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The 15 Best Office Episodes Rankedwww.denofgeek.comIts not very often that a TV remake surpasses the quality of the original series its based upon. But then again, the American remake of The Office made a habit of making the unpredictable a normal occurrence, be it in the form of random lip-sync music videos, botched safety training lectures, or terrifyingly realistic fire drill simulations.After a first season that remained largely faithful to its underlying British source material, the American version of The Office slowly transformed into a television juggernaut of Friends-level proportions. Reinventing the mockumentary format for mainstream American television, The Office established itself as one of the hottest pop culture sensations of the 2000s, influencing similarly-veined TV series like Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, and Abbott Elementary that followed in its wake.Spanning nine seasons and a whopping 201 episodes, singling out the greatest episodes of The Office isnt exactly a simple task, with so many memorable Office episodes instantly springing to mind. Yet even then, its safe to say some installments continue to live on in audiences collective memories more than other, slightly less popular Office outings. From rowdy holiday celebrations to painfully awkward dinner parties, here are 15 episodes of The Office we wholeheartedly consider the best.15. Christmas PartySeason 2 Episode 10Aired on: December 6, 2005The Office always shined brightest when it came to its holiday specials, and Christmas Party is certainly no exception. As Dunder Mifflins Scranton Branch prepares for their annual Secret Santa, Michael uses his holiday bonus to purchase an extravagant gift for Ryan. Of course, Michael being Michael, it isnt long before the party descends into a tense gift exchange featuring expensive iPods, teapots with hidden letters, and bizarre posters of children dressed as adult musicians you know, all the stuff that makes Christmas worth celebrating.Its always a joy to see Michael make an office celebration somehow about himself, and Christmas Party effortlessly fulfills that characteristic, right down to Michaels childish tantrum when he finds Phyllis has gifted him a handmade oven mitt. (So Phyllis is basically saying, Hey, Michael, I know you did a lot to help the office this year but I only care about you a homemade oven mitts worth. I gave Ryan an iPod.)14. Stress ReliefSeason 5 Episodes 14 and 15Aired on: February 1, 2009The Office has had many fantastic cold open sequences, but few match the sheer chaos that makes up the opening moments of Stress Relief. Unhappy with his coworkers apparent indifference towards fire safety, Dwight stages a hyper-realistic fake fire to test his colleagues survival skills, leading to predictably anarchic results for all parties involved.Whether watching Oscar burst through the ceiling or listening to Andy shrilly cry out, The fire is shooting at us! as firecrackers explode in the background, every moment of Stress Reliefs introduction is pure Dunder Mifflin-centric pandemonium at its finest.13. The InjurySeason 2 Episode 12Aired on: January 12, 2006Michael has never shied away from an opportunity to blow things out of proportion, handling personal and professional crises with the grace of an over-caffeinated toddler. Nowhere can this characteristic be more readily identified than in the season 2 episode The Injury. After clamping his foot down in his George Foreman grill, Michael spends the remainder of the work day annoying his employees, loudly demanding their full attention as he recovers from the (in his mind) near-mortal injury.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!From insisting that his injury requires an MRI scan to comparing himself to a lifelong wheelchair user, The Injury emphasizes just how hilariously overdramatic Michael could be in an otherwise low-stakes situation.12. Beach GamesSeason 3 Episode 23Aired on: May 10, 2007Leave it to Michael Scott to use a Survivor-style contest to determine his successor at Dunder Mifflin. Confident about his chances at securing a corporate position in New York City, Michael hijacks the companys beach day and tests his employees with a series of physical challenges, including sumo wrestling, hot dog-eating contests, and a dramatic fire walk across searing-hot coals, in order to determine who might fare best as Scrantons next office manager.Theres a lot to love about Beach Games, whether looking at Pam confessing her long-dormant feelings to Jim or Dwight nonsensically standing on burning coals to prove his potential as branch manager. But for our money, we personally love Andys watery journey into the remote backwoods of Pennsylvania, with even the camera crew ignoring his desperate cries for help.11. Goodbye, TobySeason 4 Episodes 18 and 19Aired on: May 15, 2008Say what you will about Michael, but you have to admit: the man has an impressive set of lungs on him. Flying high off the news that Tobys last day in Scranton has officially arrived, Michael prepares to bid his sworn mortal enemy farewell, all the while grappling with his newfound feelings for Tobys replacement, Holly Flax.In the grand scheme of things, Hollys debut in Goodbye, Toby is reason enough for this episode to earn a spot on this list. Coupled with that is Michaels heartfelt rendition of Supertramps Goodbye Stranger, a laugh-out-loud musical parody that Weird Al Yankovic himself might approve of.10. Safety TrainingSeason 3 Episode 20Aired on: April 12, 2007Office safety training seminars are about as exciting as watching paint dry, but theyre a necessary procedure to ensure the health and welfare of a workplace staff. Yet as Michael Scott proves in Safety Training, these seminars dont necessarily dont have to be boring. In fact, they could rely on a fake crisis with potentially fatal consequences such as threatening to hurl yourself off a building onto a bouncy castle?A standout episode highlighting Michaels complete inability to plan out serious events in necessary detail, Safety Training truly hammers home the dangers of working for a boss like Michael Scott a man willing to push an employee off a warehouse ladder for the sake of a quick joke. (Hey, Darryl, hows it hanging?)9. FinaleSeason 9 Episodes 24 and 25Aired on: May 16, 2013As most dedicated fans of The Office will admit, The Office never really recovered from Steve Carrells departure in Season 7. Shuffling along for another two seasons, the shows later installments suffered significantly from Michaels absence, ushering in increasingly disappointing storylines involving Andys tenure as branch manager.In spite of its underwhelming last two seasons, The Office pulled together long enough to deliver a resounding series finale in 2013. With Dwight celebrating his long-awaited wedding to Angela, Jim and Pam preparing to leave Scranton, and Michael returning for a surprise cameo, Finale has everything viewers could have hoped for in regards to a feel-good final episode.8. NiagaraSeason 6 Episodes 4 and 5Aired on: October 8, 2009Pam and Jims romantic attachment to one another forms a significant backbone to The Offices main narrative. Having grown from close workplace friends to a full-fledged romantic couple, their relationship eventually comes to a head with season 6s Niagara. Transposing the Dunder Mifflin staff to the idyllic streets of Niagara Falls, New York, Niagara does a wondrous job focusing on the eventful wedding ceremony between Jim and Pam that viewers had waited literal years to see.As funny as it is genuinely cathartic, Niagara comes packed to the brim with emotional moments, none more so than the scenes featuring Jim and Pams impromptu marriage under the Falls interspersed with their coworkers dance down the aisle. Its a scene that brings a tear to the eye, a smile to the lips, and a cozy feeling deep down in ones stomach and chest.7. Goodbye, MichaelSeason 7 Episode 22Aired on: April 28, 2011In an ideal world, Goodbye, Michael could have justifiably served as the series finale to The Office, bringing NBCs hit mockumentary series to a close in a more than satisfying manner. But even then, Goodbye, Michael still marks a definitive endpoint in The Offices continuity, concluding Michael Scotts time on the series with a bittersweet sendoff.Hoping to avoid the heartbreak of saying goodbye to his employees, Michael shrewdly plans to leave Scranton a day earlier than expected, allowing him to exit the office with minimal fanfare. The perfect way to send off Steve Carrells lovingly absent-minded main character, its a master class in character development, showcasing Michaels growth from impulsive childishness to self-certain maturity. The end of an era, indeed.6. The DundiesSeason 2 Episode 1Aired on: September 20, 2005Few recurring jokes remain as closely tied to The Office quite like the Dundies. Making their first official appearance in season 2s opening episode, The Dundies finds Michael holding his annual Dundies ceremony, handing out awards for a variety of strange achievements at a local Chilis after work.Okay, yes, Drunk Pam may have had a hand in The Dundies higher placement on this list. But at the end of the day, The Dundies also marks a profound turning point for Michaels character from the mean-spirited jerk we saw in season 1. Though he may have his faults, The Dundies shows that, in spite of his flaws, Michael only wants to spend time with the people he cares about, even if he regularly struggles in pursuing that desire in an emotionally intelligent way.5. BrokeSeason 5 Episode 25Aired on: April 23, 2009If there were any doubts about Michaels abilities as a manager, Broke proves once and for all just how masterful a businessman he can be when the situation calls for it. Facing imminent insolvency at his company, Michael enters aggressive negotiations with Dunder Mifflin for the purchase of the Michael Scott Paper Company. As talks get underway, however, Pam and Ryan begin to worry that Michael might accidentally reveal to David and Charles just how dire MS Paper Companys situation really is.The defining moment of the Michael Scott Paper Companys main story arc, Broke eloquently reveals Michaels promise as a salesman and expert negotiator. Outwitting David in a rare display of his interpersonal communication skills, he walked into that meeting with nothing, and left with $60,000, his old managerial position, and two salesperson roles for Ryan and Pam at Dunder Mifflin (with dental to boot).4. Threat Level MidnightSeason 7 Episode 17Aired on: February 17, 2011After years of casually mentioning his creative side project, Michael finally unveils his ambitious amateur film with season 7s Threat Level Midnight. An intense labor of love thats spanned 10 years of writing, shooting, reshooting, and editing, Threat Level Midnight comes into full play when Michael screens the film for his staff, allowing viewers a prolonged glimpse of Michaels magnum opus.A clever parody of the traditional spy genre, Threat Level Midnight turns the 007-style espionage film on its head, utilizing such stereotypical tropes as a butler sidekick (Dwight) and a kitschy supervillain antagonist (Jim). Toss in a few cameos from past Office characters like Jan, Karen, Roy, and Helene, and you have the makings of a truly fantastic film-within-a-TV-series.3. Fun RunSeason 4 Episodes 1 and 2Aired on: September 27, 2007Its a bold move to open your season by having a main character hit an employee with their car. But if this list proves anything, its that The Office always veered left whenever you expected it to steer steadily straight. After hospitalizing Meredith with an easily avoidable car accident, Michael organizes a charitable 5K fun run to raise awareness about rabies an illness Meredith contracted following her bat bite in Season 3s Business School.With every character receiving a chance to flourish in this episode, Fun Run features nary a dull moment in its fast-moving two-episode storyline, from Michael cramming his face with fettuccine alfredo minutes before the run to Dwight mercifully killing Angelas cat by sticking it in a freezer. (Ah, so humane.)2. Casino NightSeason 2 Episode 22Aired on: May 11, 2006The tantalizing conclusion to The Offices second season, Casino Night uses its inventive premise to deliver some shocking plot developments for its lead characters. Stringing together a casino night in their office warehouse, Michael is forced to balance two different dates when both Jan and Carol accept his invitations to attend. At the same time, Jim grapples with his hidden romantic feelings for Pam, deciding to finally reveal the truth to his unrequited crush.Though undeniably funny, Casino Night deserves more immediate recognition for expanding upon Pam and Jims will-they, wont-they main story arc. Rather than stringing audiences along for a further few seasons, Casino Night offers immediate answers about their potential future together although, just as in real life, the answers themselves arent always as straightforward as viewers might expect.1. Dinner PartySeason 4 Episode 13Aired on: April 10, 2008Theres nothing worse than partaking in an uncomfortable dinner party that youve been tricked into attending. Such is especially the case when youre dealing with a couple who vent their personal frustrations at one another over the course of the entire evening, as seen through Michael and Jans increasingly unhinged arguments in the all-time Office classic, Dinner Party.A masterclass in cringe comedy, Dinner Party is guaranteed to leave viewers simultaneously chuckling and nervously gritting their teeth in anxiety and discomfort. Like both Jim and Pam, audiences simply feel like theyve been dropped into a nightmarish household straight out of Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, punctuated by passive aggressive comments, backhanded jokes, and mean-inspirited insults disguised as casual conversation starters. It truly is Hell.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·22 Views
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How to Train Your Dragon Live-Action Remake Needs to Avoid Disneys Biggest Mistakewww.denofgeek.comNearly 15 years ago, DreamWorks Animations How To Train Your Dragon soared into theaters. At first, the film appeared to be another quirky idea from the animation studio that once played second fiddle to Disney, a la Bee Movie (2007) or Monsters vs. Aliens (2009). However, Hollywood quickly learned this wasnt another middling entry into the DreamWorks catalog. In fact, How To Drain Your Dragon flew to new creative heights the animation studio hadnt seen since Shrek (2001).The film was an honest-to-goodness smash hit, spawning a trilogy of movies, an animated TV series spinoff, and a plethora of merchandise. There will even be a branch of Universal Studios Epic Universe theme park launching this summer. So in retrospect, How To Train Your Dragon was an obvious candidate to receive the live-action treatment. Yet that inevitability also comes with an air of mystery since this will be the first remake from a film inside DreamWorks Animations library, as well as a new opportunity for Universal Pictures. And at last the first full trailer for said remake has been released, giving fans a look at the storys key moments.DreamWorks wont defeat any of the little brother allegations against Disney as they seemingly follow suit in a concept the Mouse House has been utilizing for years. While Disneys live-action remakes of their animated classics have been occurring for decades, they have experienced an extended yet heavily maligned heyday since the debut of Tim Burtons Alice in Wonderland in 2010coincidentally released the same month as the original How To Train Your Dragon that year.One of the most heavily critiqued aspects of Disneys remakes is that the films are too similar to their animated counterparts, resulting in playing it so conservatively that the new renditions fail to justify their existence. The film emblematic of this epidemic is (ironically) the most successful of the bunch, The Lion King (2019). With the exception of one new musical number written for megastar Beyonc, who voiced Nala in the picture, the live-action The Lion King is a scene-for-scene, and in many instances a shot-for-shot, rehash of the 1994 classic. The film feels less like a remake and more like a remaster, as if it were a video game title and not a narratively driven motion picture.Of course many of the beloved moments from the original film need to return for the remake. There might have been riots at Disney Worlds Hollywood Boulevard if some massive event had been omitted from The Lion Kings story. Online Disney devotees were indeed vocally displeased when Mulan (2020) elected to remove the musical sequences and Mushu the dragon.Perhaps for this reason the How To Train Your Dragon remakes marketing has leaned into familiarity, with John Powells sweeping score serving as a backdrop to some of the most revered moments from the animated picture. We again experience Hiccup (now played by Mason Thames) timidly hold out his hand toward Toothless for the first time, feeling the scaly embrace of the once-thought menace of a night fury dragon. Iconography gets butts in seats. However, DreamWorks must avoid playing it too safe, or theyll run the gambit of having another The Lion King.It would seem that writer and director Dean DeBlois is acutely aware of this risk too. In addition to having a pivotal hand in all three of the beloved animated How to Train Your Dragon filmshe co-wrote and directed all of themhe recently told Den of Geek about how skeptical he is of many live-action remakes of animated movies. At a special presentation for the press about the new film, the director spoke with our senior editor David Crow about what he might see as the rigidity in some live-action continuations. So while he felt an obligation to make sure Toothless looks how audiences remember the beloved night fury, with all the other dragons he adopted a much freer hand, redesigning them into something with more tactile heft and even menace. The one glimpse we get of that in the new trailer comes from a far more sinister and gargantuan Red Death monstrosity attacking the films central Vikings.DeBlois words are reassuring as is his passion for this world he has so intimately played a part in creating. If he can see his vision through, perhaps he could land closer to Jon Favreaus first Disney remake, The Jungle Book (2016), which ironically released three years before his less loved The Lion King redo. The Jungle Book is often regarded as one of Disneys best live-action adaptations. The film hones in on pivotal moments of the 1967 original, such as The Bare Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You musical numbers. However, the movie pivots away from the cartoon, establishing an extended backstory, alternative plot threads, and added sequences not found in the 1967 version. Its a genuine adaptation, borrowing what worked from its source material while injecting energy and urgency that better fits the new medium.Footage we glimpsed at the presentation promises a similarly more substantial reimagining of Hiccup and Toothless island, as well as a grander sense of world-building for this Viking land where dragonriders are recruited from across the globe. Still, the latest trailer for How To Train Your Dragon mostly relies on playing a sizzle reel of highlights from the animated film, this time with realistic CGI graphics. DreamWorks so far has managed to avoid the mistakes of Disney or the infamous Ugly Sonic, both featuring overdesigned characters that off-put audiences, but it remains uncertain whether they will likewise avoid sticking too close to the original.From what we know based on DeBlois vision of Astrid (Nico Parker) and Hiccups other ragtag group of friends being recruited from faraway lands and sailed to Viking village of Berk, the film will attempt to build out the motivations of supporting characters and expand the lore that was admittedly rather thin in the 98-minute original. But hopefully the creators can take many different avenues to differentiate the 2025 remake from the 2010 original. In other words, hopefully they get closer to The Jungle Book than The Lion King.Whether or not Universal and DreamWorks will do this is to be determined, but one can hope they learned from their competitor and create something that flies higher than any Disney remake before it.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!How to Train Your Dragon is out in theaters on June 13.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·4 Views
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Walker Scobell Teases an Epic Battle in Percy Jackson Season 2www.denofgeek.comThe first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians features plenty of thrilling fights and battles, but as fans of Rick Riordans book series know, Sea of Monsters ups the ante significantly. With many mythical monsters on both the land and sea for the series young heroes to cross, the second season has the potential to be more dangerous, and at the same time, more epic.Sea of Monsters, the book that season 2 is based on, follows Percy, Annabeth, Clarisse, and Percys half-brother Tyson as they travel through the Bermuda Triangle (also known as the Sea of Monsters) in search of Grover and the Golden Fleece, both of which are in the hands of the cyclops Polyphemus.Its a perilous journey, and series star Walker Scobell is excited for fans to see the work they put into bringing this chapter of Percys story to life, especially one of Sea of Monsters epic sea battles. In order to cross into the Bermuda Triangle, the crew must venture past the mythical monsters Charybdis and Scylla, the same creatures that Odysseus was forced to pass by on his journey in The Odyssey.According to Scobell, we can expect to see this epic battle from Sea of Monsters in episode four. While he didnt tell us much about the scene when we spoke with him at SCAD TVfest to avoid spoilers, he did say that this is likely the biggest episode theyve done so far. Its its own movie to be honest, Scobell tells Den of Geek about the episode. I remember that was the first table read we did where we hadnt read it beforehand. They wanted us to all read it there and experience it for the first time with them.Charybdis and Scylla are so close to each other in this narrow strait of sea that its nearly impossible to avoid coming into contact with at least one of them. Charybdis is massive, and has the ability to create whirlpools that can suck ships into the depths of the sea forever, while Scylla is typically portrayed as a vicious man-eating monster. Neither are particularly fun to get close to, and yet the young heroes must find a way between them if they want to save their friend and their home.In Sea of Monsters, this battle is an important turning point in the young heroes quest. Without spoiling too much of the story, this is a point where the team gets separated and they have to find a way to continue on, hoping that the others survived and that theyll find their way back to each other.This is also one of the first times we get to see Percy battle on his fathers home turf. Sure hes fought on the beach and shoreline before, but this fight is out in the middle of the ocean, deep in his fathers territory. This means that Percys powers are stronger and his father is more likely to grant him aid, should he choose to.If a fight this epic is happening as soon as episode 4, we cant wait to see what else this season of Percy Jackson has in store.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·4 Views
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Inside Mythic Quest Season 4s Murder Mystery Standout The Villains Feastwww.denofgeek.comThis article contains spoilers for Mythic Quest season 4 episode 4.The Villains Feast, the fourth episode of Mythic Quests fourth season, does not begin like a typical installment of the Apple TV+ gaming comedy.Gone is the familiar, cavernous office of the Mythic Quest studio. In its place is a boat atop the open seas on its way to a private island. As developer Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao), her boyfriend Storm (Chase Yi), head of monetization Rachel Mayee (Ashly Burch), and her influencer girlfriend Dana Bryant (Imani Hakim) step off the ship and gaze up at an imposing mansion, it becomes clear that theyve been brought here for a mysterious purposea murder mysterious purpose, if you will.Mythic Quest season 4 episode 4 is a full-blown murder mystery, minus the actual murder, with the Mythic Quest team gathering in a spooky manse to engage in that age-old party pastime. Though the show has gotten creative with its episodic format in the past, including two standalone specials (Quarantine and Everlight) that serve as bottle narratives, The Villains Feast stands out as the best episode of season 4 and one of the finest installments of the show thus far. At least one of the stars involved agrees.That was my favorite episode this season to shoot, Charlotte Nicdao tells Den of Geek. Its actually quite unusual that the entire ensemble would be in one room together for most of the episode. We all just got to hang out for the week in amazing costumes. I felt like I spent a lot of time that week laughing when I wasnt supposed to be laughing.The Villains Feast is directed by series co-creator Megan Ganz and written by Ganz and her husband Humphrey Ker. A British native, Ker was previously a member of the Mythic Quest writing staff before stepping back from season 4 to focus on his other gig as executive director of Welsh soccer team Wrexham AFC under club owners Ryan Reynolds and Mythic Quest co-creator Rob McElhenney. I happened to be free and happen to know the other writer very well, Ker jokes. She very sweetly said this is a kind of Agatha Christie/Traitors episode, knowing how far up my street those things were. When Meg and I first met each other, we bonded over a shared love of detective fiction.I have a real love of Agatha Christie and murder mysteries, Ganz concurs. Originally I think [this episode] was just like they were going to a party. But then we landed on this, which synced up to me with And Then There Were None. In season four, we can take our characters out of their environment because weve established them well enough that that the audience can go with it.The works of Agatha Christie loom large as an influence in The Villains Feast as do fictional sleuths like Hercule Poirot. Indeed, Ashly Burchs Rachel is revealed as the Mythic Quests resident murder mystery fan when she shouts out both upon arriving to the mansion. She also correctly identifies the format of the game, in which seven innocent contestants try to find one villain, as being structurally similar to the game Mafia or Werewolf. According to Ganz, that inspiration comes directly from a writers room experience.One time after work, we all played Werewolf together and it was really funny. One of our writers, John Howell Harris, hated it and didnt want to play. The whole time, he just kept being like, Im a werewolf. Kill me. Im a werewolf. Im a werewolf. And he lasted basically to the end of the game.Of course, no murder mystery is complete without a compelling resolution and The Villains Feast comes through. Rachel uses her expertise to realize that most of her co-workers have motive for wanting to host the party. Ian Grimm (McElhenney) intends to use it to vet Poppys new boyfriend. Poppy and Storm use it to troll Ian. David Brittlesbee (David Hornsby) wants to prove he can be a fun guy. Brad Bakshi (Danny Pudi) just needs someone to accidentally burn the mansion down so he can recoup the insurance money on it.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!But this event is clearly designed for Rachel. And only one of her coworkers knows her well enough to plan her dream party, has an assistant dogged enough to host it, and is clever enough to get everyone else to pay for it: her girlfriend, Dana. Rachels prize for identifying Dana as the villain is an engagement ring. Its a sweetly meta ending to an episode that just happened to be written by a married couple bound by a love for Agatha Christie.To work with Meg is a real joy, Ker says. Were very kind of whats the word, co-dependent on each other? She finished my sentence from the other room, just to demonstrate that as clearly as possible. The rest is so fun anyway, and then doing it with your wife is double fun, if you ask me.Four episodes of Mythic Quest season 4 are available to stream on Apple TV+ now. New episodes premiere Wednesdays, culminating with the finale on March 260 Comments ·0 Shares ·2 Views
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Captain America 4 Review: A Brave New World With Classic 90s Thrillswww.denofgeek.comMidway through Captain America: Brave New World, Sam Wilson and Joaquin Torres break into the home base of Samuel Sterns, the gamma-irradiated baddie known as the Leader. After an impressive-looking establishing shot that features a pair of red-hued satellite dishes, a close-up catches the heroes charging the bunker door. The pair frantically pry the door open and slide inside. One last shot outside the door catches two guards passing by, suggesting that our heroes just evaded capture.The sequence will annoy anyone who thinks about it for more than two seconds. Where did the guards come from? Why didnt we see them earlier? How close were Sam and Joaquin from being caught?Its a testament to the propulsive pace of Captain America: Brave New Worlds first two-thirds that those questions never come up. In its best moments, Brave New World feels cheap and lean, like a thriller youd watch Sunday afternoon on TNT in the 1990s. Disney, who spent $180 million across the movies troubled production, probably doesnt want to hear that, but the cheap quality works in the favor of Brave New World. It lacks the bloated, overdone feel of too many Marvel movies, and instead powers through the many plot hiccups and clunky exchanges, entertaining viewers along the way.This isnt to say that Brave New World doesnt have a lot going on. Directed by Julius Onah and written by a bunch of credited people, Captain America: Brave New World stars Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, who steps into the role of Captain America just as his old rival Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross (Harrison Ford) takes the presidency. Desperate to erase his warmonger reputation, Ross attempts to reconcile with Sam, going so far as to ask him to reform the Avengers and inviting mistreated former super-soldier Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) to a White House meeting.Things go awry when Bradley suddenly tries to assassinate Ross, sending Sam and his sidekick Torres aka the Falcon (Danny Ramirez) on a winding trail that involves a mercenary group called Serpent, led by Giancarlo Espositos Sidewinder, Rosss Black Widow-trained new aide Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas), and eventually Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), back for revenge after the events of The Incredible Hulk (2008).Is the plot clean? No, not at all. Brave New World has been in production since 2021, and has gone through many permutations, abandoning its ill-advised original title New World Order, removing entire plotlines (including one involving wrestler Seth Rollins), cutting out Bat-Seraphs background as a mutant Mossad agent, and adding Esposito just a few months ago. Furthermore, Brave New World is filled with references to Marvels past, The Incredible Hulk and Captain America: Civil War in particular, and to its future, as the super-metal associated with Wolverine of the X-Men drives the plot.Rather than belabor its problems, Brave New World blasts right through them with a can-do attitude that cant help but win viewers over. The fight scenes are genuinely impressive, with Sams shield/wing combination leading to fun new variations. The cinematography by Kramer Morgenthau often looks beautiful, making the most of striking locations, including an underground lab and a battleship bridge. An aerial battle that pits Cap and Falcon against a bevy of fighter jets feels new to the MCU, especially because it veers closer to the original Top Gun than Top Gun: Maverick.That old-school, pre-MCU feel begins with Mackies performance as Sam Wilson. Where Mackie brought a laidback, supportive quality to Sams previous outings, his stiff take here makes his fight scene one-liners sing. Interactions with Joaquin dont lighten things up, as Ramirez plays Torres too goofy and laidback, and the two actors never establish a believable rapport. However, whenever Sams butting heads with President Ross or staring down Sterns, his furrowed brow and stiff upper lip work in a direct-to-video way.As much as his press tour playfulness suggested that he might continue his late-career run of surprisingly dialed-in blockbuster performances, Ford never quite clicks into the role of Ross. Much of the blame probably belongs to a script that tries to recover emotional beats from The Incredible Hulk, a bad movie almost 20-years-old in which the late William Hurt portrayed Ross. Ford never finds the right emotional grounding for Rosss regret. But when he starts getting mad and barking orders, Ford finds that old gruff charm once again.Instead, Brave New Worlds best performance comes from Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, the former super soldier we first met in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Lumbly holds together the tragedy of his character, a Black test subject who was rewarded for his successful missions in Korea with a prison sentence from his government. After becoming a brainwashed would-be assassin, Lumbly makes sure we understand that its the threat of being jailed again that terrifies him, not that he has failed a country that did nothing for him. Lumbly relates those complex emotions through his incredible face, which Morgenthau uses at every chance. A shot of Bradley in prison uses under lighting to capture every rich line on Lumbleys expression, indicating sorrow and anger and desperate strength, all at once.Between Lumbleys soul, Mackies determination, and Fords star power, Brave New World overcomes every problem. Almost. Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!The films final act slows things down to the point that all the previous problems catch up to it, and sends Sam crashing to the ground. Its hard to say what, exactly, is the biggest issue with the ending. Is it the fact that trailers and commercials have already shown everything about Rosss Red Hulk transformation? Is it the unearned emotional moments hammered into the end? Is it the worst visuals in any Marvel movie ever, a smudgy pink and green mess that seems to transform Sam and Red Hulk to the Oz of Wicked?Who can say? And it doesnt really matter. Brave New World gave us 90-minutes of cheap thrills, the type of fun the MCU threatened to erase from existence. If Sam crash lands at the end, its all the more impressive that he kept this mess in the air for so long.Captain America: Brave New World flies into theaters on Feb. 14. Learn more about Den of Geeks review process and why you can trust our recommendationshere.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·2 Views
