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Interview with the Vampire.

The novel, Interview with the Vampire, tells the story of the vampire Loius de Pointe du Lac and how he became to be given the “Dark Gift” by the Vampire Lestat and his two hundred year life. 

Written in two styles, the book is a mix of autobiographical narrative, told from the first perspective of Louis as he recounts his life and events. The other style is third person narrative between Louis and “the boy” in modern day (to when the book was written) San Francisco as asides to the main story, allowing an insight into the boys reactions to Louis story, and the Vampires own reactions to his memories and explanations of vampirism as he knows it.

Starting in the 1700s, Louis tells of how as the owner of the Piont du Lac plantation in New Orleans, he is picked out by the Vampire Lestat and given, what is termed as, “The Dark Gift” and becomes a Vampire. He recounts his life as the two vampires live together in the New World as Louis is guided by Lestat, who reveals little to nothing to his fledgling. After the creation of the child vampire, Claudia, who ultimately turns against Lestat and attempts to kill him. The duo of Louis and Claudia escape to the new world, where they meet Armand and the Théâtre des Vampires. The coven, without Armand’s blessing, imprison Louis bricked up in a coffin and expose Claudia and a vampire she demanded Louis make for her to the sun for the attempt on Lestats life, which burns them to dust. After being freed from Armand, Louis destroys the Théâtre and coven and travels with Armand.

At the end of the novel, the boy demands Louis make him a vampire; however Louis refuses, feeding from him instead. Upon recovering, the boy makes for his car and goes in search of Lestat, going from what Louis had told him about his last encounter with the vampire in the twentieth century.

The Vampire Lestat.

The second novel in the “Vampire Chronicles” series, The Vampire Lestat is a first person account of the early life of Lestat de Lioncourt; how he came to become a vampire and his first years of being a creature of the night.

Awakening in 1984, the Vampire Lestat emerges from the ground after a long sleep to discover the world around him has changed. Wanting recognition, he sets out to become the closest thing to a God on Earth; a Rock Star. Upon finding a band to join, he is shocked to discover that they know of him. He is presented with a copy of “Interview with the Vampire” which he recognises as his Louis’ story. As a result, he decides to tell his story.

Lestat tells of how he, the youngest surviving son of a French noble, kills a pack of wolves which are terrorising the village. Numbed by his experiences, he shuts himself away only to be brought out of his reverie by Nicki, the son of the towns cobbler. The two become fast friends and run away together to Paris, where Lestat becomes an actor at a theatre and Nicki plays violin there. Lestat then begins to see a sinister face in the crown and one night is abducted by a creature. He awakes in the tower of a castle where the Vampire Magnus has taken him and makes him a Vampire. Laying down only two simple rules, Magnus throws himself onto a funeral pyre and kills himself. Leaving Lestat to fend for himself, Lestat soon sets himself up with Magnus’ treasure trove and buys the theatre. When his mother arrives in Paris in failing health Lestat visits her and makes her a vampire too. The two soon become haunted by strange feelings and voices. These soon reveal themselves to be a coven of vampires, stuck in the old ways, headed by Armand, a boy vampire who was about 16 when he was made in the 15^th century. Lestat and his mother, Gabrielle, cause an insurrection and a small group of vampires go to the now deserted theatre where Lestat had worked. Armand then confronts Lestat and Gabrielle and arranges a peace and becomes patriarch of the Théâtre des Vampires. Lestat also makes Nicki a vampire, who under his new powers goes mad and Armand has no choice but to kill him lest he reveal the theatre for what it is.

Lestat and Gabrielle leave France and travel the continent, upon where they hear news of the revolution in France. Gabrielle starts to grow distant from Lestat and ultimately leaves him, but Lestat is more pre-occupied in searching for the ancient Vampire, Marius, who Armand revealed made him. Trapped by the sun, Lestat goes underground and is found by Marius who rescues him and tells him of his life and the story of “Those Who Must Be Kept”, the king and queen of all who are damned. Lestat is taken to see the two and discovers they are Enkil and Akasha, the first true vampires who are now living statues. Drinking from Akasha, Enkil attempts to kill Lestat, who is saved again from Marius, who then takes “Those Who Must be Kept” to a new hiding place.

Lestat, alone again, takes his ailing and now blind father to the New World across the Atlantic, to New Orleans, here he meets a young plantation owner, named Louis de Pointe du Lac and the story joins Interview with the Vampire, yet claims a lot of the book to be lies.

Lestats autobiography then comes to present day with his impending concert with his band, which many of the undead are furious about due to the song lyrics giving away vampire secrets. Louis and Gabrielle, concerned about Lestat, arrive before and after the concert respectively to join their maker. An attack on Lestat after the concert is foiled as the attackers burst into flames, somewhat mysteriously. As dawn breaks, the trio go to ground to sleep, but Lestats rest is disturbed as a hand grabs him and takes him to the light.

