- Reviews of the Finale Day 7 episodes. I've actually done this now (finally) and you can see the episodes reviewed on the blog in November (despite that I watched them in October).
- Acquiring the new seasons. I've now completed this and have in my possession the DVD copies of Smallville Season 5, Star Trek: Enterprise Season 2, One Tree Hill Season 4 and Mad Men Season 2. I also bought Star Trek: Enterprise Season 1 (as I never previously owned this) and Rome Season 1.
- Mad Men Season 1 re-watch. This is in progress as I didn't originally watch this season on my own. I haven't been writing reviews of these as I know what's going to happen and it hasn't been quite the same experience anyway as watching the first time.
- Poster refresh. Some of you may know that I adorn my house with posters of some of my favourite shows. As a general rule though I don't put up posters for seasons I haven't finished yet. Since I finished a whole load of seasons on finale day 7, I'll be replacing some posters with ones from the seasons I've just watched. In particular I'm going to be using pictures from Spooks Season 2 and The New Adventures Of Superman Season 2. This should be finished in the next couple of days.
- Special Features Recon. As below I haven't started watching the special features yet, but I wanted to make sure I had a record of how long each feature was and the totals. When I start the special feature watching it will then be easier to fit them around my schedule as they are vastly different individual lengths, from less than a minute to about 45 minutes. I've completed this initial "recon" phase.
- Special Features. I will be starting this in the fairly near future, and probably after finishing Mad Men again. This will include Spooks Season 2 (more than 249 minutes), Futurama Season 5 (about 53 minutes), and The New Adventures Of Superman Season 2 (about 19 minutes). It will also later include Star Trek: Enterprise Season 1 (about 113 minutes) and Mad Men Season 1 (about 26 minutes). In total more than 7 and a half hours of footage there.
- Programme catch-up. This will be the last stage of the aftermath and will involve watching at least one episode of each of my outstanding programmes (programmes I am still in the process of watching but weren't a part of FD7). These are: Lost, Sports Night, Jericho, Rome, Dark Angel and Pushing Daisies.
Saturday, 28 November 2009
NOTIFICATION: Finale Day 7 Aftermath
I haven't watched anything new since Finale Day 7 (FD7), and wanted to give an update on here on what I've been up to the last few weeks. Well, not a lot as far as TV is concerned; I've been quite busy with other things. However I've been progressing the "Finale Day 7 Aftermath" process slowly but surely. This period comes between the finale day and the post-FD7 season premieres. Here's a summary of the various things I have/will be doing over the aftermath period:
Friday, 20 November 2009
[NAS] And The Answer Is...
TV Programme: The New Adventures Of Superman
Season: 2
Episode: 22
Date I watched this episode: 24/10/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 3 days.
This episode marked the end to the finale day, and a great end it was. While not quite as dramatic as the episode I'd watched previously ([SPK] "Smoke And Mirrors"), it was a fitting end to the second season of this show. As you'll have read, this season has had its ups and downs, but overall it has had the overarching theme of Lois and Clark coming together, and this was really just the climax of all that.
Amazingly, in addition to all that drama there was also a very thrilling main story to the episode, somewhat reminiscent of [SMV] "Rogue" (and perhaps closer to home, "Top Copy" from this season). It was a really great idea to add in the continuity with "Tempus Fugitive", definitely the best episode of the second season as a whole. Given that premise, the stakes were raised higher than they usually are, with both Clark's secret and his parents at risk. The latter feature heavily in the episode, much more than usual, and see Lois and Clark's love reflected in their own.
We get to see Nigel St John again here, although he dies during the episode. He's a great character, but also great is Jason Mayzik, who is the executor of most of the evil plans here. Mayzik is absolutely loving his role, making it all the more enjoyable to hate him as a great villain. In fact, his subtle murder of Nigel is one of the most well-crafted scenes of the ep.
At the culmination of the story, it seems all is lost. Clark, Martha and Jonathan are stuck in the steel cell, with no way out, and then suddenly, Clark is back, and manages to break free. This fast turnaround, and the pleading from Clark for Lois to still be alive, is heartwarming and thrilling at the same time.
