Stranger Things, Season 1, Chapter 3: Holly, Jolly

Alas poor Barb, she’s still alive. Maybe. She’s in a weird parallel world which is all overgrown and ruinous with a drained pool and a terrifying monster thing at the bottom. She tries to escape, screaming Nancy’s name, but is dragged in by the monster

So we have parallel world monster?

Nancy doesn’t here - she’s busy having sex with Steve. Though later when she’s ready to go he’s way too sleepy to even say goodbye properly (my circle of friends agrees that this is perfectly acceptable so long as he got the job done before turning sleepy. Because we’re terrible)

She returns home to find her mother not exactly pleased by how late she stayed out with people going missing and all. But can we take a moment to give a nod to Karen Wheeler here? Last week she saw her son missed school, guessed that something was up with him and offered to be a source of comfort and support over his missing friend. No judgement, or condemnation, a clear open willingness to listen. And now her daughter comes home and you know Karen knows exactly what just happened (going home in your boyfriend’s sweatshirt isn’t subtle) and, again, while she’s annoyed she quickly makes it clear she is there to listen, no matter what, about anything.

Karen’s throwing out some A* parenting here. Hat tip to Karen

At school Nancy is feeling pretty self-conscious about having had sex though Steve does seem to be genuinely not being a dick - his friends are though. Completely and utterly. Nancy quickly realises that Barb is missing and after trying to dismiss it becomes steadily more uncomfortable

Her friends also expose that Jonathan has been taking severely creepy and stalkerish pictures of her… and this scene is kind of awful? They rip up his (stalker) pictures and break his camera and leave - and she goes back to him to be sympathetic. The whole scene is spun as “bullies bully the poor outcast” rather than “people are justifiably disgusted and angry at the creeper stalking their friend”. Jonathan is not the persecuted innocent here.

Nancy goes looking for Barb and finds her abandoned car, and definite spookiness around where they had their pool party. When Nancy goes home, she approaches her mother about Barbara.

Next storyline we’re going to drop in on Joyce who is… not doing well with Will’s disappearance. After the supernatural woo-woo of last episode she has decided that Will is talking to her through the light fittings (she’s not wrong… but still). Jonathan is rather obviously worried about his mother deciding the best way to find his brother is to buy more lamps and talk to them and tries to talk her down.

Hellforged (Unnaturals #2) by Jessica Meigs

2

Riley Walker has been labelled rogue by the agency by her former mentor, Brandon - and is left with no choice but to run. Of course Scott will follow - his loyalty to Riley has only grown stronger; as is the unexpected help from the Agency’s Director

She expected many things to come chasing her - but demons were never among them. They are forced to appeal directly to the supernatural specialists in the Agency to survive… but Riley, and her unpredictable new powers, may be the real key to fend off the attackers - especially when one of their own is possessed by something far worse than a mere demon

There is a lot of action in this book. Our characters are all secret assassins for the government, with a specialty in the supernatural. They’re being pursued by a former mentor and general bad guy who has a penchant for using demons. There’s a lot of fighting, a lot of planning about fighting, a lot of running from crisis to crisis and planning for the next crisis.

The action is well done, the fight scenes exciting and flowing with lots of skill on display as well as a steady diet of tension and fear. There are definite stakes and, barring one element I’ll get into, a good sense of them as professional agents.

The plot never lets up and races through a lot of development quickly as these professionals do bounce back and hit the ground running

We also have an excellent prominent gay couple with Zachariah and Ashton, whose love for each other is never in doubt and matched equally by their capacity and skill. They’re not victims or weak or stereotyped or dead weight or ridiculous - they’re excellent together. Ashton, a long term agent and a complete human, also has been severely injured in his work for the agency and is disabled - that doesn’t make him weak, incapable or not a valued member of the team, but nor is woo-woo or plot contrivance used to erase his disability when it could be convenient

Sadly we have not developed any of the minor POC characters from the previous book into dominant roles - or roles at all - and this book is very white. Vanessa has made an appearance as another female character but her prominence is still not really developed even as her skill is acknowledged.

I do have some issues with the shape of the story because I ended up not enjoying it a great deal.