Queen of the Damned.

This book picks up where The Vampire Lestat left off, and is once again “written” by Lestat and starts two days before his concert. It also deals with views from many other characters and goes into third person narrative as we discover at the end of the Novel, Lestat has taken down the accounts of these people.

A young Talamascan, who are an organisation which has lasted millennia observing the dark arts, called Jesse Reeves is sent by her boss, David Talbot, to investigate both Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat in New Orleans. Attending Lestats concert, she is accosted by an unnamed vampire who recognises her as Talamascan and throws her against a wall, smashing her skull and breaking her neck. At the hospital, she is made a vampire by Maharet, an ancient vampire.

The ancient Vampire Marius discovers that Akasha has risen and taken her kings blood into herself, killing the king. Akasha destroys the shrine that Marius had set up and leaves him trapped under tonnes of ice.

Another ancient vampire, Pandora and Eric hear Marius’ telepathic calls and go to his rescue and find the destruction and letting Marius drink their blood, help him to heal.

Lestat, taken by Akasha joins her as she starts her reign of destruction, killing all vampires bar those Lestat loves and cares about. Starting in the east of Tibet, she sets about destroying lots of old ways appearing as the “Heavenly Queen” or “The Virgin Mary”, instructing the women to kill their men, and Lestat, who she has been getting to drink from her and get more powerful, to aid in their destruction. The two make their way across Europe and towards America.

Meanwhile, all the vampires had been troubled with images and dreams of two red-headed twins, sat at a funeral feast. The ancient vampire Maharet calls those  vampires who are still alive to her; Jesse (a human descendent of hers whom she made a vampire), Marius, Armand, Daniel (the boy from Interview with the Vampire, whom Armand makes a vampire), Pandora, Eric, Mael, Khayman, Louis and Gabrielle where they plot against Akasha and Maharet tells the story of the twins;

She and her sister lived in the times before Akasha and Enkil were vampires, and how the two were witches who could commune with spirits. Akasha and Enkil hear of the powerful witches and bring them to Egypt where they anger the king and queen. They are raped by the kings servant Khayman, who does so against his wishes, and Maharet bears a daughter. Her sister Makere calls upon an evil spirit to haunt the king and queen. The spirit haunt Khaymans dwelling as he is the one who raped the sisters. The king and queen believe they can oust the spirit, however, are set upon by assassings in Khaymans dwelling and stabbed to death. The spirit, hungry for blood, enters Akasha and bonds with her. She then drinks the blood of her king who she allows to drink hers and thus the two first vampires are born.

Makere and Maharet are recalled from their home, which they have been allowed to return and accused of being the cause of this. Makeres tongue is cut from her mouth and Maharets eyes are plucked from her head. The two are then locked up set to be executed having told the king and queen the only way to relieve their hunger for blood is to make more vampires, thus spreading the spirit within them. This they try on Khayman who then rescues the twins. However, only able to travel by night they are soon caught, Khayman returned to Egypt, and Makere and Maharet sealed in stone coffins and sent West and East respectively.

Back at the mountain retreat Maharet has called the vampires to, Akasha and Lestat arrive, just moments before Makere, who has been wandering the Americas for six thousand years, set on revenge on Akasha. It is there the final confrontation takes place.

These books are superbly written and contain lots of first person perspectives, mainly Lestat, being the main protagonist in the latter two books, Louis in the first, with exerpts of first person perspective from Marius, Maharet and Armand.

Anne Rice’s decision to write these vampire novels from the point of view of the vampire gives a unique introspection into the lives of the un-dead. How crushingly lonely the life of an immortal could be, with strict laws governing the lives of those younger ones. You also start to get a lot more involved in the story and start to sympathise with the vampires, as they are pictured as romantic and emotional figures, as is certainly true in the case of Louis, who shows the most human characteristics of all of Anne Rice’s vampires.

Rice’s style of writing is very captivating and you really care about the characters she writes about, whether they are the main character of the vampire, or one of the lesser characters. She also manages to turn you against certain characters, such as Akasha when she is on her murderous spree of destruction and from Maharets story of how she came to be a vampire.

You also have to decide, when you read the stories, as to how much you care to take with a pinch of salt as they are written from one vampire’s perspective. For example, Louis believes in Interview, that Lestat only chose him to become immortal as he was after his money. However, in The Vampire Lestat, we know Lestat has access to Morgus’ treasure and is therefore not short of money. Lestat claims to have chosen Louis because of his likeness to his best friend Nicki, whom went mad as a vampire, unable to deal with the new powers and what it offered.

If you like the horror or vampire genre of literature, these books are definitely for you if you have not yet read them. Even if you’re not, give them a go. They are not like the typical vampire book such as Dracula, the vampires here don’t metamorphose into bats, wolves and mist, they are stuck in the one body forever, never aging, never dying, unless under certain circumstances. They are the most influential vampire stories since Dracula and take on a whole new dimension to the vampire genre.

