Doctor Who - Mummy on the Orient Express Review

Doctor Who - Mummy on the Orient Express Review (Spoilers)

I told you I was going to start reviewing Doctor Who weekly, so here's a review for Series 8, Episode 8, "Mummy on the Orient Express."

This episode exceeded my expectations. I expected something good, but I ended up getting something absolutely great! This episode was fun. 

So, this episode began with a mini-surprise. Clara was in it! I was expecting her to be absent after the events of last episode, but instead she is present, attempting to go on a last hurrah with the Doctor. But then things get a bit more complicated when a monster mummy arrives.

The monster design was fantastic. He looked genuinely creepy, and all the scenes where he appeared were tense. I especially like the use of a ticking clock actually being shown, ticking down from 66, in the corner of the screen. It was a nice touch to add to the suspense.

A major part of this episode was Clara's disapproval of just how dark this Doctor is. She's right to be concerned because man, Capaldi does and says things Matt Smith and David Tennant never would have. I think this doctor is more like Sherlock from the BBC series then the previous incarnations of the Doctor. I do like how in the end, he seems to be aware of Clara's feeling about this, and I bet he's still a very kind man.

So all in all, fantastic episode.

+Fun
+Darker Doctor
+The Creepy Mummy
+The Clock Ticking Down
+"Are you my mummy"
Score: 9/10

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Top Ten Episodes of The Walking Dead

Top Ten The Walking Dead Episodes.

Season 5 premieres tomorrow, so I thought I would discuss my top ten favorite episodes of the previous four seasons.

(Spoilers)

10. Internment (Season 4, Episode 5)

This is when Season 4 really kicked into gear. This was a thrilling episode! The fences broke and Rick and Carl had to defend themselves, and in the prison zombies are attacking and Hershel has to protect the people in danger. This was a great spotlight episode for Hershel, one of the show's best characters.







9. Killer Within (Season 3, Episode 4)

"Killer Within" is a great early Season 3 episode. It's violent, brutal, and shocking. There are some major character deaths, perhaps the biggest death of the entire season, and one of the biggest of the whole series. And it's only the fourth episode of the season.

8. Too Far Gone (Season 4, Episode 8)














The mid-season finale to the 4th season was not all that it could've been. I know most will disagree with me, but I though it could've been better. I felt they stalled too much at the beginning, having more buildup then necessary. It lessened the intensity. But....those last twenty minutes. They delivered! The tank assault on the prison was one of the most insane action sequence I've ever seen on TV!

7. Made to Suffer (Season 3, Episode 8)














The Mid-Season finale for the 3rd season was an exciting episode from start to finish, There were lots of holy sh*t moments!

6. 18 Miles Out (Season 2, Episode 10)

This episode is stunning. The main plot of Season 2 is the drama between Rick and Shane. Season 2 is a weak season, but the Rick and Shane stuff is exceptional. So when an episode centers almost entirely around just the two of them, you know it'll be good. And good this episode was. Shane is favorite character in The Walking Dead, for sure.
I also really loved the scenes with Shane seeing the zombie wandering in the field, alone.
(the only negative thing about this episode is the subplot with Beth trying to kill herself. Blah.)

5. A (Season 4, Episode 16)

An outstanding episode no doubt. The atmosphere is incredibly dark and tension filled right from the start. This episode isn’t higher on the list because there are some things that are lacking, and that’s because this is a finale. It’s a beautiful close to Rick’s character arc throughout this season (and the series as a whole), but it mainly just sets up season 5, where the real battle at Terminus is sure to commence.  “A” would’ve been better as the second to last episode of the season. That way Season 4 could end in truly epic fashion. Despite this, the episode is intense and incredible all the same.

4. Beside the Dying Fire (Season 2, Episode 13)

A season known for being way too slow ends with the best, and most action filled, finale of the series so far. It's big, it's epic, and it's satisfying. Love it.

