Upstairs Downstairs Axed?

The revived drama may just have been cancelled once more...
Unless its cast have become wholly unreliable, it seems that the BBC's revived wartime drama Upstairs Downstairs has been cancelled. The series ran its second series of episodes earlier this Spring, but Harry Spargo actor Neil Jackson recently tweeted the following words on the future status of the programme: "Such a shame. I have just heard that the BBC will not be making any more Upstairs Downstairs. I loved the show and will miss it greatly." It would be a great shame to see the programme go, indeed, although we should probably take this tweet with a pinch of salt until we get the official confirmation from the BBC themselves. Expect news on the show's future in the next few days.

Glee: Saturday Night Gleever Review (2.5/5)

Remember what I said about Glee losing its way mid-run...?
I hate to say I told you so, but...Many American dramas often suffer from a fatigue of sorts when they reach the penultimate five or six episodes or so of their annual run, losing ideas fast and thus desperately trying to shovel in plot threads to buy time until the season finale. Glee has often fallen culprit to this, and sadly Saturday Night Gleever is just another instance of how things can go wrong. As much as I admire the various tributes the show has payed to Journey, Rocky Horror, Michael Jackson, Madonna and soon Whitney Houston, this week's take on the Bee Gees and their musical movie classic Saturday Night Fever feels completely shoehorned in from a viewer's perspective. When you attempt to look for an actual plot amongst You Should Be Dancing, That's The Way (I Like It), Night Fever, Disco Inferno, If I Can't Have You, How Deep Is Your Love, Boogie Shoes, More Than A Woman AND (breath) Staying Alive, then, it's irritatingly difficult, a quality which I thought the show had boldly managed to step away from falling into possessing in the past few weeks. We essentially get the tale of Finn, Mercedes and Santana trying to work out just what they want to do with their lives after graduation, character arcs which definitely needed longer development cycles than a single episode of a 40 minute running time and thus don't get all the focus they deserve. Although the acting on the parts of all of the leads is sublime as always, what the episode really needed for some redemption was voices which could handle the challenge of these high-pitched songs from the Bee Gees, though, and in this respect the New Directions fall well short of the mark. Put simply, these singers just don't hold the talent yet to match such staples of pop music (and rightly so- they are still relatively young), so expect them to attempt to do so was just an unrealistic move on the part of the producers. Much as you'll enjoy seeing Finn in particular work out his future here, the rest of the episode just crumbles under the weight of already fairly flimsy expectations, making for a dull viewing experience that just has fans yearning to get to the finale for more profound plot developments.

Crysis 3, Dishonored Trailers Released

Our first previews of two VERY exciting projects are here!
EA recently brought us the exciting announcement that Crysis 3 is coming to our consoles in the near future, and now they have released the first teaser trailer for the game. They're promising the release of a full gameplay video on Monday, which is good as this first glimpse really doesn't tell us much, but there seems to be a grittier and darker feel than the past two entries in Crytek's series. Meanwhile, Bethesda have released a new trail too, this time for Dishonored, their new steampunk RPG set to employ a range of innovative mechanics the likes of which are rarely even attempted to be implemented into a video game. Again, we don't learn much as this time it's in CGI, but damn, does it look like promising stuff so far! Check out the videos below...Dishonored is set for release later this year, and Crysis 3 in Spring 2013.

 

