Review-Back to the future issue #1

We’re now in a position where all the films in the franchise take place entirely in the past. The last instalment came out in 1989, yet fans have constantly demanded more. Luckily for us, Bob Gale and IDW have teamed up to give us a four-issue mini-series set in the world of Hill Valley.

Bob Gale has been very outspoken about not returning to the franchise, as he explains in a note at the end of issue #1, he felt that anything more would just be repetitious, so he decided that the only way to expand on the universe would be to not focus on time travel. Instead, he opted to reveal more about the characters we fell in love with, all those years ago.

The Back to the Future comic is essentially the Untold Tales that fill in the narrative gaps from the films. The stories are set before and/or during the trilogy.


Issue #1 takes place after Marty leaves 1885, but before Doc takes his family to see him. Whilst building his time travel train, Doc explains to Clara and the kids, how he and Marty first met.


Doc and Marty first met, in 1982-three years prior to the events in the first film.
The issue is a lot of fun, as it riffs on the familiar tropes we saw throughout the trilogy. Writer John Barber is clearly a fan. Brent Schoonover’s pencilling is very cartoonish and basic, but it all works so well.

Back to The Future is Now

Pepsi Max and the Empire Cinema Leicester Square sponsored a showing of Back to The Future, Part II. The show was scheduled to coincide with the time shown on the time-travelling DeLorean: Oct 21 2015, 04:29 PM.

The car in question was waiting out in Leicester Square, where – guess what – the rain had just stopped. I dodged the amused tourists, snapped a few pics and headed into Cafe 80’s.

A copy of the cafe seen in the film was constructed in the Empire Cinema’s concession area and a mix of contest winners and press were invited to echo Marty McFly’s plea: “All I want is a Pepsi!” The costumed waitress seemed delighted enough even though I quoted the almost identical lyric from Institutionalized instead. I got my Pepsi, though: a replica of the ‘Pepsi Perfect’ bottles seen in the film.

No sooner had I explored the place (and a hoverboard someone left lying around) than a familiar old man in mirrorshades and his young companion showed up. The geezer hopped up on a table and explained to us how our presence in the adjoining theatre was required for our trip Back to The Future.

The cinema kicked in a bag of popcorn to sweeten (and salt) the deal and there was a brief introduction by ‘Doc’ and ‘Marty’ before the lights went down. The film was preceded by adverts for hoverboards and Pepsi and Jaws 19 and a special bit that Christopher Lloyd shot for the occasion.

I remember Back to The Future quite well; I’ve seen it loads of times but here’s the kicker: today was my first viewing of Part II. My review in brief: Who’s for Part III?

Big Finish review-Torchwood: Fall to Earth

The first episode of Big Finish’s new Torchwood series, ‘The Conspiracy,’ got off to a really great start. It was a nice mix of drama and narration, and set the scene up for Torchwood’s latest arc really nicely.

‘Fall to Earth’ is a very different type of story. While it only has two cast members for the whole episode – namely Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto Jones, and Lisa Zahra as Zeynep – there’s no narration for this one. In fact, the entire story is focused on one telephone conversation, and it’s both the most random and most mundane of telephone conversations, at that: a cold caller trying to sell Ianto some insurance.

What makes this cold call interesting to listen to, however, is that Ianto’s been called while he’s on a crashing spaceship and there’s no one else who can help him…

Despite being a two-hander and, even on audio, mostly taking place in one setting, this is a very fast-paced episode. It unfolds over real time as Ianto does his best to convince this insurance seller to help him, even if he has to actually buy insurance to do it.

Along the way, we gradually learn more about both Zeynep, the person whom Ianto is talking to the entire time, and how and why Ianto ended up on the spaceship in the first place.

There’s heaps of drama in the story, as Ianto and Zeynep get to know each other better and form a really close bond over the course of the episode. It’s actually the kind of story you’d expect from Torchwood – something that’s a lot more focused on the ordinary humans than on spaceships, aliens, and conspiracies. Those things are just the catalyst that allow the emotional drama to happen, and we get a lot of it with this story.

Towards the end, it gives its listeners a massive gut-punch, and the fact that it’s delivered so well after only an hour of build-up is a testament to the writing of James Goss.

Gareth David-Lloyd carries the weight of this story entirely on his shoulders, and he does so with remarkable skill and emotional range. His portrayal of Ianto’s desperation, fear, and eventual resignation is truly captivating and serves to draw the listener in even further.

