Doctor Who: Ian Chesterton- Science Experiment

Cliches are funny things, they can be both annoying and undetectable, depending on how they are handled, and in some cases, they can be necessary as well. When Doctor Who was started in the early sixties, it became apparent that a couple cliches were needed for the show’s weekly serial adventure concept to work.

The Doctor was set to be not only the show's namesake and star but also the brains of the operation, the one who would be coming up with the solutions to all the sticky situations the crew of the Tardis would be getting into.

They also had Barbara and Susan, one a history teacher who would be both a fount of knowledge in the historical episodes and along with Susan would find herself in the (cliche) typical trouble female leads found themselves at the time, although Susan did break the mold of the usual teenage girl in certain aspects, being an alien who had been traveling alongside her grandfather the Doctor for a long time.

TV Review: Merlin- A Servant of Two Masters (S04E06)

The fourth series of Merlin is turning out to be a grand improvement over the first three series of Merlin because of how well things are moving forward during the series and how much the characters are growing at each turn. From Uther's demise at the hands of Morgana despite Merlin's best intentions, starting the reign of King Arthur to Morgana finding out that the mysterious Emrys will be her greatest rival.

Interestingly enough Merlin is made the main baddie by way of Morgana's magic and it again puts a nice spin on the established order of the series. It also leads to Arthur showing just how much Merlin really means to him, despite the fact that Arthur thinks he spends most of his time in Camelot's tavern.

TV Review: Merlin- The Darkest Hour Part 2 (S04E02)

Honor is a thing that is very prominent in Arthurian legends but something that is lacking in our modern society if it ever existed at all. The Darkest Hour's conclusion was a tale all about honor and sacrifice and also the other side of the coin, where greed and selfishness rule.

When we last saw Merlin he seemed as good as dead but knew he would be all right in the end, the name of the show is his after all and we could all quickly imagine how a Camelot without it's dynamic duo of Arthur and Merlin would fall. However that did not mean that the rest of the outcome was so transparent.

Except it was...

But it also wasn't...

TV Review: Merlin- The Darkest Hour Part One (S04E01)

One problem I find in modern television is the inability for a programme to change and grow, to allow the worlds created and the people and creatures who populate it to act like they are actual living beings and change. For us, change is inevitable, a part of life that is coming no matter what whether it be significant change caused by life's many twists and turns or the simple undeniable and unstoppable change of our body's yielding to the passing of time.

Television of course can sometimes forget that change can be used to freshen up what has otherwise become a dull and predictable cycle of the same old character in the same old setting doing a variation of the same old plot. It is for sure why The Simpsons have become less stellar as the years pass, as Bart and Lisa never age and nothing shifts. Compare this to what I consider to be the ultimate 'mover Doctor Who, the design of which allows for a completely different setting each and every time as well as a new face on the title characters if need be.

Film Review: Siren (2010)

Modern horror films and thrillers have always lacked something in my eyes, they are stale copies of what was for me the golden era of the two genres, from the late sixties through most of the eighties.

Most of the gore filled plot less drivel that is churned out today doesn't hold a candle to such better produced models such as a majority of the Hammer Horror catalog or such groundbreaking American works such as The Exorcist and The Amityville Horror.

There also is something missing in the thriller department since the age of Hitchcock, with the modern counterparts to such classics as Rear Window and The Birds lacking the tone and feel that made them so easy to immerse yourself in their fictional worlds as well as making them instant classics.

Siren takes a step back that is also quite a step forward in this regard, it is a film that although it dabbles in the modern horror cinema's blood and sex driven scenes it does so with a regard for the fact that it is putting a very simple story to the cameras as well as harking back to the days when a good horrific thriller was more about what was implied then what was seen.

TV Review: Misfits-Vegas Baby!

Departures are usually met with a sense of apprehension, whether that apprehension is for something positive or negative in nature.

This time is no exception as we say goodbye to Nathan (Robert Sheehan), the member of the Misfits gang that if not the most popular, was surely the rudest and most hilarious of the ASBO sentenced group that gained superpowers along with so many others in that freak storm.

As the title Vegas Baby implies we find Nathan in the city of bright lights and high stakes gambling with a new power that he traded immortality in for, which is being able to perform magic like feats just by thinking about it. It seems that after he was free of his ASBO he had the usual thoughts any new father and recent family man would have.

Money.

TV Review: Misfits Series Two

First impressions have become almost a mythical thing in our society, they are the untainted instinctual markers that can steer us away from people and things that are really not right for us. But, however tidy it may seem to just let your initial feelings dominate how you approach things, further observation and an open mind may lead to better results.

And possibly a humbling lesson or two along the way as well.