Perry and Jimmy don't feature much in the ep. In fact they talk at the end about being "supporting characters in a TV show that's only about them" a bit of a tongue-in-cheek remark from the writers. Unfortunately I doubt their roles will become any bigger next season.
As mentioned before though, the episode was dominated by the love situation between Lois and Clark. Having declared their love in the previous episode, Clark keeps trying to tell Lois that he is Superman, but doesn't have much luck. Trying to hide from her though, only makes things worse when he is thought to be a burglar. However, the true nature of Lois's love for Clark is seen when she sacrifices herself for him. It's a beautiful moment when she tells him "everything is going to be alright" and then goes haring off. She knows that Clark needs her, and she is prepared to do anything it takes to see things return to normal. At the time the freezing takes place, she has just realised that Clark is Superman, and in that moment is completely satisfied with her decision.
The episode culminated with that beautiful final scene, with the storm and lightning to mark the occasion. Clark shouts to some deity to give him a break, as he has been trying this all day. But he goes through and makes the proposal, while the scene fades out to crescendoing music and the storm outside. It leaves two questions open for next season - will she accept, and will she let on that she knows he is Superman? Surely she must sooner or later!
Overall this was, as mentioned above, a fitting climax to the story that has been building since the middle of the season. In the context of the show, it's pretty much the best it could have been, but didn't fill me with quite the same sense of excitement as certain other episodes I watched on Finale Day 7. However what I am excited about is leaving this programme to the side for a while and focussing on getting back to the much more thrilling programme of Smallville. One day though I'll be coming back to the season 3 premiere (which answers the question with "...We Have A Lot To Talk About") and hopefully a fresh new outlook which avoids some of the problems we've had during this second season.
Season: 2
Episode: 22
Date I watched this episode: 24/10/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 3 days.
This episode marked the end to the finale day, and a great end it was. While not quite as dramatic as the episode I'd watched previously ([SPK] "Smoke And Mirrors"), it was a fitting end to the second season of this show. As you'll have read, this season has had its ups and downs, but overall it has had the overarching theme of Lois and Clark coming together, and this was really just the climax of all that.
Amazingly, in addition to all that drama there was also a very thrilling main story to the episode, somewhat reminiscent of [SMV] "Rogue" (and perhaps closer to home, "Top Copy" from this season). It was a really great idea to add in the continuity with "Tempus Fugitive", definitely the best episode of the second season as a whole. Given that premise, the stakes were raised higher than they usually are, with both Clark's secret and his parents at risk. The latter feature heavily in the episode, much more than usual, and see Lois and Clark's love reflected in their own.
We get to see Nigel St John again here, although he dies during the episode. He's a great character, but also great is Jason Mayzik, who is the executor of most of the evil plans here. Mayzik is absolutely loving his role, making it all the more enjoyable to hate him as a great villain. In fact, his subtle murder of Nigel is one of the most well-crafted scenes of the ep.
At the culmination of the story, it seems all is lost. Clark, Martha and Jonathan are stuck in the steel cell, with no way out, and then suddenly, Clark is back, and manages to break free. This fast turnaround, and the pleading from Clark for Lois to still be alive, is heartwarming and thrilling at the same time.
Perry and Jimmy don't feature much in the ep. In fact they talk at the end about being "supporting characters in a TV show that's only about them" a bit of a tongue-in-cheek remark from the writers. Unfortunately I doubt their roles will become any bigger next season.
As mentioned before though, the episode was dominated by the love situation between Lois and Clark. Having declared their love in the previous episode, Clark keeps trying to tell Lois that he is Superman, but doesn't have much luck. Trying to hide from her though, only makes things worse when he is thought to be a burglar. However, the true nature of Lois's love for Clark is seen when she sacrifices herself for him. It's a beautiful moment when she tells him "everything is going to be alright" and then goes haring off. She knows that Clark needs her, and she is prepared to do anything it takes to see things return to normal. At the time the freezing takes place, she has just realised that Clark is Superman, and in that moment is completely satisfied with her decision.
The episode culminated with that beautiful final scene, with the storm and lightning to mark the occasion. Clark shouts to some deity to give him a break, as he has been trying this all day. But he goes through and makes the proposal, while the scene fades out to crescendoing music and the storm outside. It leaves two questions open for next season - will she accept, and will she let on that she knows he is Superman? Surely she must sooner or later!
