Doctor Who - Let's Kill Hitler Review

This review can also be found on Step2Inspire.

It's been a little under three months coming, but finally the second half of Doctor Who series six has arrived! Kicking off with Let's Kill Hitler, the Doctor's return was nothing short of utterly spectacular.

Having summoned the Doctor back to Leadworth via a crop-circle (just one of the many ways to contact an extraterrestrial), Amy and Rory are reunited with the Time Lord adventurer, who's sporting a new and rather magnificent overcoat. However, they aren't the only ones seeking the Doctor, as Mels (Nina Toussaint-White), the childhood friend of Amy and Rory, comes ploughing through the corn field in a red corvette – which, as it happens, does not strictly belong to her, judging by the sirens that seemed to be following. In a bid to escape, she holds the Doctor at gunpoint, and off they bugger in the TARDIS.

It becomes clear that this isn't Mels's first altercation with authority, as a series of flashbacks indicate her repetitive detentions throughout school, as well as the occasional arrest later in life, with Amy always there scolding her in a motherly fashion. Appropriate, really... (For those who read my article on the prequel and previews... I was right. Not going to make a big deal out of it, I just like being right. And blimey was that part executed brilliantly!).

After crashing into Hitler's office, the TARDIS crew find themselves confronted with the Fuhrer, played by Albert Welling, having just inadvertently saved his life from a time-travelling, shape-shifting, law-enforcing robot piloted by tiny people (that's one hell of a CV!). Welling's role as Hitler was disappointingly short-lived, though, having been punched by Rory (“shut up, Hitler”, brilliant line!) and locked in a cupboard for the rest of the episode. However, despite the title, Hitler is not really the focus of the episode, nor is the Teselecta that had been attempting to kill him, but it is actually quite a Melody Pond/River Song based episode.

Despite the many, many fantastic elements that made up this episode, and the entire cast producing an utterly stellar performance, Alex Kingston absolutely stole the show. Portraying the early days of River Song as unstable, murderous, and fairly psychotic, Kingston was at her most engaging since she first appeared on the show in Silence in the Library. River's character was also considerably more fleshed out, probably helped by the revelation that she's Amy's daughter in the mid-series finale, and we begin to learn more things about River Song's past. Things such as where she got her diary from, why she became an archaeologist in the first place, and how she used up all of her regenerations which would ultimately lead to her demise in the Library, is made clear by the end.

There was also a nod to the Doctor's former companions (circa 2005 onwards), and the guilt he feels for how he's affected their lives. Evidently after the events of Demon's Run, he sees himself as more of a curse than someone who enriched their lives – a nice touch, I felt! We also learn a little more about the Silence; that they're a religious order (not a species) who believe that silence will fall when the oldest question in the Universe is asked – a question no-one knows, but is hidden in plain sight. An intriguing new riddle from Moffat's Mind! I'm looking forward to this new narrative panning out...

As an aside, I'm still a little perturbed by the fact that they never let Hitler out of the cupboard. I'm going to assume that this will be some clever plot device in the future, seeing as there'll be more Churchill in this series, and someone alludes to the fact that “something has happened to time”. Although, if this is the case, you have to wonder about how effective the Nazi party were/are if they never noticed Hitler had been shut in a cupboard the whole time! I know when I lose something, I tend to check the cupboards quite early on in the searching process, and that's just for menial things like keys and laptop chargers, let alone the leader of my political party (although, I wouldn't be surprised if someone did lock Nick Clegg in a cupboard at some point. I bet Cameron's done that already... Several times...)!

Compared to the opening half of the series, which felt more story-arc driven for the most part, Let's Kill Hitler narratively followed on from the mid-series finale but felt less arc-driven. The story was fast-paced, rife with humour, and once again a televisual triumph! With the revelations regarding baby Melody, I doubt the quest to find her will be the main plot arc throughout the next few episodes, and will instead be based more on individual stories, but with the lingering threads from the beginning of the series... The Silence and the death of the Doctor.

Next week's episode, Night Terrors, is scripted by Mark Gatiss, so is bound to be thoroughly bizarre and creepy. The trailer for Night Terrors can be seen here.

If you missed Let's Kill Hitler, the episode is available on iPlayer here.

Doctor Who Series Six - New Prequel and Previews

This article can also be found on Step2Inspire.

With the 27th of August and the second half of Doctor Who series six fast approaching, the BBC has released some new preview footage to whet the Whovian appetite (the prequel for Let's Kill Hitler can be seen below).

Premièring with Let's Kill Hitler, the second half of the series will see the Doctor after the revelations of Demon's Run in a quest that will span centuries and galaxies to rescue Melody Pond – aka baby River Song. However, these are the Doctor's final days. At 5.02pm on 22nd April 2011 by the shores of Lake Silencio, Utah, the Doctor will die...

