Review - "Doctor Who: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS"

Warning: This review will contain spoilers. If you wish to remain surprised, make sure you see the episode before continuing

With a title like "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS," the episode sounds like a wild ride. It was promised that we should be able to see more of the Doctor's craft than ever before. Is this true? Does the episode live up to the fantastic title?

The Doctor (Matt Smith) and Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) find themselves in more trouble than ever before when the TARDIS is captured by a salvage vessel. When Clara goes missing, the Doctor has only thirty minutes to find her and save the most valuable space ship in the universe.

"Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" was written by Steve Thompson. Thompson wrote the sixth series episode "Curse of the Black Spot" which I like, despite the overwhelming distaste for the episode. He also penned "The Reichenbach Fall," the series two finale of "Sherlock." With some pretty good credits under his belt already, I was looking forward to his treatment of this story. On a whole, it was quite good. The episode was handled well - the best element was the suspense factor. The fact that the Doctor only had thirty minutes to search through the entire TARDIS to find Clara was great. In addition, the monsters of this episode (yep - this episode's got monsters) were very creepy. We only see fleeting glimpses of them throughout the story which makes them even more disturbing.

As for the actual TARDIS, it was sort of a mixed bag. Much like Series Six's, "The Doctor's Wife," we see a lot, a lot of corridors, some hallways and a few more corridors. However here it works out well. It manages to make the TARDIS feel gigantic which is how we're supposed to feel I suppose. There were a few treats or fans such as an observatory, the much-fabled swimming pool and a magnificent-looking library. The Eye of Harmony, which played such an important role in the Doctor Who 1996 T.V. Movie, also plays a very important part here and if you listen closely you could hear Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston's voice in one scene.

As for the acting, Matt Smith was great as usual. He handles all of the Doctor's wide-ranging emotions well throughout the story. My only complaint with the Doctor's character here is how he bounces back and forth with his emotions throughout the story. One minute he's lost his cool and the next he's calm and collected. Jenna-Louise Coleman is great as Clara. She really is a wonderful companion, and certainly one of the very best. The guest stars of this episode weren't bad. I didn't feel very connected with them and aside from luring the TARDIS to their junk ship, they didn't have a whole lot of bearing to the plot. On the plus side, the cast was small so we get a lot of Doctor and Clara interaction - which is welcome since next week's episode is probably going to be Doctor and Companion-lite.

To recap - "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" was a good episode. I wouldn't say it was spectacular and could have perhaps given us a bit more to see of the TARDIS. The suspense and horror elements were handled wonderfully and Matt and Jenna were great as always. I would award this episode a well-deserved 3.75 out of 5 stars.

Coming Next Time: Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax return to save the day - and the Doctor in "The Crimson Horror" (Click here for a teaser)

Review - "Cat of Many Tails"

In retrospect, even though the Golden Age of Detective Fiction is by far my favourite "movement" in literature, I am not all that well acquainted with it. I have a good knowledge of S. S. Van Dine, Dorthy L. Sayers, Ellery Queen and others, but I have not actually read any their books. The extent of my love for the era comes from Agatha Christie and Agatha Christie alone.

The biggest problem was that a number of these authors were seemingly out of print, and seemed like I would never be able to read Van Dine, Queen or John Dickson Carr. Luckily, I discovered that the MysteriousPress has recently turned the original Ellery Queen novels in e-books, and I jumped at the opportunity to read one of these books. I decided to start with "Cat of Many Tails," the book for which I had read so many positive reviews. So, did I find this book as good as so many other reviewers did? Let's find out.

New York City is under attack. In the beginning of this book, five people have all been murdered - strangled with a length of cord by a multiple murderer known as The Cat. Inspector Richard Queen of the New York Police Department is promoted to taking charge of the case, and asks his son, Ellery, to help him capture the murderer. The most perplexing problem is that all of the Cat's victims seem to be unrelated. What is the connection between all of the victims, and will Ellery be able to bring the killer to justice?

This was my first encounter with Ellery Queen in the written word. For some time now I have been a fan of a the 1975-1976 television series featuring Jim Hutton and David Wayne who wonderfully portrayed the father and son duo. What I found most interesting about this book was the fact that this story was different from the  earliest Queen novels. This story is not the traditional puzzle mystery where the detectives round up the usual suspects to uncover the identity of the killer. "Cat of Many Tails" is a race-against-the-clock to capture the killer. What's more, this book can in some respects be viewed as a police procedural where the narrative comes to halt to describe the efforts of the NYPD to solve the case. I thought this was a very creative touch as the tone of the story can vary from chapter to chapter.