If reading isn’t for you, however, Interview with the Vampire was made into a 1994 film, starring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and Christian Slater. Although not exactly the same as the book (which film is) it is close enough and a brilliant adaptation, as Anne Rice involved herself in the film, writing the screenplay also. The film is totally captivating also and the characters of Lestat and Louis are captured brilliantly by Cruise and Pitt, respectively. A young Kirsten Dunst is on superb form as the vampire child Claudia. With two Oscar nominations and a multitude of further nominations and 18 award wins, the film adaptation is absolutely superb and one of the best films of the nineties and easily the best vampire film ever made.

Elements of The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned were made into a 2002 film Queen of the Damned, Starring Stuart Townsend as Lestat, Aaliyah, Vincent Perez and Paul McGann. However, unlike 1994s Interview... Queen of the Damned does not live up to expectation, differing vastly from the two novels. Whilst the film itself is a good vampire film, with a superb soundtrack written by Jonathan Davies of Korn, it should not be compared to the two novels due to the differences. By no means disregard this film. The acting is superb and it is well directed with fantastic lighting and effects, such as Akasha’s burning of the vampires, which results in a very dark and gothic film. As a result, it makes choosing the best Lestat out of Cruise and Townsend an almost impossible task.

All round, the Vampire Chronicles are just a fantastic work of fiction, creating a whole new world of vampires and fills that world with some of the best vampires this reviewer has ever said. More believable that the Transylvanian warlord turned blood drinker, Dracula and more ferocious than a pit of ravenous lions, these vampires are evil, emotional, flawed and display human characteristics making them all the more terrifying and makes you wonder whether being immortal is all it’s cracked up to be!

An old man wearing a brown robe is found wandering disorientated in the Arizona desert. He is miles from any Human habitation and has no memory of how he got to Be there, or who he is. The only clue to his identity is the plan of a medieval monastery in his pocket.

This mystery will catapult a group of young scientists Back to the Middle Ages and into the heart of the Hundred Year’s War.

From the Author who gave us Jurassic Park, this 1999 novel is just as good, if not better than the early nineties blockbuster novel.

The action starts with a motorist called Dan Baker and his wife, Liz, driving through the Arizona desert looking for an Indian reservation to buy a rug. Even though these are minor characters in the novel, Crichton makes us care about them, and mixed emotions are raised when they come across the old man, Joseph Traub, wandering on the desert road. Initially thinking they hit the old man, in fact hitting a pothole, the Bakers take Traub to the local hospital, where a mysterious coronary ends the old man’s life. What’s more mysterious is the MRI scans that the hospital took shows that the blood vessels and nerves don’t line up, they’re ‘split’.

The only people the hospital can contact are Traubs employers, ITC; International Technology Corporation. This introduces us to Robert Doniger, the owner and managing director of ITC, and John Gordon and Dian Kramer, Doniger’s closest colleagues and confidants. Crichton here gives a terrifically in depth look into Doniger’s past, giving us the distinct impression of him as an anti-hero, ruthless businessman. The threes talking of ‘trips’ and people being ‘split’ lends us to more mystery, as is their talking of an archaeological dig in the Dordogne region of France.

These leads us to being introduced to Professor Edward Johnston, and his post-graduate student team; André Marek, Chris Hughes, Kate Ericson and David Stern. The archaeological team are unearthing the old region of Castlegard, the Monastery of Sainte-Mère, a fortified mill bridge and the castles Castlegard and La Roque, funded by ITC. However, a visit by Diane Kramer on behalf of Doniger arouses suspicion in the Professor and the post-grads after giving away details that ITC in America couldn’t have known about the French dig. Whilst Johnston returns to America with Kramer, his team continue working and uncover a hidden chamber in the Monastery. Deep inside this chamber, which hasn’t been opened for 600 years, they find parchments and, worryingly, a bi-focal lens. The lens, they discover is an exact match for the Professors glasses, and on one of the parchments is written in modern English “HELP ME 4/7/1357”.

ITC, having been contacted by the confused team, fly Marek, Chris, Kate and David to their offices in Arizona where they are introduced to Doniger and we find the cause of all the mystery; ITC have, whilst trying to work into a way of transporting packages via ‘teleportation’, discovered a wormhole through the quantum foam of the universe into another universe that is technically the past, the Dordogne, France in 1357 to be precise. It transpires that Johnston went back into ‘The World’ as ITC call it, and never returned. The only way to get him back is to go back into the past and retrieve him themselves.