3. The Grove (Season 4, Episode 14)

The darkest episode of The Walking Dead. Really. This episode is freaking grim. And disturbing. But

it's one of the finest episodes of the series.

2. Days Gone Bye (Season 1, Episode 1)

Talk about starting off strong. The Walking Dead has one of the best pilots ever made. It's creepy and dark, and I feel it created a certain, moody atmosphere that the series simply hasn't been able to consistently recapture.

1. Clear (Season 3, Episode 12)

"Clear" is a powerful, well written episode. It's not action filled at all, but that doesn't matter. It has some of the best acting, dialogue and character moments that an episode of TV can have, It's a fantastic episode of The Walking Dead, and TV in general.

This episode, I truly love.

Ender's Game Review (No Spoilers)

Ender's Game Book Review

(No Spoilers)

Today I finished reading the novel, Ender's Game, written by Orson Scott Card. Here are my thoughts on this book:

There are a few books I really love. The Harry Potter Series, John Green's books like Paper Towns and The Fault in Our Stars, The Giver, and some others. It's now time to add a book to that list of books. I absolutely loved Ender's Game!
The plot is this: In the future humanity has been in a war with an alien race called the buggers for many years now, and they are desperate to find one special soldier who can lead them to victory. They believe this special soldier could possibly be a young boy, named Ender Wiggin. Also, some other subplots are introduced in the book, and they're just as interesting as the main plot.
The story is a bit cliche, but it is very engaging, and well executed. It is a very well written novel, and it's filled with some truly fascinating characters. Ender Wiggin, his siblings Valentine and Peter, and Colonel Graff. All great characters that I loved reading about.
A thing I really liked about this book is how it treats the passage of time. It shows how things over time can change, and how you can grow apart from people you once were once close with. It creates a strong feeling of melancholy.

This is the first book in a long series, but I feel it tells a complete story that doesn't desperately need a follow up, but I'm glad there are more books, because I loved the heck out of this one. But yeah, as I said, a complete story is told, and it has a satisfying conclusion. I love the ending. Despite this, my only real problem with the book is with the second to last chapter. I feel like some major events were kinda rushed over. It's like Orson Scott Card really wanted to finish to book within just a few more pages, so a lot of stuff happens and it happens way too fast.
But hey, it's still  a fantastic novel. Absolutely worth reading.

+Well Written
+Fascinating Characters
+Great Story
+Awesome subplots
+It's just a great book
-Some things rushed

Book Score: 9.7
(score out of ten).

Doctor Who - Series 8 Episodes 5-7 Reviews

Here's the next 3 reviews for Doctor Who Series 8, episodes 1-7. In the previous blog, I reviewed episodes 1-4, and now I'm reviewing episodes 5-7.

Doctor Who: Time Heist (Series 8, Episode 5)


(Spoilers)

This was a fun episode of Doctor Who! It's not got to be one of the season's best or anything like that, and I have some small, nitpicky problems with it, but it was a serviceable episode, and one that many will enjoy.
The plot is that the Doctor, Clara, and two other people, one a girl who's a shapeshifter, and the other a male cyborg, must rob a bank! And avoid a giant monster of course!
The plot moved at a fast pace (perhaps too fast), it all concluded nicely, and had a twist.
The nitpicky problems I had with it were that it was ocassionally headache inducing, because of the loud sound effects, the siren noise the monster made, and the super fast moving plot, which actually confused me a bit. But hey, maybe's that just me being stupid.