Overall this was, as mentioned above, a fitting climax to the story that has been building since the middle of the season. In the context of the show, it's pretty much the best it could have been, but didn't fill me with quite the same sense of excitement as certain other episodes I watched on Finale Day 7. However what I am excited about is leaving this programme to the side for a while and focussing on getting back to the much more thrilling programme of Smallville. One day though I'll be coming back to the season 3 premiere (which answers the question with "...We Have A Lot To Talk About") and hopefully a fresh new outlook which avoids some of the problems we've had during this second season.
[SPK] Smoke And Mirrors
TV Programme: Spooks
Season: 2
Episode: 10
Date I watched this episode: 24/10/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 7 days.
Of all the season finales comprising this finale day, this was the one that surpassed my expectations to the greatest extent. In fact, I struggled to watch the next finale "And The Answer Is..." after the dramatic ending to this episode, and after about 2 minutes switched it off and took a break for half an hour to allow the greatness of this episode to sink in.
It's no surprise that I'm going to say this was Tom Quinn's episode through and through. It's been clear to me for some time that this finale would focus heavily on him, as his loss of stability comes to a head. However I hadn't quite reasoned what form this would take, and so was perhaps lulled into a false sense of security by a story which, in typical Spooks fashion, became incredibly complex.
The episode does wake you up pretty much at the start, when Karharias is shot dead completely unexpectedly by the man who was apparently trying to hire him. However with all else that is going on, we are made to forget this initial scene, to the extent that it's almost a shock as much to us as to MI-5 when it is revealed that the man the CIA are tracking is not Michael Karharias.
Tom's demeanor as the episode goes on is what really tells the story of the episode. At the beginning he seems so relaxed but is clearly unstable. As the episode progresses and he is telling a very unconvinced Danny how much they love breaking the rules, and the feeling of anxiety, and how it's why they do the job, then it becomes clear he has become quite unstable and has really gone rogue at this point.
Tom was really put in an impossible position in this episode, and had to take some drastic measures all through the episode. As well as seeing it through his eyes, we also saw it through the eyes of those around him who were reacting to it. Danny and Zoe feel something is wrong right from the very start but are too loyal to Tom to really do anything. When Harry got involved, it was quite scary how quickly he and Danny came to the conclusion that Tom is running the whole operation. I mean actually they hadn't thought it through logically - why would Tom give them so much information if he didn't want them to come after him? Tom's reaction to all this is quite believable - they have put him in league with Ziegler/Joyce and that can't come nicely.
Together with the uncompromising side that Harry shows to Danny and Zoe, he does however have a very caring side. He gets quite emotional with Christine, wanting to believe that she was the one who set all this up. In fact she represents everything Harry thinks is wrong about Tom. Then there is the scene where Harry goes around to visit Tom - if only Tom had answered the door then, things might have turned around differently. Harry has said before on a couple of occasions "we look after our own" and he showed what he really meant by that right here.
All this stunningly dramatic character development was set against the backdrop of a very complex, immersive storyline. The initial telex was very believable - so when it was proven to be a hoax then my head was spinning. The perpetrators had planned this right to the last shred of evidence - and the "legend" supposedly prepared by Tom, which would incriminate both himself and Christine. This was done by real pros. (Incidentally, I should note here that Tomas Arana's acting was superb, playing the shifty and mysterious character of Herb Ziegler/Herman Joyce).
Whether or not it was done by Herman Joyce though is a mystery I still believe to be unsolved. It's unlikely that this man would go to such lengths and quite so calculated just for revenge, especially given the position he himself was in. I don't understand why he would have to go through and kill the Chief Of Defense either. Also, the fact that he supposedly died doesn't seem to add up. I think there is more to be revealed here - it almost felt like they didn't have enough time to tell the whole story. Hopefully I won't inadvertently find out too much before the next season premiere.
It's been a funny old season really. I've watched it pretty quickly considering, but it's had a lot of ups and downs. Probably the best episodes have been in the first half of the season, with some very weak episodes such as "Without Incident" clouding the second half. I'm going to say it's not quite up to the standard of season one. But it doesn't feel like it's gone backwards, there have just been a few painfully average episodes. In terms of story arcs: there are about the same number, but they have felt a little bit disjointed: strangely, they have come together more towards the end of this season, and hopefully that focus will continue into the third.