Whilst David, the physicist of the group, doesn’t want to go back, Marek, Chris and Kate return with two marines, Gomez and Barreto, to find Johnston. Upon arrival, a French child runs into the group telling them to hide, closely pursued by armoured horsemen. Whilst Chris, Kate and Marek escape, Gomez and Barreto are killed, Barreto being transported home with a live grenade he had been forbidden to take. Upon arriving back at ITC, the grenade explodes, destroying the shielding needed for safe transfer.

Here the story really kicks off as Marek, Kate and Chris are now trapped in the world with only a limited to find the Professor and bring him back, and David and the ITC people have to rebuild the lab so that they can return.

In France, Marek et al. face many problems as they have arrived on the day that the French attack the English town of Castlegard and then the fortress of La Roque. They become embroiled in the politics of the court of Lord Oliver, the sadistic English lord in charge, Sir Robert De Kere and Sir Guy De Maligant, and the Lady Claire, whom it transpires was the ‘boy’ who warned of the armoured horsemen when the team arrived.

On their mission to survive and find the Professor, they realise that they’re not alone, there is someone else from the future there, working against them...

There I shall leave the plot to talk about Crichton’s style. He really is a very deep author and conducted lots of research for this novel which lends a superb and totally authentic style. To the back of the book is an extensive bibliography of both physics and historical texts. You really care about the characters in the novel and find yourself getting drawn into the world.

There are inklings sown about the identity of the other person back in the world from little hints dropped by Doniger et al. and the description of the ‘transcription errors’, which it turns out were the cause of Traubs death at the start of the novel. As the novel progresses and you begin to get even more of a sense of Donigers ruthless business sense he moves out of anti-hero mode and into selfish b*****d mode and his fate in the novel is sealed and you don’t really feel any remorse at Crichton’s choice of how he deals with Doniger.

With Marek, Kate and Chris being the main characters of the novel and a lot of time is spent with the in the world, you really develop an attachment to them and care about what happens to them as the story progresses. Even when they become separated and face issues on their own, there are moments when reading you wonder how they will escape what seems a hopeless situation and then in a truly annoying, yet at the same time gripping, style, Crichton leaves it at a cliff-hanger only to return to it later.

The suspense in the novel is palpable, considering that there is a strong race against time highlighted through the second half of the novel. Once the action flicks to the world, chapter titles are replaced with a clock countdown, starting at 37 hours. This adds a sense of urgency to the latter half of the book and you are left wondering at several times whether everything will be resolved in time...

All in all, Timeline is a gripping and enthralling novel, with twists and turns to rival the world’s best roller coasters. It will truly grab you and suck you in, keeping you on the edge of your seat and for me, holds the record of the only book that once I’ve read it, I’ve turned back to the front cover and read it again. In my opinion, Crichton’s best novel.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SEASON THREE