The city of New York is also beautifully described throughout the book. Other reviewers have said that the city becomes a character itself and I am inclined to agree there. New York is described in great detail throughout the story and the reactions of its people make up a large part of the book. Hysteria mounts throughout the story causing the tension to rise. At one point riots break out and mass hysteria sweeps the residents of New York - and although this may sound incredible at first, I can actually understand it. I likened it to the similar hysteria which broke out in the wake of the Jack the Ripper murders during 1888.

As to the actual characterizations, I cannot say too much since I have not read any of the Ellery Queen books. I have read others say that Ellery began as a bit of a snob akin to Lord Peter Wimsey or Philo Vance, but I didn't see any example of that in this story. Ellery and his father seemed like two very likable, if rather rough-around-the-edges characters. The only character who I really did not like in this story was a young newspaper reporter who becomes a major character doing some work for Ellery throughout the story. He got on my nerves endlessly and I cannot see what the leading lady of this story was supposed to see in a character like him.

Aside from that one gratingly bad character, there wasn't too much else which I didn't like about this story. My only problem is I don't know if I can really consider this story a mystery. In my mind there is a distinct difference between a mystery and a story where a detective appears. While the book was very enjoyable and did indeed have elements of mystery in it, there was no way that I could have solved this story myself. The solution to the book hinges on the psychology of the murderer, so this wasn't what I would call a fairly clued mystery novel. This could be somewhat disappointing since Agatha Christie's "The ABC Murders" also told about a serial killer bumping off seemingly unrelated people, but this was a fairly-clued story, with an enjoyable twist.

As an aside, I'd like to point out that the characterizations of Ellery and his father in this book are different than those in the '70's television series and while this wasn't a complaint, but something I did have to get over when I began. Ellery Queen of the television show was a bumbling yet lovable, slightly geeky, investigator. I didn't get that vibe at all. Instead, Ellery was far more refined here and much more humane. Ellery's father was also a bit more rugged than in the show, but nonetheless he was a nice character who I warmed up to.

In all, "Cat of Many Tails" made for a fine introduction into the world of Ellery Queen. I really enjoyed the book as well as the mounting tension and suspense. I would have preferred if this was a more fairly-clued mystery and that the solution didn't rely too much upon psychology. Nevertheless, this was a very well-done novel which I give 4 out of 5 stars. "Cat of Many Tails" is by no means my last Ellery Queen novel. I do have a suspicion of what book shall be next, but do you have any recommendations? I'd be very interesting in hearing any opinions.

Review - "Doctor Who: Hide"

As usual, this review may contain spoilers. For those who wish to remain surprised, turn back now

Who doesn't like a nice ghost story? The latest episode of Doctor Who seems centered around that question as the Doctor and Clara seem to face a force of the supernatural. I for one love the episodes of the show which are a little more on the spooky side, so I looked forward to this episode - interestingly entitled "Hide" - with some interest. Did it deliver the thrills and chilled that I hoped it would?

The Doctor (Matt Smith) and Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman) arrive at an isolated manor on the moor. It seems as though a professor and a psychic are trying to contact a spirit named as the Witch of the Well who lives in the house. What does she want and will the Doctor be able to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion?

"Hide" was an episode with a great amount of potential, and for the most part it lived up to it. The early portions of the episode were wrought with suspenseful moments and a great deal of atmosphere. The setting of the mansion on the moor was wonderful and the constant rain, wind and lightning were very effective at building up the ghostly atmosphere. For the most part, I'd say the first half of the episode worked the best. It quickly drew me in and wonderfully built up the characters of Professor Palmer (played by Dougary Scott) and Emma, the medium (played by Jessica Raine). In addition, Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman have their best chemistry in these scenes. Kudos to Jenna - this was the first episode she filmed, but you can hardly tell it.

After this, the episode does fall apart a bit, but it's not without it's redeeming qualities. As the Doctor enters the alternate universe, there is some wonderful scenery which goes a long way to increasing the level of suspense and horror. Matt Smith is wonderful in these scenes, showing how the situation has gotten to him. But, the second part of the episode just cannot live up to the same level of quality as the first half did. Also, a trip in the TARDIS throughout various points in time is interesting, but it does feel a bit contrived coming in the middle of the story. Nonetheless, these are too detracting from the overall episode, which is quite good.

