over the top. “Lysergic Acid Diethylamide“ shows us a journey into Olivia’s head, half of which is animated. The animation is okay, and seems to be mainly there for the benefit of Leonard Nimoy, who recently turned 80, to not have to run around being chased by an angry mob. If they were going to do this, then the animation should have started as soon as Walter and Peter entered Olivia’s head.

The animation sequences were an interesting idea, but style was rather weak. In fact, other than William Bell, the cartoon versions of Walter, Peter, and Olivia, didn’t really resemble them very well. To me, this is another bit of going only halfway on an idea. The animation should have been spectacular or even really crude. ‘Community’ had an entire episode filmed in a classic stop-motion puppet style for that show’s Christmas episode this year. That show went all in and the result was hilarious and poignant.

Then there’s Broyles. His accidental acid trip may have been the saving grace of the episode. Lance Reddick looks creepy enough when he smiles, being so serious all the time, but his loopy behavior justified his super huge grin. This was a silly idea, but Reddick went for it and the results were pretty amusing. The crowning touch was when Broyles hallucinated a cartoon bird landing on Walter’s shoulder.

So what did we actually get out of “Lysergic Acid Diethylamide“? Olivia is finally free of Bell’s control, which turned out to be a plot thread ripe with possibilities, but was never fully realized. Bell has presumably “died” as a result of Olivia’s return. However, the ending did add a much needed zing to the episode, when Olivia nonchalantly said that the mystery man from her dream world was probably the man that’s supposed to kill her.

‘Fringe’ is wacky enough as it is, and really doesn’t benefit from episodes like this or “Brown Betty” unless the creators really go for broke. Some of the most interesting episodes of this show’s forefather ‘The X-Files’ were strange but fun takes at playing with other genres and themes. However, when Mulder and Scully ended up in a black and white riff on ‘50s mad scientist movies, it was with full commitment. I didn’t hate “Lysergic Acid Diethylamide“, but in a season as compelling and exciting as this third season of ‘Fringe’, it’s extremely underwhelming.

Stargate Universe - "The Hunt"

2011-04-12T10:55:00.000-04:00

Varro (Michael Dopud) nd Greer (Jamil Walker Smith) realized that they're the ones being hunted.

Photo Credit: Syfy

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Stargate Universe'
Season 2 - Episode 16
"The Hunt"

"The Hunt" is a little all over the place. Despite the visceral nature of the main story, this episode felt like a pause between major plot developments to the show's overall narrative. For the most part, we're given some opportunities to look at a few characters in a different light and to see how their experiences on Destiny have changed them.

The central story deals with the hunt for TJ and another crewman who were drug off by a CGI monster that ambushed the Destiny landing party. Apparently, the monster attacks only in first person as a favor to 'Stargate Universe' budget staff. In the process Varro gets to prove that he is trustworthy and his Lucian Alliance buddies are useful, but most of all this story is about Greer losing his edge.

This just came out of nowhere. He thinks he actually died for a moment on the table when he donated a kidney to Volker and now Ron is scared of dying. Maybe we're supposed to be shocked by the fact Ronald's experience in a situation that was far from a battle would rattle him so. Still, it just seemed too forced.

The resolution to hunt and rescue was extremely flat. You mean to tell me that the creature let's TJ and the corporal go because they were intelligent enough to build fire and because Greer lowered his weapon? That's just lame. And then after being shown mercy from the giant cat creature, Greer gets his killer edge again and shoots a deer creature for dinner. Talk about mixed messages.

Story number two centers on Eli not wanting to defer to Rush, especially in light of last episode's upload fiasco. Hillarity ensues when Rush locks Brody in one of the newly found stasis pods, just to screw with Eli. Between this incident and Rush's conversation with Volker, it feels that Rush is reasserting his dominance in the science team.

The third story line is about Volker having a crush on Park and his inability to be proactive about it. Chloe tells him to go for it and express his feelings. Rush's attempts to use some reverse psychology by indicating that Volker could only be friends with Park because he's not really bold enough to step up and he should just except his non-alpha dog existence.

This was always going to end sadly. Park has been shown to have slept with few different men on Destiny (including Ronald Greer. Whoo-rah!) and seemed comfortable enough in herself to have made a move on Volker already if she was interested. Also, with Volker's kidney failure, there wasn't any indication of his feelings before this episode that I can recall. I enjoy as much development for the science team as I can get, but this one really didn't do it for me.

We're closing in on the end of the season, and for that matter, the series, but the second half of season two has felt really underwhelming. I just hope that things pick up for the home stretch so we can walk away from 'SGU' in a positive light.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 16

2011-04-10T12:00:00.001-04:00

You go, girl! In this installment of X-Nation we discuss seven classic issues in Days of X-Men Past.

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Download: X-Nation Episode 16

Days of X-Men Past: Uncanny X-Men #405, Uncanny X-Men #406, Uncanny X-Men #407, X-Treme X-Men #12, X-Treme X-Men #13, New X-Men #125, & New X-Men #126.

Stargate Universe - "Seizure"

2011-04-05T17:29:00.000-04:00

Robert Picardo and Lou Diamond Phillips on 'Stargate Universe'.

Photo Credit: Syfy

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Stargate Universe'
Season 2 - Episode 15
"Seizure"

I've only seen about half of the first season of 'Stargate SG-1' and have never seen an episode of 'Stargate Atlantis', the installments of 'Stargate Universe' that either tie back to plot lines or characters from the two previous programs tend to be of less interest to me. Ever since the Lucian Alliance invaded the narrative of 'SGU', I've been fearing the injection of more Stargate lore to this show. I know it's silly, since this is part of a franchise. Still, 'SGU' started off and was promoted as being new viewer friendly and for the most part it has been so. Unfortunately, "Seizure" had too much of the old to win me over.

Not only did "Seizure" have more of the "The Lucians are coming! The Lucians are coming!" spectre that has been hanging over the entire second season of 'SGU', but it also boasted two former cast members of 'Stargate Atlantis' in significant roles for half of the hour. I'm sure fans of the other two shows loved this, but it did nothing for me. Too make matters worse, those damn communication stones came into play again (though they were employed in an interesting form of kidnapping).

Also, by the end of the episode, the folks at Stargate Command really came off looking like jackasses. "We thought that if we broke into your facility, kidnapped some people, and demonstrated that the experiment was safe, you wouldn't mind!" You'd think that the Stargate folks would have done a bit more research and made sure that their allies were not betraying them before... well... betraying them.

Back on Destiny, Dr. Perry and Dr. Rush find a way to get it on by uploading Nick's consciousness into the ship's mainframe. There weren't really many surprises with this plot thread. Amanda couldn't let Rush go, so she continued a charade that had him thinking that he had returned to the real world. My eyes glazed over when Amanda got upset about how this all proved that Nick wasn't really in love with her. Whatever. The fallout of Amanda and Nick's experiment resulted in her and Ginn being quarantined on the mainframe. Eli said it was the only way to save Rush. Now they both can't see their girlfriends, even in holographic form.

We also got a few scenes about Greer trying to move about despite a severe infection after he donated a kidney to Volker. This didn't really amount to anything and thankfully was a brief plot thread.

The Killing - "Pilot" & "The Cage"

2011-04-04T20:56:00.003-04:00

Linden (Mireille Enos) and Holder (Joel Kinnaman) at a crime scene in 'The Killing'.