With its fashions, visual style, and dated special effects, the original battlestar galactica was very much a product of it’s time. The late 1970’s. The third season of the new version could be described as being much the same, given that it opens with the human world of new caprica under the control of cylon forces, with an army unsure how to deal with the local situation, suicide bombers, resistance, collaborators and detainees, there are obvious parallels to Iraq here.
A great strength of the show is that it presents the situation in a balanced and non didactic manner, and doesn’t offer easy answers. Rather it forces the viewer to make up their own mind on the issues portrayed. Hopefully the scriptwriters of the BBC’s Robin Hood will watch and learn from this.
The opening two episodes are one long story that begins a few months after the end of the previous season. Things have moved on since the Cylons arrived. The chief and the colonel and anders are leading the resistance to the Cylons, and the colonel is in prison paying the price for this. The chief struggles to run things in his absence and keep his wife and child safe, and Anders is an action hero leading the fight from the front. Some dubbed the character Blanders when he first appeared, but you can’t help but like him. Much like the Brigadier on Doctor who he comes over as a decent man and a natural leader who never hesitates to lead from the front.
His wife Starbuck is locked up with a cylon who we haven’t seen in a while, who is trying to force him to make her love him. There’s a stunning pull back shot when you first realise the truth of starbuck’s situation, and she’s undergoing mental torture which in its own way is even more harrowing than the physical kind that the colonel endures.
Meantime Baltar is acting spinelessly and doing everything that the Cylons say. His aide Mister Gaeta is trying to run things and help the resistance. This adds a good depth to a character who’d not had much of that before. And he’ll get more later in the season. Back on the fleet, a rescue mission is being prepared to get as many humans as they can off the planet. But some cylons favour more drastic solutions to the problem of the resistance than others, and the first cliff-hanger leaves a few characters in peril as a result.
This is resolved with some memorable action. And one judicious bit of re-editing. After which, its game on. The resistance and the fleet plan to get people off planet. One Cylon investigates what might have happened to the first cylon human hybrid baby, reportedly dead in season two but actually hidden away with a foster mother. And a traitor puts the resistance in jeopardy. They’re saved – via a very big explosion – but the traitor must be dealt with. The fact that you can in many ways sympathise with them for what they did doesn’t stop the fact that you can also understand why they must be dealt with. What a powerfully emotional moment follows when that happens.
Episode three continues the build up to all this, and will make you scream by ending just as it’s all about to start. And episode four provides incredibly satisfying action as all plans go into motion. Battles in space and in the atmosphere of the planet, explosions, mister gaeta again getting some excellent extra depth as his faith in Baltar is shattered, and Baltar again managing to land on his feet and save his own skin in the face of adversity. But will he be able to go back to humanity afterwards?
You will see the resolution of the space battle coming. And react in the same way as Adama. Both cursing the obviousness and loving it anyway.
Anders and Starbuck are reunited, only to face one powerful twist that you won’t see coming. This like nearly everything else that happens to her this season will cause Starbuck to push everyone away. At this point in the season you can sympathise with her. That feeling may vanish in due course.
So, after a satisfying four part opening to the season, the fifth episode has to deal with one loose end from all this. What do the people in the fleet do about those who worked with the Cylons on New Caprica? A great episode because once again the viewer is forced to make up their own mind about the issues involved. You may go for all out vengeance like Starbuck and Tigh, you may have a crisis of conscience and not want to get involved anymore like Anders, or you may be able to look past the hate and forgive the way that the chief does. Another strong episode for Mister Gaeta. Vice President Zarek is also rather appealing here because he comes up with a solution that whilst morally dubious in many ways actually works rather well. Zarek, after years of getting nowhere trying to bring down the system has now decided he can’t waste time that way anymore, and is working within it to change things instead. Great development for the character, so it’s a pity he’s slightly underused this season.
The fleet are on their way to find earth once again after all this. And so are the Cylons. What will happen next?
The quest for earth will develop. In an involving two parter, both the human fleet and the cylons come across a damaged cylon ship, the crew of which have been infected by a virus that has come from a beacon left behind by earth people. Baltar takes his chance to prove his worth to the cylons by going onto the ship for them. All scenes on Cylon ships are very well stylised and directed, really creating the impression of a totally non human environment. Even when doing what is required of him the good doctor still can’t be entirely honest, and has to work to survive once again.
Whilst the cylons argue over what to do with him, this find gives humanity the chance to use the virus to destroy the cylons once and for all. But if they do that, they commit genocide. Is it the right thing to do? Here’s where Helo shows again what a great character he is. Because he’s a good man with a moral compass. He makes a huge choice, and you can understand why. More food for thought, of the kind this season has provided so much of.
The next episode ‘hero’ sees the sudden return of one of Adama’s old colleagues, Bulldog, who has been a cylon prisoner for years. As a result we find that Adama has a few secrets, and that humanity wasn’t quite the innocent party it may have appeared back at the start of the series when the cylons attacked. A useful bit of back story filling in here, and a good look at how characters in extreme situations may react and how they can pull themselves out of it. If they so choose. Seems odd that the cylons suddenly try another scheme to kill Adama, though, and it’s a pity Bulldog hasn’t been seen since.
Next comes ‘unfinished business’. A potentially interesting episode given that it fills in some of what happened in between the final two scenes of the second season finale. Unfortunately, it ends up being rather problematic. The focus of the episode is the starbuck Apollo relationship. What exactly happened between the pair on New Caprica that led to them marrying other people, and discovering that they still rather care for each other. Both of these characters become so completely self absorbed that you simply can’t care for either of them. Starbuck in particular crosses the line a few times in this episode and becomes highly annoying as a result. The episode ends with the pair left all on their own by people who have lost interest in them. An unintentionally symbolic scene. Apparently a lot of the flashbacks in this episode were cut for timing reasons. Shame they were not included on the DVD, as they might have made it a bit better.