Gareth’s performance is the standout aspect of the episode, and it’s clear that he has a deep understanding of the character he’s been playing for over a decade.

I struggle with audio dramas, my mind drifts a lot. However ‘Fall to Earth’ grabbed my attention from start to finish. It’s a beautiful two-hander and shows exactly what Big Finish and Torchwood can really do at their best. With a few more releases like this, Torchwood on Big Finish may become the definitive version.

Episode 146:Noel Clarke interview

In this episode of the podcast, Martyn sits down with acclaimed actor, writer, and director Noel Clarke to talk about his latest creative venture – the comic book series, The Troop.

Noel takes us on a journey through the creation of The Troop, explaining how his love for comics began as a child and how he was inspired to bring his own story to life in this medium. He discusses the challenges of writing for comics and the differences between that and screenwriting, as well as his collaboration with illustrator Joshua Cassara.

We delve into the world of The Troop, a group of young people with extraordinary abilities who are tasked with saving the world from a mysterious threat. Noel shares with us the characters and their unique powers, as well as the overarching themes of the series.

Beyond The Troop, Noel reflects on his career in the entertainment industry, sharing his insights on the challenges and opportunities that come with being a writer, director, and actor. He also discusses his experiences with diversity and representation in the industry and the importance of creating opportunities for underrepresented voices.

Join us for a fascinating conversation with Noel Clarke about his creative journey and the exciting world of The Troop.

The Troop can be ordered from Titan Comics. Read our review here.

The podcast is available from all good podcast services, such as but not limited to; Amazon Music, Podchaser, Player FM, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to support the show, then please shop via our Amazon link. A small percentage goes our way, at no extra cost to you.

Twitter:

Martyn – @BadWilf

Pete – @BeeblePete

Gerrod –@InGerrodsMind

Email:info@badwilf.com

Noel Clarke is @NoelClarke

Fox are developing two shows set in the X-Men Universe

Fox have long wanted to make a TV series set in the X-Men universe, now it seems that they’ve reached an agreement with Marvel, which will not only allow them to develop one TV series set in that universe, but two.

Fox producers Bryan Singer, Lauren Shuler Donner, and Simon Kinberg will colabirate with Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory to bring the shows to our screens.

The first series is called Legion. It’s being written and helmed by Fargo creator Noah Hawley. The second series, Hellfire is being developed by Evan Katz (24: Live Another Day), Manny Coto (24), Patrick McKay (Star Trek 3), and JD Payne (Star Trek 3).

Legion will  introduce us to the story of David Haller, David has battled with mental illness his whole life, he was diagnosed as schizophrenic in his teenage years,  he’s been in and out of various psychiatric facilities for years. After an encounter with a another patient, he’s confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.

I loved Fargo, I thought it was a marvelous adaptation of the Cohen brothers movie. Hawley is a great choice to take on this project and I’m sure he will bring us something magical.

FX said:

“Legion is just the sort of ambitious story that Noah excels at. His adaption of Fargo for television was one of the most acclaimed television events in recent memory. It’s also an honor to partner with Marvel on Legion and to enlist such an accomplished team of Executive Producers to create this pilot.”

Hellfire will be set in the mid-late 1960s, and follows a young Special Agent who learns that a power-hungry woman with extraordinary abilities is working with a clandestine society of millionaires – known as ‘The Hellfire Club’ – to take over the world.

It’s unknown at this point if anyone from the film universe will appear.

I’m very interested to see how these projects turn out. It’s actually surprising that Fox and Marvel have made a deal together, it’s well documented that the two studios don’t see eye-to-eye. Marvel haven’t allowed Fox to release X-Men toys since 2003.

 

Blu Ray Review-San Andreas

San Andreas is the latest big-budget-natural-disaster-summer-movie-epic.

California is suffering from the largest earthquakes in history and the only person that can save mankind is The Rock, in a little boat.

Ray (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) is a helicopter rescue pilot, forced to abandon his mission in order to save his daughter.

Technically speaking, San Andreas is an impressive achievement. It realistically depicts various well-known Los Angeles and San Francisco landmarks, crumbling to the ground in the wake of destruction.

What prevents this from being an enjoyable film is that the screenplay takes itself too seriously, whist using cheesy clitches. It wastes the talent of Paul Giamatti, whose character only exists to provide exposition.