Travelers, Season One, Episode Eight: Donner

This episode begins with a new mission for the team. MacLaren, Philip and Trevor all in different locations and are all engaged in independent video chats with sex workers, who are clearly confused by the fact that none of the men actually seem interested in talking about sex.  Trevor in particular wants to hear about the woman's happiest moments. Yeah, they are waiting for the arrival of a new Traveler cell.  The change happens but before the women can begin making plans to carry out their mission, the feed gets turned off. It turns out that the male Traveler who took over for a man who bombed the office that the sex workers worked out of, didn't stop the explosion.  Well I see we can add Travelers to yet another television show in which sex workers end up dead. Heaven forbid we get a story with a sex worker which doesn't end up tragic. 

MacLaren and Forbes head to the scene to investigate the case and learn that the bomber has left the scene.  If it was a misfire, the bomber should be lying there dead, so something is absolutely going on. MacLaren leaves to hunt down the bomber/Traveler, with Philip's help via the comm, leaving Forbes at the scene.  A fourth worker who was out when the bomb went off shows up at the scene and explains how she was being stalked by a former customer and that he had begun sending her religious based hate mail. 

Trevor gets called into the guidance counselor's office much to his surprise because he actually did well on the midterm. Trevor didn't realise that such a massive improvement in his grades would be deemed suspicious. Grace, the guidance counselor has arranged for Trevor to take the midterm again to prove that he didn't actually cheat. Trevor talks about being tired of being told what to do and wanting to chart his own course in life. This resonates with Grace and she gives him a book to read. At the end of the tutoring session which Trevor absolutely aces, Trevor sits in the hallway outside of Grace's office and reads the book cover to cover.  Trevor gets a call the comm to meet up with the others but he pauses long enough to return the book to Grace and to give her one in exchange. Clearly, there's some real chemistry between Grace and Trevor; however, the fact that he is still a kid to her will absolutely pose problems. 

Carly is getting ready for her hearing with child protective services when Marcy calls.  To Marcy, the simple solution is to just hand the baby over to Jeff because it would make it easier for Carly to go to on missions. At this point however, Carly sees the baby as hers and she's determined that there's no way she's handing him over to Jeff.  When Marcy arrives at the meeting, she's surprised when Philip shows up pretending to be her lawyer and offering support. Things go off the rails when Jeff accuses Marcy of being a prostitute because she pays for all her bills in cash and he's seen MacLaren coming and going. Jeff further charges that every time he tries to see his child, Marcy becomes physically abusive. Because he's a cop he knows how to play the system perfectly and manages to bait Marcy into losing her temper which doesn't look good. 

It turns out that Carly isn't the only person whose life that Jeff is set on messing up. David arrives at work only to be informed by his boss that he's gotten a detailed report from Jeff, explaining that he is living with Marcy and in a romantic relationship. David naturally denies that there's anything going on between him and Mary and argues that Marcy is no longer the woman that Ken knows. David manages to convince Ken to come to dinner so that he can prove just how much Marcy has changed.

The blowout in court forces yet another visit from CPS and this time the social worker has a warrant, so Carly cannot simply throw her out. A frustrated Carly explains that Jeff is not a good man and that because he's an officer that no one will believe her if she calls for help. Carly explains that the only reason that Jeff is doing this is because he wants them to be a couple and she no longer wants to. The social worker notices the bruise on Carly's arm from the injection but clearly thinks it's something Jeff did to her. 

MacLaren has spent the whole morning chasing around Donner, the supposed Traveler misfire.  MacLaren chases Donner to a Chinese restaurant that Donner has entered to treat his injuries. MacLaren introduces himself and says his Traveler number but Donner is acting sketchy.  When Maclaren lowers his weapon, Donner charges and knocks MacLaren out, in the process knocking out his comm.

When MacLaren finally catches up with Donner, he's already been beaten to the punch by Forbes.  Back at headquarters, MacLaren tries again to reach out to Donner, convinced that the man is just nervous because he screwed the pooch on his first mission but Donner claims not to know what MacLaren is talking about and questions what a Traveler is.  MacLaren leaves and tries to contact Marcy but his comm is still down.

Ken has arrived for dinner and he's astounded with the changes in Marcy. Marcy makes it clear that she is no longer in David's care and that they are not in a romantic relationship.  Things get a bit tense when MacLaren shows up looking to get in touch with Marcy because of his comm.  Marcy steps outside to talk to MacLaren, so she's not able to stop David from telling Ken that Marcy works for the FBI.  The link between the FBI and Macy pisses Ken off so he demands to see MacLaren's Id. When Ken confirms that Marcy is an associate of Maclaren's, he demands to know what Marcy actually does.  After the day he has had, MacLaren is in no mood to explain himself to anyone.