Excelsior! Avengers Retrospectives

A look back at the films that brought us to eagerly await this coming Thursday!
In just five days' time, Marvel Avengers Assemble will land in cinemas across the UK, bringing with it a brilliant team of super heroes ready to face the ultimate battle against an army of alien invaders and their corrupted leader. Every legend has its roots, though, so in light of the impending event set to shake up the 2012 film roster permenantly, we thought it would be a good time to do a restropective piece examining briefly each and every one of the Avengers prequel movies. If you missed any of them, there's a brief synopsis summing up the main events of each film that should help you to pick up that hero's storyline within Assemble. So, without further ado, movies- ASSEMBLE!!!
IRON MAN (APRIL 2008)
THE PLOT: Billionare Tony Stark is caught in the middle of a terrorist attack. Escaping with the help of a hastily-constructed super suit, he makes himself into the metallic hero Iron Man, reigning vengeance on the enemies who dared turn the weapons his company manufactured against him. It's eventually revealed that colleague Obadiah Stane was behind Stark's capture, news which prompts an explosive robotic battle between Iron Man and the replica Stane creates of him. Having bested Stane's creation, Tony announces to the world that he is Iron Man, only to find Nick Fury on his doorstep waiting to talk about the Avengers Initiative...
THE VERDICT: Despite the obvious and predictable final confrontation, Iron Man shines in its innovation and ingenuity, with a great lead and Gwyneth Paltrow shining as Stark's assistant and crush Pepper Potts. This one is amongst the better Marvel films out on DVD right now. 8/10
THE INCREDIBLE HULK (JUNE 2008)
THE PLOT: Having been transformed into an anger-susecptible transforming green monster by a gamma ray accident, Bruce Banner has been forced into exile. When the US military discover his whereabouts and inject a colonel with the sama gamma dosage, events spiral out of control, and the Hulk is forced into an all-out rampage in San Francisco to stop the Abomination killing innocents. Once the situation is dealt with, Banner reverts once more from the public eye, while pursuing General Ross stops for a drink in a bar, only to find Tony Stark referring to a team that an organisation is putting together...
THE VERDICT: Although it never quite reaches the lows of Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance or even Eric Bana's 2004 Hulk reboot, this is one heck of a dull film, layered with plot holes and dire portrayals of much-loved comic character. Robert Downey Jr's cameo as Iron Man's alter-ego is amusing, but it can't save this trainwreck of a movie that almost makes Spider-Man 3 look good. 4/10
IRON MAN 2 (MAY 2010)
THE PLOT: A raging scientist whose family was ruined by the Starks emerges onto a Grand Prix race Tony is participating him and brings him close to death, while noting that the iron core attached to Tony's heart is beginning to kill him. With the help of Nick Fury, Black Widow and SHIELD agent Nick Coulson, Tony finds a way to solve his heart problem. Friend and accomplice James Rhodes gets a hold of an Iron Man suit too, becoming the War Machine, and after settling his differences with Tony the two heroes battle to stop a near-invincible army of Iron Men. Mission accomplished, Tony talks to Fury about his viability for the Initiative, where the SHIELD commander tells him that he wants Stark just to be a consultant for now (leading into The Incredible Hulk...yep, the chronology is a little mixed up). Meanwhile, Agent Coulson calls Nick and informs him that they've found a mythical hammer in New Mexico...
THE VERDICT: It's not quite as bad as Hulk, but Iron Man 2 is a disappointing sequel to the original, its overreliance on robot CGI battles easily its most prominent downfall. There are fun moments to be had here, just don't try to watch it as a standalone flick. 6/10
THOR (APRIL 2011)
THE PLOT: Cast down to Earth after enraging his father Odin by trying to bring a truce with the enemies of Asgard, the Frost Giants, to a halt by starting war, Thor meets a budding scientist named Jane Foster. He tries to pick up his Mjolinir hammer from its crashsite in New Mexico, but the God of Thunder realises he cannot due to his exile on our planet. His mischeivous brother Loki (who always wanted to be King, but knew that due to him being half-Frost Giant he never would) tells him that Odin is dead and his mother wants Thor to remain on Earth forever, both lies intended to depress and ground Thor here. Nevertheless, Thor's Nordic friends use an Asgardian travel portal called the Bifrost to join him on Earth, at which point Loki sends a robotic exterminator called the Destroyer to tear his former friends apart. When Thor offers himself up in sacrifice to the Destroyer, the way his arrogance has changed to reverence gives him back his powers and awakens Odin after Loki's temporary attack on him. Thor kills the Destroyer, then promises he will return to Jane as he and his friends use the Bifrost to return to Asgard. Together, they stop Loki, unwittingly casting him off into the depths of space in the process and destroying the Bifrost (and thus Thor's route back to Earth). The keeper of the Bifrost assures Thor that Jane is trying to open a new portal for him to return, while on Earth Nick Fury shows one of her colleagues the Cosmic Cube, a source of unimaginable power that little does he know is seen by Loki, who has possessed Jane's friend...
THE VERDICT: Easily the best of the Avengers prequel films, Thor excels in its interweaving of the supernatural and the realistic to become the most empathetic and compelling entry of the lot. An essential watch both in terms of plot and quality; Chris Hemsworth is the perfect Thor and Natalie Portman the perfect Jane. Only let down by the slightly unresolved feeling of the ending. 9/10
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (JULY 2011)
THE PLOT: Skinny man Steve Rogers is enlisted for a secret project in World War Two to become a Super Soldier. When this succeeds, he emerges as the fabled patriotic hero Captain America, besting arch-foe the Red Skull before he has a chance to use the Cosmic Cube to destroy the world. In order to stop global anarchy in the flaming capital ship he is piloting, the Cap crash landes in an icy lake, where he and the Cube are frozen, only to be discovered in 2011 by miners. Steve is astounded at the modern-day world he finds himself in, only to be told by Nick Fury that a great crisis awaits and he is needed as part of a team...
THE REVIEW: Again, as a standalone piece this does little to buffer up Marvel's superhero roster. Yet the connections to Avengers are sound, and the WW2 period drama is effective if blatantly stereotypical of the conflict and the Nazi regime (pantomime foes, anyone?). 7/10
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE (APRIL 2012)
THE PLOT: As Loki gains ahold of the Cosmic Cube to open a portal to Earth, he allows not only Thor but an army of alien Chitauri to come through. Thor unites with Iron Man, Captain America, Bruce Banner and SHIELD agents Nick Fury, Gregg Coulson, Black Widow and ace archer Hawkeye for the ultimate battle...
THE REVIEW: Coming next Friday!