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10 Best Pikachu Pokmon Cards You Need to Collectwww.denofgeek.comNot long after the franchise debuted in Japan in 1996, Pokmon established itself as one of the biggest brands in the world. The video game turned card game and anime has remained a cultural phenomenon for nearly three decades, and one little yellow mouse symbolizes all of it. Thats right, were talking about Pokmons beloved mascot, Pikachu.Everyone and their mother (probably great-great-grandmother, at this point) knows who Pikachu is. Hes the face of Pokmon, with thousands of pieces of merchandise immortalizing him in peoples homes. To celebrate the beloved mascot, were looking back at the 10 best Pikachu Pokmon cards, based on each cardsrarity, exceptional artwork, and/or monetary value.Base Set PikachuSometimes, its important to remember your roots. The one that started it all, the original Pikachu card from the Pokmon Base Set released in 1999 in the United States. If youre into Pokmon cards purely for monetary gain, this card means nothing to you. A mint condition Base Set Pikachu (not 1st edition or PSA-graded, mind you) costs less than the retail price of a modern booster pack. But sometimes, nostalgia trumps money; in this case, the memories of Pikachus first cardboard appearance win. The iconic artwork by Mitsuhiro Arita depicts the mouse Pokmon as slightly more rotund than his current-day appearance, but theres a certain charm to the mascots stubby little arms and pudgy cheeks.Often referred to as Happy Birthday Pikachu, this promotional card is unique in the pantheon of Pokmon lore, as players were encouraged to scribble their names on the card, which would certainly tank the resale value. The artwork by Kagemaru Himeno pictures Pika yearning for his birthday cake with a sparkly holographic aesthetic adding to the party theme. Additionally, the players birthday was incorporated into the cards lone attack as part of the TCG. The attack in question, called Birthday Surprise, reads, If its not your birthday, this attack does 30 damage. If it is your birthday, flip a coin. If heads, this attack does 30 damage plus 50 more damage; if tails, this attack does 30 damage. Were not sure how useful this ability was in competitive play back in 2000, but ______s Pikachu is a one-of-a-kind card, and its current market value aint half bad either.Released as a Black Star Promo by Wizards of the Coast, this Pikachu card came with Volume 1 of Pokmon Card Trainers magazine in Japan. It was later a promotional item in the Pokmon Leagues stateside. The artwork, a screenshot from the beloved Nintendo 64 title Pokmon Snap, sets this Pikachu card apart. Additionally, in the bottom left corner, the card reads, Photo. Gakuji Nomoto, instead of the usual indicator, Illus,' alluding to who drew the artwork. All of these contributing factors established this as one of the most unique Pikachu cards in existence.Surfing PikachuThe lore behind the famous lightning-type Pokmon catching a wave goes all the way back to Pokmon Yellow. Players could engage with Pikachus Beach, a minigame exclusive to that title. Since then, Pikachu has been depicted as a surfer dudemany times across all of Pokmon, including multiple other video games, the anime, and of course, the TCG. The original Surfing Pikachu card features glorious artwork of the mouse looking happy as can be while riding a wave. Fittingly, it also contains the attack Surf, although its weird seeing an iconic water-type move on a Pikachu card.Surfing Pikachu VMAXSurfing Pikachu wasnt a one-and-done gimmick for Pokmon. This iteration of the companys mascot shredding has returned many times throughout the years, including as a VMAX card 20 years after the original version. The card follows a very similar format to the original. The attack is once again water-type, this time Max Surfer doing at least a whopping 160 damage. However, this card truly shines through its artwork. As with all VMAX Pokmon, Pikachu is larger than life here. The funny thing is that his surfboard remains the same size, leaving the massive mouse riding on a board the size of one of his feet.Pikachu Star Holon PhantomsIf youre plugged into the Pokmon community in any way, whether through video games, anime, TCG, or Pokmon GO, you know the importance of shiny Pokmon. For those out of the loop, shiny Pokmon are essentially color swaps of pocket monsters that appear much less frequently. Trainers have been searching for them across many different platforms for years, and a shiny Pokmon in your collection can become a crowning jewel. The first time shiny Pikachu appeared in the TCG was in the 2006 Holon Phantoms expansion set as a Star card, which are now extremely expensive and rare cards themselves. While Pikachus alternative color palette looks similar to the original, that hasnt hurt the value of this card, making it one of the most highly sought-after Pikachu cards on the market.Collectibles have had a significant presence at San Diego Comic-Con for decades. The convention has been a source of reveals, early stock, and exclusive items for many of the more prominent brands in the industry, from LEGO to Funko. Pokmon threw their hat into the ring in 2005 with this exclusive Pikachu card, fittingly marked with the SDCC logo in the bottom right corner of the artwork. This Pikachu card is otherwise pretty basic, but the exclusivity of the product blasted off the price like Team Rocket.Collectors tend to love specific Pokmon cards due to their value, rarity, and/or because they pack a punch when playing the TCG. This Pikachu card offers none of those things. It simply made our list because the artwork is too darn adorable. Pikachu brought his friends to a picnic to enjoy some treats. Even the most jaded Pokmon collector cant ignore that. It helps that the other two Pokmon, Chespin and Sylvenon, are equally cute. Pokemon kicked off 2025 with a McDonalds Happy Meals release that sent the community (and resellers) into a frenzy. You see, the promotion bundled a pack of 4 exclusive Pokmon cards with the Happy Meals. While obviously targeting a younger audience, that didnt stop rampant scalping among collectors. A new Pikachu card was introduced in this promotion, featuring an illustration of the character running through the woods. Because of their limited availability, these McDonalds cards will only increase in value over time, making them a solid investment right now.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!In 2004, kids who were massive Pokmon fans received the opportunity of a lifetime: to have their own Pok-art immortalized on a card. This competition, a collaboration between Nintendo and the now-defunct network WB Kids, challenged kids to design cards for five popular Pokmon, including Mudkip, Treecko, Torchic, Wurmple, and, of course, Pikachu. One winner would be selected for each card, and the artists name would be printed on the card, which was deemed illegal in competitive tournament play. The winning Pikachu card has an undeniable sense of childlike wonder behind its artwork, with the electric mouse seemingly riding a shooting star. The card is also extremely rare now and might catch prices in the quadruple digits if found in good condition.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·24 Views
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The Wheel of Time Season 3 Trailer: Civil War, a Desert Journey, and a Dark Prophecywww.denofgeek.comWe finally have our first trailer for The Wheel of Time season three, and it looks like were about to get into the real meat of Robert Jordans epic saga, upon which the show is based. As everyone starts to come into their real power, both for good and for evil, the battle for the fate of the world becomes that much more spectacular.Those who have been watching The Wheel of Time closely know that the White Tower had some troubling secrets at the end of season two. With the Black Ajah sworn to serve the Dark One, their cover was surely about to be blown as the Last Battle approached, and the trailer appears to confirm that. At one point we can see Siuan and others lifting the duplicitous Liandrin into the air, and the weaves of power are like fireworks in the air.We even hear the Amyrlin as she declares, We cannot stand behind these walls and pretend we still have control. Theres little doubt that the Black Ajah problem goes well beyond the point of a few Darkfriends here and there in Tar Valon. Even Egwene agrees that the Tower is destroying itself from the inside out.So it seems the Two Rivers reunion will be short-lived, and Rand has his destination in mind: Were going to the last place anyone would ever look for me. Given the imagery that follows and the key art shown below, its clear hes headed to the Aiel Waste.Aviendha and the other Maidens of the Spear think Rand may be their prophecied savior and destroyer, and we hear her say in The Wheel of Time trailer, Our people have been waiting for the caracarns arrival. To think it might be you! She may be sworn to protect him, but she doesnt appear to like it!But who is Rand carrying in the key art image above? With the Aes Sedai ring clearly visible, it must be Moiraine herself, traveling with him to the desert. Her life will apparently be on the line as she tells her Warder Lan of the disturbing vision she had in the Rings: In every future where I lived, Rand dies, and the only way he lives is if I dont.That wont be the only location at play, however. Perrin appears to have made it home to the Two Rivers, but all is not well there either. We even hear an authoritative voice insist, We dont win battles with politics and prophecies. We win with armies! Perrin and a makeshift group of soldiers are then seen battling trollocs on what must be another front of the conflict.Theres plenty to be gleaned from The Wheel of Time season three trailer, but several questions remain, teasing us with anticipation. What will be the fallout of Egwenes time with the Seanchan? Who is Elayne referring to when she says, Make them believe in you, and they will follow you to the ends of the earth? Whats going on with Mat and the Horn of Valere? Certain mysteries will just have to wait!The Wheel of Time season three premieres on March 13, 2025.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·25 Views
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Absolute Batman Just Introduced a New Bat-Signal and Its Perfectwww.denofgeek.comThis Batman article contains spoilers.What defines Batman?As part of the Absolute Universe, the new DC Comics line that reimagines core characters, Absolute Batman frequently wrestles with this question. Creators Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta recreate Bruce Wayne into a hulking chunk of working class rage, raised by a single mother and without a massive fortune to fund his crusade. Even Alfred appears here not as a loyal butler but as a cold-hearted mercenary who takes an interest in Batmans actions.Each time Snyder and Dragotta reintroduce a familiar part of Batman lore, we should all pay attention. Absolute Batman #5 is no exception, as it brings in a new version of the familiar Bat-Signal, changing it into a statement of purpose for this radical take on the Dark Knight.A New LightAbsolute Batman #5 picks up on the cliffhanger from issue #3, with Batman seemingly giving in to a deal offered by Roman Sionis, aka the Black Mask. If Batman stops attacking Black Masks gang, the Animal Party, he will receive a payment of $200 million dollars to finance the future of his vigilante crusade.Half of the issue follows Batman and Sionis as they meet on a rooftop to seal their deal. The rest flashes back to the funeral of Thomas Wayne, where Jim Gordon offers his condolences to the boy. Imagined in the Absolute Universe as a beat cop who responded to the shooting instead of the GCPD commissioner, Gordon thinks he has good news to share with Bruce. He tells Bruce that the zoo where his father died is being torn down, so hell never again have to see that painful sight. When Bruce asks about its replacement, Gordons non-committal: I dont know. Something practical, Im sure.The two storylines come together late in the issue, when Batman reveals to Sionis that he took the money and has already put it to use. Dragotta expertly lays out five rows with panels of various lengths, creating tight, tension-building rhythm. In between close-ups of piles of cash, we see images of Sionis gleefully mocking Batman by speculating about potential purchases (Cars? Planes? Bat-computers?) and young Bruce and Gordon talking at the funeral.I dont want them to knock down the zoo, or turn it into something practical,' pleads Bruce. I want something there that makes everyone look. Like you said, something that shines.With that, we turn to a glorious splash page, Bruce bent forward, as if his heavy mitts pull him toward the ground, under a massive yellow oval in the sky. In the enter of the oval we see this Batmans chunky new logo.Working-Class HeroTraditionally, the Bat-signal exists as an extravagant form of communication, a way for Commissioner Gordon to call for the Batmans help. Sometimes, it also serves as a warning for evildoers, a point made in 2022s The Batman. Whatever the case, the Bat-signal stands as the most obvious of Batmans wonderful toys, meant to keep everyone in line.While Absolute Batman still has sympathetic police officers in the form of Gordon, his daughter Barbara, and even to an extent Harvey Bullock (now the commissioner and also ripped), this take on the Dark Knight isnt about maintaining social order. Sionis and the Animal Party represent the privileged classes, who can treat their city as a playground precisely because they get to hold others into place. Even the Joker, thus far only teased, is a figure of order instead of chaos, while other traditional villainsincluding Riddler, Killer Croc, and the Penguinare now old pals who grew up with Bruce in Crime Alley.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!This moral perspective drives Snyder and Dragottas heavy metal take on the Caped Crusader. A gigantic figure who pounds through walls and pulls his insignia from his chest to make a massive axe, Batman fights for justice by sowing anarchy, well aware of how the powers that be allowed his fathers murder.For this Batman, then, the Bat-signal doesnt warn the baddies to stay inside or support the police force. It disrupts the darkness to spark hope. It breaks up the sky in a blaze of chaotic justice.Burning For JusticePerhaps the most important moment in the Bat-signals debut isnt the way that Bruce used the cash to put his symbol on the light. Its when the heat from the signal lights the cash on fire, publicly burning the money away.The burning cash underscores the central conflict between Batman and Black Mask (The only hero of this story is money! Sionis gloats). It also makes Batman more inspirational than ever before. If Batman doesnt need money to do good, then neither do we. And if money burns away, then the power it gives Sionis and other villains (real or imagine) does, too.When the Absolute Bat-Signal hits the skies, we know that Batmans out there fighting for justice. And we know we can all fight with him. And thats what defines Batman.Absolute Batman #5 is out now.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·24 Views
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Watson Is More Faithful to Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle Than You Thinkwww.denofgeek.comThis Watson article contains spoilers.If youve heard anything at all about the new CBS medical-mystery series Watson, its probably that its similar to another Sherlock Holmes-inspired medical series, House. But comparing Watson to House is superficial at best because turning a Sherlock Holmes premise into a medical drama starring a quirky doctor isnt original to that famous show, either. That concept actually goes all the way back to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. What makes Watson such an interesting take on these characters is that it fuses the fiction of the Holmes stories with Doyles real biography.Created by Craig Sweeney, who also wrote many episodes of Elementary (as well as the recent Star Trek misfire Section 31), Watson initially seems like a departure from the canon as established by Doyle. Here, Dr. John Watson (Morris Chestnut) witnesses Holmes apparently die at the Reichenbach Falls, promptly inherits a fortune from Holmes will, and then sets up a super clinic in Pittsburgh staffed by various medical geniuses. The stated purpose of this clinic is fuzzy, but theres certainly a Star Trek-ish feel to the gang: brilliant twin brothers Stephens Croft and Adam Croft (Peter Mark Kendall), eccentric neurologist Ingrid Derian (Eve Harlow), and Sasha Lubbock (Inga Schlingmann), an immunologist with a touch of Southern charm.Rounding out the gang is Shinwell Johnson (Ritchie Coster), a former thug who eventually found himself in the employ of Sherlock Holmes. The name Shinwell Johnson comes from a vaguely similar character from the original Doyle short story The Adventure of the Illustrious Client, and the shows nods to the larger Holmes canon dont end there. Watson quotes the famous Holmes maxim in the pilot episode, When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth, and, by the end of the same episode, a new version of Moriarty is revealed.For those who loved Sherlock or Elementary, all these elements will seem vaguely familiar, a contemporary Holmes world, but now with references to the 2020s rather than the 2010s. Of course, the biggest difference here is that Watson is a Sherlock Holmes show without Sherlock. But this wrinkle doesnt make Watson unfaithful to the spirit of Conan Doyleinstead, it take the entire Holmes phenomenon back to its real-life roots.Before he became an author, Arthur Conan Doyle was a medical student. Somewhat famously, one of his teachers was an eccentric guy by the name of Dr. Joseph Bell, Joe to his friends. According to historical accounts, Bell physically looked nothing like his fictional cipher, Sherlock Holmes, but his powers of deductionnoticing certain types of mud on peoples shoesinspired Doyle in a myriad of ways.Later, when he became a practicing doctor himself, Doyle spent his free time writing. Eventually, this led to the publication of A Study in Scarlet in 1887. The birth of Holmes and Watson in that book saw Doyle essentially split his persona into two: both Holmes and Watson represented aspects of the writer but also a kind of hyper-fictionalized version of his own biography. Holmes, as a stand-in for Bell, was Doyles inner teacher, the part of him that retained Bells teachings and applied them not just to medicine but to crime fiction. Meanwhile, Watson was a slightly more heroic version of Doyle the doctor.Im not the first person to make this observation about how Doyle split sides of himself to create Holmes and Watson, nor is this practice altogether uncommon with great writers who created iconic duos. Nichelle Nichols pointed out in her 1995 memoir Beyond Uhura that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry put facets of himself into both Kirk and Spock, which, she noted, were then reconstituted into one character: Jean-Luc Picard. While that famous starship captain is just one artistic descendent of Sherlock Holmes, consolidating too much intellectual power in one hero can make for too perfect (read: dull) of a protagonist in the wrong hands. Doyle wisely gave Holmes his Watson, and its why the TV series Watson gives the good doctor his team of super-physicians.Yes, structurally, this makes the TV series appear more conventionalperhaps even trying to compete with the CSIs of the worldbut the power of the Holmes canon is that its not just about one guy showing off. Its about a partnership between two minds: Holmes the genius detective and Watson the writer who makes the impossible real. When Den of Geek spoke to Jude Law about Skeleton Crew last year, year, we got a second to chat some Doyle. That former Watson reminded us that the power of the Holmes stories rests with that character: Its a detail people forget, Law said. That the stories are being told by him.The series Watson may not be perfect. But it does understand this detail. The story of Sherlock Holmes has always been the story of Dr. Watson, too. Whether or not hes a reliable narrator is part of the game. And with this series, the game may seem different, but its still very much afoot.Watson airs on CBS and streams on Paramount+.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!0 Comments ·0 Shares ·27 Views
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The Biggest Science Fiction Books of 2025www.denofgeek.comMany sci-fi fans place themselves in a particular camp of speculative fiction they gravitate towards, naming as their favorites popular sub-genres like time travel, space opera, or post-apocalyptic dystopias. But science fiction doesnt fit into such neat categories these days, and 2025 is about to prove how the imagination of authors in this genre never stop asking, What if?One book of 2025, in fact, that didnt quite make this list since its already out is from Africanfuturism pioneer Nnedi Okorafor. Her Death of the Author is definitely not to be missed as its arguably her best work in an already strong line-up. The very meta storyline follows a first-time Nigerian author whose science fiction debut brings her unexpected fame. But the notoriety comes with some serious soul-searching about who gets to assign meaning to a created world once its written. This book within a book must not be missed!That being said, we still have some fun space romps and, yes, even a bit of time travel on this list, so traditionalists need not fear. However, we challenge you to try some of the more bizarre stories teased below to broaden your horizons. After all, science fiction is all about making up new rules and seeing where things end up!Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne CollinsMarch 18, ScholasticMarch is a huge month for science fiction fans as more than half of our list hits bookshelves within the space of two weeks. For fans of The Hunger Games, the highly anticipated sequel to the prequel jumps forward a quarter century after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Sunrise on the Reaping follows the famous Haymitch Abernathy in his storied victory in the second quarter quell, in which twice as many tributes were taken from each district to participate in the deadly contest. To say fans are looking forward to this long-hinted-at tale would be an understatement.Murder by Memory by Olivia WaiteMarch 18, TordotcomThe HMS Fairweather is a luxury generation ship traveling through space with passengers enjoying endless lifetimes. New bodies are provided upon request and minds are carefully preserved in glass within the ships Library. But when ship detective Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isnt hers, shes thrust into a chilling mystery. A murder has occurred, but the crime goes beyond mere death: someone is erasing minds from the Library itself. Those who enjoy a little mystery with their sci-fi will also be happy to hear that Murder by Memory is only the first in a planned Dorothy Gentleman series.The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip FracassiMarch 18, OrbitIn any time travel tale, the rules are very important, but theyre invariably almost impossible to stick to without creating paradoxes. The Third Rule of Time Travel is very up front about these limitations: you can only travel to the past within your lifetime, you can only stay for ninety seconds, and you can only observe without interaction. The cleverness of the books title, however, is that the third rule comes into question as Beth Darlow tries to figure out how her and her dead husbands machine determines its arrival point in the past and whether the past truly cant be changed. The sci-fi premise encapsulates more of a horror thriller, as the grief that motivates the story might actually be tied to the invention of time travel itself.Space Brooms! by A. G. RodriguezMach 25, Angry RobotJust as Star Trek: Lower Decks reminded us that not all space adventures happen to the officers on the bridge, Space Brooms! centers on one of Kilgore Stations janitors, Johnny Gomez, whose spiteful boss has him cleaning zero-g toilets imagine the mess! But when Johnny finds an illicit data chit in the alien excrement, hes off on adventure with some unusual companions to try to change his fortunes. Can he sell the data and escape his humble life, or will the assassins and mobsters get the better of him? This space romp is not to be missed by those seeking lighter sci-fi fare.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John ScalziMarch 25, Tor BooksAnyone who has read Scalzis meta sci-fi classic Redshirts or the wildly comedic Starter Villain knows that this author is not above playing with the genres established mythos. When the Moon Hits Your Eye throws science out the window with a world in which Earths satellite suddenly and without warning turns into cheese. Multiple characters react to this impossibility throughout the novel, including students, preachers, politicians, and, of course, scientists. The absurd premise is more about enjoying the wildly varying perspectives of what ends up being a series of interconnected short stories.Overgrowth by Mira GrantMay 6, Tor NightfireLooking for a twist on the pod-person alien trope that tells the story from the perspective of an extra-terrestrial hiding in a human body? Anastasia Miller has made no secret of the fact that shes from another planet; its just that no one believes her. But the armada that left her on Earth is returning, and humanity will not be happy when they arrive. This novel somehow manages to bring humor and existential horror together in harmony, and the themes of metamorphosis will have a deeper meaning for some readers. Be on the lookout for a nod to Little Shop of Horrors as well!Automatic Noodle by Annalee NewitzAugust 5, TordotcomAnnalee Newitz of io9 fame is an amazing journalist-author who has always excelled at commenting on technologys impact on society. Automatic Noodle takes place in a future California after its civil war with America. An abandoned ghost kitchen is taken over by four food service bots and an unhoused human just trying to get by, but they must overcome a mysterious review-bomber to make it in the restaurant business. Its a low-key but heartfelt tale that will make you want to join the fight for robot rights and perhaps a bit hungry at the same time.September 23, Tor NightfireSarah Gailey deftly handles both fantasy (Magic for Liars is a personal favorite) and science fiction, not to mention comics, but the early buzz about Spread Me is tantalizing to say the least. Kinsey is a research scientist at a remote desert outpost that acts as the perfect escape from the vices of civilization, but a mysterious specimen unearthed from deep in the sand tempts her into breaking quarantine. The temptations here speak to themes of desire and shame and how life will always find a way, however horrific its proliferation.Talk about an intriguing premise!Honorable MentionsHonorable mentions must be given to a couple of sequels coming from Tor Books in 2025 as well. The first is The Martian Contingency, the fourth book in the Lady Astronaut series, in which author Mary Robinette Kowal takes her post-meteor strike humanity, led by protagonist Elma York, to the red planet. The post-apocalyptic adventure continues on the aformentioned popular date of March 18th.The other notable sequel is The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses, which continues the Hugo and Nebula award nominated detective series known as The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti by Malka Ann Older. This ones more Pleiti-centered as she tries to help a cousin whose academic reputation has been besmirched while also try to navigate the rejection of her professional and personal partner, Mossa. This third installment comes out on June 10.Also be on the lookout for our review of the first novelization of the beloved Netflix animated series, Arcane. Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf, which will hit shelves on February 18th, explores the exploits of the Noxian general who made a nuisance of herself in the video game adaptations second season. A book about a TV show about a video game? Lets see if the lore can hold up!0 Comments ·0 Shares ·32 Views