Midnight Texas, Season One, Episode Six: Blinded by the Light

From the moment Creek's father and brother started to police her sexuality, it really pissed me off. Some of it was even played for laughs. It didn't help that rather than drawing a line in the sand, Creek snuck around town with Manfred. Along with the policing of Creek, Midnight also seems to have a problem with women disappearing.  Yes, the writers have taken care to imbue the female characters with some strength but it's clear that quite a bit of misogyny has managed to seep into the show. 

Blinded by the Light starts with a group of youth running around Midnight and basically causing all the trouble that they can until they are scared away by Lemuel. I think a vampire confronting me would be enough for me to flee.  At any rate, Aaron is ditched by her so-called friends and so begins the long walk out of Midnight. Unfortunately, Aaron she is run off the road by a truck and attacked. 

The next morning, the Rev cleans up the mess created by the kids. At home, Fiji awakes to a demon sexually assaulting her. At first, Fiji believes that it was all a bad dream but when she checks her thighs, she sees scaring.  Creek and Manfred are in bed together when he sees a ghost in his window.  Manfred reaches for some medication claiming to have a headache, as he explains to Creek that seeing ghosts and spirits can make him feel sick. Later, at the diner, Manfred takes even more pills.  The reverend joins Manfred to talk about the fact that his wereself is hungry. Manfred admits to seeing more and more spirits. 

Creek meets with Connor, who claims to be tired because their father has put more work on him now that Creek has been fired for daring to hook up with Manfred.  Connor is not pleased by the new burden.  Creek notices a huge bruise on Connor's arm and is suspicious that this is their father's doing but Connor refuses to get into it. 

Manfred and the Reverend's day gets a whole lot worse when one of the vandals from the night before shows up with a photo of Aaron. When the kid leaves, the Reverend says that it's a problem that there's another missing girl.  Aaron's disappearance is enough for the Midnighters to get together to search for her. Fiji wonders if the missing young women are the result of something supernatural. Manfred admits that he's been seeing ghosts everywhere. The reverend adds that he's been seeing dead animals and bugs everywhere. Joe is desperate to keep the Midnighters from talking about what's really going on and so suggests that they fixate on finding the missing girl.  They decide to split up and search the town.

Fiji is with the Reverend and she tells him about having difficulty sleeping because she hears a voice calling her and something touching her. Fiji is worried that it won't stop until whatever it is takes her. Fiji says that either a demon is after her, or she's going "crazy". The Reverend assures Fiji that she's not going crazy but doesn't tell her the truth about the veil. 

Creek tells Manfred about seeing the bruise on Connor's arm and suggests that her father might just be taking out his anger at her on Connor.  Connor and Creek then come across Tiffany, who you might remember is the young woman who traveled with the vampires to allow them to easy access to blood. Creek and Manfred are joined by Olivia and Bobo. Bobo is certain that Tiffany is another Aubrey because he didn't kill Aubrey and neither did Lowry. They debate calling the cops but come to the conclusion that Tiffany had dropped out of society some time ago and so no one will be looking for her.  Manfred tries to reach out to Tiffany but her spirit has already crossed over to the other side. Bobo is determined to find whoever did this and for the Midnighters deal with the murderers themselves.

The Reverend is washing the graffiti from the tombstones when he is confronted by the cops.  The cops bring up the fact that they still don't know who killed Aubrey, even though they suspect Lowry. The cops then reveal that Aaron's mother is a judge and that there will be a full investigation within 24 hours if she doesn't turn up. This raises the stakes quite a bit. When the cops leave, Joe approaches the Reverend to say that thus far, he has not seen any sign of the girl. The Reverend however has bigger things on his mind and so he tells Joe that Fiji thinks that she's losing her sanity and that Manfred is self medicating. The Reverend is adamant that the citizens of Midnight deserve to know that they are not going crazy. Joe believes that the others are going to know eventually and that nothing he says is going to stop it.  Joe is adamant that he is protecting his family and that this is an impossible choice. Joe is certain that if it gets out that there's a fallen angel in Midnight, the demons will come looking for him. Joe believes that all he can do for now is to help look for the missing girl.

Squawk of the Were-Chicken by Richard J, Kendrick

I wanted to love this book. I tried so hard to love this book.

