February goings on

February's shenanigans began with an early morning wake up on Sunday 2^nd for a 90 minute trip to the Vapnartak wargames show held at the Knavesmire stand at York Racecourse. A decent show by any measure, it occupies four floors of the stand, with most of the traders occupying the ground, first and second levels, with demo, participation and competition games mixed in here and there, plus more on the third level.

Taken before any of the public were let in.

No action at all in this shot.

As you can see from these pictures, it’s quite well laid out and there is a decent amount of space between stands, something that other shows in the past have lacked, especially Partizan when it was held at Kelham Hall. With a good amount of traders, there was pretty much something for everyone, and I know I lingered far too long at Dave Lanchester’s book stall for my own good, but that’s for another time. Of the demo games I saw, two caught my eye.

Look at the size of that thing!

Rather tasty looking too...

The “Down on the Adriatic Sea” game was a nice set up (Fiume 1920), topped by the frankly ludicrous pre-dreadnought at one end of the table and some really pretty looking forts. Then there was the Entebbe game, which, for me, looked absolutely brilliant. Whilst there was no sign of Elizabeth Taylor, I did feel that if I were at put a game like that on, I would add three competing camera crews. Impish, I know, but there was an indecent rush to dramatise the operation in the months after and there is the opportunity to be a little bit silly here and add a bit of humour for the players.

Attendance at the show was good but, like all Sunday shows, just after 2pm, Thanos must have clicked his fingers and pretty much all of the punters vanished, leaving the traders to have a wander about amongst themselves. Some things never change.

The venue remains one of the better ones, airy and well lit. Show food will never win awards but it must be said that York’s is at the better end of the scale. That could not be said for the bar. Now a bar at a show is always a welcome thing, but three 500ml bottles of a decent Theakston’s Pale Ale tipped the wallet at £17.40! Ouch!

This was sipped very, very slowly...

February saw the release of Locke and Key on Netflix. An adaptation of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s supernatural comic book series, this follows the Locke family as they discover that the ancestral family house is home to magical keys that can unlock doors (and people) in ways that are both good and bad. All is not well, though, as there is an entity after the keys for its own purposes. This one interested me from the trailer as it promised a dark, horror filled supernatural tale that, at 10 episodes, had enough room to breath but not sprawl about for seemingly endless episodes. My good lady, not a horror fan at all, viewed the trailer with some trepidation and warned that she’d give it a go but reserved the right to drop out at any point. She needn’t have worried.

You see, whilst Locke and Key is a supernatural drama, the horror elements promised in the trailer (and the source material which, I’ll admit, I am not overly familiar with) just aren’t as prominent as advertised. Yes, there are some mildly scary moments but it pulls its punches when it comes to delivering genuine scares. The story is good and I can’t fault the production values. The cast are, generally speaking, very good, with just a couple of instances of scenery chewing that kind of fit but also take a bit away from the beats of the story. Where the show really falls down though is its reliance on familiar tropes – the high school kids, whilst rightly focusing on the nerdier bunch of friends, ticks pretty much every box when it comes to jocks and “popular” girls. There are nods to modern day social media that have been added cos, well, it’s 2020, but some dramatic character beats are glossed over – the mother’s alcoholism being a prime example. Then again, the show has an issue with alcohol as one character polishes off a half of a bottle of whiskey and seems just tickety boo when dealing with an attack on the family just an hour later. I know the younger of us can handle booze better but that is pushing the bounds of reality. Oh, and Keyhouse, the family home is a lovely building but suffers from that familiar plot device – even with the doors open, you can’t hear shouting downstairs when you’re upstairs. Come on, it’s not that big a house! With enough story threads left open for a second season (still unannounced at the time of posting), Locke and Key is a decent show and worth a watch. It never feels like it is overstaying its welcome and the premise has promise. Give it a go if this type of show appeals.

My good lady and I have also managed to catch up a little bit with a DVD boxset: Blakes 7. We watched the first series last year and came to the general conclusion that whilst they accomplished miracles on the budget, it had not aged well at all. Still, there are four series in total so we said we’d get through them eventually. Series two is pretty much a direct follow up to the first, with just a couple of cast changes: Brian Croucher takes over as Commander Travis and we lose one of the main group near the half way point of the series – no spoilers but to be honest, it’s no great surprise given that the character was left on the shelf most of the time, so in the words of a Newcastle Upon Tyne resident, he had to gan… (Sorry, not sorry!).