Photo Credit: AMC

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'The Killing'
Season 1 - Episodes 1 & 2
"Pilot"
"The Cage"

AMC has yet to disappoint me with the network's crop of television series. 'Mad Men' never disappoints, though we'll have to wait until 2012 for season five. 'The Walking Dead' is off to a great start, despite having a very brief first season. 'Rubicon' had extremely poor ratings, but I found that show deeply engrossing. The only misstep there was its inability to stick the landing. I still haven't gotten around to watching 'Breaking Bad', but I plan on remedying that before the fourth season kicks up in July.

Due to this kind of pedigree coming from AMC, it was without a doubt that I would check out their latest offering, 'The Killing'. Before it even aired, 'The Killing' boasted an interesting origin. It's based on a Danish television series 'Forbrydelsen', though the outcome of that mystery has been altered to save viewers of the 'The Killing' from any potential spoilers. The show is ran by Veena Sud, who helmed 'Cold Case' on CBS for about five seasons. While her former show was all about the done in one hour mystery, 'The Killing' will stick to one case for the entire run of the first season. If you enjoyed the slow boil of 'Rubicon', then 'The Killing' may be your cup of tea.

Where 'Rubicon' dealt with paranoia for suspense, 'The Killing' is very atmospheric and moody. Set in Seattle, it almost feels like 'Twin Peaks' without the supernatural elements and the eccentric characters. The characters and the actors in the 'The Killing' still deliver.

Leading the investigation and the drama is homicide detective Sarah Linden (Mirielle Enos). She gets this case on her last day of work before flying down to California with her son, to be with her fiance (played by Callum Keith Rennie - Leoben from 'Battlestar Galactica', in an unusually low key, normal role). Enos plays Linden with a calm determination. She's very deliberate with her words and never gets outwardly emotional. Still, Enos is able to convey the drive and fire within Linden very effectively.

Linden's replacement, turned partner on the investigation is Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman), who is new to homicide, but had spent several years in vice. He's apparently done a good deal of undercover work, which comes out in laid back, but occasionally abrasive demeanor. He employs some unconventional methods, such as flirting with a few high school girls to pry out a hiding place the kids go to party. Kinnaman is pretty spectacular and his calm intensity is different to Enos' own variation.

The parents of murdered teenager Rosie Larsen are played by Michelle Forbes and Brent Sexton. These two are outstanding. While this is material prime for over the top wailing and gnashing of teeth, Forbes and Sexton hit the despair of the Larsen couple just right. It's powerful stuff without delving too deep into pumped up pathos.

Rounding out the primary cast is Seatlle City Councilman Darren Richmond (Billy Campbell) and the two people in charge of his campaign, Gwen (Kristin Lehman) and Jamie (Eric Ladin). Rosie's body is found in one of the cars owned by the campaign, which connects the Richmond folks to the case. Making Richmond the murder seems too easy and obvious though. Hopefully there will be some more interesting connections so this side of the show doesn't feel like a feint. Various other characters related to Rosie through school are introduced, but there hasn't been too much development there.

So far, I'm really enjoying 'The Killing'. The acting is really strong, at times very subtle, yet compelling, while at other times intensely emotional without pushing things too far. It's also shot really well. There's an amazing shot from overhead when the Larsens pick up there two young sons from school. Also, the music by the same composer on 'Forbrydelsen' is extremely effective at setting the mood. If AMC keeps putting out series with this level of quality, I'll continue to watch whatever they throw at me.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 15

2011-04-03T16:29:00.000-04:00

In this installment of X-Nation we take discuss the latest news in the X-Buzz and we take a look back at the Month in X for March 2011.

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Download: X-Nation Episode 15

The Month in X: X-Men: Legacy #246, New Mutants #23, Age of X Universe #1, Daken: Dark Wolverine #6, Daken: Dark Wolverine #7, X-23 #7, X-23 #8, Wolverine #7, Wolverine & Jubilee #3, X-Men #9, X-Factor #216, X-Factor #217, Uncanny X-Force #5.1, Uncanny X-Force #6, Generation Hope #5, Uncanny X-Men #534, & Uncanny X-Men Annual #3.

Special thanks to Ryan for the sound level tips.

Stargate Universe - "Hope"

2011-03-29T12:10:00.000-04:00

Chloe (Elyse Levesque) undergoes a bit of a personality problem (again), while Eli (David Blue) and Matthew (Brian J. Smith) helplessly watch.

Photo Credit: Syfy

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Stargate Universe'
Season 2 - Episode 14
"Hope"

I've found most of the 'Stargate Universe' episodes that have aired after the mid-season hiatus a bit underwhelming. This is opposite of how I viewed first season, when I thought series really started to click during that season's back half. That being said, "Hope" is probably my favorite episode since the second season winter break.

I have made it no secret that I detest the communication stones. However, this was a story that actually where the stones facilitated a pretty compelling conundrum. It was crazy enough with Ginn inhabiting Chloe's body, but the presence of Amanda threw in an additionally spanner into the works. Kudos to Syfy for once not spoiling that reveal in the preview (which they completely gave away Ginn and Amanda's death a week before it actually happened). I did not see that one coming and was delighted by the surprise.

The situation do a decent job of showing how far Chloe had matured since the series premiere. While Matthew was freaking out over the possibility of time-sharing his girlfriend, she stayed adamant about doing whatever it took to preserve Ginn's and Amanda's minds. In fact, I think the resolution came too quick and the writers could have pumped the idea for at least one more episode.

The consequences of uploading Ginn's conscience and Amanda's into Destiny are fairly compelling. At the end of the hour, Ginn tries to put on a brave face, but it's pretty clear that life as a ghost will not be fulfilling for her. She desperately wants to be able to touch Eli. However, Amanda is experiencing the situation in an almost opposite fashion. She had been restricted to a chair due to her inability to use her arms or legs. She may not be able to touch anything or anyone, specifically Rush, but now Amanda has more freedom of movement than ever before.

The b-story involved Volker needing a kidney transplant. This seemed like a rather sudden development that could have benefited from some hinting over the last couple of episodes. Still, anything that puts Volker, Brody, and Park in front of the camera with dialogue is a win for me. These three continue to be my favorite characters on the show.

Even with complete access to Destiny's medical technology, the idea of a successful kidney transplant seem fairly dubious. Also, don't doctors go in from the back? Seems like that would be a lot easier. Also, I thought Amanda was a physicist not a medical doctor, which freaked me out when she talked T.J. through the rest of the surgery. However, now that she has been uploaded to Destiny, she has access to all that crazy Ancients knowledge. Confusion subsided.

Greer being quick to volunteer a kidney seems plenty in character, but I don't understand the need to for him to go about the bone marrow extraction without any anesthesia. Yes, Ronald, we know that you are a badass, so you really don't have anything to prove. Unfortunately, it looks like he'll have deal with a nasty infection as a result of his donation.

"Hope" was a pretty engrossing hour of 'Stargate Universe' overall. If it were not for the fact that the show was getting cancelled at the end of the current season, I would be excited about the potential of all the ghosts in the machine that is Destiny. Still, I look forward to seeing how any of this will play out.

