Everything fans have been wanting to see in Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special is here, and The Star Beast certainly delivers fun quips and chuckles along the way!
BBC’s Doctor Who is 60-years old, and honestly, they should spend part of their increased budget to have David Tennant back on some semi-permanent basis. He’s a tough act to follow and although this actor has nothing but praise for Ncuti Gatwa, who will take over the role after these specials, I just want him! When “The Star Beast” is part one of a three-story arc, thankfully that means there’ll be a month of this actor doing what he does best–to play Sherlock the only way he best knows how!
And when he says he’s not an interim incarnation, and he’s equally mystified, I’m here for the ride!
The Rebuild of Evangelion is finally complete! Now whether one should wait for a megaset to bring them all together or buy each film individually, well…
As I’ve said in the unboxing video made to look at the packaging of this latest release that wraps up the Rebuild of Evangelion series, the keepsake edition created by GKIDS and distributed by Shout! Studio is far more attractive looking than Funimation’s. And as for why love this over the other?
That’s up to fans to figure out since the number of years it took to make this series was big, and during that time, negotiating the rights for North American distribution most likely had some troubling bureaucracy (like in the anime) as the final release is on the hands of another company to handle. While I don’t know the full story, I am hopeful a set will be offered, so I can see the cinematic presentation in full.
In this series, we have:
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone — In this intro, we meet the mysterious Kaworu and Lilith in a film edit of what is essentially the anime series, episodes one to seven.
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance — With this film, the series is sped through fast (8-23), and Mari Makinami is a new character. Asuka is reimagined and sports an eye patch.
Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo — The rather ironic title says it all, and instead of concluding the way the series did, it jumps ahead to deal with a “new” situation. NERV has a rival, and WILLE is not as what they seem. There’s more going on here, and it’s almost okay to start from here. However, a lot of character development points will get missed.
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time – This chapter neatly wraps everything up, and goes to places that I didn’t expect, as the universe implodes, and…. (no spoilers are offered here, as this film is considered reviewed to death)
We expand on what’s said in our unboxing video on YouTube and offer some more thoughts after giving Star Trek: The Picard Legacy Collection a proper view.
The Star Trek: Picard Legacy Collection is huge, and for anyone new to Star Trek: The Next Generation, and wants to follow everything this captain (wonderfully played by Sir Patrick Stewart) has done, it’s the perfect jumping in point! Not everyone will have grown up watching this franchise’s best comeback. Without it, the subsequent series would not have been created. We have Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Prodigy and so on. Although not every series was made avaiilable on Blu-ray, that’s the hope most long time fans crave.
In this release, all the episodes are identified on the sleeve that makes up each case. Each plastic enclosure is sturdy, and although I’d be tempted to put the series into a binder, I don’t need to rush to do that. The discs aren’t that hard to remove, and instead of forcing, I gently tugged.
And as my unboxing video shows (featured below), there’s lots of design and packaging aesthetics to like. After sitting down to view the remasters, the details are far better than what I recall from my television viewing days. Although Blu-ray isn’t as forgiving with the bits of blue screening used, some suspension of belief is required.
Even though the Marvels are mostly about giving Kamala a place in the MCU, I can’t help but think she’s replacing Peter Parker.
Spoiler Alert
The latest movie set in the MCU, The Marvels, feels a lot more like a Disney movie, and whether that’s a good thing depends on how often The Mouse interferes with Kevin Feige’s plans. This architect has a goal, and this film offers a mixed bag of entertainment that’s not always like a Marvel comic book. Here, what I see is a lot more development of the characters from the streaming series. That is, not everyone would’ve watched Ms. Marvel and Wandavision.
Thankfully the film begins very easily, and gets viewers up to speed. It’s easy to see why the very plucky Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) has a huge case of hero worship to work through before she can be a true hero. Meanwhile, Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) has other issues when it comes to dealing with Carol Danvers (Brie Larson). However, there were many times I thought this film is simply season two of Ms. Marvel.
As much as I’d love to see Doctor Who last forever, it’s living on borrowed time.
As much as I love BBC’s Doctor Who, to distinguish between their time and what Disney Branded Television announced may well be troubling for anyone maintaining online episode guides. According to Dark Horizons‘ report over last weekend, the season count is being reset! And honestly, after catching David Tennant’s return and departure in the three anniversary specials, that’ll be the end for me.
Although I sense this announcement is more of a method to make the “acquisition of broadcast rights” more distinguished, there may be other reasons for the change. It’s about how their handling can be recognised in the eyes of many. What they’re doing is no less confusing than how LEGO Ninjago‘s seasons are represented. Series One to Ten are known as Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu (also known as the WILFilm years) and eleven on up is simply Ninjago (aka Wildbrain). The latest, which is sixteen, is Ninjago: Dragons Rising (also handled by this new studio). If there’s a rename to the British series because Disney wants to, I’m going to be furious!
When the two broadcasters made a deal to deliver Doctor Who to a worldwide audience rather than stay “in the country,” I’m sure the house of the mouse had some requirements. Although reports say the BBC has creative control, I suspect not every detail in the contract got revealed a year ago. I’m sure many coins from Disney’s golden vaults will get offered to influence how Doctor Who will now look!
BBC’s Doctor Who is 60-years old, and honestly, they should spend part of their increased budget to have David Tennant back on some semi-permanent basis. He’s a tough act to follow and although this actor has nothing but praise for Ncuti Gatwa, who will take over the role after these specials, I just want him! When “The Star Beast” is part one of a three-story arc, thankfully that means there’ll be a month of this actor doing what he does best–to play Sherlock the only way he best knows how!
Available to purchase on Amazon USA
Spoiler Alert
As much as I love 