The Walking Dead - Season Four: Dead Weight

“You seem different now. Changed.” -  Foolishly presumptuous words from Martinez, during a brief one-to-one with The Governor. That being said, it did appear at times during “Live Bait” that Philip Blake/Brian Heriot had indeed changed, having found a new purpose for himself as a surrogate father. However, it did not take long for the familiar Governor to re-emerge during “Dead Weight”.

Throughout the first half of the episode there was a look on The Governors face that constantly seemed to be suggesting that he was ready to blow at any moment. Martinez – once a general, now the man in charge – seemed to take delight in taunting his former leader; being the only one around to know the truth about him. As a result he became too complacent in the assumption that Philip Blake was a changed man. 

There were quite a few loaded moments during this episode when characters referred to The Governor as “Brian”, especially when Martinez used the name. Martinez also had the temerity to question whether Philip/Brian could continue to take care of his new ‘family’ (reinforcing a passing remark from Lily, that she had never felt safer, to which Philip/Brian took umbrage). There was always tension between the two, whenever they were left alone together. 

This tension came to a head about half-way through the episode, just after Martinez dropped to revelation that Shumpert had died. I know that he wasn’t a major character, but it seems like a fairly pointless way to bump-off a character – very much a case of: “... oh by the way, this happened”. When this was said, I initially made the assumption that it was a bluff, and that Martinez would use this to gain leverage over The Governor. However, this was just a foolish assumption on my part, as barely a moment later Martinez took a nasty strike to the head from a golf-club, before being kicked off the roof of a caravan, and dragged into a Walker-pit. This was a surprising development!

The Governor told nobody about what he had done, and everyone would just have to believe that Martinez got drunk and fell into the pit. As a result a new leader was elected to run the tented-community, one of two brothers: Pete Dolgen. The ethics of the two brothers were put to the test during a supply run, when they notice another encampment occupied by other survivors. Mitch’s idea is that they power their way through, and take any supplies that they need by force, while Pete refuses this notion – opting to hunt for supplies instead. The resultant hunting expedition does not yield much, and tensions arise between the two brothers when The Governor returns to the encampment and discovers that the group of survivors were massacred and ransacked by some other group (so they would have died regardless).

At first Philip/Brian attempts to leave during the night, taking Megan, Lily, Tara and her new friend Alisha with him. This plan doesn’t work out though, as their path is blocked by a swarm of Walkers trapped in thick mud. They return to the camp, and Philip/Brian takes matters into his own hands. He visits Pete one morning under the pretence that he wants to talk about his problematic brother, but once inside his caravan, he literally stabs Pete in the back, before choking him to death. 

He then visits Mitch, holding him at gunpoint as he explains that he killed his brother. He then reveals that he had a brother of his own, who always had to play the hero; showing a distain for the heroic mindset and its ineffective nature within this world. He spares Mitch’s life, and takes control of the camp. During the course of a single episode he went from a hostage in a pit, to the leader of a group of survivors – and gained himself a loyal and subservient new right-hand man, with whom he shares a similar way of thinking. The Governor is truly back! Philip Blake, the more domineering side of his personality, ultimately won out over Brian Heriot (regardless of the efforts he made).

Once all of this was done, all that was left was to connect this story to the main one. The ending to this episode showed The Governor watching over the prison. Timeline-wise this appears to be taking place around the end of the events of “Internment” as Hershel and Michonne are seen talking, before getting into a car. The Governor is angered by the sight of Michonne, and aims his gun at her to close out the episode.

The fascinating character of The Governor was once again the focus this week, and after last week’s episode appeared to show a potential redemption for the character, ultimately he is not a good man – and he knows that. Next week’s episode will be the mid-season finale, and looks set to be one of the biggest episodes in the show’s entire history to date. A confrontation between Rick’s group and the Governor’s group – which will likely result in a high body count – and it is more than likely that we will say reluctant farewells to some beloved characters. I have not read the comics, so I can’t form any speculation over who will survive to see the second half of this season, but it seems clear that not everyone will make it through such an encounter. 

I’ll try to be prepared for the worst!

The Walking Dead - Season Four: Live Bait

The Governor made his return in an episode vaguely reminiscent of Breaking Bad’s “Granite State” earlier this year – inasmuch as it was able to generate a feeling of sympathy for a man who has done terrible things. Other than David Morrissey, none of the main cast members appeared in this episode.