Fringe - "Bloodline"

2011-03-26T12:22:00.000-04:00

Walternate (John Noble), Charlie (Kirk Acevedo), and Lincoln (Seth Gabel) have a whispered discussion, which is made more thrilling by its location: a stairwell!

Photo Credit: FOX

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Fringe'
Season 3 - Episode 18
"Bloodline"

If anything, "Bloodline" was an interesting way of speeding through Fauxlivia's pregnancy and the birth of Peter Bishop's son. If played out in realtime, this event would have had to wait until sometime next season. As it stands, Faux will be in fighting form sooner and with a nice little bundle of plot complication in tow.

While I always love a journey to the red universe*, I wasn't completely blown away by this hour. I figured that either Walternate or Evil Brandon was behind Fauxlivia's abduction. It turned out to be both, but I was hoping that this was a play by Evil Brandon to harvest Cortexiphan in the redverse since Walternate refused to experiment on children. Alas, it was Walternate's ploy to ensure the birth of his grandson since Faux had some kind of whatever virus that a percentage of women have over there that would more than likely result in the death of the baby or the mother; sometimes both.

*Speaking of which, notice the three solid colored paintings hanging in Walternate's office: one blue, one red, and one yellow. Does this a hint about a third universe, or is the Secretary of Defense just a big fan of Syncronicity by the Police?

With Fauxlivia strapped to a table and screaming for most of the episode, the bulk of the action was handled by Lincoln Lee and Charlie "I've Got Spiders In My Blood" Francis. After meeting with Henry the cab driver that helped our Olivia at the beginning of the season and the revelation from Walternate that Olivias had been switched for a time, Lincoln and Charlie are starting to get a clearer image of what's going on around them. I think this is the first step towards a few of the Alt-Fringies breaking away to work with our gang in the blue universe. I'll take any excuse to keep Charlie Francis around, even if he's the one from the other side.

The Obeserver, more specifically September, is back this episode, too. It looks like Peter Bishop isn't the only key part in whatever the hell those pasty bald guys are planning. Peter's kid seems to be instrumental. I hope we start getting answers to how Peter, the baby, the machine, the observers, and the First People are all connected. Paging Sam Weiss...

According to an excited Tweet from one of the showrunners, 'Fringe' is getting renewed for a fouth season. While the numbers would have killed this show on any other night, the move to Friday, usually a slow night anyway, has been an improvement for FOX. Unfortunately, I can't help but think that season four will be the last. Despite becoming a more enjoyable and facinating program for it, 'Fringe' has certainly evolved into a very serialized and myth heavy show. There's no way a casual viewer could just flip on the tube and jump right in at this point, without doing some DVD homework*. My point is that the writers should start putting the pieces together next fall so that if there is no fifth year, us loyal fans will be left with a complete narrative.

*Not that it can't be done. I have friends that tore through the first two seasons just in time for the third. I've know others that have done so similarly with other shows such as 'Battlestar Galactica' and 'Lost'. Unfortunately, those two programs were either critical darlings and 'Lost' had huge numbers.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: The Merc Report Episode 6

2011-03-22T18:15:00.000-04:00

Spinning out of X-Nation, The Merc Report is your monthly review of the many Deadpool comic books published by Marvel Comics. This episode Corwin Crowl takes us through the Month in Merc for February 2011.

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Download: The Merc Report Episode 6

Reviewed this episode: Deadpool #33, Deadpool Team-Up #884 & 885, Deadpool Corps #11, Deadpool and Cable #26 and Deadpool MAX #5.

Music by Jenki "Girls of Los Angeles"

Stargate Universe - "Alliances"

2011-03-22T10:14:00.000-04:00

Col. Young (Louis Ferreira) aboard the Destiny.

Photo Credit: Syfy

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Stargate Universe'
Season 2 - Episode 13
"Alliances"

Wray and Greer have bumped heads on more than one occasion since the start of 'Stargate Universe'. While their differences have never escalated into a physical altercation, as with Young and Rush (twice), There has always been a notion that their situation would eventually come to a head. While Young and Rush have had problems seeing eye to eye as far as the how the mission was to be handled, Wray and Greer's conflict has always been about personality differences.

To Greer, Wray is a nosey pencil-pusher that can't earn his respect due to her not serving in the military. She's a civilian that has no business telling soldiers what to due and should certainly stay out of their personal business. To Wray, Greer is an angry loose cannon, that needs to be addressed before he gets himself of someone else killed. He's unreasonable defiant and physically threatening to many around him.

"Alliances" plays out the cliche of two conflicting personalities being forced to work together to overcome a common problem and in doing so come to learn something about the other as well as gain some mutual respect. These types of episodes usually end with a quiet moment shared between the two parties to signify what was learned. This hour ticked off all the boxes and was made even more lacking by the use of those damn communication stones.

There were a lot of predictable elements to "Alliances", too. As soon as Airman Evans showed up, I was hoping that he would have been a red herring and not an undercover Alliance agent. No such luck. We even got a sharp object to hostage throat showdown that revealed his true colors. Once the communication stones glitches came up, it was a certainty that the senator and/or the scientist were going to be ones to dismantle the bomb.

At least this episode gave Varro something to do other than flirt with T.J. This character had so much potential and has been grossly underserved. I wish there could have been more light shone on his (and other Lucian Alliance members) reasons for betraying the Lucian Alliance. Ginn spoke of conscription, but I don't think there has been enough development in this department to give Varro's allegiance change any really credibility.

I'm sure that these episodes were written with the idea that another season would be available for 'Stargate Universe', but other than "Twin Destinies", the post-hiatus hours have been a bit underwhelming. Hopefully the tension will ratchet back up as the season (and the series) heads to conclusion in seven episodes.

Fringe - "Stowaway"

2011-03-19T10:55:00.000-04:00

Lincoln Lee (Seth Gabel) of the Fringe Prime universe makes his television debut.

Photo Credit: FOX

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Fringe'
Season 3 - Episode 17
"Stowaway"

Oh, 'Fringe'! So cute and clever with its multi-leveled episode titles. See "Stowaway" refers to William Bell sneaking into Olivia Dunham's mind as well as poor Dana Gray, who can't die, but is trying to hitch a ride to the afterlife with the souls of suicide victims. What? You already figured that one out? Oh, nevermind.

While I commend Anna Torv for going for it in an attempt to channel Leonard Nimoy, I think she fell a little short here. She's done an amazing job this season delivering on the nuances of differences between Olivia and Fauxlivia, but her Willivia was more "old man" and less "Spock". I said last week that for this to really work, the creators had to really play up the absurdity of the situation. They didn't quite "Brown Betty" it, but I think they could have taken it a bit further. Still, there were some great moments, especially Bell's flirtations with a mindblown Astrid (possibly made more interesting subtextually if Astrid is gay like Jasika Nicole), and some solid character moments between William and Walter (particularly in their discussions while brushing Gene the Cow.

While the Willivia subplot took Olivia off the board as a FBI field agent, this did provide the perfect opportunity to introduce the Fringe Prime version of Lincoln Lee. One could argue that Broyle could have filled this role for the hour, but he's the boss, not an investigator. There don't seem to be that much difference between the two Lincoln personalities. This one wears glasses suggesting he may be slightly more bookish, but Alt-Fringe Lincoln is pretty brainy himself. This Lincoln really worked well with Peter. It would be a hoot if this Lincoln had the hots for Peter, while his counterpart had it for Fauxlivia. What a strange and twisty love mobius that would be.

