Category Archives: TV/Movie Reviews

Haven: Mortality Review

haven-text-headerAfter a season of otherwise forgettable and unenjoyable two-parters, Haven has finally been able to put together a solid two-part episode. It wasn’t the fantastic from start to finish two-parter that fans have been hoping for all season but Mortality shows that there’s still life in a show that could have been pronounced DOA at any other point of the year.

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Haven: Morbidity Review

haven-logoOther week, another start to a Haven two-parter. While the words “Haven” and “two parts” have been a sign of impending disaster this season, with the introduction of a new female supporting character and something resembling a future direction for the plot in last week’s episode, I was looking forward to Morbidity.

Normally, I would say that we should know better than to set my hopes high for an episode of Haven this season but there’s a real chance that the season may have turned the corner this week.

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Doctor Who: Death in Haven Review

doctor-who-death-in-heaven-headerThe first eleven episodes of this season of Doctor Who have been absolutely brilliant. We’re used to sporadic good episodes but such a succession of great episodes in 10 of the first 11 weeks of Doctor Who is something that no TV show this side of maybe The Wire or Game of Thrones have been able to match.

The finale would be the biggest test of the course of Doctor Who under Peter Capaldi because finales are typically where the show falls flattest. Could a season that’s been so much better than usual end so much better than usual?

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Haven: Exposure Review

haven-streets-headerSo Nathan is a Troubled ghost, Mara and Audrey have been split up, half of the main cast took last week off and I’m just trying to think of reasons for people to continue on after last week’s episode other than “you’ve seen the first four-and-a-half seasons through so you may as well see it through.”

This week’s episode didn’t see any real improvement from Naudrey storyline but at least characters outside the show’s big three were given something interesting and memorable for us to watch.

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Doctor Who: Dark Water Review

doctor-who-dark-water-headerIt certainly hasn’t seemed like this season has been on for very long but we’ve reached the end of this season of Doctor Who. After ten weeks, it’s time for the two-part season finale. After all the teasers of Missy and the afterlife, The Doctor and Clara finally stumble upon it after the personal stakes are raised.

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Haven: Nowhere Man Review

haven-headerAs we cross the halfway point of the first half of the fifth season, I think it’s safe to come to the conclusion that the writers took the 26-episode season order a bit too literally. The season increasingly feels like everyone is taking scripts that weren’t trimmed down to 42 minutes and padded them out to fit two hours of TV time.

This week was our first episode with Audrey back but it might have been to the episode’s detriment with the focus on Naudrey. Is it just me or is that the anchor that might drag this show down before hot shotting the timeslots?

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Doctor Who: In the Forest of the Night Review

doctor-who-in-the-forest-of-the-night-headerYou can’t expect a run of great episodes to continue forever. You would hope that it wouldn’t end right before the season finale of one of the best seasons of Doctor Who since the show’s revival in 2005. However, asking for 12-for-12 great episodes would be asking too much so maybe a flat episode was better this week than in the next two.

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Haven: The Old Switcheroo Part 2 Review

haven-bannerI’m starting to wonder how hard it is to write episodes in pairs. The first six episodes of this season of Haven have been presented in two-episode pairs and each pairing has had one episode that was quite clearly better than the other. The Old Switcheroo Part One was funny but it also explored the relationships between the characters from a different perspective.

This week, whether the novelty was gone after one week or the writers were done with the novelty, ended up being much more straight forward. It was all about Troubles and Mara.

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Doctor Who: Flatline Review

doctor-who-flatline-headerHow many times has science fiction explored other dimensions? We’ve explored alternate dimensions with revised histories, good people turned evil and more. However, how many time have we explored the second dimension? Well, not only do The Doctor and Clara have to deal with creatures from the second dimension but The Doctor has to deal with a shrinking TARDIS. All in a day’s work.

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Haven: The Old Switcheroo Part 1 Review

haven-promo-headerWhat happens when you write an episode that, at first glance, is a way for all of the actors to blow off a little steam while spending their spring and summer in rural Nova Scotia? It turns out that not only is it a good bit of fun for everyone, actors and viewers alike, it gives the writers a chance to explore the various relationships between the characters from a different perspective.

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