The pre-credits scene brought us back to the Season Three finale, just after Philip Blake gunned down most of his own army. There was no dialogue at all for quite some time, as quite a lot of ground was covered: he awoke the following morning to discover that Martinez and Shumpert had abandoned him, leaving him all alone; he then returned to Woodbury and burned it down; and then wandered aimlessly for an unspecified amount of time, growing a long scraggly beard in the process. 

He eventually finds himself in the company of the Chalmers family; consisting of two sisters Lilly and Tara, their infirm father David, and Tara’s young daughter Megan. Having read Robert Kirkman’s tie-in novel series (including The Rise Of The Governor) this set-up was not too unfamiliar to me. However the storyline in the novels occurred under very different circumstances, so I’m not sure where it is leading in the TV series. He also assumed a new alias, Brian (the significance of this name choice was also not lost on me) Heriot. 

Many of the scenes carried a strong feeling of tension, because it has already been demonstrated that the Governor is not of sound mind, and as such there was always the sense of threat that he might do something terrible, but yet he never did. He demonstrated that, although vaguely skeletal, he still had strength in him, as he was able to lift the aging David with considerable ease. He also put himself at risk, first to retrieve a Backgammon set from a dingy apartment upstairs, and then to obtain oxygen tanks from and old folks home, full of decaying Walkers. (How did the Chalmers' sisters not know to shoot Walkers in the brain? Have they survived this long without killing any Walkers at all?)

The more time he spent with the Chalmers family, the closer he grew to both Lilly, and Megan (who became a surrogate daughter figure to him, having lost her real father before the outbreak). He told her about how he lost his own daughter, although leaving out most of the details.

Things got nasty when David passed away, and Philip/Brian had to take drastic action when the corpse reanimated. He wasted no time in brutally smashing in the skull of the Walker, but did so right in front of his family, including young Megan. This put a bit of a strain on their relationship, but they forgave him since he did save their lives in the process – and such events are a fact of life in this post-apocalyptic world. In spite of this he packed up his things and got ready to leave, but Lilly stopped him and insisted that they all stick together. 

They abandoned the relative safety of their apartment, and set out on the road. During the night he and Lilly slept together, and the following day after their van broke down, Megan put her trust in him allowing him to carry her to safety. Having burned a photograph of his wife and daughter, he found replacements for both.

After falling into a dugout pit, Philip/Brian demonstrated just how fiercely protective he had become of Megan, brutally killing three Walkers with his bare hands. Having lost his own daughter, he received a chance to redeem himself – in his own way. However, he was then discovered in the pit by Martinez – and with that the episode ended.

David Morrissey gave a very strong performance in this episode, showing off the complexities of the iconic character. It is hard to know what to think about the character after seeing an episode such as this. After all, he is still the man who massacred a whole group of people, and performed numerous terrible deeds back in the previous season. Next week’s episode will likely continue with The Governor’s storyline, so perhaps it will be easier to draw conclusions then.

The Walking Dead - Season Four: Internment

Wow! What an episode! I have poked fun at the show for introducing ‘red-shirt’ characters just to kill them off, and consequently evading legitimate tension, but this episode had my heart pounding throughout.

The main focus of the episode was Hershel’s stubborn nature, and willingness to treat everyone who had gotten sick, despite the risk to himself. Scott Wilson gave a tremendous performance, showing the wisdom of the character, and representing the desperate need to maintain one’s humanity within this cruel world. He started the episode treating one (of many) ailing patients, aided by Sasha and Glenn – who are looking rather worse for wear themselves. He was even able to introduce an element of humour into their situation, showing his determination not to get overwhelmed by the bleakness. He then continued to fight on, even when other patients had all but given up, refusing to allow Glenn to become downhearted. 

However, in spite of his positive morals and pro-active approach to treating everyone, people continued to succumb to their symptoms. Even under these circumstances, Hershel continued to do the most humane thing possible, and remove the patients from the cell block, in order to euthanize them out of sight. Scott Wilson’s performance really helped to get the tragedy of the situation across: there is a seismic difference between killing nameless Walkers, and having to kill those you have grown to know. 

Dr Caleb, in a highly advanced stage of the illness, told Hershel that he simply won’t be able to save everyone, and very shortly afterwards that prediction came to fruition. Hershel was closing everyone in their cells for the night, when things took a turn for the worse. First off, a dying patient staggered out of his cell and died in front of everyone – meaning that Hershel had to keep everyone calm as he wheeled the corpse out of the room. He then tended to Sasha, who had collapsed, but fortunately came to and thanked Hershel for his “stupidity” – which he graciously took as a compliment. Then a newly-turned victim staggered out into the cell block, pinning Hershel to the ground; a father who had chosen to stay in a cell with his dying son tried to help, but was bitten and killed by his zombified son instead. While all this was going on, Glenn’s patient stopped breathing, and Glenn began to choke on his own blood when he tried to call out for help.