Once again, the budget (or lack thereof) is plain to see, but considering what they managed to put on the screen, it’s not bad – think of how bad the first couple of seasons of ST:TNG look now. True, the model work varies from decent to just plain naff, and any backdrop work (Voices from the Past, I’m looking at you) is quite laughable. More serious issues arise from the acting which, outside of a couple of key characters, is rather iffy and certainly not helped by the writers wanting to prefix everything (and I mean everything) with the word “space”. Cos, you know, it’s set in space. With forty years hindsight, it seems to treat the audience with a degree of condescension that the RP accent highlights as well. Bless him, even Mr Croucher struggles to get his mouth around his lines whilst refusing to lapse into his real accent. There is also the feeling that they were trying to fill the timeslot with what they had rather than produce a show with episode lengths that matched the budget - you'll see far too many lingering camera shots and scene setting model work that just seems to be there to fill in the time. It is easy to mock a show that occupied a tea time TV slot but I genuinely like Blakes 7. The premise, the story lines and the feel of the show are just right, but it’s the execution of those that falls down – but as I have said above, they accomplished miracles on the budget and for obvious reasons, they couldn’t show too much violence or explore the more serious themes to their fullest extent. The show does, however, remain timeless for the ultimate double act of Kerr Avon (the late, great Paul Darrow) and Vila Restal (Michael Keating). The banter between these two is brilliant and you can’t help but think that Alan Rickman watched these shows when preparing for the role of Snape in the Harry Potter films.

An unexpected snow day also gave us the chance to re-watch (for me, at least) Edge of Darkness, re-released last year as a shiny Blu-Ray collection. No new content as such but the presentation is faultless and at times you forget you’re watching a thirty five year old TV show. For those who haven’t seen it, EoD is a classic political thriller, as DI Ron Craven (the never better Bob Peck) searches for the truth behind his daughters murder, leading him into the secret world of nuclear politics. I'll come back to this in a later post.

Reading wise, I managed to finish a couple of history books that joined the charity donation pile (I am trying to trim the library down a little bit at the moment. When I started encroaching onto the fourth bookcase, I realised I had a problem – and no, it’s not a shortage of bookcases, sadly…). I also purchased and finished the paperback edition of The Expanse series eighth book, Timat’s Wrath. Regular readers will know I am a fan of both the book series and the accompanying TV show (for which those of you who have Amazon Prime, you can catch up with all four seasons now, whilst for everyone else, seasons 1 to 3 are available on DVD and Blu-ray). Timat’s Wrath is the penultimate novel and you can tell straight away that loose ends are being tidied up ready for the finale. Some might feel aggrieved that familiar and favourite characters are bumped off with almost casual ease but the sprawl of story hanging after seven books means there has to be some culling and to be fair to the authors, they do it rather well. It only took three days to finish this one (the joys of public transport) and it left me wanting more. The Expanse series is one of those rare multiple volume stories that actually tells a tale, unlike say The Game Of Thrones books that are simply too long, meandering and padded to be enjoyable, at least for me. Of note with both series though and, it seems, most modern sci-fant fiction, is the fixation on food – what people are eating, the taste, texture etc, as if there is a writing school out there that teaches would-be authors that to get readers to empathise with the characters, keep telling them what they’ve had for dinner. It’s really not necessary.

And so that's it, until next time.

The Expanse - Season 3

A few weeks ago, Amazon dropped season three of The Expanse (alongside the first two having gained the UK rights from Netflix last year) and although it took a while to catch up, I've finally finished all thirteen episodes. And what episodes they are.
One of the things that I really like about The Expanse is that it combines personal stories from excellently well defined and acted characters with grand scale sci-fi, big ideas and a good dose of realism. True, the first season took a while to get going but with the third run, they drop the viewer right back into the action that season two ended with and you get much time to breathe. This show does exactly the opposite of many short run series, packing in more than enough for the compact 40 minute episodes and ensuring that the pace never slackens. Whereas I found watching pretty much every Marvel TV show a slog as they seemed to have eight episodes of story for a thirteen episode season, The Expanse is almost the opposite, and while they never feel rushed, you get the impression that there is much more they could put on screen. No, the writing and direction of the show is taut and lean to the point of bare bones - and this is not a bad thing.
The season itself is divided into two parts story-wise, with the conclusion of the Prax story as he searches for his daughter taking up the first six episodes, whilst the remaining seven deal with the "Ring". It's a roller coaster ride to be sure. 
Standouts for the season - Shawn Doyle as the reptilian Errinwright - there is a man you'd love to hate. Pretty much all of the regulars are also at the top of their game and even the child actors get by without being annoying. Tonally, there is no black and white to the story or the characters and their actions, and it is this contrast that old-school Trek (amongst others) really misses out on.
Of course, combining small and large scale does put pressure on the shows budget and it is telling at a few points that the vision exceeded the money. Not by much, and what you get on screen is uniformly good and in places excellent, but hopefully Amazon will through a little more dough on screen for season four. Having said that, I still think they have the scale of the crew wrong when you see them on the exterior of their ship, the Rocinante but maybe that's just me.
Having mentioned Trek, I must admit I am watching and immensely enjoying ST Discovery. With one episode to go of the current season, it pretty much surpasses any other sci-fi on TV at the moment, except maybe The Expanse, especially as my good lady and I are slowly getting through season one of Star Trek Deep Space 9. I know, DS9 is 25 years old, but it feels much, much older, not just in style, but in pacing and story telling. I am told it does get better, but by God, the 45 minutes in DS9 feels like hours compared to The Expanse and Disco. Out of the 19 episodes in season one, only one, The Duet, really stands out. And the semi-regular heavy focus on Jake Sisko and Nog make it almost a children's show at times. Anyhoo, we'll get to season two shortly and see if it improves.
Once again, The Expanse is a highly rated show and if you don't have an Amazon Prime account, seasons one and two are available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