I mean “werechicken”? I was in right there. That’s such an awesome parody with so much potential for utter hilarity. Bring on the werechicken! Let it be ridiculous! Let is be terrible! Let it be hilarious! Fear it’s BA-GAWK!

And some of it is awesome. I got half way through this book and nearly put it down so many times - but each time I was about to put it down there was a lovely little moment of awesome. This lovely little apparently medieval kingdom with its distinctly agrarian feel is full of highly erudite people. I love that the teachers of this rural school turn goldilocks into an analysis of forensic investigation and encouraging small children to read fairy tales and “question the socio-political hegemony those stories are meant to perpetuate!”. Or the farmer and his love of philosophy reminding us that absence of evidence is not itself evidence of absence.

It’s hilarious, it’s really well done and it brings both a wonderful challenge to preconceptions, some nice thinking points and just this almost sublimely ridiculous feel. Every time I’m about to drop the book another moment happens and I think I can keep going

There’s also some nicely interesting themes - like Deirdre rejecting the idea of becoming an apprentice because adults have to specialise and can’t learn ALL THE THINGS instead just get to learn one thing. And there’s Deidre’s inventing which could also be fun…

Except… this would have been reinforced more if Deidre had actually shown a diverse interest in different topics rather than just inventions. Or even if her inventions meant more by the stage I finished

There’s also Fyfe - for reasons I didn’t reach (and don’t matter) Fyfe for some reason has a lot of modern 21st century cultural references pouring into his head causing everyone to consider him pretty weird. And it could be another element of funny, patently ridiculous silliness. And at times it is, it really is. And it’s definitely trying…

...

But it doesn’t succeed. And I hate to say it because it has all the ingredients of being really really good and zany. And I need some zany… but it’s just not consistently funny. We have brief moments but so much of it is a slog and not funny

Preacher, Season 2, Episode 11: Back Doors

We begin with a flashback of Jesse’s really really terrible childhood after his dad died - which involved his grandmother sealing him a box and burying it in a swamp and repeatedly leaving child Jesse in this box until he finally breaks, gives up his last name, his father’s last name, and thanks god that his father is dead.

Yes it’s pretty brutal. It may explain a lot about Jesse, though I think it’s also partly being included because this is the episode where Jesse is finally called out for being an arsehole so we have to establish him as sympathetic first.

So after Tulip confronted him last week, this week they dredge up the Saint of Killers and find out that he’s not actually in there. Tulip is furious - and Jesse bringing up her lying about being married doesn’t actually win points, especially since he’s still lying about why he didn’t send the Saint to hell

This leads to a huge confrontation at the house with Cassidy and Tulip both kind of seething at Jesse. So he brings up a Caribbean holiday which everyone is onside for (even despite Cassidy’s initial concerns about topless beaches and sunlight) when Jesse hashes all that squee with a “after we find god.”

Everyone is backed to being pissed. So Jesse brings up meeting Jesus’s descendent and him being “an imbecile”. While this is a complete crisis for Jesse, this doesn’t impress Tulip at all because as far as she’s concerned that can stand in for every religious leader - including god. She doesn’t get why he cares. To which he says:

If she weren’t so selfish she would care.

Jess isn’t struck down on the spot but ye gods no man has ever deserved it more.

Tulip and Cassidy both respond to this very last fucking straw and lace into Jesse’s epic selfishness, over how much they’ve lost, how little he’s done for them, what they risked all for his quest.

The Strain, Season 4, Episode 7: Ourobouros

Ok… a lot happened here. And while there’s a definite epic moment, there’s also some Problems.

Vasiliy, Roman and Quinn have arrived in New York and fight their way towards Manhattan island, killing Strigoi and planning to cross the bridges. Eichorst has recruited Desai to help him catch his “terrorists” and Desai has the excellent plan of blowing up every bridge connecting Manhattan island to the mainland.

Okkkk so yes it will be hard for Vasiliy to sneak his nuke there now. But wouldn’t it be easier for the Master to… leave? I mean, he doesn’t actually have to be present anywhere to carry out his nefarious deeds. Why stay still at all?

Anyway, Eichorst praises Desai saying it was even better than what Palmer could have managed - which he then takes back realising the Master in Palmer’s body may take offense at this. The Master doesn’t - instead describing Palmer as a “quisling” to his own kind. Ooookkk… Desai is right there. What does that make him? And, hey, Quisling was a Norwegian ruler who betrayed Norway to the Nazis, so, was that a snipe at Eichorst too?