It wouldn't be quite appropriate to round off this review without some mention of the atmosphere building in this episode. I was consistently blown away by the MUSIC in this episode, which was absolutely outstanding, building both an atmosphere in the field and the mood of the ending sequence. The wide pull-back shots at the end gave an extra sense of Tom's loneliness and showed off the beauty of the setting. So cinematics and audio were really top-notch and definitely the best in any Spooks episode so far.
What was I think the overarching success of this episode was its unpredictability though. Danny and Zoe kept switching between Thames House and Tom's mission, Tom's instability in general kept me on edge, and nothing was quite what it seems (hence the title I suppose). The trident of story, character development and suspense made this into a thrilling episode miles ahead of what I usually expect from this programme.
Obviously the ending was the gem of the episode. The way it was played - seeing Tom reliving the moments as the audience saw it for the first time, as Tom stood on the beach - was unique and dramatic. And it really does leave us clamouring for the next season. We have two major characters (Tom and Harry) fighting for their lives. Tom's life, and especially his "perfect" relationship with Christine, lies in ruins. Overall this was an amazing episode and a prime example of what this show has to offer.
Season: 2
Episode: 10
Date I watched this episode: 24/10/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 7 days.
Of all the season finales comprising this finale day, this was the one that surpassed my expectations to the greatest extent. In fact, I struggled to watch the next finale "And The Answer Is..." after the dramatic ending to this episode, and after about 2 minutes switched it off and took a break for half an hour to allow the greatness of this episode to sink in.
It's no surprise that I'm going to say this was Tom Quinn's episode through and through. It's been clear to me for some time that this finale would focus heavily on him, as his loss of stability comes to a head. However I hadn't quite reasoned what form this would take, and so was perhaps lulled into a false sense of security by a story which, in typical Spooks fashion, became incredibly complex.
The episode does wake you up pretty much at the start, when Karharias is shot dead completely unexpectedly by the man who was apparently trying to hire him. However with all else that is going on, we are made to forget this initial scene, to the extent that it's almost a shock as much to us as to MI-5 when it is revealed that the man the CIA are tracking is not Michael Karharias.
Tom's demeanor as the episode goes on is what really tells the story of the episode. At the beginning he seems so relaxed but is clearly unstable. As the episode progresses and he is telling a very unconvinced Danny how much they love breaking the rules, and the feeling of anxiety, and how it's why they do the job, then it becomes clear he has become quite unstable and has really gone rogue at this point.
Tom was really put in an impossible position in this episode, and had to take some drastic measures all through the episode. As well as seeing it through his eyes, we also saw it through the eyes of those around him who were reacting to it. Danny and Zoe feel something is wrong right from the very start but are too loyal to Tom to really do anything. When Harry got involved, it was quite scary how quickly he and Danny came to the conclusion that Tom is running the whole operation. I mean actually they hadn't thought it through logically - why would Tom give them so much information if he didn't want them to come after him? Tom's reaction to all this is quite believable - they have put him in league with Ziegler/Joyce and that can't come nicely.
Together with the uncompromising side that Harry shows to Danny and Zoe, he does however have a very caring side. He gets quite emotional with Christine, wanting to believe that she was the one who set all this up. In fact she represents everything Harry thinks is wrong about Tom. Then there is the scene where Harry goes around to visit Tom - if only Tom had answered the door then, things might have turned around differently. Harry has said before on a couple of occasions "we look after our own" and he showed what he really meant by that right here.
All this stunningly dramatic character development was set against the backdrop of a very complex, immersive storyline. The initial telex was very believable - so when it was proven to be a hoax then my head was spinning. The perpetrators had planned this right to the last shred of evidence - and the "legend" supposedly prepared by Tom, which would incriminate both himself and Christine. This was done by real pros. (Incidentally, I should note here that Tomas Arana's acting was superb, playing the shifty and mysterious character of Herb Ziegler/Herman Joyce).