2017 - A Year in TV

TV in 2017, for me, was a mix of a couple of new shows and new series of returning shows that varied greatly in quality. Whilst some series showed an uptick in quality, and new shows started well, there were a couple that, based on their current UK runs, no longer have the appeal they once had.

Starting off with the Marvel TV universe, this year saw Iron Fist, The Defenders and The Punisher carrying the torch for the small screen Marvel Universe, and each to varying degrees of quality. Iron Fist was a disappointment, the acting was stilted, the pacing all wrong and the story didn't really do anything. Indeed, the casting of Finn Jones is the worst of the shows issues, his delivery of lines is limp and insipid and even his appearance in Defenders is remarked upon with disdain and sarcasm. There is to be a second season but it will need to improve massively. 

The Defenders was the long-awaited meeting of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Daredevil. Did it live up to the billing? Well, kinda. Again, as with other Marvel TV series, pacing was an issue along with what can only be described as budget issues - at times, the show looks cheap and seems to put the characters in situations that feel they were dictated by production budget concerns rather than following the story to its logical conclusion (that lift crash for one!). Still, it was decent, and Sigourney Weaver added a touch of class. 

The Punisher was, to be honest, the best of the Marvel series released this year (I have not seen Inhumans and given the reviews, not likely to either). It's a harsh, bloody, violent tale of revenge, redemption and survival, and it does not hold back. Indeed, some scenes, particularly in later episodes are very hard to watch but they do serve the story so fall just short of being labelled torture porn, but only just. The story itself is well thought out and for once, the pacing matches the episode count. Previous shows feel like that even though they only have 10-13 episodes, they run out of story for 8 and stretch the rest out. The acting is uniformly good and I only hope that Jon Bernthal gets a chance to play the character again.

Another new show this year was Star Trek: Discovery. Some Trek fans do not like this show, its tone and delivery are too different from previous Trek shows and the message it delivers is all wring. Well, no, I think they are wrong. Trek, from the tail end of TNG to the limp ending of Enterprise had become safe, stale and formulaic. Ratings were an issue for pretty much every show in that period, even if DS9 and Voayger completed their seven season runs. What the brand needed for a re-launch was something different, and Discovery delivers that in spades whilst remaining familiar enough to mostly keep within the established continuity. Changes to that continuity look like they will be explained in the second half of season one due in January and a second season has already been ordered. The cast are excellent and I will say that Jason Isaacs as the ship's captain looks like he is having a ball every time he is onscreen. Add to that a decent line of scripts and production values that let the universe shine (rumoured to be $8 million per episode), Discovery is a show that I eagerly look forward to returning to.

Final new show, well, limited series, was Gunpowder, a drama based on the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. I watched the first episode and and forgot the rest. Seriously, after 60 slow, supposedly tension building minutes, I found I couldn't care less. Well made, certainly, but it just did not grab my interest and I felt the first episode could have been cut to 40 minutes or less due to the lingering camera shots alone.

Existing shows with new seasons this year were a mixed bag. For one, Gotham, I didn't even bother starting. Season two felt overly long and convoluted. The premise of Gotham was always promising but it never really delivered on that promise. For me, no more.