"Hide" was written by  Neil Cross, who also penned "The Rings of Akhaten" from earlier this season. Both episodes were good, but I don'd feel as though they were truly outstanding. Don;t get me wrong - "Hide" was a very entertaining episode and it receives a well-warranted 3.75 out of 5 stars.

Coming Next Time: "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" (Enough said - but click here for a teaser)

Review - "Dark Horizons"

Despite the fact that I love "Doctor Who," I had never really gone beyond the television series or the Big Finish audio recordings. Finally, I decided to invest in some Doctor Who-related books and I started with "Dark Horizons" by J.T. Colgan which featured the Doctor as played by Matt Smith.

The Doctor arrives in the thirteen-hundreds and discovers he has more trouble on his hands than vikings. Arriving in a world that doesn't know what the colour blue is, the Doctor discovers that a small island community is being terrorized by flames - a fire which cannot be put out by water and seems to burn forever. What is it that is terrorizing this town and can it be stopped?

The premise behind "Dark Horizons" is a good one, and author J.T. Colgan is able to make the story very interesting. I had no idea what was causing the mysterious burning and the author is able to keep up that level of mystery. When the explanation does come halfway through, it's a perfectly suitable one and from that point on, the book comes a game of cat and mouse between the Doctor and a strange alien race. What's more, the book has a number of very dramatic passages, which are quite convincing. What in the wrong hands could have been laughably over-the-top, is restrained and quite exciting here. There are a number of scenes which take place on viking ships and under the water and this is all described in great detail.

The author's greatest success is the representation of the Doctor. There were times when I was reading this book when the tone and style matched Matt Smith's portrayal brilliantly and I could hear his voice reading in my head. There were also some hysterical laugh-out-loud moments provided by the writing, and I did have to suppress my laughter during certain portions of the book. On the other hand, Colgan was able to capture the sincere and very touching portrayal of the Doctor as well. The Doctor does not wish any harm to come upon the people of this book and he only wishes that he could get them out of their plight. While the book could be positively uproarious, there were some genuinely moving portions.

Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor

While the style of writing was for the most part well handled, it was not perfect. Some chapters opened with pages of unimportant details and it was quite jarring coming out of an exciting action set-piece. What's more, as the book progressed it did get rather long-winded and there were times that it seemed as though all of the action stopped and we are left with our characters standing around making small talk. These portions of the book become very repetitive very fast.

It would have also been nice to give this story some sort of placement in the Doctor Who universe. The Doctor in this story is travelling without a companion, so we are left to assume that this story took place after the events of Series 6, when the Doctor temporarily left Amy Pond and Rory, but that's never explained. Nor is the Doctor's presence in the 13th century. It's established on page one that he wants to play a game of chess, but why does his mind very naturally leap to the 1200's? I don't know, so I'll try to refrain from rhetorical questions.

All in all, "Dark Horizons" was an enjoyable book and in retrospect I am very glad that I read it. It has made for a great new jumping on point for more Doctor Who novels and only the other night I actually bought three more in this same series which features Matt Smith as the Doctor. Keep a look out for them coming in the future. I would give "Dark Horizons" a 3.75 out of 5 stars.

Avoid the Moor in those Hours of Darkness...

When I was arguing how Peter Cushing may be the definitive, immortal Sherlock Holmes, I gave very high praise to the 1959 version of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" in which Cushing starred as the detective.  Is it the best adaptation of Doyle's novel - no - but it's certainly one of the most entertaining and enjoyable film versions of the famed story.

1957 marked an important year for horror fans. Hammer Studios, a film studio in England, had decided to tackle Mary Shelly's famed masterpiece, "Frankenstein" - capturing the Gothic elements which were prevalent in the novel as well as the acclaimed 1931 film from Universal studios. What emerged in 1957 was "Curse of Frankenstein," starring Peter Cushing as the Baron Frankenstein and Christopher Lee as his creation. Both men give great performances, and they perform against a real blood-and-thunder backdrop, and this film introduced audiences to the bright red Technicolour blood which is now so famous among Hammer audiences. A year later, the two were reunited in "Dracula," where Peter Cushing starred as Van Helsing and Lee as the vampire count. A year later when it came time to find new material for Hammer to produce, it seemed rather obvious that the studio's next film should be based on Doyle's quasi-ghost story.

What I think is so great right from the start is that Hammer's film is simply oozing atmosphere. If there was ever a studio who could capture the Gothic trappings of Doyle's novel, Hammer was that studio. All of the scenes have a very gritty and dark feeling, and when the film shifts to the moorland setting, the atmosphere grows even more as our three leading men move through creepy sets wrapped in fog. What people seem to forget is that Doyle's original book, in addition to being a first-rate detective story, is a fantastic horror novel.