I am also concerned that Roman seemed… reluctant to engage the strigoi… which is especially an issue with everything else that happened in this episode.

The Master has not been happy with Eichorst this episode since he’s pretty much failed at everything. Eichorst makes a big dramatic display of sacrificing himself to the Master’s wrath - but the Master instead taunts him with Abraham winning and Eichorst giving up to chivvy him into getting back into the fight already

Abe and Dutch get Abe’s stuff back and hold up in a church - but Abe is clearly not feeling well; particularly after being experimented on when he was in the facility, he is feeling his advanced age. Dutch is duly worried, especially when Abe starts babbling and ripping up the Lumen so he can paste the pages to the wall… yeah that’s concerning. And then Abe collapses.

Thankfully this is when Ephraim and Alex arrive after spending a little time angsting about Zach (aaaergggh. No-one cares) which is helpful because Abe needs a doctor. Ephraim is an arsehole to Dutch about leaving Abe alone when he was the one who abandoned them while she and Abe were actually locked up in camps. She gives him hell for it, most appropriately

They need medicine so it’s off to Gus - yes everyone on this show is reuniting at last! Creem objects to them giving away medicine without trade but Gus stares him down again and joins them back when they go to help Abe

The Last Ship, Season Four, Episode Three: Bread and Circuses

There are times when watching The Last Ship that I believe that the writers are straight up trolling the viewers. It's reached the point where it's so ridiculous that I often find myself laughing out loud when I know the writers are expecting me to be all rah rah rah U.S.A. Even for american propaganda, The Last Ship is ridiculous. 

Despite being shot at, the Nathan James is approaching Oran Algeria. It's not long before Sasha, Kandie and a crew land and start their search for Mahmond's family.  Despite showing pictures of Mahmoud's body, and the danger that his family faces, no one is willing to help Sasha or Kandie.  Fortunately for the team, Omar is spotted inside of the home of Mahmoud's mother.  He's easy to spot because his helicopter is close by.  Why didn't Mahmoud just put a flashing light on the door, to save the crew time looking for him, if he was just going to leave his helicopter sitting around. The home is quickly surrounded and Danny Green gets Omar in his sights.

Tom took one for the team and had sex with Lucia.  Tom awakens first and slips the necklace containing the key from Lucia before slipping downstairs.  Before Tom can enter the secret room, he runs into Giorgio, who cannot stop himself from telling Tom about the big day that he has planned for him. When Giorgio heads back to bed, Tom slips into the locked room and starts rifling through paperwork looking to find the head of this particular snake. Tom comes across some laboratory testing but at this point has no idea what it all means. Once his snooping is done, Tom slips back into bed with Lucia and puts the necklace back around her neck. Lucia must actually sleep like the dead.

Omar is questioning Mahmoud's mother but she plays dumb, pretending that her son didn't actually give her anything of value. In frustration, Mahmoud knocks over the table and the seeds fall out of the leg. Realising that she's in trouble, Mahmoud's mother stabs Omar with a small knife and he retaliates by slashing her throat.  Finally, in possession of the seeds, Omar leaves the home, making his way to his helicopter, flanked by his men and a group of children. Fortunately, Sasha is able to put a tracker on his helicopter. 

It's now officially time for Lucia, and Giorgio to meet with Omar.  Giorgio orders everyone out of the room except Tom.  This is just some plain sloppy shit. The only reason to have Tom in the room is for him to have knowledge about what Giorgio is attempting to buy and where the product will be located.  It makes absolutely no sense for Giorgio to want Tom in the room given that he has no real reason to trust Tom and this meeting should be well above Tom's position in the criminal organisation. Giorgio goes all machismo and starts off the exchange in way that clearly doesn't impress Omar.  Giorgio has the agreed upon ten million brought into the room to exchange that money for seeds. Omar rejects the money stating that Giorgio didn't reveal when they made the deal that there would be other interested parties. Now that the British Secret Service and the American military is interested, Giorgio wants 200 million for the seeds.  Things quickly become tense. Lucia intervenes and Omar is quick to shut her down by calling her a whore. As Lucia negotiates with Omar, Tom advises Giogrio that he authenticate the seeds that Omar is selling.  Lucia and Omar manage to come to an agreement and so Giogrio invites Omar to watch a boxing fight.