The following episode ‘the passage’ presents the pilots of the fleet with a very risky job, getting the ships through an area of high radiation. The episode focuses on Kat, one of the pilots and a semi regular character, and does an interesting job in giving us some hitherto unmentioned back story for her. Kat faces a dilemma as past secrets come to light, and has choices to make. An involving character piece and an ending you won’t forget in a hurry.
Now we’re at the mid season it’s time for another two parter. The galactica finds a world that’s mentioned in the scriptures, and there’s a temple on it which may give them information on how to get to Earth. If they can beat off the cylon attack on the planet. Rescue Starbuck from her crashed Raptor. Get off the place in time before the nearby star goes nova. And if Starbuck and Apollo can keep their hands off each other. They can probably manage the latter because Apollo is far too principled to do anything like that. Although this doesn’t make him a sympathetic character, rather one who is once again too wrapped up in himself to be anything but annoying. You will feel sympathy again for Anders, and for Dee, Apollo’s spouse. But you will be engrossed in the excellent location filming, and the race against time story that gives the episode a lot of pace. This story really develops the story arc very well and is ultimately very worthwhile. And it ends with Baltar now a pariah to both races. Can he manage to keep on surviving?
As with season two, we now hit a slight lull, with many stand alone episodes that don’t move the main plots along. However, this batch of episodes does tend to be of a higher quality than the ones in the previous year. And two plots do get moved forward. Helo and Hera have to take drastic steps to get their child back. And number six makes a choice as a result which ends up with her spending the rest of the season locked away. At least we do get one appearance from the wonderfully entertaining Baltar who she sees in her mind.
And the cylon who’s been questing throughout for the identity of the final five cylon models is locked up as well. In a box. Permanently. But the question she was looking for the answer to won’t go away…
In ‘taking a break from all your worries’ vital information is required from Baltar. Roslin and Adama agonise over whether or not to torture it out of him. And then go ahead and do it anyway. This is bloodless drugged up torture, thought, not the kind that has been done to Cylons in earlier episodes. Baltar finds that Mister Gaeta can’t forgive treachery in a hurry. And Starbuck and Apollo both attempt to patch up their marriages. The fact that they both succeed comes as a sweet relief, largely because you feel Anders and Dee, Apollo’s spouse, deserve it. An interesting episode, as it could have been rather static and yet manages instead to get quite involving.
‘The woman King’ is another strong showcase for Helo, and it’s nice to be reminded how many human tribes there are in the fleet, each with their own beliefs. Members from one whom Helo is looking after start dying, and he suspects a Doctor might not be treating them the way he should. A good moral dilemma episode with some strong acting, although what’s with the title of the episode? It’s called this simply because there’s a female character called King in it. The line from the Hippocratic Oath ‘first do no harm’ is quoted a few times. That would have been better.
In ‘A day in the life’ An ordinary day has a few incidents as Adama remembers his wife – you will not see the final revelation coming – and the chief and cally settle a few marriage problems whilst trapped in an airlock in an exciting race against time plotline. A well done little episode.
The chief – just like Helo he’s likeable by virtue of being a very decent individual who’s not quite so strait laced as Apollo – has centre stage in the following episode ‘Dirty Hands’. He’s been a union rep in the past and now he has to do it again when conditions for workers on a refinery ship get bad. This leads to a few questions that the fleet have to answer. Are they creating a new society where not everyone will be equal? Adama’s solution to the resulting dilemma is like a Doctor who episode where the Doctor is prepared to sacrifice himself, in that you want to shout ‘you can’t do that but you will because it’s right in character.’ The chief does get a small victory in the end. A thought provoking and memorable episode.
Back to main storylines for the last four. In ‘Maelstrom’ destiny comes calling for Starbuck. The flashbacks to her tormented childhood will make you feel a little more sympathy for her than you have of late. Although her increasingly self absorbed actions over the course of this one might take some of that away. Wonderfully moving scene early on when she and Apollo remember dead comrades, though.
Following this we hit the season finale. Like Doctor who season three this has one episode that set things up, and then pretty much continues straight on into a two parter. No big action sequences in this. It’s legal drama instead. Doctor Baltar is on trial for treason. Someone has to defend him. But all the defence lawyers are being killed.
Enter Sebastian Spence playing an Irish accented cat loving and pretty fearless lawyer. A very compelling and appealing character. The problem of the murdered lawyers is solved in episode eighteen ‘the son also rises’, so titled because Apollo finally pushes his father too far and loses everything save his principles as a result.
So we come to the season finale two parter ‘crossroads.’. Whilst Baltar is on trial – and Mister Gaeta shows once again that he is never going to forgive him – the identity of four of the final five cylons is revealed. Which comes as a great surprise to those involved. How they’ll deal with this long term is left hanging, and we will doubtless come back to it next season. And we’ll also doubtless find out who the fifth model is.
At the trial Apollo’s strategy for the defence produces interesting results and revelations. And the verdict does not go down well with all concerned. I concur with Adama in his reasons for choosing the verdict he went for. In essence it’s the same question of how rigidly we can stick to the structures of society during wartime that the show has covered before. And it does it superbly once again.
Multiple cliff-hangers follow. Baltar finds not everyone has stopped believing him.
Apollo has nothing left – a fantastic shot of him in the corridor after the trail ignored by everyone highlights this so well – what will the four new cylons do?
And when Apollo uses a bit of initiative he and the audience get a big surprise as someone comes back to visit seemingly with all the answers they want. There’s a stunning pullback shot following this revelation. And the credits roll, leaving us having to wait for the season four opener to find what will happen next.
Despite the problems with starbuck and Apollo and the frustrating ninth episode, this is a quality season of a show that is one of the most quality television dramas out there. I can’t wait for season four.

