Who50 #1: "The Power of the Daleks"

Who50 counts down to the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who by reviewing my favourite episodes and serials over the history of the programme, counting down from #50 to #1. Today, #1, my favourite Doctor Who adventure of all time: "The Power of the Daleks", a 1966 six-part serial written by David Whitaker and Dennis Spooner and directed by Christopher Barry.

On the human colony of Vulcan, an ancient spacecraft has been recovered. Inside the colony's lead scientist discovers three inactive Daleks. He wants to reactivate them and use them to improve the colony's manufacturing capacity. Only the Doctor may be able to stop the Daleks from taking over the colony - but the Doctor isn't quite himself. In fact, his travelling companions Ben and Polly aren't one hundred per cent certain that he's the Doctor at all...

"The Power of the Daleks" isn't just a brilliant Doctor Who story - and trust me, if you've never listened to the audio recordings of it, it's absolutely fantastic - it's also pretty much the most significant serial in Who history. For just over three seasons viewers had watched William Hartnell's Doctor travel time and space, fighting evil and exploring human history. At the conclusion of "The Tenth Planet" the Doctor collapsed to the floor, and when he sits up in "The Power of the Daleks" episode 1, the character is played by a different actor: Patrick Troughton. The series have have already been running for three years to popular acclaim, but it's with "The Power of the Daleks" that Doctor Who - the Doctor Who with which we as fans are familiar - actually begins.

The Pull List: 16 October 2013

Batwoman was a monthly comic book that was a long time coming: after her debut in 52 it was a few years before the character got a high profile storyline in Detective Comics, and it took until the New 52 for her to finally get a book of her own. J.H. Williams III provided the artwork throughout, and with co-writer W. Haden Blackman and co-artist Trevor McCarthy he's chronicled a full two years' worth of adventures for Kate Kane and her circle of supporting characters.

Williams and Blackman have resigned from the book, however, citing constant laste-minute interference at the editorial level, including several changes of storylines already partially published. They were initially going to bow out with December's issue #26, but instead their final issue is now:  Batwoman #24 sees the long-brewing showdown between Kate Kane and Batman reach a head. They finally come to blows and-

And that's it. This is an issue that doesn't end so much as stop in mid-sentence. If you're anything like me you'll turn the page expecting to find a cliffhanger and instead it's house ads for other DC books. I've never seen a comic book end so abruptly. Given that Trevor McCarthy's art has been 'finished' (whatever that means) by Sandu Florea and Derek Fridolfs, I can't help but feel that the entire creative team either walked away or got kicked off with this issue half-cooked, and rather than delay or replace it DC simply neatened it up where they could and released a half-complete comic book to market. If true, that's tremendously unprofessional: I'm a paying customer, and expect an actual finished comic book when I purchase one. (1/5)

DC Comics. Written by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman. Art by Trevor McCarthy, Sandu Florea and Derek Fridolfs.

Under the cut: reviews of Batman and Two-Face, Hawkeye, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Uncanny X-Men, Wonder Woman and X-Men Legacy.

Who50 #2: "Genesis of the Daleks"

Who50 counts down to the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who by reviewing my favourite episodes and serials over the history of the programme, counting down from #50 to #1. Today, #2: "Genesis of the Daleks", a 1975 serial written by Terry Nation and directed by David Maloney.

If there's a moment in Doctor Who that encapsulates why the character of the Doctor is such a special one, it's to be found in "Genesis of the Daleks": the Doctor (Tom Baker) holding two wires that, if touched together, will spark an explosion and erase the Daleks from history. If this was an American hero, let's say Star Trek's James T. Kirk, he'd whack the wires together, kill all the Daleks and beam back up to Enterprise. If this was a traditional hero, doubt would not enter the picture. This, however, is the Doctor. He's different. He agonizes over the decision, and abhors the responsibility and - ultimately - can't bring himself to do it. They may be the Daleks - the most destructive species in the history of the universe - but they're also a species. The Doctor can't commit genocide without making himself as callous a killer as the Daleks are.

Of course later iterations of Doctor Who do muddy the waters a bit: by "Remembrance of the Daleks" in 1988 Sylvester McCoy answers Tom Baker's "do I have the right?" with a resounding "yes", tricking Davros into using the Hand of Omega and destroying the entire planet Skaro. By the new series the Doctor is a PTSD-afflicted survivor haunted by murdering not only all of the Daleks but all of the Time Lords as well. What's important, however, is not whether or not the Doctor commits genocide - it's that he has the moral indecision about it at all.

Black Rain (1989)

Two New York City police detectives (Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia) capture Sato (Yasaku Matsuda), a member of the Japanese yakuza, and must escort him back to Osaka. When Sato escapes at the airport they are thrown into an unfamiliar world of tradition and honour as they struggle to track him down again.

