Catching up with some TV... Zombies and some good old fashioned eighties nostalgia...

Nope, not that one. I still need to watch 'Stranger Things' (even my eldest daughter has seen more of it than I have) but that's one for another time.

Welcome to another one of those occasional posts where I end up coming across like I do nothing but watch TV. If only that was the case, but anyway... I still haven't got over the novelty of Netflix but still managed to find a little time to hop over to Disney+ and try and justify my subscription. The end result was my watching two very different shows, let me tell you about them...

'Black Summer' – Season 1

I never made it all the way through 'Z Nation' but enjoyed it enough that when I remembered that 'Black Summer' was a thing, and on Netflix, I was definitely up for giving it a go. That and there were only eight fairly short episodes to contend with in the first season. So that's what I've been watching this week and... I really enjoyed it.

'Black Summer' is a very different beast to 'Z Nation', a lot darker and a lot less playful with it's zombies. Also, the apocalypse is only hours old and this lends everything a really frantic feel, the question of survival is a lot more immediate here as our players are still trying to figure out what the rules are. It all makes for a very tense affair where anyone can die at any moment. Honestly, we talking 'Game of Thrones' style 'don't get too attached to anyone here' business as death can jump out and grab you at any moment. And because it all moves so fast, there's no time for angst; if someone is bitten or about to die, someone else has literally seconds to decide whether to shoot them. I loved this approach and I'm very interested to see how they handle Season 2 where I'd imagine that things presumably calm down a bit. We shall see...


'Willow' – Episodes 1 & 2

Another show where I've been keen for it to get going, to scratch that 'nostalgia itch' and also to see if it's something that my youngest can watch ('Rings of Power' was a little too intense for her). Answering the last question, 'Willow' is very much in the tone of its movie prequel, a lot of action and danger... but not that dangerous. Littl'un should have no problem with it.

From where I was sat, it was good to be back in Willow's world although the opening parts of the first episode felt a little awkward somehow, like the show was struggling to work past its cult status and adjust to the 'streaming spotlight'. When it got going though, both episodes were a lot of fun to watch with a decent mix of action, monsters and a little mystery to solve. I'll never be able to look at Ralph Ineson (Commander Ballantine) without thinking 'Chris Finch' but that's more about me than him; Ineson looks like he could be an interesting villain going forwards.

It's really too early to say much about the series other than that I enjoyed these episodes and will definitely come back for the rest; I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

‘Deathworlder’ – Victoria Hayward (Black Library)

Image
Before I get into the review proper, thank you Black Library for sending me a copy of ‘Deathworlder’ in return for a fair and honest review. Talking of ‘fair and honest’… There will be loads of the latter but I enjoyed the hell out of ‘Deathworlder’ so… We’ll see how being fair goes ;o) That’s your only warning, lets talk ‘Deathworlder’… Lazulai is a world beyond the brink, its battle against the tyranids all but lost. Once-magnificent cities lie in ruin. The seas boil. The skies crack. Horrific alien bioforms devour. In mere days the planet will be consumed. The 903rd Catachan ‘Night Shrikes’ defend one of the last fortresses still standing. Led by Major Wulf Khan, to die fighting is all that is expected of them… until she is given one last mission: to lead a squad through the apocalypse and recover a piece of archeotech that may doom or deliver the entire Lazulai System. Facing insurmountable odds and zero hope for aid, the major must hold her squad together as they pick their way ...
Read more

‘Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth’ (1992)

Image
Every time Halloween comes round, I promise myself that I’ll watch more horror films and read more horror fiction; we’re halfway through the month and you can see how that’s going so far… There’s still plenty of October left though so lets see how I do from now until the end of the month ;o) First up is ‘Hellraiser 3’ which I watched last night, mostly because I love it (you can tell how this post is going to go, sorry…) but also because it was cheap on Prime and I’m still just on the wrong side of payday. Here goes… TV reporter Joey Summerskill’s life is changed forever when she witnesses the horrific death of a teenager, torn apart by bloody chains. Joey’s search for a story leads her to the Lament Configuration Box but it has already been opened, waking an old evil from its slumber… Now Pinhead walks the earth once more, creating a new army of Cenobites from the transmuted flesh of his victims; his one desire to reclaim the Box. Even with help from an unexpected source, Joey Summers...
Read more

‘Cursed City’ – C.L. Werner (Black Library)

Image
I always have these vague ‘reading resolutions’, for the New Year and without fail, they all come to absolutely nothing. I still read loads, just none of the books that I meant to… This year is panning out slightly differently and I think I’m going to enjoy it. All the books that were originally ‘out of sight, out of mind’, in the loft at my old place, are now all over my new place and wherever I look, I’m constantly discovering books that I totally forgot I had but now quite fancy reading. Books like ‘Cursed City’ for example… I’m not going to tell you how long ‘Cursed City’ was sat in my loft, lets just say it was long enough for me to totally forget it was there and buy myself another copy… Oh well. I found it on the shelf the other day (only the one copy now) and figured it was way overdue a read, let me tell you about it… Ulfenkarn is a city of nightmares. Its vampiric rulers have indulged their bloodlust in every shadow-clad alley, turning the once-proud metropolis into a charnel...
Read more