Sherlock woke up on the wrong side of the bed

But what of the performances? I have already given high praise to Peter Cushing, but I feel as though his performance in this movie is perhaps some of his best work. It's obvious that Cushing is coming from the perspective of a true Sherlockian fan, and he's performing as though he has Doyle's original word close to heart. I think the most fascinating part of Cushing's performance here is how rude and prickly this characterization of Holmes is. For some viewers, this may be a big drawback - but I really like it. Sherlock Holmes was always sort of a standoffish, prickly guy and I think that this side of the detective isn't explored enough. We've seen more of it recently through Benedict Cumberbatch's performance in "Sherlock,' but Cushing preceded the latter by 50 years.

The other stand-out performance in this movie is Andre Morrell as Dr. Watson. Morrell is one of the best portrayals of Watson ever, bringing a warm sensibility and levelheadedness to the role. Remember, until this time Watson was considered bumbling and blustering (thanks to the ever lovable Nigel Bruce) and now this performance was very different as we see how Watson was originally written by Doyle. Lastly, I'd like to touch on Christopher Lee as Sir Henry Baskerville. This performance as the baronet was his first real chance to play a humane character in a Hammer horror film, and he shows what a capable and versatile actor Lee really is.

The atmospheric French poster

While this version of "Hound" does not follow the plot of Doyle's original, it does make up for it in some very interesting ways. The script obviously is trying to add more elements of Gothic horror and to ramp up the level of excellent. For example, an early scene featuring Sir Henry and a large spider is genuinely creepy for those suffering arachnophobia, and it certainly adds a level of danger to the early stages of the film. As the movie progresses, we're treated to an attempt on Holmes' life in a mine shaft and the movie climaxes at an ancient abbey ruin. Obviously, these scenes were not in Doyle's book, but it does add to the horror element of the movie. These changes don't change characters just for the sake of changing things and it doesn't kill off characters unjustly (cough - 2002 version - cough).

In all, this 1959 version of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" could be my favourite. The star's performances are all excellent and the atmosphere of the picture is so wonderfully done. The elements of Gothic horror are tremendously executed throughout the movie and I feel that any Sherlockian fan has to see this movie at some point in their lives.

Review - "Hitchcock"

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is Nick Cardillo, the blogger here at the Consulting Detective and today I am sharing with you my thoughts on the 2012 film "Hitchcock."

Okay, well now that I got my Hitchcock impersonation out of the way it's time I actually get around to reviewing this. I should begin by saying that when I first learned that a film was going to be made about Alfred Hitchcock, starring Anthony Hopkins, I was positively blown away. This sounded like such a fantastic premise for a film, and when the first trailer came out I couldn't wait to see the movie. Well, I finally got around to seeing it despite the very, very mixed reviews which I had read (including one from Patrick over at "The Scene of the Crime").

Anyhow, "Hitchcock" tells the story of Alfred Hitchcock and how is determined to bring the film "Psycho" to life. With his wife Alma (Helen Mirren), the director will stop at nothing to bring this project to life, facing a number of odds.

The film is purported to be based upon "Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho" by Stephen Rebello - a book which I have sadly not gotten around to reading yet, although I did purchase it a while back. Nonetheless, I am familiar with some of "Psycho's" production history and the trials and tribulations which Alfred Hitchcock had to go through in order to direct this film. On the surface a film like "Hitchcock" had great potential - and I have always liked the idea of a movie telling about the production of another movie. However, while the film had potential it didn't live up to it.

I'll begin by looking at the positives. First off, Anthony Hopkins is fantastic. He really does bring Alfred Hitchcock to life perfectly. His performance is probably the best in the film and there are some very clever moments which could warm the heart of any Hitchcock fan. The beginning and end of the movie feature the director addressing the audience directly and even plays the music "Funeral March for a Marionette" making these scenes feel as though they have been lifted from an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." Other praise must go towards James D'Arcy and Scarlett Johansson as Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh respectively.

In addition, the movie looks beautiful. The late 1950's is recreated in grand style. The production team should certainly be commended for their work. Furthermore, when the movie decides to discuss the production of "Psycho" it is actually pretty interesting. The fact that Hitchcock financed the project alone is interesting and his rather strenuous relationship with Paramount is intriguing. Sadly, the film doesn't go much more in depth on the production of the film than an outline. And this is the film's greatest downfall.