Whether or not it was done by Herman Joyce though is a mystery I still believe to be unsolved. It's unlikely that this man would go to such lengths and quite so calculated just for revenge, especially given the position he himself was in. I don't understand why he would have to go through and kill the Chief Of Defense either. Also, the fact that he supposedly died doesn't seem to add up. I think there is more to be revealed here - it almost felt like they didn't have enough time to tell the whole story. Hopefully I won't inadvertently find out too much before the next season premiere.
It's been a funny old season really. I've watched it pretty quickly considering, but it's had a lot of ups and downs. Probably the best episodes have been in the first half of the season, with some very weak episodes such as "Without Incident" clouding the second half. I'm going to say it's not quite up to the standard of season one. But it doesn't feel like it's gone backwards, there have just been a few painfully average episodes. In terms of story arcs: there are about the same number, but they have felt a little bit disjointed: strangely, they have come together more towards the end of this season, and hopefully that focus will continue into the third.
It wouldn't be quite appropriate to round off this review without some mention of the atmosphere building in this episode. I was consistently blown away by the MUSIC in this episode, which was absolutely outstanding, building both an atmosphere in the field and the mood of the ending sequence. The wide pull-back shots at the end gave an extra sense of Tom's loneliness and showed off the beauty of the setting. So cinematics and audio were really top-notch and definitely the best in any Spooks episode so far.
What was I think the overarching success of this episode was its unpredictability though. Danny and Zoe kept switching between Thames House and Tom's mission, Tom's instability in general kept me on edge, and nothing was quite what it seems (hence the title I suppose). The trident of story, character development and suspense made this into a thrilling episode miles ahead of what I usually expect from this programme.
Obviously the ending was the gem of the episode. The way it was played - seeing Tom reliving the moments as the audience saw it for the first time, as Tom stood on the beach - was unique and dramatic. And it really does leave us clamouring for the next season. We have two major characters (Tom and Harry) fighting for their lives. Tom's life, and especially his "perfect" relationship with Christine, lies in ruins. Overall this was an amazing episode and a prime example of what this show has to offer.
Sunday, 15 November 2009
[PSW] Shunned
TV Programme: Peep Show
Season: 6
Episode: 6
Date I watched this episode: 24/10/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 7 days.
This episode was the third to feature a wedding: strangely enough, all even season finales of Peep Show (seasons 2, 4 and 6) have featured one. However we didn't really get that far this time: things went a bit "pear-shaped" to say the least. The ending sequence, which lasted for almost a quarter of the entire episode, featured some incredibly awkward moments and some very sudden revelations such as Jeremy's affair with Elena, Mark's failure to pass his driving test and Jeremy's murderous streak.
In fact it was actually Jeremy who featured most heavily in this episode, despite the fact that it was really Mark's event that marked the climax of the episode (the birth of his child). Jeremy's emotions are understandably all over the place, but we've rarely seen him so intense or worked up. His feelings for Elena are stronger than anyone before, even Nancy, and possibly due to the shenanigans he has had to go through to get her. Unfortunately, we likely won't see her again.
Mark on the other hand is really pitted against his rival Jeff in this episode. It's quite believable that Mark would go to such lengths to earn "naming credit" (which was a hilarious concept in itself) and his emotional state at the end of the episode was quite understandable given what he had gone through psychologically. Jeff himself is just getting incredibly annoying (not in a bad-writing kind of way, but more in an i-want-to-punch-you-in-the-face kind of way).
The episode itself was pretty simple in structure and most of the important stuff happened in about a 30 second period right at the end. In addition, we find out that Hans actually has kids, who will apparently feature strongly in season 7. That season is looking less promising than this one, but I'm sure they'll come up with some new crazy storylines to keep us going.
This season in general has felt a bit more connected than earlier ones, though the humour has not been consistent throughout. It feels like it wants more in terms of season length, in order to satisfy the storylines, and in that sense the connectedness is somewhat of a poisoned chalice. I'm going to say though that this one is better than season 5 and possibly 4 as well, though there's not much in it.
Generally though the episode was average, not amazing. I guess it ranks quite low in all of Peep Show's season finales, but considering the story was telling, it told it in a pretty captivating way.
Season: 6
Episode: 6
Date I watched this episode: 24/10/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 7 days.