It was great to see Paula Malcomson so soon after the cancellation of her own sci-fi series "Caprica". I couldn't help but chuckle at some of the similarities between her character here and on the other program. On 'Caprica' Malcomson plays Amanda Graystone, while on 'Fringe' she was Dana Gray. On 'Caprica' Amanda tried to kill herself by jumping off a bridge. Dana tried to hitch a ride on more than one occasion with someone that committed suicide by jumping out a window.

I think that Malcomson did a great job considering that she never had any scenes with the regular characters on the show. She's a strong and emotive actor, that can deliver a ton even without having another person to work with. I was partially hoping that Dana was another Cortexiphan kid so they could keep Malcomson around, but she's probably just a hair too old.

"Stowaway" continues to fit the model of the types of episodes 'Fringe' is producing since the move to Friday. The standard Monster of the Week cases continue to dressed up with a welcomed helping of big picture progression and character development. Far from the best of season three, but considerably better than a large chunk of season two.

Stargate Universe - "Twin Destinies"

2011-03-15T09:10:00.000-04:00

Eli (David Blue) is hit with a strange form of guilt that temporal mechanics could only provide.

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Stargate Universe'
Season 2 - Episode 12
"Twin Destinies"

In "Visionary", one of my favorite 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' episodes from that show's third season, everyman Miles O'Brien gets bounced in and out of the short term future, gathering clues to prevent the destruction of the space station. The cool twist in that story is that Miles from a few hours in the future ends up replacing the one that we've been tracking entire hour (if not the series up the this point). "Twin Destinies" has a similar prophet of doom from the future sort of plot.

While there is no switch between Future Rush and Past Rush (this sounds like I'm writing about the discography of the famed rock band), we do get a switch with the two Telfords involved in this story. Though it never turned out to be so, I kept expecting some kind of double-cross or hidden agenda to be revealed concerning Telford. There just seemed to be something in the way Lou Diamond Philips played the character and the way Telford was written this time around that kept pinging my spider-senses. Maybe something will come of this next week when Young talks to Future Telford.

'Stargate Universe' has already played around with time travel with last season's "Time". However, the constant reset button pressing of that episode ultimately had no lasting consequences for the series. "Twin Destinies" thankfully had more relevance to the overall show narrative. First and foremost being the acquisition of spare parts that were desperately needed after all the fighting that occurred over the last two episodes.

Varro finally received some screen time. This time he got to run around for spare parts. Whoopee! At least it wasn't another scene of Varro making eyes at T.J. or pleading with Young to trust him. Unfortunately, the whole Lucian Alliance prisoner plot thread seems to be one of the great unexplored and under-exploited parts of season two.

Despite being a character I like, I'm about done with Eli dealing with grown up feelings for the first time. This time around, the boy genius was feeling guilt over the deaths that a version of himself from another timeline due to his calculations. Dude, it wasn't you! Well, it was you, but not "you" in this timeline. Urg, temporal mechanics. At least he didn't ask for a gun to go hunting for Simeon like he did when Ginn died. Dark Eli is not very believable or interesting.

Overall, a decent outing for 'Stargate Universe', but nothing spectacular. With the impending conclusion of the series in about eight episodes, my mind tends to be more pre-occupied by how the creators are going to wrap everything rather than what has been on the screen for the past two outings.

Fringe - "Os"

2011-03-12T12:42:00.000-05:00

Lance Reddick, Anna Torv, John Noble, and Joshua Jackson looking to see if those Friday ratings are going up.

Photo Credit: FOX

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Fringe'
Season 3 - Episode 16
"Os"

"Os" flows pretty nicely out of the events and thoughts of "6B", but both episodes were separated by a trip back to '80s 'Fringe' and a week off due the NAACP awards. As much as I enjoyed "Subject 13" did interrupt the flow of the show's regular narrative. That being said, this was probably one of the strongest episodes of this season's middle chapter. And like "The Firefly" which kicked off the second arc of season three, "Os" includes a guest appearance by a great '80s icon.

Okay, Alan Ruck may not be a household name, but who didn't love him in Ferris Bueller's Day Off? Hell, I even dressed up like Cameron Frye for a '80s themed party a few years back (those leather suspenders were a pain to find). Since then, Ruck has been a regular on 'Spin City' during the late '90s and has made numerous guest appearances in movies and on television. Last year, he had a fantastic turn as a money launderer turned dentist on 'Justified'. As with most jobs he is given, he does a great job on last night's 'Fringe'.

There a quite a few parallels between Ruck's character, a scientist driven to find a way to help his son, by any means necessary, and Walter Bishop. Fortunately, the writers saw fit not to beat it into the ground when Walter spoke with him at the jail cell. What did transpire was further indication that the laws of physics are breaking down due to Walter's initial invasion of other universe.

Walter's manic desire to repair the damage done has led him to try to contact William Bell from beyond the grave (as well as smoke some weed with a Massive Dynamics security guard played by Jorge Reyes aka Hurley from 'Lost'). Nina had received the bell during the reading of William's will at the beginning of the season, and it was immediately recognizable as the one (or at least of copy) that Bell rang in Olivia's presence before literally hurtling her back to Fringe Prime, way back at the very beginning of season two.

The pay off was pretty great. William Bell is now inhabitting Olivia Dunham's body (sorry Peter). If the creators of 'Fringe' are as smart as I think they are, they will certainly have fun with this idea. It's so ridiculous, that to play it too straight would be make it seem even more absurd and stupid. Hopefully, we'll get some akwardness between Willivia and Peter and some fun interaction between Willivia and Walter.

Unfortunately, this event comes just as Peter confides in Olivia about his hunting down of the shapeshifters in "Reciprocity". You knew things could go to smoothly for those two kids. He admits to gunning down alien cyborgs; she gets possessed by Spock. Never a day at the park for the Fringe crew.

For the most part, "Os" continues the third season's strong direction of melding standalone one episode plots with huge amount of forward momentum for the overall show mythology. Plus, we continue to see some great character moments for the principle cast as Olivia, Peter, and Walter struggle to deal with the chaos swirling around them. This certainly felt like the end of the middle chapter and I'm really looking forward to final third of the season.

Stargate Universe - "Deliverance"

2011-03-08T09:14:00.001-05:00

Camile (Ming-Na) pays Chloe a visit.

Photo Credit: Syfy

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Stargate Universe'
Season 2 - Episode 11
"Deliverance"

After a three month hiatus, 'Stargate Universe' is back. Unfortunately, during the break Syfy announced that they were cancelling program, which has been part of a long running science fiction franchise that had benefited the network for the better part of a the last decade. Luckily, 'SGU' isn't getting its remaining episodes burned off in a single day like 'Caprica'. I guess Syfy feels they can still make a little money off the show.

It's sad to say, but once 'SGU' rides off into the sunset, I will probably have no desire to watch anything on Syfy. While 'SGU' and 'Caprica' have had their respective flaws, there was a definite attempt to deliver a more mature style of sci-fi that is not present on the rest of the network's programming. Unfortunately, Syfy has more in common with SpikeTV these days then say, FX, which has become the home of some really solid, albeit low-ratings netting, basic cable dramas.