Terror of The Autons (A Review)

This story gets off to a cracking start with a mysterious stranger stepping down from a horsebox at a circus. Lugi Rossini the circus owner approaches the stranger intent on warning him off but the stranger has other ideas he identifies himself as The Master and quickly has Rossini under his control.

The Doctor’s new assistant Josephine Grant nervously enters the Doctor’s Laboratory to introduce herself she manages to ruin one of the Doctor’s experiments and the Doctor mistakes her for the tea lady, not the best start for a new assistant.

The other newcomer is Captain Mike Yates and you can’t help wondering why he is in the story since he doesn’t really have very much to do, but he does make an effort in the scenes he is in.

The Autons are not quite as scary as the ones in Spearhead From Space but there are other hide behind the cushion moments such as the Troll Doll and the infamous plastic chair.

We discover that the Master is a brilliant hypnotist one stare from those deep brown eyes of his and you are under his control, he effortlessly hypnotises Professor Philips at The Radio Telescope Research Centre and Rex Farrell owner of the Plastic’s Factory where the Autons are created. And later on Jo falls under his spell returning to UNIT HQ to try and blow up the Doctor, Mike Yates and Sergeant Benton. Also we are introduced to the Tissue Compression Eliminator Gun, poor Goodge (one of Philips’ assistants) is swiftly dispatched into his sandwich box, perhaps the first moment of horror in the story.

The plastic chair which suffocates McDermott is another such scene of horror, one which stays in the mind of the viewer for a long time.

On the whole the story proceeds at pace revealing more and more of the Master’s dastardly plan to conquer the Earth. However he realises at the end that he has made a terrible mistake and helps the Doctor to send the Nestenes back into space, before they can materialise. The Master isn’t hanging around though, it’s time to go but then he is forced to change his mind and surrender as he walks towards the Doctor and UNIT he produces his Tissue Compression Eliminator Gun but Mike Yates is too quick for him and shoots him. But wait this can’t be the end of this charismatic new villian can it we were just getting used to himThe Doctor bends over the body and pulls a mask from it’s face to reveal Rex Farrell. The Master does indeed escape, the Doctor tells us that he is looking forward to their next encounter and so am I


The only thing that really lets the story down in my opinion is the use of CSO when the Master is first seen in the Lab at the Plastics Factory the background isn’t superimposed but then later on it is. Also why superimpose Mrs Farrell’s kitchen? Aside from that this Season Eight opening story gets off to a flying start.

These words are familiar to anyone who has watched this stunning re-imagining of Glen A Larson's Battlestar Galactica.

Gone are the "good old days" of seeing a cylon fight, a cylon win. Now, you can't even be sure of seeing them coming.

The Cylons have evolved in the hundreds of years since humanity created them as a slave race of robots. Some even look human, there are 12 humanoid models, but we've only seen a few identified as Cylons, others remain anonymous, ready to strike.

The story of Battlestar Galactica starts very much like it did back in Glen Larson's original. Twelve colonies of Man, attacked simultaneously by Cylons, almost completely decimated. A handful of ships escape the destruction, and under the protection of the last of the colonial Battlestars, the Galactica, they struggle to survive against a foe with superior numbers and technology.

Desperately they seek the thirteenth colony of man, the fabled paradise, known as Earth.

Of course, obstacles are thrown in their way at almost every turn. Cylon infiltrators have already corrupted Gaius Baltar, the lead scientist, and only man who can devise ways of detecting humanoid Cylons, They have toyed with the affections of two of Galactica's primary staff, one of the Cylon's is even pregnant by one of them. But how could that be?

New twists to the story are numerous and intriguing, primarily, the religious aspect. It was mentioned in passing in the original version, but in the new series, it's taken a far more prominent, and dangerous role. The Cylon's firmly believe that the Destruction of the Human race has been decreed by God, and they will do whatever it takes to see that will be done.

Indeed, this ragtag fleet of mismatched personalities and downright undesirables have their work cut out for them. But they do have hope. In the form of Galactica's commander, William (Bill) Adama. Gone is the familial, friendly Adama of the old series, here he is a war veteran, who earned his rank with blood, sweat and tears. He is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the fleet safe, and the remaining humans alive. His son Lee (Apollo) Adama, in charge of Galactica's fighter squadrons fights valiantly with his friend and sometime lover Kara (Starbuck) Thrace. The two best pilots in the fleet, and don't the Cylons know it.


This show is never anything less than gripping. It's action is unparalelled, it's dark, even visceral in places, but always entertaining.

Jamie Armour - Scotland

First off, let me get the bad points to "Rose" out of the way. Yes, it is weak on plot. The Nestene Consciousness and the Autons get very little storyline. We aren't shown who or what is putting guns into these Auton bodies. New viewers are left to wonder if the thought control from the Consciousness is somehow magically placing weapons inside the shop dummies. We don't get the backstory like we did with "Spearhead from Space". The reasoning for the Consciousness coming to Earth is barely explained in some vague reference to a war (watch the rest of the series and you get a better explanation about the war itself). The Anti-Plastic is also a bit of a cop out. Where and when did the Doctor get it? What is it made of? How was it made? How does it work? Who made it? Was there a struggle in getting it? Was there some loss the Doctor had to give up in order to get it? All questions that are swept under the rug in the script. And all of these negatives contribute to a plot that is almost too swift and could have been better served with a two part story where some of these questions could be more fleshed out. Auton Mickey wasn't all that great either.