Oh yeah, Black Rain. It's a very 1980s movie, replete with rebel cop on the edge, shootouts and over-the-top murders, and a healthy disrespect for Japanese culture and tradition. It's actually quite an uncomfortable watch from time to time: the Japanese are portrayed as rules-obsessed, repressed and stuffy, and their by-the-book policing is explicitly portrayed as unhelpful and futile. There are about half a dozen conversations throughout the film about honour: who has it, who doesn't, who's lost it and who's taking it away from someone else. Every time Hans Zimmer's score kicks it a combination of twinky-twanky cod-Asian sounds persist in letting you know that this film is set in Japan.

So why watch it? Well, there are a bunch of reasons.

Who50 #3: "The Curse of Fenric"

Who50 counts down to the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who by reviewing my favourite episodes and serials over the history of the programme, counting down from #50 to #1. Today, #3: "The Curse of Fenric", a 1989 serial written by Ian Briggs and directed by Nicholas Mallet.

The Doctor and Ace arrive at a British naval base during World War II - on precisely the same day that a secret Russian mission has commenced to infiltrate the base and steal a vital code-breaking machine. At the same time something ancient and evil is stirring in the ocean off nearby Maiden's Point - and the Doctor may know a lot more about what's going on than he's letting on.

Okay, we're getting to the point in this countdown that I feel pretty comfortable describing these serials as masterpieces. "The Curse of Fenric" is a stunning work of televisual science fiction, rich in plot and character, filled with moments of horror and tension and soaked in theme and tone. It is a near-faultless serial, giving Doctor Who its best four episodes since the mid-1970s and promising a bold new direction for the series going forward. It is, of course, a cruel irony that by the time this serial went to air on BBC1 Doctor Who had been cancelled. All of the promise of "The Curse of Fenric" would have to wait 16 years to be fulfilled by Russell T Davies in the new series.

The Pull List: 9 October 2013

I'm not a big believer in the idea of 'guilty pleasures'. Seems to me if you enjoy something, and reading or watching it gives you pleasure, then why on Earth would you feel guilty about it? I am aware, however, that there are plenty of things out there that other people consider guilty pleasures: Twilight novels, The OC, movies starring Zac Efron, Japanese boy bands, what-have-you.

I wonder how many people will be proudly purchasing the new Star Wars graphic novel, Ewoks: Shadows of Endor. It's a compact, digest-sized comic book that combines elements of Return of the Jedi, the 1985 Ewoks Saturday morning cartoon and the 1980s TV movies Caravan of Courage and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. It's the first time elements of all three have been mixed in together, creating - for the first time - a cohesive whole. If you're a fan of Ewoks, and there have to be more Ewok fans out there than me, then this graphic novel is a gift from the gods.

It's aimed at a family audience, so the story's not too sophisticated and the panel layout isn't too dense. As a result you'll whip through this book pretty fast, but it's a fun, light-hearted ride while you do. Kudos to Dark Horse for publishing this. I had a lot of fun reading it. (4/5)

Dark Horse. Story and art by Zack Giallongo.

Under the cut: reviews of Batgirl, Batman, Coffin Hill, FBP, Katana, Manhattan Projects, Multiple Warheads, Rocket Girl, Star Wars, Stormwatch, Thor: God of Thunder, Three, Worlds' Finest and X-Men.

Kidnapped (1960)

Kidnapped is a historical novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, in which a young 18th century Scot named David Balfour receives an inheritance, is betrayed by his uncle (who wants that inheritance for himself) and subsequently escapes slavery with the assistance of the Jacobite rebel Alan Breck Stewart. It was a big success for Stevenson back in 1886 and inspired not only an 1893 sequel (Catriona) but also seven feature film adaptations from 1917 to 1995. I recently watched the fourth of the seven films: the 1960 version, directed by Robert Stevenson (no relation) and produced by Walt Disney.

This is definitely "Walt Disney's Kidnapped". As a producer Disney kept a very firm creative hand on his films. He was often quite heavily involved in the story and scripting process, and was particularly keen on dictating how the films be edited during post-production. The actual shoot in between he left largely to his directors, whom he selected based on their ability to give him enough coverage (different takes and camera angles of each scene) to determine much of the film's content and tone in the editing room. Stevenson was one of his more prominent directors: he directed a string of Disney pictures between 1957 and 1976, including Old Yeller, Mary Poppins, The Shaggy Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor, The Love Bug, Blackbeard's Ghost and Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

Monsters University (2013)

It used to be that Pixar Animation Studios was the safest bet in Hollywood for seeing a good movie. From 1995 to 2010 they enjoyed an uninterrupted run of critically acclaimed and commercially successful hits. They were all based on such great ideas, and featured distinctive and appealing characters. It's an outstanding run: Toy Story and its two sequels, A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-E and Up.

Now I personally didn't warm to Cars but appreciate that many did. Sadly its 2011 sequel Cars 2 broke the winning streak: it might have made money, but critics hated it and from my experience audiences weren't particularly impressed either. Brave might have suggested a return to form, but sadly that return was short-lived: Monsters University is a disappointing prequel, showing promise in fits and starts but never achieving anything close to the originality, energy and heart that I've come to expect from Pixar. It's not a bad film, but it is a very disappointing one, and whacks another dent into Pixar's previously impeccable body of work.