These long mid-season breaks have never done the shows on Syfy and favors, especially if a cliffhanger is involved. Even after the recap, it took me a few minutes to remember what the hell was going on during the last episode. Part of the problem was that there were just too many factions to keep track of after not watching the show for a quarter of a year. We have the crew of the Destiny, Telford's little pals called the Ursini, Chloe's alien from the other galaxy, and robotic drones. I'm almost thankful that the Lucian Alliance folks got lost in the shuffle as a result.

Eli and Rush adapting the swarm seemed like a foregone conclusion. It's debatable if the solution was too heavily telegraphed or the result of well-laid breadcrumbs. Regardless, it wasn't a big surprise. Still, it provided for some fun space explosions.

The writers handled Chloe's predicament smartly. This has been a character that didn't have much to do until she became infected with alien DNA and was becoming a sleeper agent. That plot thread had ran its course and the "what do we do with Chloe?" debate could only go on for so long. Now that she is supposedly clean of the alien influence and growths, Chloe has been able to retain the knowledge she gained while exposed. This will give the character more opportunities to interact with the crew during vital missions and give her stuff to do other than wear tight tank tops and pine for Matt.

Rush is starting to care about people on Destiny. Maybe it's the recent loss of Amanda or the prolonged exposure to the people around him. There's also the acceptance of Destiny's true mission, too. Still, Rush has grown to care about Chloe in particular. If we had another season, it would have been nice to see these two develop a surrogate father/daughter relationship.

The real challenge for 'SGU' will be to see how much the creators will be able to wrap up before the finale. The ship is still speeding to its destination, plus there is the impending invasion of Earth by the Lucian Alliance. They've got nine remaining episodes; here's hoping they make them count.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 14

2011-03-06T14:35:00.001-05:00

In this installment of X-Nation we discuss six more classic issues in Days of X-Men Past.

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Days of X-Men Past: X-Treme X-Men #10, X-Treme X-Men #11, Uncanny X-Men #403, Uncanny X-Men #404, New X-Men #123, New X-Men #124.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 13

2011-02-27T16:45:00.000-05:00

In this installment of X-Nation we take discuss the latest news in the X-Buzz, play some listener voice mails, and we take a look back at the Month in X for February 2011.

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Download: X-Nation Episode 13

Month in X – February 2011

X-Men: Legacy #245, New Mutants #22, Daken: Dark Wolverine #5, Wolverine #5.1, Wolverine #6, Wolverine & Jubilee #2, X-23 #6, Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis #5, Astonishing X-Men #36, X-Men #8, X-Men: To Serve and Protect #5, X-Factor #215, Uncanny X-Force #5, Generation Hope #4, and Uncanny X-Men #533.

Fringe - "Subject 13"

2011-02-26T12:32:00.000-05:00

Dr. Walter (John Noble) encourages the kids to chase that Cortexiphan dragon way back in the '80s.

Photo Credit: FOX

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Fringe'
Season 3 - Episode 15
"Subject 13"

Hey, it worked once before. Why not try it again?

Thus, we are given a return to the Fringe-verse of the '80s, complete with nostalgic theme music and intro. If 'Fringe' is allowed to continue past this season (and I think the show's Friday performance will almost certainly warrant it), then a journey back to parachute pants-ville will more than likely be a yearly event. Think of it as the annual trip to the Mirror Universe on 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' or the Desmond episodes on 'Lost'. A yearly, but gratifying ritual.

Granted, 'Subject 13' didn't have the wow factor that last year's 'Peter' had, but you can only ride the horse out of the gate once. Still, I continue to be amazed by the deaging make up the special effect wizards are able to conjure for John Noble each time we journey back a quarter of a century. Part of this is attributed to the physicality of Noble's performance, but look at his arms! There's some sculpting, make up or CGI... I can't tell, but it's the little details that really sell this effect.

This trip to the '80s takes place about six months after Walter kidnapped Peter from the other universe. He always intended to take the boy back after he cured him of his ailment, but Walter has been having difficulty recreating the bridge. Enter the Cortexiphan kids.

We get to meet Subject 13, a young Olivia Dunham, at the child care facility ran by Walter in Jacksonville. Whoever cast the girl did a great job. She had a delivery that really made me think this could have been a young Olive. Plus, we finally get some insight to one of the dangling plot threads from season one: Olivia's abusive stepfather.

Still, the biggest moments in "Subject 13" were when Olivia's powers kicked in due to her fear. The first was masterfully done, having Olivia running from her stepdad and suddenly appearing outdoors where she looks up and has a shadow of a blimp fall over her before she is snatched back into the Fringe Prime universe. The second incident occurred when Walter attempted to scare her powers into being by having one of the other kids play dead. This triggered Olivia's alluded to, but never seen pyrokenetic abilities.

However, the third burst of power was such a big moment. Olivia runs crying to Walter about her stepfather hitting her. Walter looks confused and doesn't recognize her. Then it hits you; Olivia has crossed over and is talking to Walternate (who continues to despair over the loss of Peter). Of course, she leaves behind her sketch book that conveniently has a picture of her and Peter drawn in it, thus cluing in Walternate on the fact that his son was abducted to a parallel universe.

We get some really good material concerning Peter, too. He knows that the Bishops are not his real parents. Our world is different enough for him to notice (Red Lantern instead of Green Lantern, no airships, etc.). He even attempts to sink himself into the icy lake so he can get back to his own world. However, throughout this episode Mrs. Bishop does her level best to convince him of her love. After Peter's conversation with Olive, Mrs. Bishop has finally sold him on the idea that his sickness really confused his memory of the world. Unfortunately, this begins her cycle of drinking and depression that would lead to her untimely death.

While "Subject 13" didn't have the benefit of freshness that "Peter" had, this was still a high point of an already excellent third season of 'Fringe'. Though this was entirely a flashback episode without any scenes from the present, it continues to humanize Walternate, while demonstrating the lengths that our Walter is willing to take to get the job done.

Fringe - "6B"

2011-02-20T18:00:00.000-05:00

Walter (John Noble) discusses his fears of becoming like his alternate reality counterpart with Nina (Blair Brown).

Photo Credit: FOX

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Fringe'
Season 3 - Episode 14
"6B"

It would seem that we're in a section of the season that continues to deal with the events of the first eight episodes, while attempting to move pieces into place for the run up to the season finale. While the post hiatus episodes have reflected more of a Monster of the Week vibe, the creators of 'Fringe' have made sure to balance them with a heavy dose of mythology and character development. As a result, even these more standalone type of hours certainly feel like they are vital parts of the overall show tapestry.

In last week's Alt-Fringe centric story, Walternate was beginning to question the whether or not he has been too extreme in his methodology in his attempts to safeguard his world. While he has come across as a "by any means necessary" sort of figure, he does draw the line at experimenting on children. This is a line that we know our Walter crossed several decades ago with the development of Cortexiphan.

This week we get a bit of a flip-side to that theme. When faced with a possible vortex event on our side of the dimensional barrier, Walter debates if the use of amber is justified. His fear is if he begins using Walternate's tools, he will start down the road to becoming the man who he sees as his enemy and an extremist. Yet, the damage of a potential vortex is quite possible. Is the cure just as deadly?