Merlin Series 5 Details Revealed

The Darkest Hour has passed, but what comes next?
Amongst all the excitement for the London Olympic Games this Summer, it's easy to forget that the Autumn has plenty in store for television viewers too. As well as Doctor Who's return for the beginning of its seventh season and its fiftieth anniversary celebrations, we've got Merlin back for what looks to be the fifth and final season of the show. This time around, expect the stakes to be raised to their highest yet as the truth behind Morgana's rescue at the hands of a baby dragon, Merlin's vicious murder of the troublesome Agravaine and the marraige of Arthur to Guennievere finally come to light. Some fresh new details on the new run have been revealed courtersy of the BBC...

• Talking to SciFi Now, showrunner Julian Murphy has a few exciting tidbits to share. On the season as a whole: "We're very interested in Merlin's development, and Arthur as the King of the Round Table and that legend. The fully fledged Camelot is something we're getting towards, and that opens up a whole raft of new possibilities." On Merlin as a character: "You saw a glimpse at the end of Series Four, where Merlin killed Agravaine, of the stronger, more focused and powerful character he was becoming- we're really interested in taking him on that journey and all the dangers and temptations it will bring." And on the seemingly redeemed antagonist Morgana: "She's growing into a stronger and more committed enemy than ever before. The stakes are becoming higher now that Arthur is King and the future of Albion is being created. There's more for Merlin to fight for and for him to protect."
• The BBC have also confirmed that Game Of Thrones star Liam Cunningham will get a guest role of his own in Series Five, and that Lindsay Duncan and Janet Montgomery will return to reprise their roles as Queen Annis and Princess Mithian respectively too.

Look for more details on Series Five at ComicCon this August; Merlin returns in September.

Darksiders 2, Prey 2 Delayed

For all of its exciting announcements, April is packing a few delays too...
THQ and Bethesda Softworks have confirmed that their upcoming respective video game projects Darksiders II and Prey 2 have been delayed. The sequel to 2010's hit hack-and-slasher Darksiders sees players take on the role of the Horseman of Death in a game world twice the size of its predecessor, while Bethesda's much anticipated sci-fi follow-up focuses on a marine whose spaceship crash lands on a strange and dangerous alien sphere. In both instances, the developers admit that their putting back the game's release date was due to a need for quality control, which in many ways is a good sign as it shows their dedication. On the other hand, you can't help but wonder why the news couldn't have been broken a little earlier to ease the pain when now it had felt as if these exciting titles were just months away. Darksiders II will now retail for PS3 and 360 in August (the WiiU version still set for launch in the Autumn alongside the new console), while Prey 2 has a TBA 2013 release window as of now.

House Finale Title Revealed

Everybody Lies...and Everybody Dies.
Earlier this year, Fox confirmed that their medical drama House would not return for a ninth season of cases. Up until now, details on what the final episode of the show will hold for Hugh Laurie's nefarious doctor and his team of intrepid colleagues have been scarce, amounting to little more than the confirmation that Olivia Wilde will return as former teammate Thirteen and that Lisa Edelstein will not reprise her role as love interest Cuddy, as well as a host of rumours that Kal Penn's Kutner will be 'resurrected' in some form of hallucination or flashback. However, Fox have done us the courtersy of at least announcing the title of the season finale- it's called Everybody Dies. Clearly meant as a stark contrast to the show's opener Everybody Lies, on the basis of these two omnious words alone we can perhaps begin to guess that not everyone might make it out of the finale alive. Perhaps this could just be a round-up of loose ends where House must come to deal with never knowing what drove Kutner to commit suicide or with Thirteen's Huntingtons disease, or perhaps all of the drugs and vicodin he has taken in the past will finally catch up with the good doctor...who knows? For now, House continues broadcasting every week on Sky1, with Everybody Dies set to air on May 22nd.