The first preview to come from the vaults of the BBC is from Let's Kill Hitler, and sees the TARDIS after presumably making an emergency landing in 1930's Berlin. The Doctor, wearing a rather fantastic coat instead of the expected tweed jacket, ushers Amy and Rory out of the TARDIS, but seems to have inexplicably picked up a third companion – Mels (Nina Toussaint-White). For an as-yet unexplained reason, Mels has shot the TARDIS, which is likely to be the cause of the copious amount of smoke pouring from it.

Now, I may be jumping to wildly inaccurate conclusions, but Mels sounds an awful lot like a nickname for someone called Melody. And she has a gun for whatever reason, as does River. As this clip is from episode eight, I doubt they'll have found Melody Pond that easily, but Mels could hypothetically be Melody when she's in her mid-twenties (and post-Day of the Moon regeneration, assuming that little girl was Melody, which is by no means certain), but unbeknownst to the Doctor et al. Or not. I don't know. Just a thought.

There's also an unconscious Nazi officer who appears to have a crew inside, piloting him like a ship (not too dissimilar to how I function!). I think it's safe to infer he's some kind of android. Why a Nazi android? Who knows. And of course there's Hitler, played by Albert Welling.

The second clip, also from Let's Kill Hitler, predominantly features Amy and Rory trapped inside a robot replica of Amy, being confronted by jellyfish-like robotic security. So far, so bizarre, especially for 1930s Berlin! Presumably this is somehow linked to the artificial Nazi officer in the first clip, as both are androids with crews of miniature people.

For some reason this vaguely reminded me of the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy Infocom game, in which a spin of the infinite improbability drive results in you being put inside your own brain. As far as I could tell this was a no-win situation, and invariably ended in disaster, until I discovered I had to remove my common sense in order to survive. But that's a tangent for another day.

The new trailer itself also yields some tantalising snippets, such as swooping pterodactyls and a train running along a viaduct into a pyramid which has the American flag stamped on the side of it. If you can make any degree of sense of the latter, then please – enlighten me!

All in all, the second half of the series seems set to be monumentally enthralling and complex, and with the set-up provided by the first half, this is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious series of Doctor Who to date.

Blood and Bone China - A Tale of Horror and Intrigue

This review can also be found on Step2Inspire.

Web series are an ever increasing medium of entertainment. Since the advent of video sharing sites such as YouTube, film-makers have been able to freely broadcast their productions almost instantaneously to the rest of the world. Whilst this medium has yet to garner the same acclaim as TV and film, there are some exemplary web-based series that show just how capable of rivalling other contemporary media it can be. Blood and Bone China is one of these series.

Starring Anthony Miles and Rachel Shenton, Blood and Bone China is a feature length vampire film, which has been broadcast as a twelve-part web series, set in Stoke-on-Trent in 1897. The series follows the story of Newlyn Howell (Anthony Miles), a country vet, whose brother mysteriously vanished leaving nothing but a bone china tea set as a clue. Accompanied by the enigmatic Alexander Pyre (John James Woodward), Newlyn heads to Stoke-on-Trent in a quest to find his missing brother. However, it soon becomes clear that Newlyn’s brother isn’t the only person to have gone missing on the streets of Stoke-on-Trent. Teaming up with investigative journalist Anna Fitzgerald (Rachel Shenton), Newlyn begins to uncover something far more sinister than he could ever have imagined…

Produced, directed, edited and co-written by award-winning freelance filmmaker Chris Stone, Blood and Bone China is nothing short of brilliant. Unlike most contemporary vampire-based dramas, which are more in the region of True Blood and Twilight than Dracula, this series harkens back to a more classical interpretation reminiscent of Bram Stoker’s Dracula - as Stone himself puts it; “In recent years, vampires have been pushed so far from the original Dracula legend, that I decided they needed to get their bite back with ‘Blood and Bone China’.”

With fantastically recreated Victorian sets, stunning visuals, engaging narrative, and generally all-round excellent cinematography, Blood and Bone China certainly strikes me as one of the finest examples of a web-based series.

With only three episodes to go, the series is fast approaching it’s conclusion. To watch the series so far, go to www.bloodandbonechina.com - it really is an absolute must-see!

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - A Take on the Riots in the UK

A bus is burnt in Tottenham, Saturday night

As many people know, I am an overly opinionated individual when it comes to politics. I believe in a world where man earns his place in the world by working for it, not being handed it on a plate nor held back by a restrictive social contract. The recent events in London and across the UK have left me more opinionated and ranty than ever!

Watching the events unfold, from the early riots in Tottenham to the gradual spread across London, is heart-breaking. What started out as a peaceful protest soon became one of the most horrific riots in this country in living memory, erupting into an almost war-like situation spanning several cities. I find it almost impossible to think about anything else at the moment – to me presently nothing else is quite as important as these monumental and indubitably paradigm-shifting events.

