Wednesday 29 June 2016

Smallville: Fierce

I have trouble remembering what happened in the previous season and also understanding what is happening in the current episode. The characters speak very quickly in American accents and summarize information as much as possible. I did not understand the nature of the treasure sought by the three villainesses or why one of them murdered another one of them.

Also, I realized afterwards that I had watched episode 3 of Season 7, thinking that it was episode 2 so no wonder I did not understand how Clark and Kara were now acquainted.

Both Chloe and Lana now know Clark's secret. That makes life easier and should have happened a long time ago. Lex is still investigating mysteries surrounding the Kents but this time has seen Kara using her powers although she denies it. He is still encountering dishonesty from the Kents.

Was Lana's spurious pregnancy at the end of Season 6 ever explained?

It seems that there is an Agent Carter both in the Marvel Movieverse and in the Smallville TV series.

Tuesday 21 June 2016

Smallville: Bizarro

I am starting to watch Season 7. There is a lot that I do not understand in Bizarro but I think that that is because most of it has not been explained yet:

Who carried Lionel away?
How come Kara is around?
How come Lana is alive in disguise in China while Lex is arrested for her murder?
Does Chloe know about her meteor power of healing or how it works?

Lex seems to be going back to the side of Good as against Evil because he believes that he was rescued by an angel. It is a good idea to end an episode with a song. This episode is dramatic like much of the series. There is always a sense of important events occurring at the end of one Smallville season and the beginning of the next. The series has come a long way from Smallville.

For some discussion of a prose sf writer who was at Lancaster Comics Day, see here.

Saturday 18 June 2016

Superman III

I did not post about this film immediately after rewatching it so my memories of it are not fresh.

(i) Red Kryptonite in all but color.

(ii) A change from Luthor as villain.

(iii) The absurdity of weather forecasting satellites that can suddenly be used to control the weather.

(iv) A good scene of Supes fighting himself.

(v) Anything else?

Friday 17 June 2016

Superman IV

(i) Great opening when Supes rescues Comrade Sinatra: comedy; tragedy; international cooperation; Superman to the rescue. As a counterpoint, Lex's fellow prisoners nickname him "Mozart."

(ii) Supes addressing the UN prefigures Alan Moore's Miracle Family, Warpsmiths and Firedrake addressing the UN. The Warpsmith announces that all the WMD's have already been teleported into the Sun.

(iii) A superbeing is created fully clothed, of course.

(iv) Does Supes kill the Nuclear Man at the end?

(v) The Christopher Reeve films hold up well as a series with recognizable continuing characters and settings.

(vi) In Interview With The Vampire, the vampire sees a sunset in a Superman film.

(vii) My daughter, Aileen, found it shocking when such a comedic film included Superman saying near the end that the world is still on the brink.

Monday 6 June 2016

Lancaster Comics Day

Last year at Lancaster Comics Day, I bought Snapshot by Andy Diggle, a "Comics" work. This year, I bought The Casebook Of Sam Spalluci by AS Chambers, a "Lancaster" work.

The Day:

panels on humor comics, superheroes, prose fantasy and sf and the Doctor Who Magazine;

great panelists;

lots of stalls;

superhero-themed cakes;

gaming instead of poker in a back room;

John Freeman's excellent, genial organization of the whole event;

Stan Lee wondering in at the end (or someone that looked like him);

perfect setting in Lancaster Library and Market Sq;

the event has already become an annual institution.