Category — *Action

I just saw the new Iron Man movie last night, and while it is overall one of the best superhero movies ever made, there is one element that stands out as unusual: Pepper Potts. (Spoilers follow.)

Virginia “Pepper” Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) is Tony Stark’s personal assistant, whose responsbilities range from handling Stark’s everyday needs to shipping off the women Tony has one-night stands with so that he doesn’t have to deal with them. She is clearly very fond of Tony despite … READ MORE

I recently re-watched the whole of Justice League (re-titled Justice League Unlimited for its last three seasons), and have come to an important conclusion: it is not just the best superhero show ever made, it is one of the best television series ever made. While it does feature jaw-dropping action, intricate plots, excellent character development, an incredible voice cast,* and a mature approach to superheroes as a genre, the reason I’m writing about it here is its treatment of … READ MORE

One thing I don’t like about Alias is that it asks us to assume when all else fails - or even before - Sydney can always use her sex appeal to flirt her way out of a situation. The only exception is when she’s dealing with men who know who she is and are tasked with stopping her.

In the planning missions where Sydney is tasked with flirting with some guy to steal something from him, there’s a chunk of dialog … READ MORE

I’ve been re-watching Alias lately, and I’ll probably do a more comprehensive series review later, but for now one thing is jumping out at me:

The men go by their last names. The women go by first names. WTF?

At first, I tried to cut them slack because Sydney’s father is also “Agent Bristow” (and he’s often called “Jack” for that very reason). But Vaughn, who at first has no contact with Jack Bristow, calls her Sydney. And Sydney is still calling … READ MORE

ETA: SERIES TWO SPOILERS IN COMMENTS. This review covers Series 1 only. Series 2 has not yet aired in the US at the time of this writing.

I’ve been meaning to write about the dynamic between Marian and Guy of Gisborne on BBC’s Robin Hood series for a while now. Watching an episode commentary in which one of the producers debates it with Lucy Griffiths (Marian) prompted me to do so tonight.

SBG described the events between Marian and Gisborne a … READ MORE

The Sandbaggers was a brilliant 1970’s British TV series that chronicled the inner workings of a fictitious government intelligence unit within the SIS. These spies spent more time doing paperwork and squabbling with politicians for the resources to do the job with which they were tasked than they spent in action. But when action happened, it was never glamorous. When people come to after being knocked unconscious, they puke. When someone’s immobilized for a few days, they spend that time … READ MORE

“Wonder Woman was stupid because she was always so dreamy-eyed about that guy, and he was Lyle Waggoner, the ’stupid guy’ who didn’t get the jokes on The Carol Burnett Show. Which is really saying something!”

My mom, ladies and gentlemen, on how she had better TV role models in the 50s with Annie Oakley and Maid Marion than I had in the 70’s with Wonder Woman, Charlie’s Angels and Daisy Duke.

Yep. I have nothing to add.

Having watched the first couple of episodes of Chuck, for the most part, I’m pretty impressed. It’s a fun show, with a neat concept–the basic premise of it is that a supremely regular guy, a somewhat underachieving geek, suddenly finds himself in possession of all of the state secrets anyone could ever want. It’s an unsubtle male-geek fantasy fulfillment show, creating a set of circumstances that place a guy they relate to in the role of video-game style hero. A … READ MORE

I’ve been overdosing on spy shows lately. This caused an unconscious pet peeve with Alias to finally rise to the surface: there’s just no way someone as nice and happy and sweet and kind and loved by friends as Sydney Bristow would choose to be a spy.

Spies are messed-up people. From James Bond to Michael Weston (Burn Notice), they don’t come from happy homes, and because of their experience they don’t see the world in a positive, upbeat, optimistic kind … READ MORE

*Spoilers behind the jump for the pilot of Bionic Woman, premiering September 26th on NBC at 9pm.*

In the re-imagining of Bionic Woman Jaime Sommers (Michelle Ryan) is a bartender raising her teenaged sister Becca, when she and her boyfriend Will are involved in a horrible car crash. Her injuries should have been fatal, but luckily in addition to being a professor Will is a surgeon involved in biomedical research and arranges for her to undergo a process that leaves her … READ MORE