The film also squanderes the action-hero charisma Johnson presented in the fast and furious franchise. Had this been a film about a rouge helicopter pilot saving the people of San Andreas, this could have been an enjoyable popcorn movie. Instead it shifts all its focus on one family and never feels more than a big budget SyFy movie.

Is Miles Moreals in the new Spider-Man movie?

When it was announced that Sony and Marvel would be working together to bring Spider-Man into the MCU. As we know Tom Holland was ultimately cast as Peter Parker, but many fans had hoped Andrew Garfield would return and die heroically as Peter Parker, paving way for Miles Moreales to take over. 

In an interview with Yahoo, the new Spider-Man director Jon Watts was asked if there had been any thoughts about Miles taking over the mantle. What’s interesting is that he hinted that Miles may still be in the film:

“I can’t talk about that, because, you know, that will reveal too much. We’re still writing the story…we haven’t finished all the way through the story yet, so who knows.”

I admit, that isn’t much to go on. But I do suspect that we’ll see Miles pop up at some point. By the time the planned Spider-Man trilogy ends most of the current Marvel actors will be at the end of their contracts and looking to move on. The introduction of Miles Moreales would allow them to refresh the brand without having to completely reboot.

Sean Pertwee talks about playing the Third Doctor 

Doctor Who fans have long debated and demanded that Sean Pertwee pick up his dad’s cape, jump in Bessie and play his dad’s incarnation of The Doctor. Last Halloween we got a glimpse of it when he went to a party dressed in an improvised third Doctor costume. 

 
After that, a fan mocked up a very realistic image of Sean in the role.

  

Well, speaking to the radio times the question of playing the Doctor came up. 

Pertwee Jr. said:

“It would be an honour, but I think I would be completely terrified,“ he explained. “They’re large boots to fill. My dad would have absolutely split his sides if I did that, I’m laughing just thinking of his reaction.”

“Doctor Who was a huge thing in my life, but the thing is my father was just an actor. I was surrounded by extrodinary people all my life. The people he was interested in weren’t actors, they were artists, pirates, smugglers, butchers, florists, whatever. My recollection of being brought up by my dad was in Ibiza, so I remember this idyllic bohemian lifestyle.”

Read the full interview here. 

Big Finish review-Doctor Who:Criss-Cross

Pete and I had a chat about Doctor Who: Criss Cross, by Big Finish.

Martyn: With over 16 years of audio adventures, the biggest problem with the Doctor Who range used to be ‘where do you start?’

Pete: In a way, everyone jumps into Doctor Who in the middle; there’s a certain joy to discovering the world we’re dropped into, in our own order.

M: It can still seem daunting for new listeners to climb on board the Big Finish train. Recently they’ve decided to play down the continuity of the first 200 and provide a fresh jumping on point for new listeners. The first three focused on the Seventh Doctor and Mel.

P: Return of the Sontarans was really fun; I liked your review.

M: Criss-Cross kicks off a brand new trilogy for the Sixth Doctor and Constance Clarke. In a very time-wimey way, we met her in The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure.

P: The extras for that mention how Colin Baker needed some convincing to sign his character’s death warrant. But he needn’t have worried; it just left me wanting more. It must have helped him, though, to have a glimpse of the future in there.

M: Written by Matt Fitton, Criss-Cross tells the story of the ‘Wrens’ working at the Bletchley Park codebreaking facility in World War II. They start out dealing with and becoming suspicious of the eccentric ‘Doctor John Smith.’

P: This is super timely, too. There’s a new book by Tessa Dunlop about the women of Bletchley Park, BBC2 have just done a doco on somebody besides Alan Turing and of course there’s the Imitation Game film with Cumberbatch.

M: This one’s a gripping war-time story – suspicion and espionage, with hints of sci-fi thrown in. The characters are spies, double agents, Nazis and code-breakers. Matt Fitton manages to perfectly encapsulate the horrendous situations people in war often found themselves. The period feels authentic and Constance Clarke is very much of her time.

P: They’ve given her an absent husband like Emma Peel had, but perhaps not like that; we’ll see. Mrs Clarke is both a foil and an asset, which is really good for ‘old sixie.’ Miranda Raison pitches it just right; I remember her from Wreck of the Titan. I’m also hoping to see her in A Winter’s Tale, a new live HD theatre project Kenneth Branagh is doing.

M: Colin is at the top of his game here, the chemistry with Miranda Raison is impeccable, it’s up there with the Seventh Doctor and Ace, or Ten and Donna.

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