A show that started as a spin-off from one of the most successful fantasy shows of all time managed a rare feat–carving out its own voice and identity.
Rob and Clive celebrate the David Boreanez-starring Angel, and mourn a endlessly inventive show that unfairly disappeared before its time. I mean, how can you not love a programme that featured eps where the brooding hero was turned into a puppet, or revealed his inner thoughts through the medium of karaoke?
Superheroes are mythology. They stand above us, their concerns otherworldly, epic. The fate of worlds rests on their shoulders. They have little time for us, the people they pledge to protect. We get in the way. We’re cannon fodder. However much they claim to care, superheroes pledge their fealty to larger concepts than we can embody. They owe allegiance (and often claim ownership) to flags, cities, whole worlds. The people that give life to those ideals are messy little details, and boy does it ever get annoying just when you’re about to deliver the coup de grace to Dr. Villain and all of a sudden there’s a bus full of schoolkids that’s about to drop off a cliff.
And heaven help any mortal that a superhero chooses as a companion. A life of peril and an early, messy death awaits. The flimsy protection of a secret identity is no help once the mask inevitably comes off. I could reel off a loooong list of companions, wives and lovers that have lost their lives while their super-powered paramours have wept a single, perfect tear and moved on to the next battle.
And goddamit, Avengers Assemble does nothing to break that poisonous cycle.
(Are there spoilers after the cut? Are there EVER, True Believer!)
Continue reading Gods And Monsters – X&HT Saw Avengers Assemble
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck then you have a fair idea of what you have in your pond. But, as any horror fan knows, appearances can be deceptive. And when it comes to the latest from Joss Whedon, who knows a thing or two about messing with your expectations, it’s best to keep your eyes and mind open. Because The Cabin In The Woods may look an awful lot like a horror film, but it’s no duck.
Oh, baby, are there ever spoilers after the jump. Spoilers the like of which you have never seen. Unless you’ve seen the film. In which case, on you go.
Continue reading Out Of The Woods: X&HT Saw The Cabin In The Woods
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 