In & Out (1997)

Howard Brackett (Kevin Kline) is a well-liked small town English literature teacher and sporting coach. He is days away from his long-delayed wedding to fellow teacher Emily Montgomery (Joan Cusack), and one of his former students (Matt Dillon) has been nominated for an Academy Award. When his student suddenly announced during his acceptance speech that Howard is gay, Howard's life gets turned upside-down as the entire town begins to second-guess and doubt his sexuality. On top of everything else, a pushy TV news reporter (Tom Selleck) arrives in town to make his life even more miserable.

There is a weirdly awkward quality to In & Out, a 1997 romantic comedy directed by Frank Oz. It is as if the entire film is on shaky, unfamiliar territory. It is a mainstream Hollywood comedy about homosexuality, one seemingly terrified of causing offence to both the LGBTI community and the pre-existing puritanical American market that it needs to make a profit. Some moments are perfectly pitched. Some feel oddly but mildly offensive. Ultimately it really does just feel a little bit uncertain of itself.

Doctor Who: "A Desperate Venture"

It is 1 August 1964, and time for another episode of Doctor Who.

The Doctor (William Hartnell) and Ian (William Russell) are lost in the tunnels beyond the Sensorite city, but may have finally hit upon the source of the poison that has affected the city's water supply. Susan (Carole Ann Ford) and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) launch a bid to rescue their friends. The City Administrator has Carol (Ilona Rodgers) kidnapped in a last-ditch attempt to overthrow the First Elder's rule.

"The Sensorites" comes to a close with a remarkably dense episode that packs in about as much plot as two or three prior episodes combined. There is Carol's kidnapping and rescue. There is Barbara and Susan's attempt to locate and rescue the Doctor and Ian. There is the Doctor and Ian's discovery of a second group of humans hidden on the planet, and their attempts to safely return them to the surface. Then there is still the obligatory wrap-up and farewell scene - all in the space of 25 minutes.

N64:20 #18: Bangaioh

In 2016 the Nintendo 64 turns 20 years old. It was Nintendo's third videogame console, produced to succeed the enormously successful SNES. Upon its release in 1996 Time magazine claimed it was "machine of the year". While the N64 failed to best Sony's enormously popular PlayStation - a console in whose early development Nintendo had a key hand - it still sold almost 33 million units worldwide and hosted some of the greatest videogames ever made. To celebrate its anniversary I'm counting down my top 20 N64 videogames; not necessarily the best titles released on the format, but definitely my personal favourites.

Not all of the best Nintendo 64 games made it outside of Japan. Occasionally a great game barely manages to make it in Japan itself. Take Bangaioh, sometimes titled Bangai-O. It was a fast-paced, quite extraordinarily chaotic shooter developed by Treasure and distributed on a limited run of just 10,000 copies. It is one of the trickiest Nintendo 64 titles to track down. I have never seen a physical copy in the wild, and the only legitimate version I have owned and played is the subsequent - and much more widely distributed - Sega Dreamcast port.

The Pull List: 24 February 2016, Part II

Cullen Bunn's troubled and uneven run on Aquaman concluded last month, and for a short while at least he is to be replaced by former Guardians of the Galaxy writer Dan Abnett - who also wrote the excellent Wild's End that I reviewed earlier this week. Going by this first issue, I really hope Abnett sticks around for a while.

The issue begins with what feels like a strong statement of purpose: Aquaman is, for the time being, done with focusing on Atlantis and its internal schisms. Instead he - and his companions - are to focus on that threshold between the underwater and the surface worlds. This sounds like a great plan. Aquaman is, first and foremost, a superhero, and he has not really had much of a chance to work in that area since the New 52 kicked off four and a half years ago. It is really entertaining watching a group of Atlanteans visit the surface world and sample the junk foods and sideshow attractions of a county fair.

At the same time there's clearly something bad going on nearby, as the fun hijinks are interspersed with random strangers getting too close to a source of water - the ocean, a bucket, a fish tank, and so on - and get brutally slaughtered for their trouble. There's no sign where it's headed, but it's safe to assume not anywhere pleasant.

This feels like a great jumping-on point for new readers. Abnett is a great writer, and Vicente Sifuentes, John Dell and Guy Major bring some really strong superhero-style artwork along for the ride. In recent months I kept toying with dropping Aquaman from my regular order, but with this issue I am glad I stuck around. (4/5)

There is one thing I have to ask, though: what the hell is up with the guy on the bottom left-hand corner of the cover? He has the face of a child, the stomach hair of an adult, a weird pose, and bizarrely thick and muscular legs. It's just utterly bizarre.