Hitchcock reading Robert Bloch's novel

Although the movie is supposed to be about the making of "Psycho," it simply isn't. This is the story of Alfred Hitchcock's relationship with his wife Alma and it simply happens to coincide with the filming of his most famous film. Instead we get far too many scenes with Alma working with Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston) as Hitchcock begins to suspect that Alma is falling for this other man. These scenes do not propel the story forward at all, and really detract from what could have a potentially interesting story about the filming of one of the famous movies of all time. In addition, we get a number of pointless scenes in which Hitchcock actually believes to be speaking to the real-life inspiration for Robert Bloch's novel, the serial killer Ed Gein. These scenes also go nowhere and add nothing whatsoever to the plot. The entire middle section of the movie is bogged down with scenes like this and really detracts from the overall enjoyment. It's only with fifteen minutes remaining in this film do we get more production history on the film - and eve then it's extraordinarily brief.

In my opinion, this film was trying to be too much at once. It was attempting to be a film about the production of "Psycho," a film about the potentially troubled life of Alfred Hitchcock and a film about the warped and disturbing life of Ed Gein. If the movie had actually decided to follow actual history and tell us about the production of "Psycho," this could have been a great movie which utilized the talents of Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren to their full. While there were some redeeming qualities (the scene where Alma asks Hitchcock why he wants to make the film springs to mind), "Hitchcock" suffers under the weight of a jumbled script which it couldn't improve. I therefore give "Hitchcock" a 3 out of 5 stars. It's certainly not a dreadful film, but it had so much more potential.

Review - "Doctor Who: Cold War"

Warning: Again this review will contain spoilers, so take heed before continuing.

Of all the episodes in Season 7 Part 2, I was perhaps looking forward to "Cold War" most of all. This episode would reintroduce the Ice Warriors, a Doctor Who monster which had not been glimpsed in more than 30 years. And what's more, it was being written by Mark Gatiss, who has written some of the best episodes of NuWho. So, does it live up to my high expectations?

It's 1983 - the height of the Cold War. The TARDIS arrives on a sinking Soviet submarine carrying two nuclear weapons. The fact that the Doctor (Matt Smith) and Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) could drown to death seems to be the least of their problems since a creature known as an Ice Warrior is loose on the sub, and is prepared to do anything to reunite with his lost race. Can the Doctor save the crew members on the ship - and prevent world destruction?

I suppose I should give you some background before I continue the review proper. The Ice Warriors made their first appearance in the Second Doctor story, "The Ice Warriors" sadly lost today due to the BBC's junking policy. Since then, they only appeared three more times, but have remained a favourite of fans and criminally underused. Seeing their return was very exciting and it was made even more so since Mark Gatiss was handling the story. Gatiss is one of my favourite writers for television, having contributed greatly to Doctor Who and Sherlock. Gatiss was also the host of a BBC documentary special "A History of Horror," and it's evident that a love of horror films has had a great impact on Gatiss' writing.

An Ice Warrior

"Cold War" was a very entertaining episode, and it certainly met the high expectations I had had. The script is filled with great suspense and tension and the claustrophobic atmosphere of the nuclear submarine is superb. This story is perhaps a much more low key story, relying only on the suspense which can be created from the monster among the group of people. This would be a rather unoriginal idea, but having it set on a sinking submarine is original. The star's performance keeps the suspense going as well. Both Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman are great. By this time, Clara has been firmly rooted as a character. She is a key member of the TARDIS team now.

Sadly, the episode was not perfect. Guest star, David Warner, is rather underused in this story. Warner is a great actor, but I felt like he didn't have a whole lot to do in this story. And am I the only one who found it a bit jarring to have David Warner listening to Duran Duran's "Hungry like the Wolf?" That's beside the point though. Anyhow, I also felt like the solution was perhaps a bit rushed. There was a lot of brilliant, suspenseful build-up to the climax and then the Ice Warriors sort of just fly away and that's it. Clara convinces the creature not to kill them and it complies. This was surely an underwhelming ending to a great episode.

Luckily, I'm able to overlook the last few of the episode because frankly the rest of it was great, creepy, suspenseful entertainment. Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman were great and guest star David Warner was able to do the best with his somewhat underwritten part. Of the second part of Season 7, I nominate "Cold War" as the best episode thus far. I award it 4 out of 5 stars.

Coming Next Time: Whose afraid of the dark: (Click here for a teaser for "Hide")