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The Best Survivor Contestants (Who Didnt Come Anywhere Close to Winning)www.denofgeek.comFirst off, lets be clear: Survivor has had many, many, many remarkable players step foot onto the shows hyper-competitive shores. In some cases, a handful of these contestants have etched a permanent place for themselves as legends in the shows continuity, be it in the form of duplicitous backstabbers like Russell Hantz and Boston Rob Mariano or resourceful, fan-favorite contestants like Cirie Fields and Ozzy Lusth.As many memorable competitors as weve seen on CBSs hit reality series, its worth acknowledging the sheer number of past Survivor players seldom mentioned in the same breath as icons like Parvati Shallow, Tony Vlachos, and Sandra Diaz-Twine. Sadly, many of these castaways found themselves ousted from the game far too soon, leaving fans to marvel at their limited time in the series and their wasted potential within Survivors framework. Oftentimes, these players even seem to possess the core characteristics necessary to make it to the Final Three, leaving their abrupt departure from the competition that much more maddening to watch.From former Olympic swimmers to colorful chicken farmers, from celebrity podcasters to chaotic tire repair mechanics, here are 15 remarkable Survivor contestants who never had a true chance to shine on the show.15. Morgan Ricke (Survivor: Ghost Island)With her radiant smile and winning personality, Morgan Ricke seemed destined to go far in Survivor: Ghost Island. Immediately ingratiating herself with her tribemates on Naviti, Morgans outward friendliness made her a fascinating addition to Survivors usual lineup of competitors, if only for her habit of making friends out of her foremost recurring enemies.She may have been among the first tribe members voted out from Naviti, but Morgans bubbly approachability made her a player we would have loved to see more of in Ghost Island. After all, how on Earth could you not love the hilariously awkward way she refused to volunteer for her tribes puzzle during their first Reward Challenge, leading to her scream No! and literally duck away from her teammates.14. Katrina Radke (Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers)In theory, a competitive swimmer who participated in the Olympics seems like the perfect fit for the grueling nature of Survivors competition. Unfortunately, Katrina Radke never seemed to get her due in Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, with most of her fellow tribe members mystifyingly labeling her a liability because of her slightly older age.Though she excelled at physical challenges and possessed all the hallmark qualities of a tried-and-true Survivor contestant, Katrinas tenure on the show came to a crashing halt at her tribes very first council. Suffering from a lack of firm alliances, this former Olympian could have possibly gone all the way to the merge if her teammates werent so short-sighted, ending Katrinas time on the show with a simmer rather than a bang.13. Billy Garcia (Survivor: Cook Islands)If anyone ever earned our collective sympathies on Survivor, it had to be Cook Islands Billy Garcia. A heavy metal guitarist who failed to connect with his fellow tribe members on Aitutaki, Billys most recognizable moment on the series came when he professed his romantic feelings to fellow castaway Candice Woodcock mid-Tribal Council, leaving everyone (including Jeff Probst himself) speechless.Its hard to say which is worse: Billy unknowingly earning the ire of Ozzy, having his entire tribe throw an Immunity challenge in order to vote him out, or watching him misinterpret Candices remarks as a formal declaration of love. At the end of the day, all we can say about this lovesick one-time contestant is poor Billy.12. Zane Knight (Survivor: Philippines)Say what you will, but at least Zane made his three days in Survivor: Philippines incredibly exciting. Using his winning personality to his advantage, Zane made the bold decision to cement alliances with literally every member of his tribe. If that werent a risky enough strategy, he then went one step further by labeling himself the weak link in his tribe, using this momentary self-sabotage to determine which of his tribe members were plotting against him.Of course, Zanes tactics ultimately proved too unwieldy to be entirely practical, leading to this Virginia tire repairman getting voted out at the very first Tribal Council of Survivor: Philippines. But even then, part of us wonders what utter chaos might have come about if Zane had continued on in the series, spinning all kinds of dizzying plans that not even he seemed to fully understand.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!11. Steve Chicken Morris (Survivor: China)Survivor has had many contestants with animated personalities over the years, but theres just something about Chinas Steve Chicken Morris that lingers on in the imagination. Maybe its his thick Southern accent or his career as a chicken farmer. Either way, this older, even-tempered competitor seemed like the kind of guy youd love to watch partake in Survivor shenanigans on a weekly basis.Just when it seemed like Chicken was finally figuring out his role in the perpetually unhappy Zhan Hu, his younger tribe members voted the older castaway out at their first Tribal Council. Watching the votes tally up against Chickens favor, we have no choice but to share in the farmers comically loud exclamation: Dayum!10. Jamie Newton (Survivor: Guatemala)Most famously known for his intense feud with returning player Bobby Jon Drinkard, Jamie Newton had that dangerous combination of both peak physical prowess in challenges and a decisive mindset when it came to alliances and strategies.He may have outlasted his in-game nemesis Bobby Jon, but Jamies fervent paranoia ultimately proved his undoing. Constantly questioning the stability of his alliances, the professional water ski instructor was sent home by his own allies in a dramatic blindside. In spite of this, well be the first to admit the conflicting qualities in Jamies character made him a chaotically fun contestant to watch throughout Guatemala.9. Francesca Hogi (Survivor: Redemption Island)Francesca Hogi had it rough during her time on Survivor. A two-time contestant who appeared in both Redemption Island and Caramoan, she holds the rather unfortunate distinction of being the first castaway eliminated with each of her two seasons on the show.Though theres no question that Francesca has a less than impressive track record in the series, her outspoken nature made her a wonderful addition to Redemption Island. Accurately labeling Russell and Boston Rob as troublemakers to watch out for as the season got underway, Francesca called things like she saw them even if her blunt demeanor did little to impress her already skeptical tribe.8. Elizabeth Olson (Survivor: David vs. Goliath)Easily among the most down-to-earth members of the Goliath tribe, Elizabeths straightforward approach to the game made her something of a rarity in Survivor. Rather than engaging in the usual lies, deceit, and manipulation so often practiced by the shows contestants, Elizabeth chose to utilize honesty in a game where truth often came at a dire cost.Like so many otherwise decent people who participated in Survivor, Elizabeths blunt demeanor wound up proving fatal. Yet even as she became the primary target for her former allies and team members, she tossed out one final ace in the hole by revealing Angelinas dishonesty during her last Tribal Council. Talk about fighting tooth and nail to the very end.7. Marisa Calihan (Survivor: Samoa)You have to give credit where credit is due: Marisa Calihan knew something was off about Russell Hantz from the very beginning, sniffing out the infamously manipulative Survivor contestant during the first few days of Samoa. If only her tribe members on Foa Foa had heeded her warnings, they could have prevented Russell from growing into the deceptive snake in the grass we all know and love.A competent observer and astute people-reader, Marisas ability to decipher her tribe members strategies made her a promising upstart in Survivor: Samoa. In spite of this, she made the fatal mistake of confronting Russell to his face rather than confiding her fears in private. A rookie miscalculation and the first and last one shed make on Samoa, allowing Russell to make her the first of his many victims.6. Jon Lovett (Survivor 47)A hands-on favorite that many predicted would excel in Survivor 47, celebrated podcaster and former presidential speechwriter Jon Lovett instead found himself on the outer edges of the Gata tribe within days of his arrival. His friendly demeanor and approachable attitude may have made him incredibly well-liked by most, but Jons game simply fizzled out before it ever truly got started.While his clear intelligence and interpersonal skills seemed invaluable in Survivors politically strategic landscape, Jon somehow failed to lock in a set alliance with any of his teammates on Gata. Still, you have to admit, few people have taken so much in being the first person voted out of their Survivor season, at least.5. Bobby Jon Drinkard (Survivor: Palau)Who doesnt love a good rivalry, whether talking about the Red Sox versus Yankees, Bird versus Johnson, or Bobby Jon versus Jamie in Survivor: Guatemala. Before going nose to nose with his muscled-up archenemy in the jungles of South America, Bobby Jon enjoyed some success with his first appearance on Survivor, using his peak physical fitness to excel at most challenges.Even with his impressive athleticism, Bobby Jon found himself exiting Palau by a mixture of ill luck and hapless circumstances. Tying with his former tribemate Stephenie at a Tribal Council, the duo competed in a fire-making duel to determine which of the two would remain in the game. Try as he might, Stephenies flames caught first, sending Bobby Jon home with a dissatisfying adieu.4. Morriah Young (Survivor 43)There are no friends in Survivor only rivals and momentary allies that allow you to advance your game. In the cutthroat world of Survivors competition, then, Morriah Young seemed a welcome breath of fresh air. Whereas most contestants simply used their tribe members as a means to an end, Morriah sought to build meaningful connections with her fellow players, demonstrating a keen sense of loyalty rarely seen in Survivors dog-eat-dog atmosphere.Sadly, Morriahs straightforward approach to the game didnt prevent her from getting ousted during Bakas very first Tribal Council. Still, there was something so charming about seeing someone playing the game honestly instead of plotting out ways to stab their allies in the back the first chance they had.3. Anh-Tuan Cao Boi Bui (Survivor: Cook Islands)Self-deprecating, borderline offensive humor aside, Cao Bois colorful personality and inventive strategy made him a contestant truly ahead of his day and age. While most of his fellow tribe members took issue with his endlessly strange behavior, Cao Boi introduced one of the most revolutionary practices ever seen in Survivor history during his brief time on Cook Islands.Hoping to flush out a Hidden Immunity Idol, Cao Boi oversaw an ambitious plan to evenly split his tribes vote a strategy dubbed Plan Voodoo by this eccentric nail salon manager. While the innovative tactic failed to save Cao Boi from elimination, the Split Vote strategy quickly became a recurring plan of action throughout Survivors later seasons, making Cao Boi something of a minor legend in the series history.2. Cliff Robinson (Survivor: Cagayan)As though being an all-star basketball player werent a big enough deal, the late great Cliff Robinson found secondary success as one of the most underrated players ever featured on Survivor. Earning the praise and attention of his tribe mates with his kind disposition and remarkable physical performances in challenges, Cliff made for a powerful ally to have on your side throughout Cagayan.As is so often the case, Cliffs greatest strengths wound up marking him as a legitimate threat in the eyes of his fellow castaways. Realizing he could easily carry the game once he made it past the merge, Tony and Trish made the wise decision to vote out the former NBA power forward before he had a chance to step up his game even further.1. Sara Wilson (Survivor 41)Its amazing how one small mistake such as forgetting to open a bag of puzzle pieces during an Immunity Challenge could cost you your place in the game. But such is the cruel fate that befell the otherwise remarkable Sara Wilson during her appearance in Survivor 41.Forging strong connections with her teammates on Ua, Saras continued success on Survivor seemed almost assured. After her momentary slip-up in a botched Immunity Challenge, however, the professional healthcare consultant found herself the target of her formerly close-knit tribemates. If only she had used her Shot in the Dark instead of listening to Shans lies. Shoulda, woulda, coulda0 Comments ·0 Shares ·49 Views
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The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep Reinvents The Little Mermaid for Netflix and the Betterwww.denofgeek.comAndrzej Sapkowski, the Polish author who created The Witcher saga in his 90s book series, was known to repurpose fairytales for Geralt of Rivias adventures, particularly in the short story collection called Sword of Destiny. The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep is based on a tale therein called A Little Sacrifice, a version of Hans Christian Andersens The Little Mermaid. So it is perhaps only fitting that the new Netflix animated film of the same name refashions it again to include even more nods to the original tale, its other adaptations and an ending all Netflixs own.It might not seem all that different at first. The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep begins as a very faithful adaptation, following Geralt and Jaskier on their travels to Bremervoord, a humble coastal kingdom known for its vibrant fishing industry. As in Sword of Destiny, Geralt is brooding over his hot-and-cold relationship with Yennefer, still in its early phases, while tackling a monster hunting job to distract himself.In the original story, the Witcher is hired merely as a translator, helping a somewhat boorish Prince Agloval in persuading a mermaid to give up her tail and join him on land as his wife. The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep turns it into more of a story of star-crossed lovers, each trying to persuade their royal parents that a marriage could unite their divided nations while Geralt investigates the mysterious death of local pearl divers.The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep borrows from multiple sources to flesh out its tale. First, it adds vodnik, fish-men that act as a merfolk army, from elsewhere in Witcher lore, including the video games. It also expands upon the ruling family of Bremervoord, adding a king, a bastard son, and even a childhood conflict for Jaskier, who grew up in the town. But the biggest addition will be immediately recognizable to those familiar with Disneys iconic animated The Little Mermaid: the Sea Witch.The brewer of potions was in the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, of course, but she was not in the original Sapkowski short story. The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep brings her back in spectacular fashion, even adding some decidedly Ursula-like imagery to the mix. Her motivations for assisting Sheenaz, the mermaid who fell in love with a human, are less about taking over the mermaid kingdom and more about spreading total destruction in the Netflix film.There are also several nods to the title of the Sapkowski story throughout The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep, including a song that carries the name, A Little Sacrifice. But one characters line points out the major flaw in its original meaning. In the story, Sheenaz gives up her tail to avert a war between merfolk and humans, but Essi, the local bard, scolds the Prince saying, All of your solutions require loss on her part and nothing from you. Not even a little sacrifice.And perhaps that is one of the most elegant modifications in The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. Although the twist ending is predictable, it completely changes the dynamic of the story for the better. Even the implied dalliance between Essi and Geralt is handled more deftly in the movie, creating character relationships that actually make sense while still honoring one of the stories that made The Witcher into the global hitin every mediumthat it clearly is.Its not just that The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep gives more agency to its female characters than either the fairytale or the Disney movie do, although it certainly does. It also reminds us that The Witcher has always delivered commentary about human encroachment on the territory of others. In this way it not only contextualizes the world Ariel proposes to join in her song Part of Your World; but it also questions why she should have to give up her voice to find love. As incredulous as it sounds, it brings a measure of practicality and reality to a story about a fish that wants to be a woman.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·31 Views
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The Best Captain America Toys for MCU Fanswww.denofgeek.comCaptain America was at the forefront of Marvel before it was even called Marvel. The character has stood the test for decades, with a recent resurgence thanks to his rise in prominence in the MCU. And even though Steve Rogers retired in Avengers: Endgame, he passed on his shield to Sam Wilson, a new iteration of the hero who gets his big screen debut in Captain America: Brave New World.To celebrate the fourth Captain America picture, Den of Geek has compiled a list of the best Cap toys, new and old, starring both Captains Americas.LEGO 76292: Captain America vs. Red Hulk BattleAs per usual with new releases from Marvel Studios, theres a LEGO set tie-in to promote the film: 76292: Captain America vs. Red Hulk Battle. This 223-piece kit pictures Sam Wilson and his trusty sidekick Falcon battling against the Red Hulk, who also makes his MCU debut in Brave New World portrayed by the legendary Harrison Ford. This set is exciting not only because it includes a stellar Cap figure in his new getup from the film, but also the first MCU version of Thunderbolt Ross, aka the Red Hulk, as a LEGO minifigure. Additionally, its fun to see Ford receive a third LEGO figure, after decades of Han Solo and Indiana Jones outings.LEGO 76262: Captain Americas ShieldIf the smaller LEGO playset doesnt tickle your fancy, perhaps a 3,000-piece behemoth will. Introducing 76262: Captain Americas Shield. The LEGO system is infamously blocky, as the Danish toymaker has struggled to make more circular shapes for years. Thats what makes this design so impressive. The designers were able to expertly capture the disc of Caps beloved defense mechanism of choice with an immensely impressive build set to satisfy even the most hardcore master builder. Prepare yourself for lots of repetition when building 76262s unique shape. Did we mention this shield can be held? Were not sure how good it would be at deflecting bullets, but pair it with LEGO Marvel set 76209: Thors Hammer to get in Steve Rogerss mindset.Hot Toys Captain America (Avengers: Endgame)In the climax of Avengers: Endgame (2019), Captain America takes one last stand against the Mad Titan Thanos. In a moment that made movie theaters sound like a football stadium just after their team won the Super Bowl, Cap wields Thors hammer, Mjolnir, for the first time. Steve Rogers was worthy, and so is this excellent Hot Toys rendition of the character during this iconic sequence. Not only is Captain Americas scaly suit one of the best looks he sports in the MCU, but the figure comes with a multitude of accessories, including a broken shield to match the scene after Thanos destroys it. This allows collectors to display Cap in a few different poses to capture their favorite moment from Endgame, making this figure the ultimate Captain America Hot Toy.Hot Toys Captain America (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier)If youre yearning for the current Captain America to add to your Hot Toys collection, stop the search here with Sam Wilsons first official Cap costume from the final episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021). After a seasons worth of build-up to Sam taking the shield Steve Rogers bestowed on him at the end of Avengers: Endgame, the former Falcon finally took up the mantle of Captain America in the series finale. While many critics found the shows plotline a little scattered, its hard to deny how amazing the new suit looks. The seamless integration of Sam Wilsons Falcon suit with the stars and stripes of Captain Americas beloved attire created a spectacular-looking new design that translated effortlessly into Hot Toys form with an impressive wingspan. It might take up a hefty amount of shelf space because of the latter, but itll undoubtedly be worth it for the committed Marvel devotees.Marvel Funko Pop! No. 1476: Captain America (The First Avenger)We couldnt go through this entire list without some love for Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). Steve Rogers made his big-screen debut 14 years ago in a World War II-era period piece. Because of this, he dons a time-appropriate Cap costume that stands out among all the others the character has worn since. This beautifully low-tech look is one of the characters best, and Funko gave us an excellent version as part of their Infinity Saga line of Marvel Pop figures. This vinyl figure rendition of the Star Spangled Man features Funkos trademark expert molding, down to every stitch on his boots and strap on his vest. If youre looking for a definitive Steve Rogers figure for your collection, this is the one.2002 Marvel Legends Toybiz Captain AmericaYounger Marvel collectors might not even realize the beloved Marvel Legends line of 6-inch action figures had a home before Hasbro. In what many consider their heyday, the now-defunct manufacturer Toy Biz was in command of the wave, with many aficionados arguing these figurines are better than their modern-day counterparts. Regardless of where you stand in that debate, its impossible to deny the Toy Biz figures have a certain je ne sais quoi about them. They are jam-packed with as many muscles as the comic book heroes and contain as many points of articulation as humanly possible for a half-foot figure. The original Captain America figure from 2002 is emblematic of all that Toy Biz did with the Marvel Legends brand, even including a comic book alongside it for extra fanfare. While this figure will most certainly have to be purchased from a third-party seller like eBay, itll be worth it as a nostalgic reminder of a bygone era.Marvel Legends Captain Americas ShieldThe Marvel Legends line Hasbro has put a lot of effort into expanding into areas beyond just action figures. Many different props, including helmets and iconic weaponry, have received highly detailed recreations, so it should come as no surprise that Captain Americas shield has received this treatment in more ways than one. Were highlighting the classic look for the glorified frisbee, released to coincide with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Not only can this toy be used as an actual prop, its also easy to mount on the wall as a brilliant centerpiece of any Marvel display.Marvel Legends Avengers Captain America (Sam Wilson) & Captain America (Steve Rogers) Figures 2-PackAre you struggling to decide if you should get some Steve Rogers or Sam Wilson merchandise to represent Captain America in your collection? Well, why not acquire a figure for both? The Marvel Legends two-pack from Hasbro makes the transition between Caps seamless. Both characters are sporting the suits we highlighted earlier with their Hot Toys figures, but these Marvel Legends ring in at a much more affordable priceperfect for collectors on a budget. Two shields are included, along with a plethora of interchangeable accessories, such as hands, faces, and more. What better way to capture Captain America than with the ultimate two-pack of the iconic hero?0 Comments ·0 Shares ·32 Views
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Noah Centineo Wants to Keep Getting His Ass Handed to Him in The Recruit Season 3www.denofgeek.comThis article contains a few spoilers for The Recruit season 2.Noah Centineo has had an incredible month on Netflix. Not only did his hit series The Recruit return for its sophomore season, but he also made a guest appearance on season 2 of XO, Kitty, reprising his To All the Boys Ive Loved Before role as Peter Kavinsky for the first time in years. While neither show has been renewed for a third season as of yet, Den of Geek had the opportunity to talk with Centineo at SCAD TVfest about his thoughts on both projects, and his hopes for Owen in the future.The Recruit season 2 saw Centineos CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks once again get in way over his head tracking down a graymailer for the agency. This time, his mission took him to South Korea, where he discovers that the graymailer is an NIS agent looking to get the CIAs help in rescuing his kidnapped wife in exchange for his silence. The season ends with a successful rescue mission, albeit with more than a few hiccups along the way.Owen offers the NIS agent, Jang Kyu (Teo Yoo) the opportunity for him and his wife to start new lives in America, in exchange for Jang Kyus continued cooperation with the CIA, leaving the door open for Owen to become a more permanent member of the operations team rather than just a lawyer who continues to find himself in over his head. But whether or not this happens in a potential third season is yet to be determined.The only thing I know [about season 3] is that it needs to blow season 2 and season 1 out of the water. I think compared to season 1, season 2 really elevated the series. It was very propulsive. And I think season 3 needs to be the same, Centineo says. We need to keep getting better and better, and Owen needs to keep getting his ass handed to him.Part of Owens charm comes from his ability to consistently find himself in over his head and have to come up with unique ways to dig himself out. And Centineo says that he carries that believability of inexperience into his own performance. Youve got to feel like a novice even with the stunt doubles, Centineo explains. When were doing stunts, theyre trained to look cool while doing things, and Owens not trained at all to be a spy, right? Hes a lawyer. So even with the stunt doubles, you go like, Hey guys, he needs to look less cool, more spastic. I dont really train to do any of that stuff to look like I know how to fight, or I know how to handle weapons.Even if we do get to see Owen become an operations agent, its likely there will still be a decent learning curve for the young lawyer, which is just how Centineo wants it. He may have more field experience than most lawyers, but that doesnt automatically make him an expert. If The Recruit returns for another season, it will be interesting to see how Owen adapts to having his own asset and what that means for his future with the CIA.Depending on what kind of information Jang Kyu shares, its possible that Owen could end up back in Korea, especially because he also spent this season reconnecting with a childhood friend and potential love interest, Yoo Jin Lee (Shin Do-hyun). Sure Owen and the NIS didnt necessarily end on the best terms, but when has that stopped him before?Besides, if Owen does end up back in Korea, the potential for another Peter Kavinsky cameo in XO, Kitty increases. Youd have to ask Netflix. I think maybe it was by design on their end, or it really was just a happy coincidence, Centineo says of his season 2 cameo. The moment that the teams over at Netflix and ACE [Entertainment] realized that I was going to be over there for The Recruit, they hit me up. And I said, Of course, I would love to.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!More Peter Kavinsky and Owen Hendricks is never a bad thing as far as were concerned. Hopefully both of these shows will find a way for Centineo to grace our screens once again. These characters are wildly different, but the charm he injects into them both makes them easy to love, in their own way. No matter whats next for Owen, its nice to know that Centineo is just as eager to see him continue to fail upwards as we are.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·34 Views
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South of Midnight Preview: 5 Things We Learned After Playing a Demo of the Gamewww.denofgeek.comSouth of Midnight has become an unlikely standout in a year full of major new game releases. Developed by Compulsion Games, the studio behind 2016s We Happy Few, South of Midnight quickly garnered quite a bit of attention for its distinct visual style, unique Deep South fantasy setting, and Xbox-exclusive status at a time when such things are as rare as ancient talking catfish.We recently got the chance to go hands-on with a brief, 90-minute demo of South of Midnight set early in the game. The demo confirmed that the action-adventure title has real potential but it also raised a few concerns about what is actually supporting all that style. Here are five things we learned during our short trip to South of Midnight.South of Midnights Story Is an Early HighlightSouth of Midnight follows a young woman named Hazel who suddenly finds herself in a fantastical world where many Deep South folklore fairytales have come to life. As she searches for her lost mother, she discovers that she possesses the power of a Weaver, a magical-wielder who can use incredible abilities to help mend a broken world.Much of South of Midnights marketing so far has centered on its story and setting, and a relatively quick romp through the games third chapter reveals why. South of Midnights Deep South fairytale premise is as unique as it is compelling. Its rare to find a piece of media that emphasizes that specific aesthetic, much less bases many of its characters, lore, and world concepts on actual pieces of regional folklore.More than a history lesson, South of Midnight fully embraces the style of that region. In one of the demos best moments, the soundtrack swelled with the sounds of a softly plucked guitar and a ballad about the fairy tale that Hazel had slowly unraveled through the demo. Set against the visual fallout of that fable (which we wont spoil here), that sequence was a glorious celebration of the sounds, stories, and sights that clearly drew developer Compulsion Games to this world in the first place. It really puts the folk in folktale.While a few awkward pieces of dialogue and awkwardly implemented plot points (at least in the context of the demo) raise questions about how South of Midnight will handle some of the more complex material associated with its protagonist and this region, the heart of the experience seems to be in the right place. This team has taken on a tall task that requires a lot of thematic juggling, but the world theyre building has so much potential.South of Midnights Stop-Motion Visuals Are Striking But InconsistentAt a glance, South of Midnights stop-motion-like animation style seems to be one of its defining features. That style has been heavily featured in much of the games promotional material so far, which may lead you to think that the full experience is built around that animation technique.The truth is a bit more complicated. That jittery stop-motion style is largely limited to the games cutscenes. There are traces of it in the actual gameplay, though its use in more active scenarios sometimes gives the false impression that the game is glitching or suffering through framerate drops. Then again, this is an early version of the game, so we may be seeing a bit of both.In any case, those more distinctive stop-motion visual elements felt somewhat downplayed in this preview. Perhaps they were toned down from what we saw in the trailers for practical purposes, but they didnt stand out quite as much as we expected. Theyre novel enough when paired with the greater novelty of the setting, though it will be interesting to see if the full game finds more ways to utilize them. Without more of that hook, South of Midnights base visuals dont always support the creativity of its best design concepts.South of Midnights Gameplay Offers a Largely Linear Blend of Acrobatics, Combat, and CollectingIt turns out the one South of Midnight gameplay preview weve seen so far offered a fairly comprehensive view of the final experience (or at least as much as we played of the game in this preview). South of Midnight puts you on a fairly linear path filled with plot beats, designated combat zones, and the occasional collectible.The very early section of the game we played revolved around Hazel learning various traversal abilities from spirits (memories of a kind, perhaps) she meets along that path. Said abilities largely consisted of the usual suspects (double jump, wall-running, and gliding enthusiasts will not be left wanting), though its easy to imagine these abilities joining forces to form more engaging sequences later on when youre past this soft tutorial phase.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Whether you see South of Midnights core gameplay as charming or limited is going to depend entirely on your mood and preferences. In theory, its a nice deviation from the sometimes bloated world of modern triple-A gaming. If you want to think about South of Midnight as a 2D, SNES-style platforming game with more advanced 3D movement mechanics, then youll find it easy to appreciate what its trying to do. There is a cozy charm to the experience that is inviting yet exciting, thanks to the draw of the games narrative and world.Otherwise, theres a real risk that South of Midnights core gameplay will leave you wanting. Even as we began to gel with the games core concepts, we were left wishing it would offer something slightly more substantial off the beaten path than the occasional upgrade material or discoverable lore enhancer. The full game could certainly prove to be more substantial, though this slice of that experience felt slightly underwhelming.South of Midnight Combat Is the Weakest Part of the Game So FarSouth of Midnights combat occurs in designated arena-like areas youre seemingly forced to wander through. In those arenas, youll encounter a variety of foes that can often be beaten through the simple and familiar strategy of locking onto them, dodging their telegraphed strikes, and pummeling them with your basic attacks and upgradeable special abilities.South of Midnights combat is the weakest part of the game so far. The fact that it occurs in designated combat zones that are often easy to spot from a distance (at least based on what weve seen), eliminates any element of surprise those encounters may offer. Worse, it often makes combat feel fundamentally superfluous.In theory, the games combat could be improved by more diverse enemies and the skills you will eventually unlock/upgrade, but were not convinced that will be the case. The fights against the handful of enemies we encountered in the demo were made even easier by the handful of abilities we unlocked. Spamming a simple jumping attack was enough to get through most fights without any trouble. Unless later enemies demand more elaborate strategies, its difficult to see how more advanced abilities will do anything more than offer the occasional way to spice things up against foes who are baffled and miffed by a jumping teenager still reeling from an encounter with a mystical catfish.It seems clear that South of Midnights developers are far more interested in the games platforming, style, and story than its combat. Theres nothing wrong with that, but were left wondering if the things we could have gotten in place of a combat system would have ultimately felt more substantial than these battles that feel practically apologetic.South of Midnight Feels Like a Lost Ubisoft Game From the 2000sReflecting back on this South of Midnight demo, it sort of feels like a Ubisoft title from the mid-2000s. Thats partially because of the Prince of Persia-like movement system and Beyond Good and Evil-esque narrative-driven environment, but it speaks to the titles commitment to delivering a certain kind of action-adventure experience wrapped in an intriguing stylistic package. It feels like the kind of game we used to get a lot more of when there was a slightly healthier middle class for what we might now call double-A experiences.But youre not imagining a touch of concern in that statement. South of Midnight has quaint charms worthy of the people that inhabit its fantastical world. Its just not clear if those charms are going to be enough to compensate for the games relative simplicity and fundamentally limited nature (assuming it doesnt grow to offer something a bit deeper, of course). The best parts of South of Midnight would be the best parts of an incredible Don Bluth movie with a similar premise, but its less clear how South of Midnight will distinguish itself as a game in the long run.South of Midnight is out on April 8 for Xbox Series X/S and PC.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·31 Views