+Fun story
+Entertaining
+Interesting side characters
-Plot gets semi-confusing
Episode Score: 8.0/10


Doctor Who: The Caretaker (Series 8, Episode 6)
The doctor goes undercover, and we get more Danny Pink action.
Like "Time Heist" this was a very enjoyable episode! Even better then "Time Heist." I really liked the Doctor going undercover, and there were many humerous Doctor moments throughout the episode, most of them being his interaction with Danny Pink.
Speaking of Danny Pink, he continues to be a fascinating new character, and I like how the show is moving the story along, as Danny Pink learns about the Doctor....only in the sixth episode of the season!
Another great thing about the episode is the character drama. The alien plot didn't interest me that much, in fact I didn't care about it at all, but it didn't impact my enjoyment that much of the overall episode because this episode had interesting drama between the characters. I loved seeing the Doctor, Clara, and Danny Pink all interact together!
In conclusion, a great episode, and a great season so far.

+Character Drama
+Danny Pink....
+....and the Doctor's interaction with Danny Pink
+Humerous scenes
-Lame alien storyline
Episode Score: 8.3/10


Doctor Who: Kill the Moon (Series 8, Episode 7)


There's been quite a diverse reaction over this episode. Some praise it, some despise it. Me?
Well I guess I lie somewhere in between. Perhaps more toward the praise side, but I defiantly do not think it's an "amazing" episode. I just think it's a good episode, one of the better ones of the season in fact. I liked a lot about it.
The Good:
The main point of this episode is the moral dilemma about whether or not they should kill the moon. And that whole story works well, and is interesting to watch. It's dramatic and meaningful.
And the spider creatures were creepy.
Plus, Jenna Coleman's performance was phenomenal.
The Not-Good:
The character of Courtney. Don't like her very much.
I don't think the ending will actually have much of a long term affect. Most likely, the Doctor and Clara will reunite in an episode or two.
Also, when the episode ended, I kinda thought to myself, "that's it?"

+Moral dilemma
+Jenna Coleman's performance
+Creepy spider creatures
-Courtney
Episode Score: 8.4/10

That's it for now. Stay tuned for weekly reviews for the rest of Series 8 starting next Saturday, when the new episode premieres.

Doctor Who - Series 8 First Four Episodes Reviewed

Alright, as promised, here's reviews for the first 7 episode of Doctor Who Series 8. I'm actually going to split this up into two blogs. This blog will be episode 1-4, and the next blog will be episodes 5-7. Let's begin

Doctor Who, Series 8, Episode 1, "Deep Breath."

(Spoilers)

“I’m the Doctor. I’ve lived for over 2000 years and not all of them were good. I’ve made many mistakes and it’s about time that I did something about that.” -12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi)

“And however scared you are, Clara, the man you are with right now – the man I hope you are with – believe me, he is more scared than anything you could imagine right now. And he, he needs you.” -11th Doctor (Matt Smith)

New Doctor. New Series (Because the british say Series, not Season, for some reason.)

Let’s look back at past Doctor Introductions. “Rose,” decent enough. “Christmas Invasion,” pretty fun. “The Eleventh Hour,” an amazing introduction! Now, how does “Deep Breath,” compare? It’s no “The Eleventh Hour, but it’s good, I’d say it’s slightly below “The Christmas Invasion”.

Let’s dive right into my thoughts on this episode. I like Capaldi, but do miss Smith. I like Clara, but do miss Amy (though by episode 4 of this series, I feel like I’m starting to really dig the Capaldi/Clara team). And Vastra, Jenny, and Strax are nice, but I don’t really remember them ever being introduced, they just showed up in one episode, and having been popping up again and again. Perhaps I need to do some research on that.

Anyway, I like all the stuff I mentioned above. What I didn’t like was the setting, I just don’t like this 1800s London setting at all, and the plot was just okay for me.

I am every excited for what comes next, though. This is an overall solid start, and I’m going to give this a positive rating, although depending on how you judge numbers and stuff, you may find the score a little low, but I think it fits, at least in my opinion.

+(Positives) -(Cons)

+Peter Capaldi is great!

+Some fun dialogue and scenes

+Matt Smith Cameo, rejoice!

-Meh Setting

-Not the most interesting story

Episode Score (out of 10): 7.9/10

Doctor Who, Series 8, Episode 2, "Into the Dalek."