We're also at a point in the series where we're beginning to see some callbacks to the early days of 'Fringe'. Olivia's return to our world came via the sensory deprivation tank she used in the series premiere. In "6B", Walter recreates the amber based on the case notes and samples extracted from the bus attack at the beginning of season one. This helps give the series an overall feeling of continuity.

I'm not so sure if I'm crazy about a rift between worlds being created by two people's mutual grief. Granted this is a special case where the circumstances probably had to be perfect such as the deaths were of the opposite spouse and at the same time. Still, it was the type of emotionally charged situation that would cause Olivia and Peter to reexamine their relationship.

I'm very happy that we've got some sort of resolution to emotional rift between Olivia and Peter. I think it went on long enough. Anymore and we would have fell into another version of the television "will they or won't they" debacle. Plus, these two finally taking a chance on romance will further complicated things oh so nicely when Fauxlivia shows up with Peter Jr.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: The Merc Report Episode 5

2011-02-15T16:46:00.001-05:00

Spinning out of X-Nation, The Merc Report is your monthly review of the many Deadpool comic books published by Marvel Comics. This episode Corwin Crowl takes us through the Month in Merc for January 2011.

Subscribe to the show: RSS Feed & iTunes
Download: The Merc Report Episode 5

Reviewed this episode: Deadpool #31, Deadpool #32, Deadpool Corps #10, and Deadpool MAX #4.

Music by Jenki "Girls of Los Angeles"

Fringe - "Immortality"

2011-02-12T14:21:00.000-05:00

Dark laboratory. Check. Flashlight. Check. Redheaded heroine. Check. I wonder if they have 'The X-Files' in Fauxlivia's universe?

Photo Credit: FOX

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Fringe'
Season 3 - Episode 13
"Immortality"

One of the benefits of making a television series about two parallel universes it that the creators essentially have the opportunity to write two different shows. Now that the Olivias have been returned to their respective universes, we can get back down to the business of following them going about their regular, ol' abnormal lives. Since the climax of the big opening arc before the holiday hiatus, 'Fringe' has kept its sights set on the Fringe Prime universe. This week's episode takes us back to Alt-Fringe, all in it's red title sequence glory.

Oddly enough, this is the most Monster of the Week type of episode 'Fringe' has had since the move to Friday nights. The last three weeks have been a flurry of character and mythology building. One could argue that the lines blur a bit between MotW and myth hours when we get the chance to hang out "over there". While it was fun to see Alt-Charlie, Lincoln (still waiting to meet his Prime counterpart) and Aspergers Astrid, as well as finding out other differences with that world (no sheep apparently... they all died out), there really didn't seem like much was added to the big picture narrative... until the end.

Fauxliva is pregnant. I did not see that coming and it wasn't until the techs in ambulance pulled out the sonogram machine to hunt for bugs inside Fauxlivia, that I realized where this had all been leading up to. I can't help but feel sorry of the Frank. He has ended up an unfortunate victim in this crazy extra-dimensional saga. However, there needed to be a reason make Fauxlivia completely available for Peter to make choice between the two Olivias. Thankfully, the writers were a little more creative than killing Frank off, which I was afraid of once he was brought in as a CDC advisor on the case.

And what was up with Lincoln spoiling Frank's surprise marriage proposal to Fauxlivia? He doesn't know about her secret mission "over here", so he couldn't know about her feelings for Peter. Does Lincoln have some unresolved feelings for her? Here's an idea that'll mess with the space-time gods: what if Peter ends up with Fauxlivia and Olivia and Lincoln fall for each other. That's a lot of star-crossed lovin'!

Despite Walternate's creepy reaction to Fauxlivia's carrying of his grandchild, we started to see a little more compassionate side of Secretary of Defense this week. When Alt-Brandon pointed out that effectiveness of Cortexiphan improved the younger the test subject was, Walternate grew angry. This is an interesting turn of events given what we know of the two Walter Bishops. Our Walter had no problems pumping kids full of chemicals in an attempt to create soldiers against a possible parallel world invasion, and he certainly didn't give a damn about the otherworldly ramifications of stealing a boy from another world to fill the void left in his life by the death of his son.

Walternate, on the other hand, has been presented mostly as a cold tactician that is trying to save his universe, by any means necessary. He tortured our Olivia, was willing to sacrifice his son to the machine that would have destroyed our world, yet he draws the line at experimenting on children. He even confesses his doubts about his ability to do what is necessary to save Alt-Fringe to his girlfriend, a new character played by Joan Chen. Chen played Josie on 'Twin Peaks' which makes for two references since the hiatus.

While the central plot to "Immortality" may have been the weakest since the move to Friday nights, the very fact that it took place in the Alt-Fringe universe sustained my interest overall. Plus, the hour's fallout was a whopper. Still, the third season of 'Fringe' has yet to deliver a real dud, and that is a good thing.

Batman and Robin #20

2011-02-09T21:47:00.000-05:00

Yes, Robin does indeed have an ego to match the size of his head.

Cultural Wormhole takes a look at the Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason's first issue as the creative team on Batman and Robin.

Review by Paul Steven Brown

Batman and Robin #20

"Tree of Blood: Dark Knight vs. White Knight - Part 1 of 3"

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciler: Patrick Gleason
Inker: Mick Gray
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Published by DC Comics

This issue is a bit of a perfect storm of two great elements coming together. Grant Morrison established Batman and Robin as a fun, classic superhero book that placed Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne in their new roles as the classic duo of Batman and Robin. Now that Bruce Wayne has returned from the grave… or the time stream… or whatever, Morrison has decided to leave Batman and Robin to concentrate on the new Batman Incorporated title. Subsequently, Paul Cornell and Scott McDaniel filled in for three months, but with Batman and Robin #20, the new official creative team takes over.

Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason really rocked my world with their work on Green Lantern Corps. For a few years, these two made GLC as good, if not better than its big brother book, Green Lantern. Tomasi has proven the he’s very skilled at juggling a large cast and number of running subplots. Gleason has a fantastic cinematic visual style. Now these two bring those formidable skills to Batman and Robin.

Tomasi opens the issue with a wonderful, but rare scene of familial warmth between five fine fellows of Wayne Manor. In a few brief pages, Tomasi quickly establish each character’s unique mannerisms and the dynamic between Bruce, Dick, Alfred, Tim, and Damian. Still, the stars of this series are Dick and Damian, who have developed a great energy that is a mixture of trust and sibling rivalry. Dick has been charged with the task of mentoring Damian, who continues to be an irritable pain in the rear. I really didn’t care for Damian when he was first introduced, but he has developed into an irritable pain… that’s fun to read.

Gleason’s art is still top-notch. His characters have very expressive faces and body language, which enhances Tomasi’s already solid script with wonderful acting. Where Gleason really shines is during the action at the end of the issue. We are treated to a fabulous tumble through the Gotham City skyline in which Gleason oscillates between close ups that heighten the frenzy of the situation and pull backs to give us the grand scope of the scene.

I can’t decide if my Batman and Robin fell into my Tomasi and Gleason, or if my Tomasi and Gleason fell into my Batman and Robin. Either way this is a very promising merger of two dynamic duos. Color me excited.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 12 - A Conversation with Chris Claremont

2011-02-08T22:03:00.000-05:00

In this installment of X-Nation, we talk to the legendary Chris Claremont about the recently wrapped up X-Men Forever, X-Treme X-Men, and the X-Men on the big screen.