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Revisiting Harrison Fords One Oscar-Nominated Performancewww.denofgeek.comHarrison Ford has only been nominated for an Oscar once in his career. Its a strange thing to remember when considering one of the most prolific and defining movie stars of his generation. This is the man who was Indiana Jones, Han Solo, and Rick Deckard, to name but a few. For many he also remains the best Jack Ryan, and emanates a world-weary grumpiness that is like a blast from the Humphrey Bogart pasta comparison that Steven Spielberg and Sydney Pollock both invited by casting Ford in Bogie-inspired roles.Yet unlike Bogart, who won an Oscar for The African Queen and was nominated on two other occasions, Ford only garnered the Academys attention once, and it was for a superb if regrettably less-than-fully-appreciated thriller, which released 40 years ago this month: Peter Weirs Witness.As a sophisticated and surprisingly economical thriller with a hard R-rating and a downbeat ending, Witness is a textbook definition of the type of movie they dont make anymore. Its a medium-budgeted studio programmer for adults that somehow cultivated enough class and humanity to be remembered by the Academy almost a full year later after its release. In addition to Ford getting a Best Actor nomination, Witness was also nominated for Best Picture, Director, and Cinematographyalbeit the only award it won was for Best Original Screenplay, courtesy of William Kelley, Pamela Wallace, and Earl W. Wallace.The screenplay in Witness is excellent, yet it is the quiet authenticity cradled by the films Australian director, and his ability to recognize that same stoic naturalism in one of the 1980s biggest movie stars, which made Witness such a striking film, as well as one of the most important in Fords career.Prior to starring in this movie about a copper forced to go to ground among the Amish, Ford had proven himself to be one of the more popular names in the new decade. In the eight years before Witness, hed starred in three Star Wars movies and two Indiana Jones flicks. He was also in the highly ambitious Ridley Scott flop, Blade Runner (1982), plus several other works that relied on Fords then-youthful charisma, such as when he played fast-talking Tommy opposite Gene Wilders accidental gunfighter in The Frisco Kid (1979).Witness was something different, however. In retrospect, it would be the first of the star vehicles where Ford would angrily point at castmates and righteously explain the difference between right and wrong. One might even say it was the first of Fords middle-aged roles, paving the way for Jack Ryan, Dr. Richard Kimble, and a host of other morally indignant heroes of a certain age. Yet the beauty of John Book, Fords protagonist in Witness, is that he is neither a hero nor the moral center of the story. In fact, he exists at an ethical crossroads where he must remain in perpetual twilight between our modern worldwithin which Fords curmudgeony charm has always felt a bit like an anachronismand the actual ancient way of life he meets in the film as a stranger and interloper.That is certainly how the Amish community at the heart of Witness perceive John Book when he shows up on their doorstep with a bullet hole in his side and a gun he needs to hide. Moments earlier, he did this community a service by personally taking on the safety of young single Amish mother Rachel Lapp (Kelly McGillis) and her son Samuel (Lukas Haas). At the beginning of the picture, little Samuel witnessed the brutal murder of an undercover police detective byas we soon learntwo other cops caught up in the drug trade.And after his own police chief (Josef Sommer) attempts to cover up the deed by having Book shot and bad men sent for Rachel and her inconvenient son, a half-dead John takes the mother and child home to their Amish farm. Books crooked brothers in blue do not know which among the many Amish and Mennonite communities around Pennsylvania theyve vanished off to, and this buys Book time to heal. But its also just long enough for him to learn there can be no true middle ground for himself and Rachels slowly growing attraction.The above could easily read as the setup of a by-the-numbers thriller about dirty cops and movie stars caught in a high-concept. Ford would, in fact, make many such films in the decades to come. However, the power of Witness hails from the spartan instincts of Weir and Ford, two talents who seemed to intuitively understand how to excavate the credibility of a character or story, no matter how sensationalistic or nakedly commercial.Indeed, McGillis would star in one of the bigger high-concept hits of the 80s a year later when she appeared opposite Tom Cruise in Top Gun. But in Witness, she gets to play an actual character in a film that has the good grace to realize the most important things are often left unspoken.Theyre seen for certain. Witnessed, even, as we all can plainly notice in the sequence where Book introduces Rachel to the velvety wonder of Sam Cooke one night in her late husbands barn. It is there that Book and the Amish have uneasily hidden the police detectives shot up car, and where he must hunker over the vehicles engine by candlelight if he wishes to ever drive away from this place.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!In the sequence, Ford reveals the inherent handiness of his character, working as resolutely in oil and engine grease as we later see Amish men in Rachels community build from wood and hammers. However, the alien nature of Books metal and chrome carriage, his electric lights and music, is what captures Rachels imagination. There is an unavoidable attraction between the two that is never once uttered aloud or acknowledged beyond a stolen kiss much later in the picture. But it is there in the dancing shadows and beamers as the two idle to (What a) Wonderful World.So many of Fords best performances, though, rely on whats beneath the surface. At the top of the iceberg, its easy to see why he became a star: a flashy smile attached to good looks that can sit as comfortably in a leather jacket as a tweed sport coatand sometimes in the same movie, as was the case with the signature Indiana Jones role. But despite having the vibrant masculinity of a Golden Age movie star, there was always a quiet wounded intellectualism beneath the surface of Fords screen persona. These competing sensibilities were used to comic effect by Spielberg, but in Weirs hands they become something forlorn and tragic.There is a vulnerability to the Book character that makes Rachels attraction palpable, but there is also an aggression and darkness too that dooms him to be incompatible in her world. In some ways, it complements the Amish lifestyle as seen in a terrific and elongated barn-raising sequence. It is again Weirs commitment to the truth of whatever world he is building that a movie like Witness can stop for a full five minutes of silent cinema. It is really only Maurice Jarres uncharacteristically synthesized score which gives sound to a sequence where Book joins Rachels father and neighbors, including rival beau Daniel (Alexander Godunov), in building a barn. The lack of dialogue, like the barn itself, is a monument to the antiquated pleasures and simplicity of an Amish lifestyle.But the electronic nature of the music betrays what an awkward fit Book and this story is in this culture. Soon enough that incongruity becomes bitterly inescapable. Hence the most violent scene in the movie is not the opening where a man is stabbed to death in front of a child, nor is it the end of the film where Book in turn kills those killers, one through a horrible suffocation while being buried alive in grain. Those scenes are hard to watch, but they pale in comparison to a sequence where Fordwhile still dressed in an Amish mans hat and hooksbrutalizes a redneck tourist whos driven to town to gawk at Amish folk.The actual fisticuff stunt work involved in Ford beating up some meatheads is basic, the sound effects pedestrian. But it is the bubbling look of anger and hostility in Fords countenance that causes sincere discomfort. Viewers are keyed into the fact a volcano is about to erupt, and the rage is so convincing that when copious amounts of fake blood are smeared across the face of the extra he lays out, you want to look away. Something beautiful has been violated; the lovely daydream between Ford and McGillis characters shattered into a million pieces.Witness is nominally a thriller, but in practice its a doomed romance. And the nature of that ruination is written entirely in Fords performance and its equal measures of sensitivity and wrath, intelligence and barbarism. It was a turn worthy of an Oscar nomination. Forty years later, it remains a gem in Fords catalog, and perhaps an indictment of the Academy since more of its ilk, including from this star, have gone so unrecognized.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·48 Views
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The Doctor Who Episodes that Define Each Doctorwww.denofgeek.comOver the last 62 years, Doctor Who has been a lot of different TV shows, and the Doctor has been a lot of different characters, in more ways than one. There are common strands: cleverness mixed with tomfoolery mixed with one hell of an ego, an idiosyncratic dress sense, and a tendency towards big noses and Scottish accents. But each Doctor has their very own distinct flavour, and in each Doctors era, there is one story that captures the essence of the era.In tracking down those stories, were going to avoid regeneration stories at either end of the Time Lord life cycle if possible, because this isnt about how the Doctors are introduced or summarise themselves at the end. It is about that one story that shows who a Doctor is.The First Doctor The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964)Anyone who writes Doctor Who for any length of time will eventually have the quite stupid thought What if we finally did the Doctors origin story?Andrew Cartmel thought he could do it with his great unrealised Masterplan. Moffat had a couple of goes, with both Claras visit to the Doctors childhood in Listen, and the somewhat messy, never quite adequately explained Hybrid plotline. And of course, there is the always-to-be-relitigated Timeless Child reveal under Chibnall. But the Doctors real origin story was already told in 1964.Doctor Who, starring William Hartnell, had been around for about a year. In the first episode he assumed the name The Doctor when Ian Chesterton refers to him as such and he likes the sound of it. The TARDIS gets stuck as a police box just because.However, the hero known as the Doctor is nowhere to be found. He kidnaps schoolteachers, attempts to bludgeon cavemen to death from behind, sabotages his own TARDIS so he can look around an alien planet, then riles its pacifist inhabitants into fighting a war so he can fix it again. The early Doctor Who stories are about the TARDIS crew arriving somewhere, getting into a scrape, getting out of it again and if some heroism happens along the way it is strictly a by-product.Until this story. When someone asks if the Daleks dare to meddle with the forces of creation, and the Doctor says They dare! And we must dare to stop them! it is our first glimpse of the Doctor of legend, a person who travels through space and time to willingly put themselves between monsters and people who need saving from monsters.The Second Doctor The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967)By the time of the Second Doctor, played by Patrick Troughton, he was well into the swing of fighting monsters. This was the era that codified the base under siege storyline while offering a conveyor belt of monsters.Troughton also had a quality that, frankly, new Doctor Who could stand to learn from. He was a Doctor who didnt mind being underestimated. Where every other Doctor wanted to be Sherlock Holmes, he was happy to be a Columbo, using flattery and modesty to disarm the megalomaniac until he could turn the tables.While the title might lead you to believe that the Cybermen are the lead villain of this story, the truth is the real baddies are Miss Kaftan and Eric Klieg, representing the Brotherhood of Logicians. The Brotherhood of Logicians is a secret society of technocrats who believe that their great intellect entitles them to rule over the human race (make your own satirical observations in the comments). That total confidence in their own intellectual superiority makes them absolutely perfect Second Doctor fodder.The Third Doctor The Claws of Axos (1971)Choosing the definitive Third Doctor story is difficult because it is an era with so many complex moving parts. It marked a temporary shift away from TARDIS-destination-of-the-week stories to Avengers (Steed and Peel, not Marvel)-style adventures with back-up from a global paramilitary organisation with a cool-sounding acronym. It also introduced a new enemy for the Doctor in the form of the goatee-loving Master.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!The Claws of Axos brings us the full Third Doctor toy box. The Doctor is in full UNIT employee mode, doing what he does best, being incredibly cross about it while having to argue with exactly the sort of bureaucrats he normally gets to ignore. There is an alien visitation that introduces itself as friendly but has a similar motive, and of course, those aliens are allied with the Master, who seeks to use the aliens for his own agenda.The outcome of this deal is so predictable that, with hindsight, you may be forgiven for thinking it was the Masters idea in the first place: The aliens turn on him, forcing the Doctor and the Master to work together to defeat the threat (he just wants attention!).It is frankly, everything you want from a Third Doctor story in one neat little box.The Fourth Doctor Genesis of the Daleks (1975)If Doctor Who had ended with Tom Bakers tenure, it would still be considered a classic series that had a pretty good run. The show evolved and had the sort of peaks and troughs of quality that you would expect for any programme that ran for seven years.Yet if you want the quintessential Fourth Doctor story, you need only look at that Doctors fourth story. It stands as a pretty good flagbearer for Doctor Who as a whole, even though it is that rare thing: a story without the TARDIS.Genesis of the Daleks, in many ways, has the perfect Doctor Who premise. It addresses the first question everyone asks of any time traveller, let alone the most do-gooding time traveller of them all. Why dont you just kill Hitler? (In case the metaphor of screeching, purity-obsessed tin-pots whose arms are stuck in a permanent sieg heil was too subtle for you, this story puts the Daleks creators in straight-up Gestapo uniforms.)It gives Baker room to flex every muscle he has. Say what you like about Nazis, but their arrogance and self-seriousness make them a great comic foil. Then, up against Davros in his first and greatest appearance, we see the Doctor grow serious as he grasps the sheer evil he is up against. And of course, there is the famous Have I the right? speech, where the Doctor has the opportunity to wipe out his enemy once and for all, and chooses not to.The Fifth Doctor Earthshock (1982)To younger fans (and by younger here I mean, People in their 30s and 40s) the Fifth Doctor has undergone a bit of a memetic evolution. Among the Doctors of the classic series, he was the Young One. We see him being chummy with David Tennant in the Children in Need Time Crash short, and hanging out with Tegan in The Power of the Doctor, and we watch Peter Davison in The Five-ish Doctors and he seems nice. A bit grumpy. Definitely not on a par with the likes of McCoy, Ecclestone and Capaldi when you need a Doctor to go dark.Yet what you forget about Tegan is that shes the companion who left the TARDIS in Resurrection of the Daleks because it was too fricking violent. If you watch this charming collection of times the Doctor has shot someone to death with a gun, the Fifth Doctor is better represented than most especially when you consider that in context, the Fourth Doctor is being framed in most of his scenes, and the Second Doctor is carrying a couple of big torches.The show had been on the air for 20 years, and a battle was raging over whether it was going to be dark and grown-up and edgy now its audience was growing up, or be a kids show forever. And one of the definitive strikes in that battle was Earthshock, where the show killed off Adric. Sure, Adric will never rank well in our Top 10 Least Annoying Doctor Who Companions listicle, but if Star Trek: The Next Generation murdered Wesley Crusher, itd still be considered a dark move.It set the tone that would eventually lead to the All-Time-Favourites-List regular, Caves of Androzani.The Sixth Doctor The Mark of the Rani (1985)Russell T Davies is credited with bringing a few innovations to Doctor Who: changing the episodes from 25 to 45 minutes each, amping up the flirtation between the Doctor and the Master, giving the Doctor a leather jacket instead of a clown-ish period costume covered in question marks. Which is all just a long way of saying poor Colin Baker.The Mark of the Rani is a story made of two 45-minute episodes, starring Colin Baker in a brightly coloured patchwork outfit (not the leather jacket he wanted to wear). In a terribly underserved era (Baker would go on to do much better in the Big Finish audios) this feels almost like a Davies-era historical. Almost.But the heart of the story is What if the Doctor had to fight an evil Time Lord who actually wanted to take over the world, rather than just flirt with him the whole time?This episode still suffers from all the flaws of its time, including post-2005 length episodes with pre-1988 level pacing, but it gives us a glimpse only a glimpse of what Baker might have done with better material.The Seventh Doctor Battlefield (1989)Just as Peter Davison can be unfairly pigeonholed as the nice one, Sylvester McCoys Doctor has a bit of an unearned reputation for being the dark, morally complex, grown-up Doctor of the classic era. Our image of the Seventh Doctor is as much defined by the Virgin Adventures with their deep lore, and stories about drug trafficking and war crimes, as it is by the 12 stories that aired on TV.The Doctor is just as much a funny man dangling from an umbrella over a cliff in Dragonfire as he is the manipulator who intentionally destroys Aces faith in him to defeat his adversary in The Curse of Fenric.And Battlefield shows us a nice halfway house between those two Seventh Doctors. It is a Doctor with friends, as we see him joyfully reunited with the Brigadier, not to mention his old car Betty. It is a Doctor with a past, but also a future (and while spin-off media have gone there a few times, were still dying to see the TV show give us The Doctor As Merlin). A Doctor who is capable of manipulating and plotting, but whose ultimate winning move is to appeal to his enemys mercy, as he does when he tells Jean Marshs Morgaine of the true horrors nuclear weapons will unleash.It is McCoys ability to master that scope, which he managed right from his audition, that puts him among the best actors in the role.The Eighth Doctor Night of the Doctor (2013)Yes, we said no regeneration stories, but you have to admit that were in a bit of a bind with this one. Of the two TV stories Paul McGann starred in as the Doctor, it isnt much of a contest. In The Movie, nobody is sure of themselves. Everyone, McGann included, is still finding their way. The Paul McGann who appears in The Night of the Doctor has held the title for as long as anyone (tied for nine years with McCoy), but while McCoy spent the time between the show being cancelled and his swan song in the movie in other roles, or on the convention circuit, McGann spent his off-screen hiatus starring in dozens of audio plays, getting to know the character better, refining his performance, and getting to do things with the character that frankly, the TV show would never let you get away with.From Bring me knitting to saying farewell by name to each of his audio drama companions, we see McGann bring the full range a Doctor Who actor is expected to deliver, with the weight of an actor who has waited longer than anyone for his final bow.The War Doctor The Day of the Doctor (2013)It was his one episode, come on, keep up.The Ninth Doctor Boom Town (2005)This isnt a best-of list. Boom Town is probably not anyones favourite. Its probably not anyones favourite Christopher Eccleston episode. But this is where we see the Ninth Doctor at his height. Hes got his TARDIS crew, Rose and Jack and even Mickey turning up to join in. Hes watched the last Dalek die, has The One Where Everybody Lives (The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances) under his belt, and is starting to seem like he might just be starting to heal from all that trauma hes carrying around. Honestly, wouldve been nice to get another season or two out of him at this point before finding what all that Bad Wolf stuff is about.But here is also where we find out who this Doctor is, and in the best possible way. Catch the villain right at the start of the episode, then make the Doctor sit down for dinner with them. This isnt a Doctor who will let you underestimate him. This isnt a Doctor who will ask if he has the right. Hes decided he does, and has done, over and over again by this point. This is a Doctor whos done terrible things and lived with them, and despite all of that still really wants to try and be the hero people think he is.The Tenth Doctor School Reunion (2006)This has been one of the hardest ones to pick, because the Tenth Doctor is always so completely The Tenth Doctor. Until David Tennant came along, on some level all Doctor actors were doing a Tom Baker impression. After Tennant, a bit of them was always doing a Tennant impression as well.So its fitting that the best showcase for Tennants Doctor introduces him to a companion of the Fourth. In this story we get the full Doctor Acting Range experience, from the Doctor cheerfully posing as a supply teacher, to the chilling delivery of I used to have so much mercy. Here we see the seeds of the Tenth Doctors ultimate arc. In The Runaway Bride, when Donna tells him I think you need someone to stop you, and in the Time Lord Victorious speech in The Waters of Mars the seeds of that journey are planted here when the Doctor is offered the chance to save everyone, if he only takes over the universe.And of course, the Tenth Doctors story is ultimately all about Rose Tyler, so seeing her realise her place as the latest in a long line, rather than the one and only, shines a big light on that relationship.The Eleventh Doctor A Good Man Goes to War (2011)Remember the Second Doctor? The Columbo in a line of Sherlock Holmeses? That man is long gone. Both the character and the TV show have been on a long journey since then, and in both the legend of who the Doctor is has grown. By this point, the Doctor barely even needs to outwit the enemy anymore. He just needs to tell them to look him up.This is where it peaks. Not at Trenzalore (a skirmish by your standards as the Great Intelligence points out), not in bringing back Gallifrey, but here. The stakes are not the planet or the universe, but the Doctors friend and her child, and the Doctor raises an army to get them back. This is the Doctor at the climax of the journey he started in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, truly believing his own hype as the Oncoming Storm.And Matt Smith, probably one of the most Doctor-ish of Doctor actors, is at his most Doctor-ish hair. Clowning and silly (Point a gun at me if it makes you feel better!), menacing (Telling the newly-crowned Colonel Runaway I want you to tell them your name.), hopping backwards and forwards through time to recruit anyone he needs, because they all owe him favours.Then he loses, and that paves the way for what comes next.The Twelfth Doctor The Wizards Apprentice/The Witchs Familiar (2015)The Doctor is back on the Dalek home planet of Skaro again, with a gun pointed right at baby Hitler (sorry, Davros). And yet, given that this two-parter is also a season premiere, it feels oddly routine as far as Nu Who Dalek episodes go. Which is why its such a good showcase of Capaldi.We see how this Doctor reacts to learning hes going to die, which to be fair, after He will knock four times and the exploding TARDIS arc from Series 5 and Trenzalore, is a pretty routine occurrence. This time rather than raging against the dying of the light, he throws a party. But thats not the reason why this is the story weve chosen to sum up Capaldis time as the Doctor.See, once again, Capaldi is one of those dark Doctors. Spends his first series wondering if hes a good person while making trolley problem decisions left and right. But this whole two-parter, this entire story, comes down to one decision. Davros tells the Doctor hes dying, and asks him to come and visit, and the Doctor agrees. Even though Davros is his worst enemy (sorry Missy). Even though Davros will probably kill him. The Doctor walks right into an obvious trap, and he does it because its the kind thing to do.However grumpy he gets, that is the thing that most defines this version of the Doctor one who has (mostly) got over his own hype, and now just wants to help.The Thirteenth Doctor Rosa (2018) Once again, we are not here to make a best-of list, but Rosa remains one of the best stories in Jodie Whittakers time in the TARDIS. It encapsulates a lot of what was best about her and Chibnalls era. It took us to a place and a time the show had not visited before, the segregation-era Deep South. It was unapologetic and unflinching in talking about social issues, and made an effort to educate about history in a way that the show perhaps hadnt done since Hartnells time.And yet, as happened a lot under Chibnall, muddled storytelling led to some pretty weird messaging, despite its noble goals. Things like the Doctor and Graham having to heroically take up seats in the whites-only part of the bus to ensure Rosa Parks would be asked to stand.Another thing you can see Chibnall doing throughout his run is trying to move the Doctor away from the grandstanding we see in A Good Man Goes to War, but again, that goal has mixed results when you combine it with the first time the character is played by a woman. It leads to a Doctor who, on more than one occasion, is willing to be a spectator when injustice happens, which just isnt the gig.The Fourteenth Doctor The GiggleOnce again weve broken our No regenerations episodes rule, but once again I think you can agree we have our reasons here. Wild Blue Yonder is an all-time great Doctor Who episode, but it doesnt get to the heart of who this version of the Doctor is as much as The Giggle. The finale of the 60th anniversary specials trilogy is almost like an exorcism. After The Star Beast showed us Russell T Davies triumphant return with exactly the sort of grounded-yet-fantastic season opener he excels at, followed by the minimalist, misanthropic and claustrophobic horror of Wild Blue Yonder, The Giggle is the embodiment of everything any fan on the internet complained about from 2005 to 2010. Camp villains doing musical numbers, completely-on-the-nose political commentary, the Doctor getting weepy about his sad backstory, an insane deus-ex-machina ending that raises more questions than it answers, Russell T Davies dances in front of his critics like Neil Patrick Harris in front of UNIT machine gun fire.This is what defines the Fourteenth Doctor the Tenth Doctor with the brakes well and truly off.The Fifteenth Doctor Space Babies (2024)Ncuti Gatwas time in the TARDIS is far from over. Maybe his incarnation of the Doctor will see a transformation as dramatic as Capaldis between Deep Breath and Twice Upon a Time. But his first full, non-Christmas special episode in the role provides a pretty strong mission statement. It puts the Doctor exactly where the Doctor most likes to be between some children and a monster. Then he does the thing the Doctor is best at finding the humanity in that monster.This episode shows us a Doctor who is more open than any of his predecessors, telling Ruby that his people are GONE! right from the start, but also adding that he is so glad to be alive. But what clinches it, what really shows us who this Doctor is, who the Doctor is, is the line Nobody grows up wrong.Thats Doctor Who, right there.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·61 Views