This episode was the third to feature a wedding: strangely enough, all even season finales of Peep Show (seasons 2, 4 and 6) have featured one. However we didn't really get that far this time: things went a bit "pear-shaped" to say the least. The ending sequence, which lasted for almost a quarter of the entire episode, featured some incredibly awkward moments and some very sudden revelations such as Jeremy's affair with Elena, Mark's failure to pass his driving test and Jeremy's murderous streak.
In fact it was actually Jeremy who featured most heavily in this episode, despite the fact that it was really Mark's event that marked the climax of the episode (the birth of his child). Jeremy's emotions are understandably all over the place, but we've rarely seen him so intense or worked up. His feelings for Elena are stronger than anyone before, even Nancy, and possibly due to the shenanigans he has had to go through to get her. Unfortunately, we likely won't see her again.
Mark on the other hand is really pitted against his rival Jeff in this episode. It's quite believable that Mark would go to such lengths to earn "naming credit" (which was a hilarious concept in itself) and his emotional state at the end of the episode was quite understandable given what he had gone through psychologically. Jeff himself is just getting incredibly annoying (not in a bad-writing kind of way, but more in an i-want-to-punch-you-in-the-face kind of way).
The episode itself was pretty simple in structure and most of the important stuff happened in about a 30 second period right at the end. In addition, we find out that Hans actually has kids, who will apparently feature strongly in season 7. That season is looking less promising than this one, but I'm sure they'll come up with some new crazy storylines to keep us going.
This season in general has felt a bit more connected than earlier ones, though the humour has not been consistent throughout. It feels like it wants more in terms of season length, in order to satisfy the storylines, and in that sense the connectedness is somewhat of a poisoned chalice. I'm going to say though that this one is better than season 5 and possibly 4 as well, though there's not much in it.
Generally though the episode was average, not amazing. I guess it ranks quite low in all of Peep Show's season finales, but considering the story was telling, it told it in a pretty captivating way.
Saturday, 14 November 2009
[FUT] Into The Wild Green Yonder
TV Programme: Futurama
Season: 5
Episode: 13-16
Date I watched this episode: 24/10/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 2 months, 22 days.
Life has been busy recently and I'm only just getting around to writing up these reviews for finale day 7. The finale day did go ahead as planned and was very enjoyable, though not as good as some previous finale days. The day kicked off with this finale film/episode which was only released this year and rounds off the direct-to-DVD (5th) season of Futurama.
This episode was actually very good, making a nice surprise after the disappointing middle episodes. I don't think it was quite as good as the premiere "Bender's Big Score", but shared certain similarities with that episode, like a brilliant, shocking and heartwarming ending sequence, and a big cliffhanger.
We knew right from the title sequence that this episode, set in some form of Vegas, would be quite cool. We spent quite a lot of the episode on Mars, showing the Wong empire spanning both hemispheres, the giant golf course under construction, the streets and casinos of Mars Vegas. In fact I don't think New New York was in the episode at all. The side-story of Bender and the Mafia was slick, and managed to be both a bit of a spoof and almost theatrical in nature. Kind of reminded me of The Sopranos in places, which was intentional I'm sure.
The whole "secret society" thing was also quite cool and gave some meaning to this Number 9 Man who has been popping up in Futurama episodes for quite a while. The story was on such an epic scale and actually worked out quite nicely; it didn't feel like an anticlimax because of what was at stake.
I think though that every episodes this series has had a main theme: Time travel, dating, high fantasy and now this one really focussed on ecofeminism. Kind of an odd subject for Futurama but it really worked in a very natural way. It fitted quite nicely with the theme of sabotage, and the actual sabotages performed were cool in a "Fight Club" kind of way. In general the story fitted together well here and it actually felt shorter than earlier episodes this season, despite having the same running length. Fry and Leela really carried the story with the two aforementioned threads; the other characters faded into the background somewhat.
Obviously the episode was sprinkled with humour or it wouldn't be Futurama. Particular favourites of mine were "the Supreme Justice D.O.G.G. and the associate justices" and the mindreading sequence in the crowd at the end. In fact, in general the mindreading was pretty funny, both as a concept and in practice.