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Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 11

2011-02-06T19:01:00.000-05:00

In this installment of X-Nation we discuss six more classic issues in Days of X-Men Past.

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Download: X-Nation Episode 11

Days of X-Men Past: Uncanny X-Men #401, Uncanny X-Men #402, X-Treme X-Men #9, X-Treme X-Men Annual 2001, New X-Men #121, New X-Men #122

Fringe - "Concentrate and Ask Again"

2011-02-04T23:58:00.001-05:00

Olivia Dunham taking aim and looking hot.

Photo Credit: FOX

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Fringe'
Season 3 - Episode 12
"Concentrate and Ask Again"

While the situation may be growing old for some viewers, I find Olivia's continuing struggle to come to terms with Peter's relationship with Fauxlivia still somewhat interesting. This is a very human reaction to an extraordinary situation. In some ways it reminds me of the Aeryn Sun and two John Crichtons arc on 'Farscape'. Science fiction, if done well, can find ways of breaking our hearts, no matter how outlandish the story.

I was also glad to see that Olivia gave into the temptation of reading the note from Simon. A lot of show's employ a protagonist that would be morally above an arguably selfish and invasive act. But the fact that Olivia is very human and flawed, liked the rest of us, makes her even more relatable. This continues to be one of the biggest triumphs of the third season: the transition of Olivia Dunham into a character that I can care about and root for.

The introduction of Simon Phillips tells us that there could be more cortexiphan test subjects out there than the ones that Walter reported to the FBI. We learned about the kids that underwent the complete process of experimentation before, but with this episode, we found out that there could be a number of children were removed. Still, even some of the programming continued to effect Simon's daily life, outside of his telepathy. Like Olivia, Nick Lane, and James Heath, Simon has a very monochromatic style of dress. I love little details like this.

Kevin Corrigan finally returns as Sam Weiss after being gone since halfway through the second season. Now we find out that he wrote the books about the First People under various anagramed names. If one of those books was written in 1897, then how old is he? He did tell Olivia last season that he was older than he looks, so I guess he wasn't lying. I just glad he's back and in a way that continues to broaden the Fringe mythology while connecting some of the dots.

While this was more in the tradition of a typical Monster of the Week episode, "Concentrate and Ask Again" was extremely myth heavy. I hope 'Fringe' is able to maintain this balance, because it's giving us the best of both worlds: various, interesting cases mixed with opportunities to further develop the overall story of the show. The third season has yet to deliver a dud.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 10

2011-01-31T23:24:00.001-05:00

In this installment of X-Nation we take discuss the latest news in the X-Buzz and we take a look back at the Month in X for January 2011.

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Month in X – January 2011
X-Factor #213, X-Factor #214, X-Men Forever 2 #15, X-Men Forever 2 #16, Chaos War X-Men #2, Wolverine #5, X-23 #5, Wolverine & Jubilee #1, X-Men #7, X-Men: Serve & Protect #3, Uncanny X-Force #5, Uncanny X-Men #532, New Mutants #21, X-Men: Legacy #244, Age of X: Alpha #1

Fringe - "Reciprocity"

2011-01-29T10:22:00.000-05:00

Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Anna Torv, and Blair Brown from 'Fringe'.

Photo Credit: FOX

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Fringe'
Season 3 - Episode 11
"Reciprocity"

Right off the bat, I've got to point out the huge fan service paid by the writers of 'Fringe'. For the past year, the Olivia from the alternate universe has been refereed to as "Bolivia" (as in Olivia B) over on FOX's official 'Fringe' website. However, Walter dubbed her as "Fauxlivia", which has become the nomenclature adopted by most fans and reviewers. It's official now. It pays to be loyal sometimes.

This makes two episodes in a row that the creators on 'Fringe' have stuck solely the mythology, foregoing any Monster of the Week material. If you're a new viewer, than this would not have been the ideal episode to jump in on. That being said, the first two seasons are available on DVD and one could probably catch up with this current, amazing season through various means such as the FOX website, Hulu, or iTunes. Still, this continues to be an extremely gratifying season for those who've stuck with the show from the beginning.

I was very happy how events unfolded up to the big reveal that Peter was the one executing the shapeshifters. While it was pretty evident that Dr. Falcon was a shapeshifter, I think this was distract from Peter's agenda and also throw some suspicion on Brandon. There was a point in the episode when I almost suspected Nina to be the mole within Massive Dynamic.

I find the idea that not only does Peter effect the machine, but it, as Walter points has "weaponized" Peter. It has awaken a very dangerous and deadly side of Peter's personality that may have always been there. It'll be interesting to see how long Walter can keep this secret from Olivia and the others.

Speaking of Olivia, I'm glad that the writers have decided not the drag out her anger at Peter for sleeping with Fauxlivia for too long. It's definitely the type of thread that could grow very tiresome if held onto for the rest of the season. Things are by no means back to normal between these two, but Olivia has had a little time to process what Peter went through, too. Also, having Fauxlivia's diary and reading how she felt about Peter, did shine a new light on the situation.

I like that Broyles gave Astrid the task of combing Fauxilia's hard drive. This is more evidence that Astrid, though not as extreme, shares some intuitive pattern recognition skills with her Alt-Fringe conterpart. Plus, I like the character and I'd like to see her more than just everyone's sounding board, or Walter's babysitter.

While the monkey brain formula and its effects on Walter were a bit goofy, I can't help but think the possibility of the scientist regaining his missing intellect was fascinating and a little scary. We've seen that Walter, with a fully restored mind can be a very strong-willed and sometimes cruel personality. Will our Walter become just as cold as Walternate?

Fantastic Four – “Three”

2011-01-25T20:15:00.000-05:00

Review by Paul Steven Brown

Fantastic Four
Issues #583 – 587
“Three”

(Warning: Spoilers for the big death in Fantastic Four #587 below.)

For about a year and a half, Jonathan Hickman has been writing one hell of a Fantastic Four. As I stated in a previous article, Hickman has been able to build on tonal shift that Mark Millar implemented on the book previously, and has made this the best run on the title since Mark Waid wrote it back in ’03 and ’04. With the “Three” arc the writer has been able to pay off several ideas that he has set up since starting on the title.

Of course, the big news is the death of Johnny Storm, the Human Torch. The Torch has never been my favorite member of the group, but he is a major part of the greater pantheon of Marvel Superheroes. There’s also the ever-present notion that this death, like all other comic book deaths, is temporary. I don’t really mind, as long as we get some good stories before his inevitable resurrection.

Death isn’t anything new to the Fantastic Four. Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) was killed off in the mid ‘90s and returned after a while. Ben Grimm (the Thing) died briefly during Mark Waid’s run. Even Mark Millar had a storyline titled “Death of the Invisible Woman” that ended with the demise of a Sue Storm from the future. Johnny’s number was going to get called at some point, I guess.