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Agatha All Along, Shogun, Cobra Kai, and More: SCAD TVfest 2025 Round Upwww.denofgeek.comThe pop culture calendar isnt exactly hurting for worthwhile festivals, conventions, and junkets. Including the usual suspects like San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), New York Comic Con (NYCC), South by Southwest (SXSW), and Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), theres a host of acronymic events that Den of Geek and other outlets have made a habit of covering over the years. One thing many of these cons have in common, however, is that theyre not located in Hollywood. And by Hollywood, of course, we mean Atlanta, Georgia.Blessed with a temperate climate, thriving industry, and local governments that are amenable to filming tax breaks, the Peach States capital city has become a major production center for film and television. Already the long-time home for Turner properties like TNT, TBS, and Adult Swim, Atlanta has increasingly made way for other heavy hitters like Marvel and Netflix in recent years. And to capitalize on that increased Hollywood presence, major festivals are starting to make their way as well.Hosted by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)s Atlanta campus, SCAD TVfest has been bringing folks from the TV industry together for more than a decade. This years edition welcomed in everyone from Agatha All Along showrunner Jac Schaeffer to Shguns Hiroyuki Sanada to The Duffer Brothers of Stranger Things fame. Den of Geek was there through it all, prowling around red carpets and panels to get some insight from the creatives behind our favorite shows.Jac SchaefferAgatha All AlongAgatha All Along star Patti LuPone has already said all that needs said about the potential of a second season. Its not happening, folks! Thankfully, Agatha and WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer was still happy to speak with us about her two beloved Marvel shows, which can now be best described as occupying the Ralph Bohner-verse.It was my personal mission to get Ralph Bohner back on the chessboard, Schaeffer said. I was like Im not doing the show unless Evan Peters is in his trailer.The Agatha and WandaVision scribe went on to discuss her favorite Kathryn Hahn moment, working with the Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez on The Ballad of The Witches Road, and her excitement for the upcoming Vision Quest series.Hiroyuki SanadaShogunLegendary Japanese actor and producer Hiroyuki Sanada was on site at SCAD TVfest to receive a well-earned Lifetime Achievement Award. Before that, however, he stopped by the red carpet to share some details on the unexpected but much hyped second season of FX hit Shgun. We used the whole novel part already. So we have no novel in the season two, but we have real history and models, Sanada said. We know what happened in the history. So you keep that taste of season one but were going to create original entertainment, fictional entertainment, not just the history book.(L-R) Justin Spitzer, Allison Tolman, Kahyun Kim, Mekki Leeper and Eric LedginSt. Denis MedicalEven at a festival devoted to honoring the best of television, theres a certain level of confusion as to what a TV show even is. Check out this dispatch from the Den of Geek newsletter in which one attendee doesnt know whether the aforementioned Shgun is a TV series or not. Theres no confusion when it comes to NBC sitcom St. Denis Medical, however. This well-received hospital mockumentary is unmistakably a television program and a good one at that, taking home the Breakthrough Cast Award at SCAD TVfest.I grew up in Korea and I learned colloquial English watching Friends. NBC is obviously iconic for their comedy. It feels crazy [to be a part of this], Serena actress Kahyun Kim said. Matt Duffer, Caleb McLaughlin and Ross DufferStranger ThingsThe main event of SCAD TVfest Day One on February 5 was an evening panel and screening with Stranger Things creators and Variety Showrunner Awardwinners Matt and Ross Duffer. Though the audience at SCADshow theater was noticeably disappointed to discover that the screening was merely of a previously-released season 4 episode (and not unseen footage from the upcoming fifth and final season), the Duffers made the experience worth everyones while with keen insights about the TV industry and some season 5 teases.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Among the season 5 revelations was that VFX and editing work is ahead of schedule and the Duffers are confident that the shows swansong will arrive in 2025 as originally planned. Additionally, they clarified that any Stranger Things spinoffs would not feature existing characters, scuttling the fans dreams of a Steve and Dustin buddy comedy.The Duffers also swatted down expectations of working within a pre-existing franchise like Star Wars or Marvel. If we have any chips we can cash in from Stranger Things it should be something original, Matt Duffer said, before adding: And if thats a total dud well do IP.(L-R) Missy Laney, Adele Supreme Williams and Dominique BraudOh My GodYes! A Series of Extremely Relatable CircumstancesAs you can probably tell from its lengthy, almost Fall Out Boy song c. 2005-esque title, Oh My GodYes! A Series of Extremely Relatable Circumstances is an Adult Swim joint. Created by indie comic figure Adele Supreme Williams, Oh My GodYes! etc. etc. follows the misadventures of three best friends as they navigate womanhood in a near-future South Central L.A. Though the show has the usual Adult Swim aesthetic down pat, its also, unbelievably, the networks first series to feature a Black woman protagonist.Its an honor, Williams told Den of Geek of her shows unlikely place in cable history. But Id be lying if I said there wasnt an immense amount of pressure. And if I can be even more vulnerable: its a little scary. You get a little in your head about how the audience will respond to the work.Still, Williams is excited to see how far that experience can go. There are so many characters that show up in this season that could have their own entire episode, Williams said. What I love about [fellow Adult Swim series] Smiling Friends is all these random and tertiary characters they bring into the world and as the story goes along they subvert your expectations. I love the show. And I see [Oh My GodYes] as going on for a few more seasons. Fingers crossed for sure.(L-R) Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh HealdCobra KaiAfter six seasons of wholesome martial arts mayhem, The Karate Kid spinoff Cobra Kai is set to ride off into the sunset with its final batch of episodes premiering February 13 on Netflix. Its been quite the journey for the YouTube Red survivor and its creators (Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald) and some of its cast (Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser, and Jacob Bertrand) stopped by the SCAD TVfest red carpet to discuss it all, including whether any crucial Karate Kid characters never made it into Cobra Kais six seasons.We always tried to tell a modern story and if there was a fun, organic way to bring the original characters back, we did it that way, Hurwitz said. But believe me, we know every single actor that we didnt get, and its either because there wasnt the right story for them or theyre just not in acting mode anymore.Noah CentineoThe Recruit2025 has been quite the year for Noah Centineoand were not even through February yet. The To All The Boys trilogy star kicked off the calendar with a double-feature on Netflix, headlining The Recruit season 2 and popping up for a not-so-surprise cameo in XO, Kitty season 2. As Centineo told Den of Geek, the South Korea filming location for both projects may have been more than a coincidence. Youd have to ask Netflix, Centineo joked. I think maybe it was by design on their end or it was just a really happy coincidence. The team over at Netflix and ACE [Entertainment] realized I was going to be over there for The Recruit. They hey hit me up and I said Of course, I would love to.'Fresh off winning SCADs Distinguished Performer Award, Centineo is gearing up for another season of The Recruit. I have no idea whats gonna happen in season three. The only thing I know is that it needs to blow season two and season one out of the water.(L-R) D. W. Moffett, Andra Reeve-Rabb, Samiya Allen-Graham, Ian Whitt, Erica Muradi, Aria Brown, Drake Aasen, Kane Innis, Jocelyn Shelfo and Mark TymchyshynOne particularly charming aspect of SCAD TVfest is the SCAD Atlanta campus itself and the involvement of many of the colleges students. Aspiring filmmakers, performers, and artisans not only work many of the panels, junkets, and events, but occasionally get to highlight their own work. One such example is the SCAD-created sitcom Lodged. Set in an Aspen ski lodge, the series finds a young entrepreneur trying to convert the space into a swanky resort. Its a real-ass TV show. But its also a learning opportunity for its cast and crew.Sitcom is a good blend of theater and film. And for me personally, [Lodged] came at a perfect time where I had gone my whole life basically doing theater, and now in the last couple years, Im transitioning to film and television. This bridges the gap, Drake Aasen said.SCAD just offers such a variety of opportunities from improv clubs to sitcoms to short films to plays to everything. They give us three day weekends, so we really have the time to collaborate on projects and work together. Jocelyn Shelfo said.Walker ScobellPercy Jackson and the OlympiansAt 16 years old, Percy Jackson and the Olympians star Walker Scobell isnt quite old enough to even be a SCAD student yet but that didnt stop him from receiving TVfests Rising Star Award. Scobell spoke with Den of Geek about the Percy Jackson season 2 moment hes most excited for people to see.What we did in episode four with CharybdisandScylla, he said. I dont want to spoil anything but this is probably the biggest [episode]. Its its own movie to be honest. That was the first table read we did where we hadnt read it beforehand. They wanted us to all experience it for the first time with them.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·57 Views
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Captain America 4 Keeps Hinting at a Major Wolverine Connectionwww.denofgeek.comGet ready, bub. Captain America: Brave New World might not really be about Sam Wilson dealing with a secret plot to turn the President into a Hulk. At the center of a battle with Captain America and the U.S. government on one side and the mercenary group the Serpent Society (led by Giancarlo Espositos Sidewinder) on the other, with master manipulator the Leader in between, is a special metal directly connected to the X-Mens most famous member, Wolverine.The trailers for the film have shown that Brave New World pits Cap and the various belligerents in a fight over the hand of Tiamut, the Celestial who began breaking through the Earths crust at the end of Eternals. As if proving once and for all that Eternals was incredibly boring, everyone in the MCU seemed to forget about the hand in the years after that presumably catastrophic event. But now, theyve taken notice again, in large part because it contains a super-metal called Adamantium.As most Marvel Comics readers can tell you, Adamantium is the indestructible metal that covers the bones and claws of Wolverine. As strong as Black Panthers Vibranium, Adamantium is incredibly difficult to use and poisonous to most. Yet, thanks to his increased healing ability, Wolverine can survive having it inside of his bodies, making his claws all the more deadly. So does this movies Adamantium plot mean well get at least a nod, if not an outright appearance, by the Logan at some point in the film? Perhaps even in its post-credit scene?Of course, weve seen a variant of Wolverine already in the MCU thanks to Hugh Jackman reprising the role for Deadpool & Wolverine. Despite reports suggesting that Jackman would happily continue playing the part for decades longer, and despite the fact that Wolverine is canonically around 150 years old, one gets the sense that Marvel would like a new, younger actor in the part when the X-Men do arrive in earnest in the MCU. Brave New World could provide a way to introduce this new version.On first glance, a Captain America movie might seem like a strange place to debut a Canadian mutant best known for killing people with his razor claws. Why not start him off in the upcoming X-Men movie, rumored to release in 2027? If theres truth to the rumors that the new X-Men cast will feature Julia Butters as Kitty Pryde and Stranger Thingss Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, then the film may be going for a teenage team, which fits the teams original conception as students and Professor Xaviers school. But a character who first appeared as a minor antagonist to the Hulk and later was imported to the X-Men books, Wolverine was always older than the others, never a student. So it follows that he would pop up before the other X-Men.Furthermore, Wolverine has a long history of dealing with secret government programs and black ops missions, which has brought him into the orbit of Captain America more than once. Uncanny X-Men #268, written by Chris Claremont and penciled by Jim Lee, recounts one of those early adventures, in which a pre-Wolverine Logan and Steve Rogers team up to rescue the child Natasha Romanoff (aka Black Widow) from Nazis and ninjas.Later, Grant Morrison directly tied Wolverines origin to that of Captain America. Morrison retconned the Weapon Plus program, the secret government initiative responsible for killers such as Wolverine and Deadpool, into a continuation of the Super Soldier program that created Captain America. Calling Rogers Weapon I, the program continued experimenting with possible variations, reaching Logan in its 10th incarnation, dubbed Weapon X.The Weapon Plus program wiped Logans memory and turned him into a killing machine, sending him on black ops missions for the U.S. Government and for Department H, the superhuman division of his native Canada. Eventually, Logan broke free from Weapon X and went his own way, later getting recruited to the X-Men by Professor X. Through the professors tutelage, Logan slowly regained his sense of self (including learning his true name James Howlett) and became more than a animal.Wolverines character arc is long and complex, too big for a single movie, especially one with a whole teams worth of characters. By starting Wolverines story in Captain America: Brave New World, Marvel can give the beloved character the attention he deserves, while also letting him serve as a dark reflection of the super soldier program that the human Sam rejects, thereby building his heroism.And if the Wolverine connection lets Captain America build an Avengers full of X-Men, as Anthony Mackie himself pitched to Den of Geek, all the better.Captain America: Brave New World flies into theaters on Feb. 14.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!0 Comments ·0 Shares ·58 Views
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Euphoria Season 3 First Look Brings Good News for Fans of the Showwww.denofgeek.comNews Euphoria Season 3 First Look Brings Good News for Fans of the ShowDespite rumors to the contrary, Euphoria and Zendaya are coming back for a third season.By Brynna Arens | February 10, 2025 | | Photo: Eddy Chen | HBOIts been three long years since the season 2 finale of Euphoria. Between the WGA and SAG-AFTRA work stoppages of 2023 and creative disagreements on the direction of the series, there have been doubts that we would even get a third season. Theres also the fact that several of the shows stars like Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, and Sydney Sweeney have all started to move on with their careers, taking notable roles outside of the series and staying booked and busy in the interim, as well as the unfortunate death of Angus Cloud. However, despite the tumultuous journey getting Euphoria season 3 to production has been, there is finally some good news for fans of the show.A24 has posted a first look still from season 3, showing not only that production has begun at the start of the year, as promised, but also that Zendaya is back as Rue Bennett.We dont know much else about season 3 thus far. One of the last things we heard was that some of the creative disagreements mentioned above had to do with where to take Rues character this season, especially if the series makes its rumored time jump. Some scrapped ideas involved Rue being a private investigator or a pregnancy surrogate. Its nearly impossible to guess or assume where Rues journey might be going this season based on a single image, but at least it seems like shes as moody and brooding as ever.Like many HBO shows, Euphoria can take the better part of a year to film one season. Season 1 was filmed between late October 2018 and May 2019 while season 2 was filmed between March and November 2021. This unfortunately means that we likely wont get to actually see season 3 until maybe late this year or early next year.At least this gives us plenty of time to rewatch our favorite episodes and speculate what might be next for these characters after the explosive and dramatic season 2 finale. Nate (Jacob Elordi) called the cops on his dad and had him arrested. Fez (Angus Cloud) and Ashtray (Javon Walton) were caught up in a shootout with the cops. Maddy (Alexa Demie) started a fight with Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) after discovering that Lexis (Maude Apatow) play was, in fact, about them and Cassies secret relationship with Nate. And most importantly, Rue stayed sober for the rest of the school year after that.Hopefully A24 and HBO will be fairly generous with sneak peeks like these going forward. Euphoria fans have been suffering through a drought these last few years, and heaven knows theyre going to be hungry for whatever crumbs were given.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·48 Views
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Star Trek: Ranking Every Version of the Enterprisewww.denofgeek.comFour full minutes. Thats how much time Star Trek: The Motion Picture devotes to a sequence in which Scotty and Kirk take a shuttle to the new USS Enterprise. The Motion Picture gets a lot of guff for its slow pace and its indulgences, and rightfully so. But we forgive the flyby sequence because its not just our two Starfleet members admiring their ship. We get to admire it too, lavishing in every line and curve.The Motion Picture wouldnt have even attempted the sequence were they working with anything other than the Enterprise. More than just the Starfleet flagship or the hero ship of the mainline franchise entries, the Enterprise is one of the most beloved space ships of all time. It has lived in the public consciousness for decades, spawning endless parodies, imitators, and homages.Yet, everyone knows that the Enterprise isnt the only Enterprise. Various legacy ships and alternate versions have appeared in the franchise. Of course, the name Enterprise does not a great starship make, and these Enterprises are not equal, which means we get to rank them.Quick point of order: for this list, were really only focusing on ships that received a great deal of attention or played an important role in their stories. So while the ISS Enterprise served as the setting of Mirror, Mirror, the ship itself wasnt terribly important and did not appear again in canon outside of an episode of Discovery. And no, were absolutely not going to include the 285,000 Enterprises that hailed each other in The Next Generation episode Parallels.Also worth noting: were only going with on-screen and canonical details here. For example, the Enterprise refit and Enterprise-A from The Original Series movies are basically identical on screen, and thus get lumped together here. Yet, plenty of non-canonical sources lay out the many differences between the two vessels.Those restrictions out of the way, weve still got 11 great ships to choose from. And while were sure some are better than others, theyre all so great that history will never forget the name Enterprise.In theory, we understand what producers wanted to accomplish with the Enterprise-E, giving Picard and his crew a cinematic upgrade to launch their own voyages on the big screen. However, the Enterprise-D was designed for television first and foremost, so putting a new slick coat of gloss on those qualities for the -E only made them stand out, eliminating the charm of the beige interior and horseshoe bridge and making it feel like a corporate boardroom.Worse yet is the sheer scale of the -E. As a Galaxy-class ship, the -E outmatches its predecessor in size and in firepower. Its 16 phaser arrays and 10 torpedo launchers, compared to the 12 arrays and three launchers on the -D, mark it as a ship ready for war. Thats the biggest problem with the -E. The ship perfectly encapsulated the Next Generation movies shift from character-driven stories to action-driven stories, a serious downgrade.In short, we dont need to know what Worf did to destroy the -E between Nemesis and Picard. Were just glad he did.9. Enterprise-F (Star Trek: Picard)Yes, the Rock did fight Seven of Nine in an episode of Voyager. Otherwise, Star Trek doesnt have much in common with wrestling. The other exception might be the treatment of the Enterprise-F in the third season of Star Trek: Picard. The first episodes do a lot of talking up the -F as a noble, powerful ship that has earned its early decommission. And when Ro Laren reveals to Picard the conspiracy with the Changelings, the threat feels all the worse because the -F is involved. And yes, when the -F does finally take to the skies under the command of Captain Shelby, it promptly gets destroyed, showing the depth of the Borg threat.Looking at the few shots we have of the -F, its clear the ship deserved a better fate than Borg Jobber. The sleek design marries the dynamics of the Voyager with the traditional Enterprise aesthetic, giving it a coiled look while still keeping the traditional saucer and hull separation. The nacelles in particular, protruding atop the saucer instead of below, make the -F seem ready for battle. Apparently, that was all for show, as the -F gets killed off pretty quickly, revealing the ship to be little more than a paper tiger.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!8. Enterprise-B (Star Trek: Generations)Theres nothing we could say about the Enterprise-B thats more cruel than the way director David Carson treated the ship in its one and only outing. Star Trek: Generations devotes more screen time to a bottle of champagne floating through space than it does to showing off the -B during its maiden voyage. Were clearly a long way from The Motion Picture.Which is too bad, because what we see of the Enterprise-B looks pretty great. The blue and green lighting scheme of the bridge contrasts well with the darker shadows needed for a film set, and the circular layout, while perhaps a bit cramped, feels more functional than most takes on the starship. On the outside, the hull flaring and more compressed look makes the ship feel propulsive, even in dry dock.All of these qualities help the Enterprise-B stand out from its predecessor and successors, but not from the USS Excelsior, on which it is based. Given that the -B gets a giant hole blown in it pretty quickly, and never gets a captain telling it to fly it apart, its a pretty sad Excelsior and, thus, a lackluster Enterprise.7. Enterprise-G (Star Trek: Picard)Like the -B, the Enterprise-G ranks lower for two reasons: 1) we didnt see enough of it (as the Enterprise) to give it a full evaluation, and 2) it used to be another ship. More specifically, it used to be the USS Titan, the ship most often associated with Rikers command. So while it might be a nice moment when Picard ended by revealing that Seven of Nine would take command of the Enterprise-G, we cant help but mourn the loss of the Titan, at least a little.Still, if we pay attention to what the Enterprise-G was as the Titan-A, then we have to admit its a pretty great ship. Where the original Titan, a Lunar-class ship, had a bit more of a squat and sturdy design, the Constitution III-class Enterprise-G is a bit more narrow, which better resembles other ships with that name. Yet, the nacelles wrapping above the saucer instead of below give it a unique look we hope to see again in the future.So unique, in fact, that it kinda feels like the -G shouldnt be an Enterprise at all and should be a Titan instead.6. Enterprise-C (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Yesterdays Enterprise)As far as the canon goes, the Enterprise-C is a one hit wonder, only showing up in a single episode. But what an episode it is. Yesterdays Enterprise, from TNGs third season, is a story of heroism and sacrifice for the greater good, one of the best entries in the entire franchise.The ship is pretty great, too. When designing the Enterprise-D for TNG, artist Andrew Probert imagined the -C as a perfect fulcrum point between Kirks Starfleet and that of Picard. He created a mock-up by combining the Excelsior with a Galaxy-class ship, which was then created for the show by Rick Sternbach and others.In the eyes of its creators, the finished -C isnt quite as elegant as they hoped. Its saucer section lacks the pop of the original Enterprise or the grace of the -D. Its lighting scheme, while flashy, looks a bit out of step with the rest of the TNG universe, which serves a story in which the -Cs sacrifice prevents a dark future, but doesnt serve the ship as much as one would hope.5. Kelvin Enterprise (Star Trek-Star Trek Beyond)At this point, people might get upset that the Enterprise from 2009s Star Trek ranks so high while the Enterprise-E ranks so low. The two do have much in common, including a sleek approach to televisual qualities and an emphasis on action.Heres the thing, though. The battleship take on the Enterprise fits within the Kelvin Universe, which, as J.J. Abrams presents it, is all about action. The Kelvin Enterprise has huge, winding corridors, perfect for Kirk and Spock to run through in one direction, shout a bunch of stuff, and run in the other.All snark aside, the Kelvin Enterprise looks amazing. It is recognizably the Enterprise that Kirk captained on TOS, just through an Apple Store lens. Every surface shiny, every curve elegant. Yet, it still found a way to make engineering look like a brewery (which it was), keeping with the incongruities of the first ship.4. NX-01For better or worse, Star Trek: Enterprise depicted humanity taking baby steps into space. That made for some awkward moments as Jonathan Archer and his crew fumbled alien encounters that Kirk and Picard would handle with grace. Those moments may have mixed results, but Enterprise nailed its proto-Starfleet approach with its titular ship, the Enterprise NX-01.With its prominent saucer and warp nacelles, the NX-01 is unquestionably a forerunner to the Enterprise. The NX-01 lacks the secondary hull found in every other Enterprise, which speaks to its smaller crew and more focused mission. There arent any families aboard the NX-01 like there are on the Enterprise-D. That stripped down aesthetic continues with the bridge. The circular layout with a command chair in center anticipates the haunts of Kirk and Picard, but its tighter and cramped. Apropos of Enterprises opening montage of previous ships by the same name, its easy to see the naval forerunners within the NX-01s futuristic design.Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the NX-01 is the Swiss army knife quality that designer Douglas Drexler gave the ship. Knowing that various storytellers would need the ship to do different things, Drexler gave the NX-01 ports and sections with no clear purpose, indicating promise that the show never got the chance to realize.3. Enterprise Refit/-A (Star Trek: The Motion Picture-Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)How good is the Enterprise of the TOS films? Its a ship so good that God tried to steal it.The refit Enterprise might be the ship that got the most attention behind the scenes, as creator Gene Roddenberrys people had been working on it as part of the production for the abandoned sequel series Star Trek: Phase II. Even though Paramount commissioned a new model when Phase II changed to The Motion Picture, they had already spent plenty of time thinking about what they could do with a bigger budget.That attention and support paid off in spades with the new model. The refit and the -A retain the sleek, angular look of the original and even heighten the effect with sharp nacelles and a hull sitting back further under the saucer. Internally, the Refit and -A feel bigger, befitting a movie set, with more room for the crew to spread out and do their jobs.The biggest knock against the Refit is that its essentially just the Enterprise redux. But when youre mostly repeating a perfect ship, its hard to go wrong. 2. Enterprise-D (Star Trek: The Next Generation)Say what you want about the bald, dignified Patrick Stewart stepping in for virile William Shatner. TNGs real test involved its hero ship. How could designer Andrew Probert make an Enterprise that both felt like the NCC-1701 of TOS but also stood as the believable Starfleet flagship a century after Kirk left the bridge?All questions ceased the very second that the camera panned over the Enterprise-D in the opening credits. Even without Stewarts majestic voiceover, the -D looks amazing. The subtle curves leading to the warp nacelles. The pleasing glow of the core. Even the specks of lights emanating from windows along the sides, hinting at the thousands of people aboard. All of these elements make the Enterprise-D feel like the ideal vessel for an ongoing mission, voyages that continue far past five years.And yet its just so beige. The one thing that keeps the otherwise glorious -D in second place is its color scheme, a real downgrade from the vibrancy of its most notable predecessor. The softness of the color scheme does reflect the more intellectual stylings of its captain, as does its bridge, with a horse-shoe design that creates a communal feel and two chairs alongside the captains. The Enterprise-D feels not just like a ship that people take on adventures. It feels like a ship on which people live.1. Enterprise (The Original Series)Despite the common misconception that he was a womanizer with a girl in every port, Kirk really only had one true love: his ship. And its easy to see why.Roddenberry and designer Matt Jefferies set out to create something truly unique in the world of science fiction, combining the rocket aesthetics of the Kennedy era with the flying saucers of the 1950s, with elements grounded in real-world aviation. Drawing from his own knowledge of aircraft innovations, Jeffries created something that felt like a natural evolution of the vehicles humans were already sending into space.Such an approach could have resulted in something functional but ugly. Yet, the Enterprise is gorgeous, its unusual look denoting speed and adventure instead of practical stodginess. The grey, blue, and red color scheme feels timeless even today, as does its interior. Its original rounded bridge never feels like a television set, and always seems like the place where explorers of the future do their work, even when eye lighting and technicolor hues appear on the crew.The Enterprise may have been made for a five-year mission that lasted three seasons, but its timeless appeal is one of the main reasons we continue to love Star Trek today.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·60 Views