Scorpion season three was another disappointment, where a previously kooky, light hearted and fun show became simultaneously more serious, illogical and comedic. I think they ran out of stories so started plucking random stuff out of the air to fill episodes. The season opener, a two parter partially set in Bulgaria (a very dark back lot but you can still see the sand covered streets(!), was just bad, and the rescue of one character by a supersonic bomber pilot plain horse poop! When the fourth season gets its airing on Netflix, I'm not sure I'll be joining Walt and the gang again.

Stranger Things 2 was a highlight for me after a slow, but stellar first season last year. This time round, they started on all cylinders and improved from there. This season, introducing new characters and a bit more background to Eleven and the Upside Down, was brilliant. Yeah, it played on nostalgia for the 80's that people of a certain age have (and those younger pretend were cool but I lived through it and it wasn't all He-Man and Ghostbusters...), but I look forward to season three whenever that arrives (hopefully late 2018, more likely 2019).

The last two series did get better, though one was bittersweet. Sense8 has been a tremendous show from the beginning and the second season hit the ground running, going full pelt until the cliff-hanger ending that begged for a third season. However, the show's strength of global scale meant that it was expensive, too expensive for Netflix who felt the viewing figures were not worth the estimated $100 million budget per season. There is a silver lining - although no one picked up the show for another season, Netflix have okayed a two hour special to finish the story and I hope they do it in style. It's a shame that a show with vision, scale and sheer story telling chutzpah did not get the viewing figures it deserved.

Last show in this post and my show of the year, The Expanse season two. It took its time arriving on Netflix (it's produced by SyFy in the US, whilst Netflix have international rights), but when it did, oh boy! Continuing the story of James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante, season two brings more threads of books 1 to 3, ensuring that the third season will tie these threads up. Production values are immense, the acting great and the scripts and story intelligent. Where does it fall down? Well, possibly in the lack of viewers. SyFy haven't released figures and Netflix rarely release any. Finishing after three seasons would be sad, but would tie up the story book-wise. However, having read books four and five, and half way through six, I can only buy hope that the show gets picked up for more. We'll have to see but I, for one, am looking forward to it greatly. 

That's it for TV shows, and yeah, it's a pretty similar list to last year but there just isn't the time or the inclination to watch that much, hence why some shows will drop by the wayside.

Next up, books...

Of Things To Come

So a new year has begun and I feel it's time to take stock as to what is to come this year. Naturally, this year will involve some wargaming, with the aim of a Saturday game once a month, shows permitting. We actually have one today where we should hopefully have a good turnout for the delayed TWATS Tiny Tactica Tournament.

Show wise, I am hoping to get to the usual suspects, York (Vapnartak), both Partizans, Edinburgh (Claymore), Falkirk, Derby and possibly Newcastle (Border Reiver). Transport depending, the Battleground show in November is also a possibility, but we shall see. Last year's shows were mostly pretty good, though I have doubts about the Newcastle show this year. And Battleground for that matter. Both are medium regional shows, and last year, Newcastle seemed to follow a trend of being quieter than the previous year. Also take into consideration that Battleground's organisers actually release customer numbers for their show and it has been taking a 10% drop year on year. I get the impression that both shows have uncertain footing. Part of me really hopes they continue, but with declining attendance, how can you keep a show going if fewer people are spending money with traders? And let us not forget, without the traders paying for stands, the economics of a show are very dicey(!) indeed. We shall see...

When time permits (and the mood takes me), there are a couple of decent TV shows that have new seasons this year. Firstly, Sense8, which had a two hour special released over Christmas to tide fans over before the full second season arrives in May. I have written about the show previously and I am really looking forward the the new one.

Another show that gets a second season release very shortly is The Expanse. Based on the novels by James S A Corey, the show is set a couple of hundred years in the future in a divided Solar System. There is political intrigue, action and more than a little drama. Sort of a cross tonally between the Battlestar Galactica re-boot and Babylon 5, the show has a pretty good handle on realism and my good lady and I got through the first season in pretty short order. It even prompted me to buy the first three books of the series and they don't disappoint.

Gaming wise, the slate is a little bare - there is Mass Effect Andromeda coming in March and that's about it. I still have a ton of games to get through so that's possibly no bad thing. I am not even overly bothered about the release of the Nintendo Switch. It's a tad pricey for the two games I would want to play before the end of the year and not even the thought of portable Skyrim is enough to tempt a purchase. I am hoping the price either comes down or there are pack-in bundles that give a bit more value for money.

So that appears to be that for now. I shall, of course be adding to the blog on a more regular basis than last year, and be adding a few show reports as and when they happen. Toodle pip for now.