DC Comics. Written by Dan Abnett. Art by Vicente Sifuentes and John Dell. Colours by Guy Major.

Under the cut: reviews of Daredevil, Ringside and We Are Robin.

Crusade: "The Well of Forever"

It's 23 June 1999, and time for another episode of Crusade.

As the Excalibur progresses on its mission to find a cure for the Drakh plague, Galen (Peter Woodward) suggests investigating the mythical Well of Forever. Captain Gideon (Gary Cole) agrees, only to find the Excalibur is no longer under his control. Meanwhile Lt Matheson (Daniel Dae Kim) is scheduled to be scanned by a government representative, as part of Earth's post-PsiCorp governance of telepaths.

I did not hate "The Well of Forever". By no means did I fall head over heels in love with it, but it did not annoy me too often and it occasionally managed to even do something interesting. It certainly uses its regular cast more evenly than the previous two episodes - although there is still a bizarrely strong focus on Galen - and is a huge step in quality from the relatively dire "The Long Road". The only lingering concern I have is this: did I enjoy this episode because it was independently enjoyable, or did I enjoy it simply because it was not as bad as "The Long Road"?

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "Sons of Mogh"

It is 12 February 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Klingons are undertaking suspicious military exercises on the border of the Bajoran system. Meanwhile Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) earns the ire of Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) when he attempts to assist his brother Kurn (Tony Todd) in committing ritual suicide by stabbing him in the chest with a knife.

What now, what the hell? "Sons of Mogh" is a damned peculiar episode. Sisko is furious that Worf attempted to murder his own brother. He chastises Worf, and points out that while he is aware of and respects alien cultures, Deep Space Nine is a Federation facility operating under Federation laws. Sisko is correct, and as a result murder is somewhat frowned upon. So why the hell is Worf shouted at, and then dismissed from Sisko's office? I am reasonably certain he should be on his way to a holding cell in advance of a criminal trial and a dishonourable discharge.

The Pull List: 24 February 2016, Part I

This is shaping up to be a great week for comic books: the first four comics I've read from this week's list, and all four of them are five-star issues. That doesn't happen very often.

Let's kick off with issue #3 of Venus, Rick Loverd and Huang Danlan's excellent science fiction thriller. A human mission to Venus has suffered a crippling act of sabotage. Now it's clear the saboteur is still among the surviving crew. A group of shipmates are plotting mutiny against their commanding officer, and meanwhile war appears to have broken out on Earth with a mass detonation of nuclear warheads.

This is a rather shocking issue, with Walking Dead levels of graphic violence. It's earned by the narrative, but it's a hell of a moment to have to read. It has been really impressive how well Loverd has established his cast of characters within such a comparatively short amount of time. This is a four-issue miniseries, so there is only one issue left to go. Thanks to his writing it seems entirely likely that we will get a tightly paced and satisfying conclusion by then.

Huang Danlan's artwork is a great match. It is realistic enough to make us care about the characters and the storyline, but it is also abstract enough to be a very aesthetically pleasing book too. Marcio Menyz's excellent colour art really makes it pop off the page as well.

While Image remains the go-to publisher for strong science fiction and fantasy ongoing comics, Boom Studios has really carved itself a specific niche as the home for strong miniseries. Venus is yet another excellent title to add to their growing catalogue of genre works. (5/5)

Boom Studios. Written by Rick Loverd. Art by Huang Danlan. Colours by Marcio Menyz.

Under the cut: reviews of Batman and Robin Eternal, Saga and Wild's End: The Enemy Within.

The Flash: "Things You Can't Outrun"

Random victims around Central City are being gassed to death, without any evidence of who committed the murder or how they delivered the gas. Unsurprisingly, it turns out that another metahuman criminal is at work, and it's up to Barry (Grant Gustin) to take him down. At the same time, the growing number of metahumans terrorising Central City brings an important question: where does the team imprison them once they catch them?

I think "Things You Can't Outrun" is my favourite episode of The Flash so far (so basically the best of three). It has fast-paced adventure, some cool visual effects, a bit of character development and a gentle pushing along of the series' various ongoing storylines. While it is fairly simplistic stuff, it has a bright, pleasant tone and some great production values. This is not a perfect television series, but it is an incredibly easy one to like.