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Mission: Impossible Final Reckoning Trailer Has a Mysterious Callback to the First Moviewww.denofgeek.comEverything you were, everything youve done, comes down to this, intones the mysterious voiceover in the latest Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning trailer. To underscore the finality of this eighth and last entry of the franchise, the promo features shots from previous films, namely Tom Cruises Ethan Hunt plummeting to the floor during the break-in of the CIA computer room.That callback makes sense, given how much the break-in sequence permeated popular culture. However, more curious is a shot in the present of Ethan staring intently at a knife in his hands.That knife is in the style of the weapons used by Franz Krieger (Jean Reno), the pilot who joined Ethans ad hoc team in the first Mission: Impossible. Like the reliable Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Krieger had a checkered past that made Ethan and the audience mistrust him. While Luther proved to be perhaps the most reliable man in the entire world, Krieger turned on Ethan and joined Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) to kill off the hero. Krieger drove a chopper through the Chunnel, where he and Phelps tried to finish off Ethan during the climactic scene of the first Mission: Impossible. Pulling the explosive gum he previously used to escape IMF director Kittridge (Henry Czerny), Cruise blows up the chopper, apparently killing Krieger and Phelps.So if Kriegers long gone, then why is Ethan staring at his knife? The simple answer ties into a casting announcement from 2023, when director Christopher McQuarrie revealed that Rolf Saxon would return as William Donloe, the beleaguered CIA analyst present during the first movies heist. In fact, McQuarrie revealed that Donloe, a computer expert, was transferred to Alaska after the IMF team broke into the computer room under his watch.The original break-in sequence ends with Krieger dropping a knife, which lands on Donloes table, where the analyst finds it. Given that Donloe is something of a computer expert and that Dead Reckoning Part One and The Final Reckoning pit Hunt and co. against a rogue AI called the Entity, the knife sure feels like a warning for the IMF. Donloe may be telling Ethan that he created the Entity as revenge for them making him throw up a bunch way back in the first film.Neat callback, yes, but that feels pretty anticlimactic for the true villain behind the last two Mission: Impossible movies. After all, Donloe was mostly a comedic character, a guy who kept puking when he tried to return to his office. He doesnt scream author of all your pain.Could the knife actually point to its original owner, Krieger? Yes, it sure looked like Krieger blew up in the first movie, but we didnt actually see a body. And with the exception of Jim Phelps, Krieger would be a great way to tie up the series by going back to the beginning. Its also worth mentioning that this is the same style knife used to kill members of Ethans original IMF team in the first film, which makes its return in the new sequel all the more ominous. Is Krieger back to finish the job?Well find out whats what when Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning hits theaters on May 23.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·59 Views
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Thunderbolts Trailer Confirms a New Marvel Villain Hiding in Plain Sightwww.denofgeek.comThis article contains details from Marvel comics that may be spoilers for Thunderbolts*.There have already been a lot of questions surrounding Marvels latest team movie Thunderbolts*. Are these guys the new Avengers? Whats with the asterisks? Who is Bob? The latest trailer for Thunderbolts* resolves one of the big questions, even if the answer isnt obvious. Throughout the trailer, we see a dark caped figure flying in the sky, zapping people and leaving behind shadowy dust. That is the Void, arch-enemy to the Sentry a.k.a. Bob. Also, the Void is the Sentry a.k.a. Bob. Theyre the same person.Created by Paul Jenkins, Jae Lee, and Rick Veitch, the Sentry, the Void, and Bob all debuted in the Sentry miniseries Marvel published in 2000. The series followed a troubled man named Robert Reynolds who has a premonition about the return of the Void, and seeks the help of Marvels heroes to find the Sentry, the one person who can stop the villain. However, no one remembers the Sentry, no one except the Hulk, who has fond memories of the Golden Man.Robert slowly discovers that the Sentry was a Superman-like figure whose presence changed things for the better for Marvels heroes. Presented in an art style that mirrored Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, complete with Stan Lee style captions, the issues showed Sentry helping Peter Parker win a Pulitzer and get respect as a photographer, and helping the Hulk channel his anger and use his strength to help others. When the Marvel Universe forgot the Sentry, the heroes became the tragic figures we know now: the monstrous Thing, the rampaging Hulk, the hard-luck Spider-Man, the feared and hated X-Men.Why did everyone forget the Sentry? Because the Sentry had an evil second personality, the Void. For everything good that the Sentry accomplishes, the Void does something evil, creating a balance of suffering. So while Marvels heroes benefited from the Sentrys actions, others suffered. Therefore, they and Robert decided to sacrifice their better lives by wiping everyones memories, not unlike what Doctor Strange does with Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Everyone forgets that the Sentry or the Void existed, including Robert, who lives a normal life as Bob.Thunderbolts* appears to take a slightly different approach to the same material. As seen in earlier trailers, the team finds Bob (Lewis Pullman) in a cage in a warehouse, a scared and confused man who doesnt understand why hes there. This suggests that instead of putting Robert back out into the world with his mind erased, SHIELD and/or the U.S. Government hid him in a facility. When the Thunderbolts break Bob out, they also inadvertently unleash the Void.Or is it inadvertent? Is Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) using the Void to manufacture an Avengers level threat for her Thunderbolts to solve, thus positioning them as the new Dark Avengers?I guess well have to wait until Thunderbolts* hits theaters to get all our questions answered.Thunderbolts* arrives in theaters on May 2, 2025.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·56 Views
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The Comic Books That Defined Supermanwww.denofgeek.comYou already know Superman. Hes the first comic book superhero, the guy who set the stage for everyone who followed, from Batman to Wolverine to Mighty Mouse.However, you might have a very limited view of Superman. You might think of him as a big blue boy scout, an eternal do-gooder whose unimpeachable morals and invulnerable strength make him a bit dull.But hes so much more, a complex character who captures the entire moral appeal of power fantasies. You only need to look at the many great comics that have come to define the superhero over the years. After reading these comics, youll not only understand why people like Supermanyoull understand why an entire genre manifested in his blue and red wake.Action Comics #1 (1938)It is shocking to see how fully formed Superman arrived in his 1938 debut. No, he still lacked many of the qualities that would later be added by the first radio and television showsKryptonite, Lex Luthor, even the ability to fly. But the core of Superman was there from the beginning, on display in Action Comics #1.Written by Jerry Siegel and illustrated by Joe Shuster, the first story in Action #1 begins with an origin tale that became the stuff of American myth, a hastily-devised space ship heading to Earth from a destroyed planet. The baby, of course, grows up to be Superman, with the ability to leap 1/8th of a mile in a single hurdle and run faster than an express train.However, the stories in Action arent really about the cool things that Superman can do. Rather, theyre about his ability to save an innocent man condemned to death and spooking a wife beater. Even better are the scenes in which Superman takes his mild-mannered Clark Kent persona, quietly cheering on Lois Lane for stepping up to a pushy cad.Action #1 set the groundwork for Superman and the entire superhero genre by establishing the hero as the Champion of the Oppressed.Superman #96 (1955)Superman became impossibly strong in the Silver Age, when writers began telling high sci-fi and even fantasy stories with Superman at the center. As much as modern readers sometimes dismiss the stories as goofy or tone deaf, they also presented unique ways of challenging the all-powerful hero.Superman #96 is a perfect example of this tendency, and not just because the issue features the reality-bending imp Mister Mxyzptlk. The issue begins with the story The Girl Who Didnt Believe in Superman by Batman scribe Bill Finger and penciler Wayne Boring. The tale has almost laughably low stakes, as Superman meets a little blind girl who refuses to believe that Superman is anything other than a fairy tale told by her mother.Many Silver Age comic book stories amounted to little more than superheroes playing pranks on people, especially Superman stories. The Girl Who Didnt Believe in Superman has the same structure as those prank plots, but theres an inherent sweetness to it. Superman seeks less to prove his existence and more to show the young girl the beauty of the world, something that she believes was robbed from her when a car accident stole her sight.While theres more than a little ableism to the resolution in which Superman cures the girls blindness, the resolution also captures the entire point of superheroes: to fantasize about power making the world a better place.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Superman #162 (1963)Having survived the superhero implosion that followed World War II, Superman and DC Comics enjoyed a renaissance in the Silver Age with the science fiction takes on heroes such as Green Lantern and the Flash. And yet, no sooner did Superman restore his place atop the superhero mountain than a new challenger arrived in the form of Marvel Comics and its conflicted characters.Although the Marvel Age of Comics had just begun when The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue appeared in Superman #162 in 1963, its clear that writer Leo Dorfman, working with pencilers Curt Swan and Kurt Schaffenberger, was responding to the marvelous competition. The story begins on a note more familiar to Peter Parker or Ben Grimm than to Clark Kent, with the mild-mannered reporter being passed up for a raise and Superman castigated by inhabitants of the Bottle City of Kandor for all the promises hes failed to keep.As a solution, Superman splits himself into two distinct clones, dubbed Superman-Red and Superman-Blue. Superman-Red and Superman-Blue (with some help from Supergirl) solve all the worlds problems, while also returning the people of the bottle city of Kandor to normal size and, uh, hypnotizing all the worlds criminals (including Fidel Castro, because 60s!) into becoming moral. They even find a way to restore Lex Luthors hair, thus erasing his evil (again, 60s!). By the end of the story, Supergirl has found her place with the Legion of Super-Heroes, Lana Lang gets to marry Superman-Blue, and Lois Lane gets her man with Superman-Red.And they all live happily ever after. No, seriously, thats the end. Yet, before any Marvel Zombie dismisses The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue as just another example of DCs saccharine storytelling, were reminded that this is an imaginary story, not something that Superman actually does in canon. In other words, this issue gets at something much bigger at the core of the character: for all of his power, Superman cannot have the happy life he most wants, a sacrifice hes willing to make in order to do the most possible good.The Man of Steel (1986)On one hand, The Man of Steel reboot by John Byrne was devised as an explicit rejoinder to Silver Age excess. Like Crisis on Infinite Earths and Batman: Year One, The Man of Steel sought to redefine Superman and his mythos for a modern ethos, which included some unequivocally great decisions, such as reimagining Lex Luthor as a respected businessman instead of a glowering supervillain, but also stripped away Supermans abilities. Gone were super-ventriloquism and super-kissing. Unlike the live-action Man of Steel who flew backwards around the planet to turn back time and save Lois Lane in Superman (1978) less than a decade earlier, this Superman was bound by greater rules of reality.Yet, unlike almost every other creator who would try to make Superman gritty and relatable, Byrne understood the fundamental sense of wonder inherent to the hero. As demonstrated in the series first issue, which begins in the scientific wonderland of Krypton and then cuts to a Smallville High football game in Kansas, Superman isnt Superman without the fantastic.By placing Superman in a more realistic world, Byrne makes familiar moments all the more magical. Theres genuine awe in the panel of Clark flying for the first time in issue #1, the sight of bullets bouncing off of Superman for the first time in issue #2 feels amazing once again. Byrne doesnt do away with these fantastic feats. He just grounds them in a world in which Lois Lane doesnt fall so quickly for Clark Kent and in which Lex Luthor dismisses the idea that Clark and Superman are the same guy because he cant believe anyone so powerful would pretend to be weak.The Man of Steel didnt make Superman relatable by taking away his powers. It made him relatable by heightening the emotions related to those powers.Kingdom Come (1996)Kingdom Come released in 1996, right in between the Image revolution that saw Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, and other Marvel standouts launch their own flashy creator-owned ongoing series and the dawn of the Authority and the Ultimates. Outliers such as Wolverine and the Punisher had become the norm, as edgy anti-heroes took the stage, bringing with them a moral flexibility even the Golden Age Superman and Batman would find objectionable.As such, Kingdom Come functions just as much as a statement on the comics industry as it does a standalone story. Painted by Alex Ross and written by Mark Waid, Kingdom Come takes place in the DC Universes future, where edgy 90s super-people spend all their time in meaningless brawls among one another, paying no attention to the regular people they harm along the way. Worse, all of the classic heroes have ceded ground to the next generation, including Superman, who has retired to a Kansas farm after Lois Lanes death.Although Kingdom Come isnt strictly a Superman story, it does put Supes back in the center of the DCU, where he belongs. When his patience with the next generation reaches its end, Clark dons his corny old trunks and cape and teaches the kids a lesson in the most Superman way possible: by inspiring them to be better. Waid wraps the inspirational tale around a delightful superhero mash, complete with fun cliffhangers and reveals, all brought to life by Rosss hyper-realist art.Superman For All Seasons (1998)Superman For All Seasons comes from the legendary team of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, creators of Batman: The Long Halloween and Spider-Man: Blue. But where those properties told moody stories about the inner turmoil of big-name heroes, For All Seasons offers a hefty dose of Americana.As they do in those aforementioned series, Loeb and Sale take Superman back to fundamentals. That means exploring the central contradiction of Superman, an all-powerful alien raised as a wholesome midwesterner. For All Seasons follows Supermans last months in Smallville and first months in Metropolis, where he carries the lessons he learned into the rest of the world.Sale heightens his exaggerated, cartoony style to make both Clark and Superman big lunks, retaining that central charm even when hes flying through the Metropolis sky. Sales fluid line work keeps the compositions loose, helping us see all the people in his depictions of overcrowded Metropolis and lush Smallville. Even better, Bjarne Hansen adds warm watercolors to the images, giving the book the feel of a Norman Rockwell painting with superheroes in it.As always, Loeb knows how to distill a classic characters essence into a single scene and line. For All Seasons offers many contenders, including a wonderful sequence of Clark saving people during a tornado storm in Smallville. But the best might be the first splash page with him as Superman, responding to a little boy who compliments his suit. Thanks, smiles the godlike galloot. My Mom made it for me. That one page is enough to explain everything great about Superman. And then Loeb, Sale, and Hansen give us 100 more.In another world, Whats So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way, the lead story in Action Comics #775, would read as a solid, but somewhat redundant story about why Superman matters. Written by Joe Kelly and penciled by Doug Mahnke and Lee Bermejo, the issue pits Superman against the Elite, a crass team of anti-heroes moddled directly on the Authority. Led by the English telepath Manchester Black, the Elite considers Superman too out of date, too stodgy for the modern world. By the end of the story, Superman has proven them wrong.Again, its a good story, but it covers a lot of the same ground as Kingdom Come, then only five years old. But Action #775 hit shelves a few months before 9/11. America was about to need a Superman more than ever, less for the power fantasy he offered than for the moral guidance he provided.For Black and the Elite, Superman doesnt use his powers correctly. Hes incredibly strong and fast, but he doesnt use those to beat up bad guys or stop evildoers preemptively. To prove their point, they put Superman through a type of gauntlet, one that leaves Supes battered and exhausted, but ultimately victorious.At the climax of the story, we see a blood-soaked and haggard Superman towering over Black, looking furious. And it seems like Whats So Funny is going to give us exactly what we thought we wanted, a show of power in pure and righteous vengeance.But Superman doesnt beat Black to a pulp. Instead, he gives a speech that confirms that Superman is out of step with the times and thats a good thing, because the times are very, very bad, and we need inspiration now more than ever, even more than five years prior.Superman: Red Son (2003)Anyone who sees writer Mark Millars name on the cover and then reads the synopsis to Superman: Red Son thinks they know what theyre getting. An Elseworlds tale set in an alternate reality, Red Son imagines what would happen if Kal-Els rocket landed not in Kansas, but on a state farm in Lenins Russia at the height of the Cold War.But dont get fooled by Millars usual M.O. or the image of Superman with a hammer and sickle in place of his familiar S shield, drawn by artist David Johnson. Superman: Red Son understands the fundamentals of the character, and only reinforces them by taking him far from his element.Nothing demonstrates this fact better than a scene early in the book, when Lois Luthor (ne Lane) gets her first in-person look at the hero. Having retired after marrying (non-criminal) genius Lex Luthor, Lois gets pulled back into the journalism game by Perry White when Lenin introduces his Superman to the world. While the rest of the country prepares to counter what they consider a new threat, including the creation of a new air force corps under the leadership of former Soviet POW Hal Jordan, Lois sees the Man of Steel himself fly into Metropolis. Everyone else recoils in fear, but Lois recognizes Supermans true goal in invading American space. The globe atop the Daily Planet has come loose, barreling down onto the people below. A mother cradles her child as the globe nears them, and the boy lets go of his balloon.In a wonderful, iconic splash page, we see this Superman, who doesnt speak English and represents the Wests greatest enemy, holding the globe aloft in one hand and daintily handing back the childs balloon in the other, smiling at the people he just saved.For all of its charged political content and alternate reality shenanigans, thats what Red Son is about, reminding us that Superman is always Superman, no matter where his rocket stops.All-Star Superman (2005-2008)As if in direct defiance to anyone who takes the wrong lessons from The Man of Steel, All-Star Superman begins with Superman getting even more powers. When Lex Luthor detonates a massive bomb in space, he manages to imbue his enemy with greater abilities. But those abilities soon begin to deteriorate Supermans body, forcing him to face his own death.Writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely borrow from the structure of the trials of Hercules for All-Star Superman, the 12-part series that finds the hero completing his final tasks before his death. But the series operates more like a new gospel for the super-heroic age, an ambition suggested by the Renaissance-style images of Superman ascending after leaving a message for his followers.Pretentious as that might sound, All-Star Superman features Morrisons Silver Age love at its best. They embrace outrageous elements of the Superman mythos, including a trip to the Bizarro world and a face off against mythic figures Hercules and Samson. Yet, within those tall tales, Morrison and Quitely find moments of real pathos. Its not just the oft-shared scene in which Superman pauses to comfort a suicidal girl. Its the tender kiss that he and Lois share after she gets superpowers, its the realization that he cannot prevent his fathers death, its Lex Luthors realization that all we have is one another.All-Star Superman best represents the potential of Superman stories as a moral good, fantasies that help us make sense of a world that feels like evil always wins.Superman Smashes the Klan (2019-2020)Written by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by the Japanese duo known as Gurihiru, Superman Smashes the Klan has its roots in an incredible real-world story. In 1946, authorities used the story arc Clan of the Fiery Cross from the Adventures of Superman radio show to reveal secret information about the Ku Klux Klan, leading to a decrease in the terrorist groups membership.Superman Smashes the Klan revisits the storyline from a personal perspective, emphasizing Supermans role as an immigrant in America. As the Man of Steel comes to the aid of the Lees, a Chinese-American family who becomes the target of hate when they move to Metropolis, Clark wrestles with his own feelings of isolation from the world that has adopted him.Yang fills the story with real pathos, showing a side of Superman rarely explored in comics and reminding readers about the pervasive nature of xenophobia. He does so by building on established Superman lore, including the increase in Supermans powers in the 1940s, and by introducing an appropriately named new side character in kid reporter Lan-Shin Lee.When combined with Gurihirus dynamic images of Superman standing up to racists in white hoods, Superman Smashes the Klan reminds us that the Man of Steels values might be old, but theyre needed all the more today.Superman: Rebirth (2016)The Rebirth initiative sought to undo the status quo set by the New 52, DC Comics controversial company-wide reboot. Rebirth wasnt another reboot, not exactly (it was explained away in-universe with a bunch of nonsense that involved Doctor Manhattan of Watchmen), but it did try to bring some characters back to their best versions, which posed quite a challenge for Superman. After all, he was dead.Okay, the Superman of the New 52, a slightly underpowered and angrier version, had died after getting immense solar powers and using them to save the world. Around the same time cropped up a guy who looked a lot like him, a little bit older and with a beard, but otherwise very similar. And this guy had a wife named Lois and a kid named Jon. This was the pre-New 52 Superman, who somehow survived the Flashpoint reboot and had been lying low with his family ever since.Is your head hurting? Well, dont worry, because you dont need to know too much of that nonsense to enjoy Superman: Rebirth. Instead, the series by writer Peter J. Tomasi and artists Jaime Mendoza and Doug Mahnke just plays like a straightforward Superman story, with a twist. This Superman has a super-son.The excellent TV show Superman & Lois has taken some of the novelty off, but its impossible to understate how Rebirth revitalized Superman by taking away discussions about the Man of Steel being unrelatable because hes so powerful. Instead, Superman becomes relatable because hes a dad who makes the usual dad mistakes and has to balance love for his family with his responsibilities to the world.Superman: Rebirth does what most reboots and relaunches often tried and failed, making Superman feel real and fantastic all at once.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·41 Views
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Oscars 2025: Anora Suddenly Looks like the Best Picture Frontrunnerwww.denofgeek.comIt is sometimes only a pleasantry when the winner of a major award says they are so surprised to be here while accepting the accolade. Yet that sentiment from Sean Baker seemed genuine Friday night when he accepted the Best Picture prize at the 30th annual Critics Choice Awards. Consider that just moments beforehand, his deceptively layered screwball comedy about a sex worker from Brooklyn, Anora, had been largely shut out by the critics.Up until this moment, Anora failed to pick up the CCAs Best Director award, nor did it get Best Actress for Mikey Madison. Even the one category Anora was viewed as the frontrunner in, Best Original Screenplay, instead went to Coralie Fargeat for The Substance. So Anora triumphing for the biggest trophy of the night was a shock to Baker and plenty of othersincluding perhaps viewers at home whod taken The Brutalist versus Emilia Prez narrative to heart after both films were dubbed Best Picture in differing genres during the Golden Globes last month, and the latter became the most nominated film at this years Academy Awards.Yet unlike the CCAs also curiously giving Best Director to Jon M. Chu for Wicked, Anoras Best Picture win does not look like a one-off or a fluke. In fact, it is quickly taking on the shape of a turning point in momentum that could carry the quirky, R-rated character study all the way to the Academys final winners circle on Oscar night. Indeed, by the time the weekend ended, Anora was essentially dubbed best picture by three different bellwether organizations. By virtue of being televised, the CCAs were probably the most visible, but the most consequential came Saturday night when both the Directors Guild of America and the Producer Guild of America also gave their top cinematic prizes to the Neon-released film.With Baker earning the DGAs Best Director prize and the PGAs David O. Selznick Achievement award going to the whole Anora team, a plausible consensus appears to be coalescing around Anora in the industry as a potential Best Picture winner, particularly because unlike the CCAs or last months Golden Globes, members of the directors and producers guilds are also in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In other words, these are awards guilds who help shape the narrative that often culminates in Oscar wins. Consider that of the previous 15 years of PGA/Selznick achievement winners, only three did not go on to take home Best Picture come Oscar night: 1917, which lost to Parasite, La La Land, which lost to Moonlight, and The Big Short, which lost to Spotlight.The PGAs remain the best bellwether for predicting Oscars Best Picture winners, and the fact that a majority of the members in the DGA seems to agree with their consensusThe takeaway from this newfound frontrunner status around Anora is sure to raise plenty of eyebrows. Both The Brutalist and Emilia Prez have earned their fair share of negative press over the last month: the Brady Corbet American immigrant epic has become controversial in some circles after it was learned AI was used to enhance accent pronunciations in scenes where English-speaking actors were performing in Hungarian. Meanwhile the fallout from revelations about old tweets shared by Emilia Prez star Karla Sofa Gascn has already gone down as one of the greatest awards campaign stumbles in Oscar history.Perhaps that influenced Anoras new emergence as a frontrunner, but then again perhaps not. Full disclosure: as a member of the Critics Choice Association, I can attest that voting closed in early January, well before either media narrative about controversy with The Brutalist or Emilia Prez emerged. Anora is simply a very original comedy with vibrant performances and writing that might benefit from the preferential ballot voting system used by both the CCAs and Oscars for the top prize (i.e. it could be a lot of folks second or third choice unlike other more polarizing films).Plus, well before this past weekend, Anora won the Palme dOr at the Cannes Film Festival last year, the first for an American film in more than a decade. Its a film with a subtle but lacerating satirical edge about class and exploitative gender dynamics, and is clearly delivered in a way appealing to European and international cineaste sensibilities. And the Academy has taken on a lot of new international members in the last decade.Anora has always had qualities that made it seem like a plausible consensus pick, and after this weekend that is becoming self-evident. But well learn more after the Screen Actors Guild has their say on Feb. 23and of course the Academy on March 2.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·61 Views