Can you feel the love tonight....

“Into the Dalek,” is about something many, many episodes of Doctor Who have been about. Daleks. It’s about Daleks. Daleks are Doctor Who’s most iconic villains, and they are used nearly every season, in multiple episodes. How can you keep making Dalek episodes? Hasn’t it gotten old? Well maybe, it has, maybe it hasn’t , either way this episode was a refreshing look at the Daleks, and it made for on the best Dalek stories ever.

What if there was a good dalek?

That’s the question this episode asks.

And for 45 minutes, that idea is explored in a super fun, thrilling way. The action scenes were extremely well done (Direction by: Ben Wheatley). Visually, this was one of the most stunning Doctor Who episodes I’ve ever seen. The writing was great as well (Written by Phil Ford and Co-Written by mastermind Steven Moffat). In conclusion, this was a great episode of Doctor Who, and for one to come so early in Series 8, is a great sign.

+Refreshing, new idea for a Dalek story

+The doctor’s prejudice, and how me must overcome it

+Fantastic action scenes

+Rusty

Episode Score: 9.0/10

Doctor Who, Series 8, Episode 3, "The Robots of Sherwood"

I....liked this episode. I didn’t “love” it, but there were many moments to enjoy. The banter between The Doctor

and Robin Hood was probably my favorite part of the episode.

There’s not too much to say on this episode, other then that is was a solid, fun episode. It’s not the best thing ever, but it’s serviceable.

+Robin Hood himself was a likeable character

+The Doctor’s banter with Robin Hood

+Spoon fight!

-Not super enthralling.

Episode Score: 7.7/10

Doctor Who, Series 8, Episode 4, "Listen."

Listen to this fellow Whovians, “Listen”, Doctor Who, Series 8, Episode 4, is one of the best Doctor Who episodes in a while, and it’s definitely the best of the season, thus far. There’s a lot to love about this episode. It’s written by Steven Moffat, the man in charge of all things Doctor Who right now, and it’s very clear, because it fits very well into his style of episodes, and his episodes are almost always amazing. It’s scary, and clever. It’s chilling, and emotional, as the ending shows us how important of a companion Clara is, and gives new context to “The Day of the Doctor,” another Steven Moffat episode, as the same barn in that episode, is in this episode.

And, speaking of Clara, I’m really liking the expansion of her character. In Season 7, she was basically nothing but a plot device, but now she’s actually being developed, and as I said earlier, revealing herself to quite important in the life of the Doctor.

The only complaint I had for this episode is the last few minutes or so. I don’t dislike the reveal of it never being an alien, in fact I love that, and it’s the point of the whole episode, but something about the execution of it felt less impactful to me then I wanted to be. I can’t really describe it, but I felt the ending could’ve hit harder, emotionally.

+(Pros) -(Cons)

+ Scary, effectively creepy.

+Clara developed, as well as Danny Pink, who’s becoming one of the my favorite characters.

+Peter Capaldi is really coming into his own as the doctor.

+Greater context given to “The Day of the Doctor.”

-Final moments could’ve packed a bigger punch (Not that I don’t like the fact that there never was a monster)   

Episode Score: 9.3/10             

Upcoming Plans

Alright, I'm going to do some weekly TV reviews for my blog! I decided it would be good to practice my writing skills, and why not do that and write about things I care about. So, to start out, I will do weekly reviews for The Walking Dead, and Doctor Who, starting with the next episodes of each show. And since we're midway through Doctor Who Series 8 now, I'll post my thoughts on the first 7 episodes in a single blog post coming soon.

So, stay tuned.

The Beginning of All Things (Blog #1)

The Beginning of All Things (Blog #1)

This is it.

DUN DUN DUN, DUN DUN!

This is the beginning of my Blogs. Play this music(linked below), and experience the dawn of a new blogger.

Song

More blogs will come in the future. Be ready. I will start by posting a blog every Saturday, then adjust the schedule later.