Leading up to and during “Three”, Hickman was very skillful in make sure the conditions were appropriate for the end result. The FF has always been at their best when all four members were working together. They have the right combination of powers and personalities to meet and defeat just about any threat. This meant that Hickman needed to divide the group before taking someone out. As a result, Reed was sent across the galaxy, with Galactus no less, to wrap up a plot point that had been hanging around since Millar’s run, Nu-World. Sue continued to her ambassadorial duties, by chairing negotiations between the Lost Atlanteans (from the recent “Prime Elements” arc) and the king of the oceans, Namor, deep below the sea. Needless to say, both situations went to hell. Reed had to evacuate Nu-World before Galactus destroyed it and Sue had to prevent a war between the fish people.

Even though Ben was still hanging out with Johnny, he was depowered by a formula created by the Future Foundation kids, who have been staying with the FF. In the most touching issues of Hickman’s run, #584, we got to see Ben, with the help of Johnny, make the most of his first night a normal human being (well, since the last time he was depowered). Not to be left out, Ben and Johnny had to be thrown into their own life or death situation: stopping a second Annihilation Wave from streaming out of the Negative Zone portal in the Baxter Building. Make things even more complicated, the duo needed to do so, while protecting all of the kids in the FF’s charge.

Everything came to a head in Fantastic Four #587 (released a day early and sealed in a black plastic with a big blue and white “3” on it). I few weeks ago, I thought it would make for a great twist if “Three” actually meant the number of deaths, rather than survivors. Also, with the Thing popping up in various solicitations and promo ads for upcoming comics, good ol’ Ben looked to be at least one, if not the only, survivor. Early into the issue it was pretty clear that the result would be everyone but Ben, or just Johnny.

Ben and Johnny were placed in the only specified “no win” situation. To close the portal to the Negative Zone, someone had to stay behind. Sue and Reed’s respective predicaments didn’t seem so dire in comparison. Since it was apparent that Ben was going to live, Johnny was certainly going to be the death of the issue. Still, the moments leading up to the Torch’s sacrifice were very emotional and highlighted the strong friendship between Johnny and Ben, made even more sad by the last minute, but too late return of Ben's powers. The Human Torch goes down fighting and we leave crying.

Also worth noting that all five issues were wonderfully rendered by penciler Steve Epting. Epting finds a solid balance between photo realism and classic illustrative work. His style is very indicative of ‘70s Marvel work in the mode of John Buscema and John Romita, while still feeling very modern. Epting has been putting out consistently solid work since the early ‘90s and he’s shown no signs that he’ll won’t in the future.

I also want to acknowledge the wonderful covers by the legendary Alan Davis. He’s been providing them since Hickman’s run began. While I usually prefer that the covers be drawn by whoever is providing the art for the interiors, I’ll take every opportunity I can get to look at Davis’ amazing work.

Next issue of Fantastic Four is supposed to be the last one. In the following month, Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting will be back with a new series simple called FF. Something tells me that the twelfth issue of that series will be renumbered #600 and the series will be retitled Fantastic Four. 2011 is the fiftieth anniversary year for the Fantastic Four, so I seriously can’t see the team not reappearing by the end of the year.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: The Merc Report Episode 4

2011-01-23T17:32:00.000-05:00

Spinning out of X-Nation, The Merc Report is your monthly review of the many Deadpool comic books published by Marvel Comics. This episode Corwin Crowl takes us through the Month in Merc for December 2010.

Subscribe to the show: RSS Feed & iTunes
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The Month in Merc: Deadpool #30, Deadpool Corps #9, Deadpool Team Up #886, Deadpool Pulp #4 and Deadpool MAX #3.

Music by Jenki "Girls of Los Angeles"

Fringe - "The Firefly"

2011-01-21T22:55:00.000-05:00

Walter (John Noble) and September (Michael Cerveris) take a walk and discuss cause and effect.

Photo Credit: FOX

Review by Paul Steven Brown

'Fringe'
Season 3 - Episode 10
"The Firefly"

A lot of hay has been made about the decision by FOX to move 'Fringe' from Thursday, arguably the most watched night of television, to Friday, the night where a lot of shows have gone to die. Also, there is the irony of the first Friday night 'Fringe' being titled "The Firefly" since the much beloved 'Firefly' was a show that FOX aired on that night and horribly mismanaged. Still, FOX believes that if 'Fringe' can retain most of its Thursday audience on Friday, it will greatly increase viewership for the network on a very dead night. If the show can pull this off, as one FOX executive put it, 'Fringe' could be on for several years.

Another positive outcome to the Friday exile is that the powers that be at FOX will more than likely let the show runners on 'Fringe' do what they want with less interference. The show has it's audience, who have become more loyal and passionate during a very solid, serialized and mythology heavy third season. Creatively 'Fringe' has been all the better for this.

The second half of season three gives us an opener that was in many ways quieter than I expected. Yes, there was a car crashes and a wonderfully executed scene involving the Observer named September, foiling a robbery, but there was a lot less run and gun than a typical 'Fringe' outing. In fact, this was all myth and no Monster of the Week. This is by no means a complaint, but an observation (no pun intended) and I hope we continue to see this show break form and do the unexpected.

Christopher Lloyd was a delight in his guest role as old and troubled former musician Roscoe Joyce. While Lloyd is probably more known for his comedic turns, he has delivered some sold dramatic performances in the past. There was some good-natured humor in small doses in his scenes with Walter, but it was moments of sad reflection upon Joyce's remembrance of the night his son died in which Lloyd was really stellar. I hope we get to see Roscoe Joyce in the future, if only to see Lloyd and John Noble work together again.

I fell in the floor when Walter put on the red and blue lensed glasses and attributed them to an old colleague named Dr. Jacobi from Washington State. I'm sure my fellow 'Twin Peaks' fans picked up on that reference right away. I love the fact that the creators of 'Fringe' are very aware of their genre heritage. Last season, there was a reference to the old X designation that used to investigate strange cases before the Fringe Division. I do love a well-placed homage once and while.

For some reason, I really like the way the Observers speak to one another. It's very old school sci-fi. It's the type of language you'd expect otherworldly visitors from a 1950s matinee to use, but it just seems to work for me here. Also, their retro attire seems to re-enforce this out of time vibe the Observers give off.

The main thrust of "The Firefly" was the idea that the Observers needed to create a scenario to test whether or not Walter would be able to sacrifice Peter to save others. Despite his fears, Walter did indeed let Peter go after September, while he stayed behind to help the woman with the asthmatic attack. Still, there is the bigger picture that Walter's stealing of Peter from the other universe set off a chain of events that disrupted life on our planet. Peter is an x-factor that has caused some unforeseen chaos and has upset the balance of our timeline. It's the Observers' job to fix that apparently.

If the previews are any indication, 'Fringe' is going to keep with the mythology even more intensely than the first half of the season. Fine by me. The Monster of the Week episodes can be really entertaining when they have the specter of Fauxlivia hanging over them, take place in the other universe, or do something truly strange as in "Marionette". However, 'Fringe' really works for me when it stays focused on big picture and let's us see how the events effect the cast from week to week.

Cultural Wormhole Presents: X-Nation Episode 9

2011-01-17T09:41:00.000-05:00

In this installment of X-Nation, we take a look back at the Year in X for 2010 and discuss six more classic issues in Days of X-Men Past.

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Download: X-Nation Episode 9

Days of X-Men Past: Uncanny X-Men #400, Uncanny X-Men Annual 2001, X-Treme X-Men #7, X-Treme X-Men #8, New X-Men #119, and New X-Men #120.