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Onyx Storms Cryptic Ending, Spoilers, Theories, & What Next for Book Four?www.denofgeek.comWarning: contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Onyx Storm and the Fourth Wing seriesOnyx Storm, the third installment of author Rebecca Yarross Empyrean series a fantasy romance saga set at a military college for dragon riders is already breaking records. The book hit shelves on Jan 21 and sold 2.7 million copies in its first week, making it the fastest selling adult-fiction title of the past 20 years according to the New York Times. (Translation: Its time to get on the romantasy train, folks!) And with good reasonits incredibly fun.The addictive story contains multitudes, from swoon-worthy romance and spicy sex scenes to political intrigue, magic, and betrayal. And thats before you get to all the dragons. Like its predecessors, Onyx Storm is full of twists and surprises, perhaps none more so than its action-packed ending, which concludes on the sort of cliffhanger that will easily power BookTok videos and online discussion forums for months to come. The cryptic ending isnt particularly surprisingthree books into the series we already know that Yarros loves to leave her audience wanting more in the worst way possible. But that hasnt stopped us all from speculating with abandon about what Onyx Storms many twists and narrative surprises all mean.What Happened at the End of Onyx Storm?The chaotic ending of Onyx Storm is epic in scope, both in terms of action and what its events mean for the future of the series going forward. The book ends with a huge battle, as Xaden, Violet and the other riders face off against the venin dark wielders to defend the city of Draithus and rescue Violets sister, Mira. Violet manages to defeat the silver-haired venin Theophanie thanks to a last-second assist from Aaric, whose (surprise!) precognitive abilities provided her with the weapon with which to do so. Xaden, unfortunately, is not so lucky and channels from the ground again in order to save his dragon, Sgaeyl from the venin sage Berwyn and help Violet in the larger battle. His effort essentially turns the tide of the fight though he is turned further venin in the process. In the books closing chapter, Violet awakens at Riorson House after being missing for over 12 hours, to find herself married to a now-missing Xaden and unable to remember what happened. In short: theres a lot to unpack.Who Is Xadens New Brother?The ending of Onyx Storm also confirmed that Xaden isnt the only familiar face whos turned venin and its someone we clearly know. Yarros doesnt reveal this persons identity, but Xadens reaction is a horrified one. He refers to the unnamed venin as his new brother and cant believe that this new initiate could have ever chosen to turn after having witnessed everything he himself has gone through over the past months. But who could it be?The most obvious choices are Bodhi and Garrick, Xadens cousin and best friend, respectively. Theyre his closest confidantes and the people, even more so than Violet, who have spent the most time with him over the course of this series. Theyve both witnessed every step of Xadensstruggle to stop his own transformation and, conveniently, both are unaccounted for at the end of Onyx Storm. Garrick is missing, and while we catch a glimpse of a retching Bodhi during Imogens POV chapter, his absence when Violet awakens indicates hes not exactly around to rule Tyrrendor at the moment.Of the two, Bodhi is perhaps the more likely choice, given that his close physical resemblance to Xaden (as if they could be.brothers, perhaps?) has been mentioned repeatedly throughout the series. But what if Yarros is going for an even bigger twist? The use of male pronouns narrows down our choices, of course, but there are several intriguing options that fit the rest of our known criteria. Aaric has been revealed to be a precog, and we all love fantasy stories where someone with the power to see the future realizes they must somehow sacrifice themselves for the greater good. But perhaps the most interesting option of all is Brennan. Violets brother has already essentially cheated death once, revived by Tairns previous rider Naolin, a siphon like Sloane, who used his power to save Brennan and gave him a scar in the process thats been mentioned multiple times over the course of the books. But when Sloane siphons power into Brennan to help save a dying Mira, theres no scar left behind this time. Violet specifically mentioned how weird this is, which feels like a big red flag that something is off about Brennan.Who Is the Venin Sage Berwyn?Of course, theres also the question of Xadens mysterious mentor. Weve been speculating about the identity of the venin Sage since Violet first faced off with him at Resson in Fourth Wing and dont seem any closer to the answer about who he is or what he wants two full books later. Theres probably a reason for that.We know he turned Xaden, that hes a rival of Theophanies, andthats kind of it. But a secret thats worth keeping for three books is probably a big deal, right? Onyx Storm certainly never made it feel as though Theophanie was anyone we knewor particularly needed to knowin this way. But the same cannot be said for Berwyn, who seems to represent something bigger than a simple venin doppelganger. His interest in Xaden feels personal, as does his hatred for dragonkind. All of this is pointing toward the idea that one of the wildest Onyx Storm theories floating around the fandom may actually be true: Berwyn is Naolin.For those that dont remember (or dont have a detailed spreadsheet that tracks all this info), Naolin is Tairns previous rider, and the idea is that in order to essentially bring Brennan back from the dead during the Tyrrish Rebellion, he must have siphoned power from himself, his dragon, and even the ground in order to do so. We know almost nothing about what happened to Naolin after he saved BrennanViolets brother wont talk about it, and Tairn is a brick wall on the subject. Did he turn, enough for Tairn to break their bond? (It would explain why Naolins death almost killed Tairn and why he wont talk about what happened to his former rideror even confirm that he died!) Plus, theres a certain symmetry to it, given Xadens own close relationship with Brennans sister.What Is Xadens Plan and Why Did He Need to Marry Violet?When Xaden channels power from the earth to save Sgaeylwho has been injured and trapped under a net by Berwynhe creates such an enormous (onyx!) storm of shadow that he kills all the wyvern and some random venin while knocking out Berwyn and his new, unnamed brother. This act, has of course, turned Xaden himself more fully venin, but not enough to prevent him from flying off with his dragon after agreeing to put some vague plan into motion. Whats Xaden doing here? Well, thats probably the big mystery that will be answered in Book Four.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Part of it, at least, appears to have involved marrying Violet. She wakes up at Riorson House after killing Theophanie, sporting a ginormous wedding ring and carrying a document from the head priestess of Dunnes temple verifying the legality of her union with Xaden (and Violets new status as Duchess of Tyrrendor). Xaden is missing, along with four other riders and six dragon eggs. And Violet has no memory of any of it (more on that in a second.) Whats Xadens end game here? Well, Onyx Storm is purposefully unclear on this point. Whatever it is, Sgaeyl didnt appear to like it, though she clearly goes along with her rider, however reluctantly.Is it simply about saving Tyrrendor? (And, if so, did Xaden somehow know Bodhi wouldnt be around to rule in his stead?) Is Xaden concocting a plan to bring down the venin from within? We dont know, and there arent a ton of clues beyond a cryptic message scrawled on the back of their unorthodox marriage licenseDont look for me. Its yours now. Hes gone.Is the it Tyrrendor since theyre married now? And who is the he? Is it Xaden? (If so, why would he refer to himself in the first and third person?) Is it Bodhi? Someone else completely random?What Happened to Violets Memories?Part of the reason the ending of this book is so chaotic is that we completely abandon Violets point of view for multiple chapters. Instead, we get chapters from Xaden, Rhiannon, and Imogen, and when were finally returned to Violets POV everything has changed, in ways not even our heroine fully understands. Apparently 12 hours have passed since she passed out after killing Theophanie, and a lot has happened in that interim. The problem is, Violet doesnt have any memory of those events, because Imogen used her signet to erase them. And finding out what happened during that stretch of timeand what those events mean comes nextwill undoubtedly be a big part of the plot of the next book.Why would Violet tell Imogen to erase her memories? There could be many reasons. But she clearly married Xaden, so at some point Violet agreed to whatever Xadens unknown plan is. It seems safe to assume that erasing her memories is so she doesnt unwittingly reveal that plan to anyone else, be it venin, memory-readers like Dain or any other as-yet-unidentified inntinnsics who might be able to unknowingly glean the truth from her mind.The Missing Riders and Dragon EggsIn Onyxs Storms final chapter, we also learn that several dragons and riders were killed during the 12 hours that Violet cant remember. There are also four missing riders and, most troublingly, at least six missing dragon eggs. Imogen confirms that Garrick is one of the missing riders but the the other three remain unidentified. Did they disappear with Xaden? Were they turned as well? Or have they headed off on some secret secondary mission that Violet simply cant remember?As for the dragon eggs, its certainly possible that venin could have stolen or destroyed them during the fighting. But it seems important to remember that during Violet and Quest Squads travels earlier in the book, we learned that the Isle Kingdoms are obsessed with dragons, and want some of their own. Trading in dragons is forbidden, but Umbriel offered Violet a military alliance in exchange for 12 dragon eggs. Quest Squad immediately shot that deal down, but it seems very possible that someone may be striking some sort of similar bargain using the missing eggs. Twelve hours certainly doesnt seem like a ton of time for major geopolitical deal-making, but stranger things have happened in this series and with so many dead dragons and riders maybe Navarre cant afford to be as picky about such things as they have in the past. Key question: Did the dragons approve this mission, if it did indeed happen? And, if so, why only six eggs? Was that all that was available in the hatching ground? Or is this some kind of compromise?Adarna and the IridsMuch of Onyx Storm is concerned with the search for the mysterious seventh dragon breed and finding answers about Adarnas heritage. To be honest, Quest Squad doesnt do a super great job of tracking them down and probably never would have found them if a pack of irids (the name for Adarnas species) hadnt literally walked right up to Violet and said hello. Unfortunately for Adarnas hopes, her dragon family are kind of jerks. Dedicated pacifists, they refuse to involve themselves in human affairs and basically left Adarnawho they refer to as the criterionbehind in the hatching ground as a test to see if mankind had evolved enough to stop using dragons as weapons of war. (Spoiler alert: Humanity fails.)We all have a lot of questions about irids and their powers, and though Adarna disappears to go learn from her people for a bit before returning to Violets side during the battle, we still dont know much about them as a breed by the end of Onyx Storm. What we do know is that they are incredibly magical, enough to manipulate the bonds between dragons and riders and potentially (probably?) even between dragons themselves. Adarna breaks her bond with Violet (or at least suppresses it enough that the connection is negligible) and odds are decent that shes somehow manipulated or broken the mating bond between Tairn and Sgaeyl as well. When Violet awakes at Riorson House, she cant communicate with Tairn and their connection feels foggy, as though hes in some sort of deep sleep. Which, lets be real, sounds an awful lot like Violets reaction after her bond with Adarna was broken.Who Are the Six Most Powerful Riders?Its been mentioned several times now in this series that this is the first time both a lightning wielder and a shadow wielder have been alive at the same time since the First Six riders walked the earth. The implication here is that the signets of the six original riders are somehow being replicated (reincarnated?) at this precise moment, most likely to give The Continent a fighting chance to defeat the venin. But who would our Fourth Wing Six be?Obviously Violet is one of them, with her powerful lightning ability. Lynx manifesting shadow powers feels super important in the wake of Xaden turning venin. (Magic craves balance after all.) Garrick can basically teleport. (Though its also possible hes venin now as well, but for the sake of argument lets assume he isnt.) Miras unique ability to manipulate wards seems as though it will be necessary in the future, particularly since she really, really should have died in Onyx Storm. Other likely options for the final two slots: Ridoc (with his newfound skill at freezing the water in the bodies of living beings), Sloane (could her siphoning ability drain venin power back into the earth?), Aaric (a pre-cog!), or even Brennan (he certainly seems to be the most powerful mender in generations).Whats Bodhis Second Signet?The question of Bodhis second signet may be more important than ever given that theres at least even odds that Bodhis a venin at this point. But while Onyx Storm sort of backhand confirms that he has one; he tells Violet I dont have a second signet just like Xaden doesnt. After all, we know Xaden does have one, meaning that Bodhis second ability is probably also an inntinnsic power, which could get him killed if it was discovered.What Does This All Mean For Book 4?This all leaves a ton of questions for the next book in the Fourth Wing saga to answer. But whats most interesting about the series third installment is that Onyx Storms ending most likely means that Yarros will have to switch to a more consistent multiple-POV format in terms of telling its story. There are too many things that happened that Violet, as our primary narrator, likely wasnt present foror simply doesnt know. (And is unlikely to remember, given the nature of Imogens gift.) Xaden, Sgaeyl, Imogen, and likely several others (Adarna?) were clearly involved in whatever events took place during the 12 hours missing from Violets memories, and well need someone to recount those events to us. (Dragon egg heist? Dragon bond severing? Wedding ceremony?). The shifting POV chapters at the end of Onyx Storm almost certainly herald a similar format for its sequel in some way.But whatever happens in Book 4, well probably be waiting a while to find out. Yarros, who has a chronic illness, wrote the first three books in her Empyrean series in just 20 months. Shes said the pace was hard on her health, so the author is planning on taking a break before writing the next installment. During a recent Good Morning America interview, Yarros did say that the final two books in the series have already been plotted out, however. So fingers crossed the wait passes swiftly!Onyx Storm is out now, published by Red Tower Books, an imprint of Entangled Publishing.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·82 Views
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Unforgotten: Whos the Ex-Police Detective Prisoner at the End of Episode One?www.denofgeek.comWarning: spoilers for Unforgotten series six episode one.Every series, ITV crime drama Unforgotten welcomes a new guest cast around whom that years investigation revolves. By the time the credits roll on the finale, series regulars DI Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) and DCI James (Sinad Keenan, who took over from Nicola Walkers DCI Stuart in series five) have uncovered exactly what role each played in that series murder, and then we never see any of them again until now.The final scene of Unforgotten series six, episode one featured the surprise return of a guest character from series four. Disgraced police detective DCI Ramjeet Sidhu, played by Phaldut Sharma (EastEnders, Hanna, Sherwood) was seen lying on his bed in a prison cell at HM Ashbourne. As Sunny explained to Jess, before Sidhu was locked up on multiple accounts of corruption in 2022, hed been the officer in charge of an investigation into the disappearance of Gerard Cooper, the man whose body parts have just surfaced in a London marsh.Despite the absence of a body, Sidhu had signed off on that investigations conclusion that Cooper had taken his own life by jumping into the Thames. Judging by the fact that the most likely cause of Coopers death was a stab wound to his femoral artery, and that his body was found sawn up, wrapped in plastic and thrown into marshland, this was clearly no suicide.The question now is: was Sidhus investigation merely bad police work, or was it another example of his corruption? (Incidentally, Sidhu worked in Vice, not Missing Persons, so disappearances wouldnt usually have come under his remit.)Why is DCI Sidhu in Prison?In series four, Sunny and Cassies investigation found evidence that Vice copper Sidhu was guilty of taking bribes to facilitate drug-smuggling. He and a businessman friend with whom hed been part of a conspiracy to cover up a murder decades earlier, had run a cocaine-import side line in the early 2000s that helped Sidhu sustain his flash lifestyle. When they got the team back together and carried out a one-off drug smuggling op in 2022, they were discovered.The corruption charges werent the only thing on Sidhus rap sheet; he was also charged with preventing a lawful burial in the case of the series four murder (see below), and had also had complaints brought against him for the use of excessive force against a member of the public and a fellow officer, and in series four, was also facing an investigation for the sexual harassment of a police officer. As one former colleague said of Sidhu hed either go right to the top or end up in prison. Thanks to Sunny, it was the latter.What Role Did Sidhu Play in the Series 4 Murder?In March 1990, a young Sidhu and four other probationers (police officers-in-training) were driving home from celebrating their passing out ceremony, when they spotted a small-time drug dealer who had sexually assaulted one of them in a pub weeks earlier, and who had beat Sidhu savagely when hed intervened on the victims behalf. Drunkenly, Sidhu and Dean (Andy Nyman) chased the man and, unseen by Sidhu, Dean killed him using a fountain pen. Sidhu arrived on the scene and unsuccessfully tried to revive the man with CPR.The five probationers decided to cover up the murder and dispose of the body. Only two of them stayed in the police service, and when the body was discovered and investigated by Sunny and Cassie 30 years later, they all tried to suppress the truth. Sidhu said he only went along with the cover-up because he feared that the other four probationers who were all white would conspire to blame the murder on him due to racism.Sidhus Wife and ChildSidhus storyline in series four didnt just involve the murder conspiracy, but also his second wifes pregnancy. At risk of having a baby with Downs Syndrome, he and his wife struggled with the decision of whether or not to continue with the pregnancy. Sidhu first of all wanted to keep the baby, but reconsidered when he realised his criminal activities could be discovered and his wife would be left alone to cope if he were sent to prison.While Sidhu was being booked on corruption charges in the final episode of the series, we were shown his wife buying a Babygro, so she must have decided to continue her pregnancy. In the series six scene of Sidhu in prison, her photograph and that of a baby are seen on the wall by his bed.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Revenge on Sunny?Perhaps its just set dressing, but the book Sidhu is reading in his series six appearance is M.J. Arlidges Eye for an Eye, a novel about criminals living under witness protection having their identities exposed by a vigilante. Is that title a clue that hes also out for revenge, perhaps against the officer who charged him Sunny? Sidhu had a hostile attitude towards Sunny even before the charges were brought against him, due to their differing approaches to being British South-Asian police officers. Sidhu was angry, fought violently back against racist aggression, and was a member of the NBPA (National Black Police Association), while Sunny was not a member and refused Sidhus pally shared-heritage-based advances.Unforgotten series six airs on Sundays at 9pm on ITV1 and all episodes are streaming now on ITVX.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·63 Views
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Unforgotten Series 6 Cast: Meet the New Characters Joining Sunny and Jesswww.denofgeek.comITV crime drama Unforgotten returns with a new historical murder for Sunny and new(ish) boss Jess to solve, and a brand new guest cast including MyAnna Buring, Emmett J Scanlan, Victoria Hamilton and Damien Molony. They join the returning cast of lead Sanjeev Bhaskar as DI Sunil Sunny Khan, Sinad Keenan as DCI Jessica James, both of whose emotional lives took a beating in the previous series. While grieving for his former colleague Cassie, who died suddenly in a car accident at the end of series four, Sunnys relationship with his fiance Sal (Michelle Bonnard) also ended. Sal lost a pregnancy and Sunny told her that he didnt want to have any more children, so she moved out of their home. With his daughters away at university, Sunny now lives alone.In terrible timing, Jessie started her new job in series five while discovering that her husband had been having an affair with her sister. Her no-nonsense approach made her clash with Sunny and his still-grieving team, but by the end of the series, theyd reached a kind of friendship and realised that they didnt stand as far apart in terms of professional values as theyd first thought.Sunny and Jess will be joined by Unforgotten regulars Jordan Long as DS Murray Boulting, Carolina Main as DC Fran Lingley, Hiten Patel as DC Patel, Pippa Nixon as DC Karen Willets, and Georgia Mackenzie as Dr. Leanne Balcombe, along with Andrew Lancel as Jess husband Steve, and Kate Robbins as her mother Kate. Find out all about the new guest cast below:MyAnna Buring as Melinda RicciMelinda is a correspondent for Britannia News, Unforgottens right-wing GB News-style organisation, but does she really believe in the hatred shes spouting on TV? Her personal life has suffered a recent tragedy when fianc Patrick (Emmett Scanlan) was paralysed in an accident. Melinda is played by MyAnna Buring, a familiar face to many from recent roles on fantasy videogame adaptation The Witcher, BBC crime drama The Responder, and the part of Long Susan in BBC/Prime Video period crime drama Ripper Street, as well as in feature films Kill List, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, and more.Emmett Scanlan as PatrickPatrick is Melindas fianc and when we meet him, is in rehab following a serious accident that left his lower body paralysed. Hes played by Emmett J. Scanlan, seen recently in Irish crime drama Kin, as Billy Grade in the final series of BBC gangster drama Peaky Blinders, in ITV crime drama The Tower, and previously, Sky thriller Gangs of London, horror-fantasy In the Flesh and cat-and-mouse detective drama The Fall.Maximilian Fairley as Martin Marty BainesMarty is a young man with autism who lives in Deal on the Kent coast, where he tries to care for his disabled mother Dot (Michele Dotrice). Isolated and pushed out in the town, he spends his free time seeking companionship and belonging in right-wing online communities. Marty is played by recent graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Maximilian Fairley. He is hard of hearing and neurodiverse with high-functioning autism, and this is his first television credit.Michele Dotrice as Dot BainesMartys mother Dot lives in disarray in a crowded home on the Kent coast. Unable to care for herself, she relies on her son for meals and the pair are clearly not coping well. Shes played by British acting veteran Michele Dotrice, who has a long and distinguished film and television career, and is beloved for the role of Betty Spencer in classic sitcom Some Mothers Do Ave Em, as well as productions of Middlemarch, Vanity Fair, Les Miserables and many more. Elham Ehsas as Asif SyedAsif is an Afghan who came to the UK to escape a threat to his life in Afghanistan and who is currently living in Barnstaple, Devon and training for his British citizenship test. Hes played by Homeland, Young Wallander, Shantaram and The Agency actor Elham Ehsas.Hassan is an Afghan man who undertakes a dangerous, illegal journey to the UK to escape persecution and threat of death. Hes played by Ahmad Sakhi, whos recently had roles in Coronation Street, Malpractice, and The Outpost, and will soon appear in Anne Rices The Talamasca.Victoria Hamilton as Juliet CooperJuliet Cooper is a history lecturer and faculty head at a London university, where a complaint is made against her by a student. Shes a bereaved wife and the mother of troubled teenage daughter Taylor (Pixie Davies). Juliet is played by Victoria Hamilton, a familiar face on screen known for recent roles in Paramount+ crime drama The Crow Girl, Sky political thriller COBRA, Netflix behemoth The Crown, in which she played the Queen Mother, as well as previously in Lark Rise to Candleford and many, many more.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Pixie Davies as Taylor CooperTaylor Cooper is a teenager experiencing trouble at school following a family bereavement. Shes the daughter of university lecturer Juliet (Victoria Hamilton) and is played by 18-year-old Pixie Davies, whos been acting since the age of six and has starred on television in Humans, Utopia, The Secret of Crickley Hall, and on film in Mary Poppins Returns, Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children among others.Also Appearing: Damien MolonyThe Brassic, The Split and GameFace actor, who came to prominence as centuries-old vampire Hal in Being Human will also appear in Unforgotten series six in an as-yet-undisclosed role.Unforgotten series six airs from Sunday February 9 on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·85 Views
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Every Tim Burton Movie Ranked From Worst to Bestwww.denofgeek.comVertical lines and black and white stripes. Sullen expressions and pallid skin tones. Disheveled hair and often handcrafted special effects. There are certain staples and motifs that recur in the works of Tim Burton. So much so that 40 years after his directorial career began, Burtons films remain instantly recognizable and a good gateway to introducing younger audiences to the concept of auteur theory.The singularity of Burtons work has also earned its share of critics and detractors; those who see the repetition of his muses and Gothic fixations as cause for caricature. And to be sure, the one-time Hollywood outsider and Disney outcast spent so much time nestled in the heart of the industrys commercialized bosom that it seemed to influence a decline in Burtons later 21st century output. It was a trend so undeniable that even several of the directors most recent films have seemed to comment on this in the cases of Dumbo and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.Nonetheless, Burton remains an originalan unmistakable talent and voice whos left a major impact on film culture that crosses generations, genres, and even decades of fashion. Burtons earned his place in cinema history, and were taking the time to look at some of his greatest and worst contributions. (*Editors Note: This list will only pertain to feature-length movies Burton directed or co-directed. So no A Nightmare Before Christmas or the Frankenweenie and Vincent shorts.)20. Alice in Wonderland (2010)We begin this list with the film that in retrospect stands at a crossroads in Burtons filmography. While some dismiss all the movies the director made after the year 2000, well contend that the filmmaker has realized some of his most personal and poignant visions on this side of Y2K. But the movie which marked real decline is this soulless and insipid studio product made to order for Disney. To this day, Burton appears to be trying to climb out of a hole that started here.Also a runaway success that spurred on the modern glut of the Mouse Houses live-action remakes, Burtons Alice in Wonderland can at least claim that it doesnt mechanically recreate animated moments from superior animated films decades prior. Instead Alice 2010 is the first film Burton made that felt like it mechanically recreated the audience expectation of what a Tim Burton movie should be. Tweedledee and Tweedledum are in Beetlejuice stripes; Johnny Depp is mugging at the camera with black circles under his eyes; and wonderland is inexplicably overcast by a sickly gray cloud. Still, Burton was forced to humor studio instincts that insisted on a giant Lord of the Rings-like battle climax and post-Avatar 3D gimmicks, appropriate for a late 2000s production. It made Disney a billion dollars but cost the director so much more by setting him down the wrong path.19. Planet of the Apes (2001)If Alice in Wonderland was the film which revealed Burtons worst instincts, his Planet of the Apes remake was a preview of coming attractions. After a string of artistic and/or commercial innovations within the studio system of the 1990s, Burton hit his first wall in this redo of the Rod Serling and Charlton Heston sci-fi classic. The filmmaker took the studio notes on this one toohow else does one explain the casting of Mark Wahlberg as a scientist?and did his best to make them look at least visually evocative, but none of the thorny social commentary or pointed political subtext of the 1968 original survived in this surface level spectacle.Even so, we must contend there is quite a bit of spectacle to enjoy thanks to fantastic makeup special effects courtesy of Rick Baker; Tim Roth is giving a tremendous performance as a simian dictator hopping around the ponderous sets; and a spark of Burtons more peculiar instincts finds kindling whenever the film flirts with a romance between Wahlberg and Helena Bonham Carters chimpanzee activist. Studio interests prevented Planet of the Apes from pursuing so bizarre a romantic detour, but its telling Burton and Carter had no such qualms off-screen as this film started their professional, and personal, partnership.18. Dumbo (2019)As Burtons second (and almost assuredly final) Disney remake, Dumbo is kind of remarkable due to the sense of self-loathing that percolates just beneath the surface. Here is a movie about a sensitive, talented individualin this case a CGI elephantbeing tormented and exploited to the point of despair by a capitalistic vulture. While the screenplay by Ehren Kruger is just going through the motions, somewhere along the way it clearly became personal for Burton who ends his movie by having Dumbo literally burn down a theme park run by a predatory businessman (Michael Keaton), who has put his name and face everywhere while snuffing out the light in Dumbos eyes.These flashes of subversion and biting the hand that feeds makes Dumbo fleetingly interesting, and those sad cartoon eyes beneath a smear of pancake clown makeup will always pull the heartstrings, but these are just momentary distractions from an otherwise vacant corporate product. Fortunately though, the films seething anger with itself has seemed to signal a turn for Burton back toward greener (or in his case moonlit) pastures.17. Dark Shadows (2012)Dark Shadows is the first genuinely interesting failure on this list if only because of how much Burton clearly wanted for it to succeed. The director has cited the odd and wonderful daytime soap opera this film is based on as one of the formative pop culture relics of his youth. He places the Jonathan Frid vampire melodrama right up there with Hammer Horror movies and listening to Ozzy Osbourne and the Carpenters. He unfortunately tried to meld all of those childhood touchstones and detritus into a single madcap comedy that never comes together.In isolation, there is much to admire about Dark Shadows. The intentionally stilted performances by talented actors like Michelle Pfeiffer and Eva Green lovingly mimics the bigness of daytime television; Bruno Delbonnels candlelit cinematography is gorgeous; and the entire first act where Bella Heathcotes Victoria Winters arrives at Collinwood to the sounds of Nights in White Satin evokes a Gothic reverie. Yet this one mightve benefitted from trying to be more Sleepy Hollow than Beetlejuice. Theres also probably a reason why this featured Johnny Depps last turn in a Burton joint given how phoned in the lead performance is.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!16. Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children (2016)Theres a charming story at the heart of Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. It did after all originate as a New York Times bestselling YA novel in 2011 (albeit more as an evocative picture book than traditional narrative); and this film was penned by the terrific screenwriter Jane Goldman. Be that as it may, the film version is bedeviled by the unmistakable scent of a studio attempting to reverse engineer the appeal of its X-Men franchise. Hence picking up a book about another school for gifted youngsters, just like the mutants and Wizarding World of Harry Potter before this. Miss Peregrines story about ghostly peculiar children trapped in a time loop after being killed in the Blitz thus becomes a superhero movie where youngins show off their powers to new recruit Jake Portman (Asa Butterfield).Burton was hired to offer his visual flourish to the material, which he does with aplomb in certain sequences like when Ella Purnells waifish Emma Bloom floats the length of an oak tree to help a squirrel, or when the director casts his then-muse Eva Green as the titular headmistress. One can feel the film revel in Greens devilish smile as she turns into a falcon. Other highlights include a winking homage to the army of skeletons in Jason and the Argonauts (1963). Alas, the sum is lesser than the parts.15. Big Eyes (2014)One of the first enjoyable, if middling, entries on this list, Big Eyes was supposed to be something of a restoration for the folks involved. It marked the first collaboration between the director and the screenwriters of one of his best films, Ed Woods Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszweski; also like Ed Wood, Big Eyes is a biopic that aims to give gravitas to a mid-20th century curio others would immediately dismissed as kitschy (in this case the big eye pop art of Margaret Keane); and it was given the splashy Harvey Weinstein awards season comeback narrative, complete with some of the biggest stars of the early 2010s in Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz.The film ultimately was no Ed Wood, however, nor the Oscar-magnet Weinstein hoped it to be. But like so many of Burtons better films, Big Eyes in its own affable way offered dignity to what others scoffed at including in this case a single mother. To be sure, thats how Waltzs real-life character, Walter Keane, bullied and gaslit Margaret into allowing her second husband to take credit for her artwork in the 1950s and 60s: no one would buy art from a woman, he insisted, much less a divorced mother. So he stole the credit and the fortune until Margaret took it back. The film unpacks their battle with more restrained whimsy than normal for Burton. Perhaps that is why it is fairly forgettable. Still, theres a sincere empathy and affection for Margaret and her dubious paintings. You can tell Burton is acknowledging a kindred spirit.14. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)Another remake, this, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory holds the benefit of feeling redone with purpose by Burton. A lifelong admirer of the works of Roald Dahl, Burton sought to offer a more faithful (and some might say mean-spirited) adaptation of the 1964 childrens novel that was previously, and iconically, adapted in 1971 with Gene Wilder. And to a certain vocal minority of Dahl fans, he succeeded. Burtons Charlie is definitely more faithful to Dahl, beginning with the fact it got the name right (Wilders movie is renamed Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory). The Oompa Loompas also have an air of indentured servitude about them; the children are more intentionally and gleefully punished; and young Charlie Buckett (Freddie Highmore) never breaks the rules.The film is sumptuous to look at, too, with Burtons saturated, candy-colored factory complementing the rich mocha shadings of the various chocolaty props. The production design by Alex McDowell is literal eye-candy. All things being equal though, fidelity to source material can be overrated. The 71 movie is a heartwarming classic in no small part because of Wilders vulnerable performance. Wilder found a way to walk a delicate line between endearing and creepy. Depp boldly attempts to find his own route across that No Mans Land and brazenly models his Wonka after one of the creepiest real-life public figures of the last 50 years, Michael Jackson. But the ultimate result is more unsettling than avuncular. Theres a reason only one of them is considered a classic.13. Corpse Bride (2005)The other Burton effort of 2005 was also a collaboration with director Mike Johnson on the stop-animation cult classic, Corpse Bride. Perhaps after getting too much credit in somes eyes on a true masterpiece in the medium, A Nightmare Before Christmas (Burton wrote the story and produced Nightmare, but did not direct it), the filmmaker felt the need to be more hands-on for his next animated effort.Corpse Bride is not a multi-holiday triumph like Nightmare, but it is a pleasant enough oddity in its own right. The film follows a shy would-be groom (Johnny Depp) who inadvertently proposes marriage to a skeletal cadaver in the woods when he places a wedding ring on what he believes to be a branch during a private rehearsal. (Spoiler: Its the remains of a finger!)The spirit he awakens (Helena Bonham Carter) might also be more alive than the woman this groom is expected to marry. Its a family friendly Danse Macabre full of beautiful animation and tuneful Danny Elfman songs. To this day, it enjoys eternal life on cable television every October.12. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)If most of the 2010s marked a nadir in Burtons filmographyas gleaned by the previous films on this listlast years Beetlejuice BeetlejuiceBeetlejuice Beetlejuice nonetheless feels lively and quick-footed. Thats remarkable since it stars mostly dead people.Without an ounce of reverence or self-mythologizing what they did 36 years prior, Burton and stars Michael Keaton, Catherine OHara, and Winona Ryder have a ball getting gussied up and throwing down in this glorified $99 million Halloween party. Keaton hasnt missed a step in playing his scuzzy demon with the heart of Bugs Bunny, and Burton is most in his element when he is allowing the trickster to birth himself as a demonic Rosemarys Baby or going on an extended black-and-white detour/homage to the works of Mario Bava. Its gonzo nonsense that overcomes a plotless screenplay that might otherwise waste Ryder and newcomer Jenna Ortega. But no one can be fully wasted when theyre asked to lip-synch and dance to MacArthur Park.11. Mars Attacks! (1996)Full disclosure: I didnt care for Mars Attacks! when I saw it in theaters as a kid. Its cynicism about little green men from Mars obliterating every world leader and institution on Earthand the movie virtually thanking them for going to the troubledidnt sit right with a kid who loved Independence Day. However, Burtons slyer and more satirical take on an alien invasion throwback has aged a whole lot better, right down to the pleasure it takes in a blowhard deal-maker POTUS (a grinning Jack Nicholson) discovering he cant con his way out of becoming Martian fodder.The destruction of Nicholsons narcissistic world leader is just the tip of the iceberg though in a whos who all-star ensemble of popular 90s actors showing up just long enough to be abducted, experimented on, or otherwise disintegrated for the amusement of nihilists everywhere. Its definitely an acquired taste that in retrospect was always doomed at finding a four-quadrant audience, but its nostalgia for 1950s alien invasion movies paired with a desire to watch it all burn down makes for a distinct kind of madcap comedy worthy of the real Ed Wood.10. Frankenweenie (2012)This was a difficult one to place, because it is noticeably one of Burtons favorite stories. The 2012 animated movie is adapted from a story Burton wrote for a 1984 short film of the same name. That macabre and mischievous Frankenweenie was in live-action and a sly tribute to the Universal Monster movies that informed Burtons childhood while sitting in front of the TV as a disaffected youth. The stop-motion animated version is the same thing, if only more so.Once again we have a story about a boy quickening back to life via lightning bolts the dog he lost, but there are also winking homages for the parents (or grandparents) who remember Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), among others. This stop-motion feature film is also black-and-white and filled with genuine affection for film history and the pulpy roots of a boy and his dog undoing the tragedy of losing a pet. Still, we still kind of prefer the story in its original 29-minute form.9. Batman (1989)The movie that made Tim Burton a household name is one he seems to have a love-hate relationship with. Burton is obviously proud of helming a film that seeped into the culture and caught the imagination of millions-but the chintziness of that culture, from the media circus around the movie to the way producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber strong-armed him to include Prince songs, wound up becoming satirical fodder in the sequel.But even if Batman is compromised as a Burton movie, it is still a monumental piece of commercial moviemaking and pop culture history that continues to shape the industry today. Yet unlike so many modern superhero flicks, Batman retains a quirky and morbid personality befitting its director. From its intoxicating Gothic-meets-Art Deco set designs to its odd historical blending of the 1930s, 40s, and 80s into an aesthetic Neverland, the world of Batman is simultaneously bleak and grand; oppressive and inviting. Through it all, too, is a couple of performances better than critics of the 1980s would have you believe. Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson do great movie star work, holding together Burtons flights of fancy, and a threadbare screenplay, through sheer charisma and sharp character choices even if that character is just Nicholson going ham in the villains case. Also, that Danny Elfman score soars.8. Pee-wees Big Adventure (1985)Burtons first feature film is also one of his best. An inventive and daring expansion on the Pee-wees Playhouse television series of the 1980s, Big Adventure proved more imaginative and enchanting than likely anyone in the theater or at the studio anticipated. But Paul Reubens probably had a hunch. The Pee-wee actor was the one who hired Burton after watching the young former Disney animators short films Vincent and Frankenweenie, the latter of which got the wunderkind kicked off the Disney lot. Luckily, WB (with Reubens urging) took a chance on Burton, who turned a TV spinoff into a wacky riff on the Italian Neo-realist masterpiece, The Bicycle Thieves (1948).A love story about a strange guy (Reubens) and his best bike, Pee-wees first movie is a classic adventure tale wherein a bow-tied man-child must discover who took his beribboned bicycle and for what purpose. But its the details and world-building which Burton lovingly infused in the tale, beginning with those ribbons and extending to the way he visualized a cinematic Pee-wees morning breakfast, that has made this a cult classic.7. Batman Returns (1992)Its become a clich to note that Batman Returns is more a Tim Burton movie than a Batman one. But that is why it remains among the best superhero films ever made more than 30 years on. Whereas most films within this genre from the past few decades obsess over appeasing the Comic-Con crowd (and by proxy shareholders whose henchmen breathe down a filmmakers neck), Batman Returns is a bonafide auteur piece in Bat-drag; a big budget German Expressionist revival produced 70 years after Max Schreck played the original Nosferatu. That performance also informed a character in Burtons movie who is likewise named Max Schreck (Christopher Walken), and hes the scariest bloodsucker of all: a baby boomer capitalist.Yep, despite featuring a grotesque Penguin (Danny DeVito) and a heavily reimagined Catwoman (a phenomenal Michelle Pfeiffer), the real villain in Batman Returns is the industrialist who manipulates tortured souls and pitiful monsters like the Penguin into creating crass, merchandisable product. A metaphor for modern politics or Burtons own experience on the first Batman movie? Maybe both. The ultimate result is a richer, stranger movie in which all three villains represent different variations of the Batman persona (played here as a virtually silent wraith by Keaton). Their dualities are informed by their visual self-constructs, which inevitably fray and decay as the narrative culminates in full-fledged noir tragedy. Its operatic, perverse, kinky, and too downbeat for younger audiences. It got Burton fired, but not before he made the most subversive anti-Christmas movie of all.6. Sleepy Hollow (1999)In many ways the quintessential Tim Burton movie, everything that seems to entrance the filmmaker can be found in Sleepy Hollow: an ostensibly spooky story set literally around Halloween; pallid and disheveled characters traversing the cinematic influences of Burtons youth (in this case Hammer Horror movies); and a subtly wry, and often overlooked, sense of humor about all things obscene, which here amounts to veritable spit takes as innocent, men, women, and children lose their heads. Indeed, Sleepy Hollow is a stealth comedy about a foppish buffoon named Ichabod (Johnny Depp) prancing around Enlightenment era America and quaking at the sight of a mouse, even as he intends to face a Headless Horseman raised from Hell.Burton realizes it all with a conviction and gusto which has eluded many of his more recent attempts to channel childhood favorites into a storybook enchantment. In Sleepy Hollow, though, that spell is cast with dreamlike wonderment. The tenor of said wonder can vary depending on the sceneranging from palpable dread, as Depp and Christina Ricci approach a twisted tree that drips blood, or idyllic reverie as a boy remembers a mother before religion and his fathers false piety steals her awaybut its powerful magic all. The film also benefits from supporting work by Michael Gambon, Michael Gough, Ian McDiarmid, and Richard Griffiths as the (ahem) heads of their community. Add in a witchy Miranda Richardson and Christopher Walken as the Horseman, and thats a murderers row of talent.5. Big Fish (2003)One of the most impressive examples of Burton stretching his talents outside his comfort zone, Big Fish plays still in his wheelhouse of fairytale mythmaking, and impossible dream logic, but it does so with a milieu that ditches the Gothic for something more Southern and folksy. It also comes wrapped in a film determined to interrogate the need, and limitation, of interpreting the world with such artifice. Based on the genuinely Southern voice of Daniel Wallace, Big Fish presents a tall tale about a father and son. The elder seeks to reframe his life with the whimsical joy of Burtons most lighthearted flights of fancy, and the junior grew up to be a journalist who only knows skepticism toward such self-delusions (and perhaps deceptions).In his own way, Burton uses the film to dramatize why he prefers formalist fantasy over naturalism; he also comes the closest to addressing the recurrent motif in all his works about the chasm between fathers and sons. Often that is constructed by way of a cruel and overbearing father incapable of understanding their progeny, but by tackling a story where it is the son who cannot appreciate the life lived by his patriarch, Burton most clearly expresses the artistic need to embellish. And he does so in a story that is sunny, kind-hearted, and achingly sincere in its belief in the joy of community.4. Edward Scissorhands (1990)Burton first conceived of the Edward Scissorhands character when the future-filmmaker was still just a lonely teenager who couldnt relate to the suburban life around him in 1970s Burbank. In other words, the films hero is literally born from a sketch drawn by an isolated and despairing child. This speaks to why the eventual story Burton realized about this character, alongside screenwriter Caroline Thompson, would go on to strike a chord with generation after generation of sensitive, artistic, or otherwise Goth-leaning youths.Perhaps the cleanest and most structured of Burtons fairytale films, with a heaping helping of Universal Monsters sympathy for his creature (played here with silent cinema pathos by a young Johnny Depp), Edward Scissohrands is simple and direct in its metaphor and emotion. Edward, a child built in a lab by a kindly but mad scientist (Vincent Price), cannot connect or fit in with a suburbia so dreary that all the houses are painted in one of four sickly faded pastels (a brilliant idea by costume designer Bo Welch). Its always summer, always sunny, and Burton and Depps sullen avatar for adolescent ennui can only relate to his crush (Winona Ryder) when he admires her from afar or paints her out of ice. Yet it is their, and our, ability to appreciate that unrequited loneliness as something beautiful which gives the movie its yearning. Another exquisite Danny Elfman score also doesnt hurt.3. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)Burton first saw Harold Princes production of this Stephen Sondheim musical in the early 1980s when it was playing in London. At the time, Burton was a college student and aspiring animator, but even then he saw the inherently cinematic appeal in the lurid material about an aggrieved Victorian barber who lashes out at the world by murdering anyone who comes into his shop, and letting his unscrupulous landlady turn them into meat pies for an unsuspecting public.It should be say that on stage, the Sondheim musical is often performed as a dark comedy and satire about the exploitation of the working poor. Thats there too in Burtons movie, but he really extracts the classical Grand Guignol horror that is often underplayed in the theater. In the process, he made a film that wildly departs from the typical staging of what some consider the greatest Broadway musical ever written. It is sacrilege in the eyes of many theatergoers, and too tuneful with a wall-to-wall songbook for other horror fans. Yet Sondheim himself adored the picture, calling it the best adaptation of one of his musicals. Thats because Burton makes it pure cinematic tragedy and comes the closest he ever did at rekindling the menace of the Universal Monsters and Val Lewton chillers that long inspired him. This is a nearly black-and-white psychological drama until it oozes red. It remains the last time Burton conjured his early vitality and one of the best movie musicals of this decade.2. Beetlejuice (1988)At one point, a young Tim Burton wanted Sammy Davis Jr. to play the trickster demon Beetlejuice. He was thankfully steered away from that idea, but such an odd casting choice hints at the kooky and sublime madness being imbibed when this one-of-a-kind laugher got made. Produced from a Michael McDowell script that no one in town wanted to makeand which is a far sicker story than Burton ended up directingBeetlejuice is a distillation of quirky impulses and brazenly incongruous gags that should not meld together.Ostensibly the story of two squares (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis), who after a darkly funny accident discover the afterlife is a bureaucratic nightmare, Beetlejuice dances, shimmies, and does the literal calypso due to all the creative choices made by a young filmmaker determined to turn that premise into a 92-minute punchline. From the decision to use intentionally rudimentary and dated-looking stop-motion effects for the movies various creatures, to the baroque afterlife architecture taking on hard cartoonish angles and Halloween haunted house lighting, there is a kitschiness that is just bizarre enough to be mildly unsettling. Yet like Michael Keatons ingenious comedic creation as the eponymous bio-exorcist, the more menacing it seems, the funnier it plays.It is a movie that ends with teenage Winona Ryder becoming a star by lip-synching and dancing in the air to Harry Belafonte while joined by a chorus line of high school football player ghosts. None of it tracks, but all of it is strangely joyful. The movie represents Burtons preferred aesthetics and instincts at their absolute best.1. Ed Wood (1994)Tim Burtons made no secret about his affinity for the real Ed Wood Jr., a notorious 1950s genre hack whose movies were so incompetent he at one point was dubbed the worst director of all time. Yet as a filmmaker of similar interests, if not talent, Burton recognized in Wood the exuberance of an artist who just wanted to createwith no concern as to whether what he created was objectively good.Given the somewhat uneven trajectory of Burtons own career both before and after Ed Woodhe originally planned to be an animator at Disney, rememberthat kinship is easier to appreciate today. And there is sincere affection and even bliss in how Burton translates this to the screen. While screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszweski obviously have a penchant for romanticizing the schlock of yesteryear, Burton treats Ed Woods Hollywood story as a great American life and in the process creates one of the great American films. Filmed in lush black-and-white and with lighting that alternates between the naturalism of a 1950s message picture and pure Universal Pictures camp, Burton marries all sides of Golden Age Hollywood, be it high culture (arguably represented by Martin Landaus still-refined if soiled Bela Lugosi) or low which is pretty much every other character in the movie.Burtons Ed Wood is a valentine to the fun and excitement of finding your tribe on a film set, even if this telling of that relief must sandblast the hard edges off the real Woods life. (In Burtons film, Johnny Depp plays the director with that impossible Mid-Atlantic accent and the optimism of 1930s Capra.) Its a beautiful piece of cinema and one of the best films ever made about making movies.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·70 Views
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15 Best PC Games of the 90swww.denofgeek.comIn the 90s, there was a stark line between console and PC gaming. Many games that first released on PC never received console ports (and vice versa), and most PC titles were built exclusively for a mouse and keyboard. These early PC games were also notoriously finnicky to install, and there was much less information about troubleshooting online than there is today. This was still years before YouTube and Reddit would go online.But if you could get past those issues, the reward was cutting edge gaming. The 90s PC gaming scene was a golden age when developers took big risks, entire genres were invented, and new titles constantly pushed graphics cards to their limits, far beyond what consoles of the time could do. These are the 15 best PC games of the 90s.15. EverQuestMMORPGs are a dime a dozen nowadays, but in 1999, the idea of an online-only 3D game where you could join guilds and adventure with other players (or fight them in PvP) was mind blowing stuff. One of the genres major pioneers, EverQuest, wasnt super accessible either, given the games then-beefy system requirements, and how rare it was to find a reliable internet connection to even play it. These were the days when most people were still relying on AOL and dial up, after all.But for those who could get online, EverQuest provided an addictive glimpse of the type of experiences that would dominate gaming in the coming decades. Though EverQuests popularity has dwindled to a fraction of what it used to be, its surprisingly still online, and even receives new expansions on an annual basis.14. Unreal TournamentUnreal Tournament wasnt the first online FPS, but it was the first to understand just how important the competitive online component would be in these titles moving forward. Sure, theres a barebones campaign here, but most players barely touched it. The star of Unreal Tournament was always the wealth of multiplayer options that let you tweak each match to get the exact experience you were looking for.Add in some of the greatest deathmatch maps ever made (that continue to influence the genre to this day), and you have the recipe for one of the best and most influential first-person shooters of all time.13. The Secret of Monkey IslandAdventure games had been a staple of PC gaming during the 80s, but some of the very best titles in the genre came in the following decade. This golden age kicked off in 1990 with The Secret of Monkey Island. First off, pirates are just awesome, and tend to work great in video games, and wannabe pirate Guybrush Threepwood is one of the funniest and most likable characters in all of gaming.The Secret of Monkey Island is full of weird and wonderful scenarios, clever puzzles, and also featured some great graphics at the time. Plus, it was much more accessible than other adventure games, which tended to be crushingly difficult if you made the slightest mistake. Theres a reason why this game continues to be a huge influence on adventure games.12. Civilization IIIs Civilization II the best in the series? Far from it, but thats not because it wasnt a great game during its time, its because the sequels built on everything it did so well. To be clear, everything here is fantastic. Civilization II is still the deepest strategy game of the 90s thanks to AI that vastly improved on the original games, and its multitude of options for both combat and diplomacy.Even though the sequels are better, Civilization II still has its rabid fans. In 2012, one Redditor famously posted about his decade-long game where three civilizations were perpetually locked in nuclear war and climate calamity. Few games from the 90s have that kind of longevity.11. Worms ArmageddonWorms Armageddon is one of those games that just feels right. The game has this fantastic tone thats both full of dread and also in love with its own absurdity. Armageddon really does seem like it could launch at any moment, but its just as likely to come from a Holy Hand Grenade as an air strike.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Whether the weapons are conventional or ridiculous, the physics are finely tuned. Success or failure never feels unfair, regardless of whether youre playing multiplayer or the surprisingly deep single-player campaign. Theres a good reason why, even after multiple sequels, this is still widely considered the pinnacle of the Worms franchise.10. Star Wars: Dark ForcesWith the massive popularity of Doom in the 90s, all Dark Forces really needed to be a success was be a halfway decent Star Wars-skinned Doom clone, and everyone would have loved it. At first glance, thats exactly what this classic shooter looks like, but when you actually dive into it, its clear that the developers were much more interested in pushing the genre forward than cranking out a cheap licensed cash-in.Dark Forces pioneered several concepts in the FPS genre that we now take for granted, like jumping, being able to look up and down, the inclusion of puzzles and more complicated mission objectives, and levels with multiple floors. While it absolutely nails the look and sound of the Star Wars movie, those innovations made it a fan favorite even among those barely know a lightsaber from a light switch.9. SimCity 2000Have you ever thought you could run your town better than the people in charge? Of course you have! SimCity 2000 gave players everything they could ever want to build the city of their dreams, including schools, libraries, roads, and multiple types of power plants. Tax your citizens until they flee, or cut your budget to the bare minimum. Then there was the ability to just destroy all of your hard work with natural disasters and try to rebuild from the ground up. The options were almost limitless.SimCity 2000 was a massive success, and since EA obtained the rights to the series, theyve tried to reboot the series every few years. But while those games all look better, none have matched the pure gameplay bliss of this gem.8. DiabloYes, Diablo II is far superior to the original, but it also came out in 2000, disqualifying it form this list. Whats remarkable about the first Diablo game is that, even though its a really simple action RPG, with three basic classes and far less loot than the many games it would inspire, its still incredibly fun and addictive.A lot of it is the setting. The dark, foreboding atmosphere of Diablo has always helped set it apart, and made it a fan favorite from this very first release. Who knew that going to Hell could be so much fun?7. Thief: The Dark ProjectThief is one of those games that made a lot of people completely rethink what could be accomplished in the medium. Sure, screenshots made this look like another first-person shooter (hardly an anomaly in the late 90s), but the actual stealth gameplay was far ahead of anything else on the market at the time. You didnt want to confront enemies head on. Instead, the key to progressing was stealth, hiding in the shadows, and using distractions to your advantage.These ideas went on to the influence other fan-favorite series, such as Hitman and Splinter Cell, and then appeared in all sorts of other genres as well to varying degrees of success. As hugely influential as Thief was, developer Looking Glass Studios went out of business in 2000, and later sequels from other developers didnt have anywhere near the same impact or success as the first game.6. Planescape: TormentYou might think that the original Baldurs Gate would be on this list. Sure, that was a great CRPG from the 90s, but the lesser known Planescape: Torment actually runs circles around it when it comes to setting and gameplay, even if the two titles share a lot of similarities and even run on the same basic engine.Planescape: Torment is just a much more unique game, exploring some of the darker, more bizarre worlds of Dungeons & Dragons. The reduced emphasis on combat was a welcome new approach for the genre, especially considering just how well-written every last line of dialogue is, and how many different directions the story can go in.5. Quake IIWith monumental releases like Wolfenstein 3D and Doom under its belt, id Software was at the height of its powers in the 90s. The legendary developers simply could not do any wrong. All the work they put into the first-person shooter genre ultimately culminated in Quake II. At the time of release, the 3D graphics were among the most advanced ever seen.More importantly, the gameplay backed it up. The game was fast, smooth, and challenging, with a lengthy single-player campaign. Once you got through that, it was time to take things online with one of the best multiplayer shooters of the decade. Even now, Quake II holds up surprisingly well if you can find a few other gamers willing to play it online.4. System Shock 2System Shock 2 was one of the first FPS titles that realized the view could be used for more than just shooting. This is an early sci-fi horror masterpiece that will disturb you just as often as it will give you something to fire a weapon at. On top of that, it still has tons of RPG customization, another rarity in the genre at the time.Though originally released in 1999, System Shock 2 almost feels like it could be a game from the 2020s with a few tweaks. This was a wildly ambitious game that years ahead of its time. Unfortunately, as is often the case, that meant the public at large didnt quite know what to make of it, and early sales were low, even if critics loved it. At least its received a lot more attention over the last couple of decades, and a remake is currently in the works.3. Fallout 2The original Fallout was a fantastic introduction to the Wasteland and its many weird inhabitants. The second game is even better, even if it doesnt change a whole lot from the first. Though it lacks the 3D graphics of newer Fallout games, it still features many of the gameplay ideas that are present in modern entries.The name of the game isnt so much combat as it is finding unique ways to complete each quest. Usually that means using your head, or talking your way out of trouble. This is some of the best apocalyptic old-school role-playing around.2. StarCraftReal-time strategy games were a PC staple for much of the 90s, but StarCraft is still widely considered the very best of these titles. The brilliance of StarCraft is in its balance. Sure, there are similarities between the games three playable races, but each of them have their own unique units, strengths, and weaknesses that ensure no one side has an advantage over the others.StarCraft is so perfectly designed that it became one of the first to garner a sizable professional community, particularly in South Korea where top players were full-on celebrities in the 2000s. Even now, its highly debatable whether another RTS (including StarCraft II) is as well designed as this classic.1. Half-LifeAs innovative and eclectic as PC games were in the 90s, there was still only ever going to be one title at the top this list. Half-Life wasnt just a tremendous first-person shooter, it was a landmark title that moved the entire industry forward and established Valve as a powerhouse developer that basically runs the PC game market to this day with Steam.The genius of Half-Life is how the shooting takes a backseat to the storytelling. Scripted scenes are overused now, but no other game had leveraged them as well before, or told a story that was so compelling. You really couldnt wait to see what would happen to Gordon Freeman next. Hell, we still want to know what happens to him next, though Half-Life 3 seems as elusive as ever after all these years.0 Comments ·0 Shares ·68 Views
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