Alright, I should be really down on this story, right? Wrong. Actually I am not...

Being the first episode of the new series, we have never seen the main opening titles before. And, we are given them right from the get-go. Oh my word! The titles! The theme is great! The effects are wonderful with the TARDIS bobbing around in the fast space/time vortex. What a way to start the show! WOW, DOCTOR WHO IS BACK! IT'S REALLY BACK!

Then we get the lovely shot from above the Earth with the moon in the background and zooming down into London. What a lovely effect.

Many people criticize the incidental music in this story. I disagree. I was a little put off by the music at the very start as Rose gets out of bed in the first scene. But, it gets much better almost immediately. It is fast paced, just like the episode, so it fits. It only adds to the excitement as my mind is blown away thinking the show is really back. The music playing as we see Rose going about her normal life fits the scene perfectly. It's fast paced along with the vehicles buzzing down the streets. Later, the scene as the Doctor is leaving Rose's flat and Rose chases after him only adds to the fun feeling of the scene. The scene about 2/3 of the way through the episode after Rose points out the London Wheel as the Nestene's antenna is my favourite scene from the episode as they run down the bridge with the buses going by behind them, reaching out for each other's hands. The music in that scene just adds so much to that scene. It is absolutely beautiful! I really like the music in this episode.

Beyond effects and music, this story is mainly about introducing characters and relationships. And it does that extremely well. Rose's routine life is shown very quickly but very well with short little scenes showing important points in each of her days. The Doctor's introduction is terrific too. The "Run" line hackens back to Troughton. And, The Doctor's quirky nature is shown right away as he walks briskly leading Rose away from the Autons and explaining about Living Plastic Creatures. Then telling her to leave but then quickly showing up again to introduce himself and her to him was brilliant. "Run fer yer life!" Another great early line.

The scene in Rose's flat is hilarious. Jackie's eyes light right up when she sees the Doctor. And then she is upset when he tells her "No" when she openly flirts with him. Again, the Doctor's quirky persona shows through as he looks around at the tabloid, the novel, and himself in the mirror. Trying out the card tricks and finding out he can't do them is a fun gag too. The arm attack has a morbid sense of fun to it. Then Rose hits the Doctor with it after he deactivates the arm. Funny stuff. The chase out of the flat is fun to listen to as the Doctor and Rose squabble a bit about shop dummies taking over the world.

Then we get that speech. We get that wonderful, very Who'ish speech about the Earth spinning. Absolutely brilliant stuff. I almost cried. WOW! The show IS back!

Then the show builds on the mystery of the Doctor a bit with Clive's photos and stories. We get told that he always has death around him. Isn't that a great draw for new fans? For previous fans, we already know this. But, it is nice to be reminded.

The introduction of the TARDIS is wonderful. Roses rushes in trying to escape Auton Mickey. She can't believe her eyes that it is bigger inside than out. She rushes back out despite the danger outside. She moves all the way around the TARDIS. She finds it to be indeed the size she thought it was. And with the threat of Auton Mickey finally catching her and killing her, she rushes back inside to find indeed it is still bigger inside! Wonderful stuff! Absolutely brilliant. Of course, new fans have their suspicions confirmed that the Doctor is an alien by his own admission.

Again, I absolutely love the scene where the Doctor and Rose are crossing the bridge to get to the wheel. The humour used to get the Doctor to realize that he is blind to exactly what he is looking for (the wheel being a huge round object that could be used as an antenna), was very funny. The bridge crossing is so good with the music, the buses, the hand holding. You just knew at that point, Rose and the Doctor should be traveling together. WOW!

And the best plot point is toward the end with the shop dummies attacking. This always got to me in the Pertwee Auton stories. It is even better and scarier here. The Autons seem so real. There are so many of them. They are actually seen breaking the glass. It is just so creepy and realistic. And you can see them shooting their weapons and people dying. Just imagine watching shop dummies coming alive as you walk by a display. WHEW! Scary stuff. The music here is very haunting and epic as it conveys a very end of civilization feel from invading monsters.

Overall, this story is a 6 (or 8.5) because it does well what it sets out to do. This is a character driven story. This is not an action driven story (although the story does move very quickly). The humour is terrific. The characters are very well introduced. The Auton attack is just so creepy and scary. The music and effects are wonderful. OK, the plot is thin. But, the plot really isn't the point here. And best of all, DOCTOR WHO IS BACK! FANTASTIC!