So as I mentioned before, the ending was brilliant. What with the crazy mindgames going on (Fry thinks he is the dark one, not unlike the shock at the end of "Bender's Big Score" when he realises he is Lars, but the bigger shock is that that isn't even true), the amazing trust that Leela has in Fry, the awe from the crowd as the Encyclopod is born, and all the time the crescendoing music, this is altogether an emotional and satisfying ending to the episode. My only complaint would be that the bug thing was rather silly and almost spoilt the mood.
There is a massive cliffhanger at the end of this season, with Leela and the Feministas on the run from Brannigan, Leela and Fry finally declaring their love for one another (only didn't they do that before in the season 4 finale?) and entering a wormhole leading to somewhere trillions of light-years away. So there's no end of what they can do with season 6, and hopefully it won't be just a standard season of disconnected episodes like with seasons 1-4.
All in all I enjoyed this episode a lot more than I thought I would after the last two. It's probably not been my favourite season of Futurama, but then it is hard to compare with the others due to the entirely different format. Hopefully on reflection, Groening and co will realise that the first and last episode were the real gems of the season, and try to build on that towards an amazing season 6.
Season: 5
Episode: 13-16
Date I watched this episode: 24/10/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 2 months, 22 days.
Life has been busy recently and I'm only just getting around to writing up these reviews for finale day 7. The finale day did go ahead as planned and was very enjoyable, though not as good as some previous finale days. The day kicked off with this finale film/episode which was only released this year and rounds off the direct-to-DVD (5th) season of Futurama.
This episode was actually very good, making a nice surprise after the disappointing middle episodes. I don't think it was quite as good as the premiere "Bender's Big Score", but shared certain similarities with that episode, like a brilliant, shocking and heartwarming ending sequence, and a big cliffhanger.
We knew right from the title sequence that this episode, set in some form of Vegas, would be quite cool. We spent quite a lot of the episode on Mars, showing the Wong empire spanning both hemispheres, the giant golf course under construction, the streets and casinos of Mars Vegas. In fact I don't think New New York was in the episode at all. The side-story of Bender and the Mafia was slick, and managed to be both a bit of a spoof and almost theatrical in nature. Kind of reminded me of The Sopranos in places, which was intentional I'm sure.
The whole "secret society" thing was also quite cool and gave some meaning to this Number 9 Man who has been popping up in Futurama episodes for quite a while. The story was on such an epic scale and actually worked out quite nicely; it didn't feel like an anticlimax because of what was at stake.
I think though that every episodes this series has had a main theme: Time travel, dating, high fantasy and now this one really focussed on ecofeminism. Kind of an odd subject for Futurama but it really worked in a very natural way. It fitted quite nicely with the theme of sabotage, and the actual sabotages performed were cool in a "Fight Club" kind of way. In general the story fitted together well here and it actually felt shorter than earlier episodes this season, despite having the same running length. Fry and Leela really carried the story with the two aforementioned threads; the other characters faded into the background somewhat.
Obviously the episode was sprinkled with humour or it wouldn't be Futurama. Particular favourites of mine were "the Supreme Justice D.O.G.G. and the associate justices" and the mindreading sequence in the crowd at the end. In fact, in general the mindreading was pretty funny, both as a concept and in practice.
So as I mentioned before, the ending was brilliant. What with the crazy mindgames going on (Fry thinks he is the dark one, not unlike the shock at the end of "Bender's Big Score" when he realises he is Lars, but the bigger shock is that that isn't even true), the amazing trust that Leela has in Fry, the awe from the crowd as the Encyclopod is born, and all the time the crescendoing music, this is altogether an emotional and satisfying ending to the episode. My only complaint would be that the bug thing was rather silly and almost spoilt the mood.
There is a massive cliffhanger at the end of this season, with Leela and the Feministas on the run from Brannigan, Leela and Fry finally declaring their love for one another (only didn't they do that before in the season 4 finale?) and entering a wormhole leading to somewhere trillions of light-years away. So there's no end of what they can do with season 6, and hopefully it won't be just a standard season of disconnected episodes like with seasons 1-4.
All in all I enjoyed this episode a lot more than I thought I would after the last two. It's probably not been my favourite season of Futurama, but then it is hard to compare with the others due to the entirely different format. Hopefully on reflection, Groening and co will realise that the first and last episode were the real gems of the season, and try to build on that towards an amazing season 6.
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