No less than 25 families lost their homes during the Tottenham riot, and countless more on the ensuing two nights that saw London blaze. These people now have nowhere to go, no possessions except the clothes on their backs, and what did they do to deserve that? Nothing. Innumerable businesses have been looted, ransacked, and torched, some local and others more mainstream. This will leave hundreds, if not thousands, jobless and others with their businesses they've struggled to build vanishing in front of their eyes. All of this on top of the pre-existing homeless and employment problems. It's thoughts of things like this that deeply sadden me.

Stand-Off: Riot police and rioters in Hackney

Monday night proved to be the worst by far (to date), with the riots all over the capital and starting up in other cities. A man in Hackney suffered a seizure after the bus he was on was assaulted by rioters shortly after 5pm. Numerous vehicles had been set upon by armed criminals, countless passers-by seriously injured just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and riot police desperately trying to control the situation. One question hung in the air: Why?

Some believed it was related to the shooting of a young man in Tottenham by police, others that it was a gang or race war, and some that it was a political statement. Even some of those involved with the looting and rioting cited it being down to wanting change, equal opportunities and a statement against the government (some less eloquent than others, as these exemplars for society display!). However, none of it feels that politically motivated. The student protests of last year, when it turned from protest to riot, at least still held true to their agenda, but these riots are seemingly just active anarchists who have seized their moment of opportunity to loot and burn. I wouldn't say that is a conclusive analysis of the rioters, but it certainly fits a large majority of them.

I believe that if there is a socio-political message in these riots, it's held by only a small faction of the people. It's one of the problems with democracy – it's utilitarian in nature, catering to the needs of the majority. I am all for democracy, don't get me wrong, but it will always leave a minority who often feel ignored. In these times of austerity, it's the youth who feel ignored, as many feel abandoned, University a distant and unaffordable fantasy, and their futures bleak with unemployment rife and the housing market through the roof. That being so, this in no way excuses the behaviour. If any of the rioters do have a political agenda for change and equal opportunities, it's been sadly drowned out by the overwhelming numbers of those who are there for the sheer wanton criminality and destruction.

With sights such as those in London (especially Croydon's fire) on Monday evening, the display of reckless abandon, the lack of respect for other people's well being, and the opportunistic greed and looting seems to me utterly devoid of rational argument. For as long as these rioters display a lack of respect for society, society should have no respect for the rioters. Those who want to get a point across will now be treated like delinquents based purely on the actions of the mob majority – even in the minority, there are minorities who become misrepresented. The cries of “equal opportunities for all” will not echo as loudly in the ears of the public and politicians as the shouts of “terror and havoc and free stuff”. The overwhelming message from these people is simply “we can get away with it and don't care.”

A woman jumps from her flat's window,
moments before it is engulfed in flames

The sight of a wounded boy being helped to his feet after a mobbing is heart-warming, only to be utterly disgraced when the people helping are only doing so so that they can mug him. The image of a local business being looted and set on fire, the flats above them containing residents, families, now having to flee as their homes are destroyed in the blaze. These are not the sights of political revolution, these pictures portray anarchy.

Every one is entitled to his or her opinion, and to live as they please. That's a fundamental belief of mine. If these riots have a political agenda, good – go forth and change the world for the better! But I will not stand by and grant excuses of the 'disillusioned youth' or the down-trodden to justify these riots. These events have not made political impact. If anything, they have further demonised the very culture some purport to be trying to vindicate, and put the livelihoods and well being of innocent citizens at risk. These riots have left hundreds homeless, jobless, and without safety or comfort.

By all means, stand up for your rights and your political views, but under no circumstances should you endanger another being. And now, coming up to the fifth day of national riots, where are we? Last night, London was quiet whilst Manchester and Birmingham picked up where the capital left off. Total arrests since this all began are approaching one thousand, and about four people have been murdered, many more injured.

As much as I want to see this brought to an end, I don't believe that the events in London are over. After Monday night, would these peoples really just go “well, enough's enough” and that be it?! Perhaps they heard about the increased police force on the streets, or maybe they're trying to be unpredictable so they can catch London off guard. Either way, I suspect this is only a fleeting relief, and wouldn't be surprised if we saw more riots in the capital in the coming weeks.

Within the past 24 hours, Amazon.co.uk's sales of metal shovels up by 129,000%, aluminium baseball bats by 52,000%, and at least 5,000% on numerous other brands of bat as well as police batons. These numbers are enormous, and can be no coincidence. I can only hope that this is the result of a server error, and not genuine bat-sales. If not, London's streets may be empty whilst the rioters wait patiently for their parcels...

But finally, I would like to end on an optimistic note. After these horrific occurences which devastated homes and businesses alike, members of the community have banded together to aid in cleaning up the aftermath of the riots. For more information on how you can get involved in the Riot Clean-Up, please visit www.riotcleanup.co.uk.

The scene in Clapham Junction, Tuesday Afternoon