A gunshot from the cell block caught the attention of Rick and Maggie (somehow during the day) which caused Maggie to run for the cells, while Rick sought out Carl to help reinforce the fences around the prison yard. The threat level just kept on escalating, and despite their efforts, the logs snapped under the pressure, and the fences finally gave way, spilling a large horde of Walkers into the prison yard.

The action then jumped between the cell block and the courtyard, leaving very little room to breathe between transitions. Hershel’s prosthetic leg served him very well, as he was able to rescue Lizzie from a Walker she had been attempting to control (!?). He then had to kill off Dr Caleb, who had also turned, in order to get hold of the shotgun he’d taken into his cell. Once armed, he took care of the Walkers, but not before making sure they were safely out of view of the young children. Maggie then got into the cell block (though not before breaking an axe trying to get the door open) and employed a far less cautious approach than her father. She shot the un-dead father with very satisfying nonchalance, and then helped Hershel rescue the breathing apparatus that Glenn desperately needed, from another Walker. Glenn lives to fight another day, and I have no complaints about the lack of major character deaths, because they came dangerously close here.

Meanwhile Rick, after having spent ages trying to protect Carl from using firearms, had to frantically teach his son how to use an assault rifle. Together they were able to take out the entire swarm that had broken through the fence. The hunting party then returned, and Carl said one of the stupidest things that anyone can possibly say under their circumstances “everything’s going to be okay”. 

Tyreese was reunited with Sasha, and Bob was able to put his medical expertise to good use, distributing medicine amongst the survivors. Perhaps this is the end of the flu epidemic. But in the aftermath, Hershel returned to Dr Caleb’s cell, and broke down whilst reading a passage from his Bible. It was sad to see Hershel cry after all that he had been through, and I actually thought that this was the end of the episode; but it wasn’t quite over yet.

Rick decided not to tell Daryl about his decision to banish Carol right away, undoubtedly worried about the consequences. Meanwhile Daryl complimented Hershel on being “a tough son of a bitch” before enquiring as to Carol’s whereabouts. Hershel (rightfully) passed the buck onto Rick, before going out for a drive with Michonne. The man certainly earned the right to get some fresh air!

And then just as the episode closed out, there was an exterior shot of the prison being watched by a very familiar, eye-patch wearing man! 

This was a great episode; there was a lot of character development for Hershel; the Prison seems like a less safe place all the time – maybe Carol is actually better off; and the tension throughout the episode was superb. 

Looking ahead, there will likely be conflict between Daryl and Rick very soon, Lizzie continues to be something of a question mark character (why was she running her boots through the infected blood?), now that the fence has collapsed, will the group be forced into leaving the prison? And the biggest issue of all: The Governor is back!

Topical Post - Christmas Adverts

It’s that time of year again! The seasonal displays are beginning to adorn many a shop window; every city and town begins to put up their Christmas lights; and the approach of the holidays is punctuated by the – now traditional – adverts from Marks & Spencer and John Lewis (I haven’t seen the Coca Cola advert yet, but it probably is not too far off). 

This year’s M&S advert is an unusual one, using the iconic imagery from a variety of classic fairytales and children’s books, but amalgamated in a very odd – and at times misguided – manner. The advert begins with a young woman chasing her dog through an empty street at night, before she reaches an open manhole, which she promptly falls down. It is at this point that it becomes apparent that “Alice in Wonderland” is the story being paid homage to (with the dog being the White Rabbit). The image of the girl falling slowly through the air, surrounded by a variety of objects is unmistakeable. However this is where the advert makes its first misstep, as all her clothes fall off while she is falling, revealing a set of designer underwear. Somehow the feeling of whimsy and delight, brought on by the nostalgia of a classic children’s novel, becomes displaced at this point. To make matters worse she then lands at the head of the table of the Mad Hatter’s tea party (miraculously fully dressed once again) only to have the Mad Hatter equivalent raise his eyebrows in a rather creepy manner that seems to say: “Oh yes, I saw your underwear on your way down”. I’m not trying to be prudish, but the combination of these different elements don’t really complement one another. As a result the “Alice in Wonderland” analogy comes across as seedy rather than delightful. 

The woman then makes her way from the tea party, through a creepy forest, and arrives at a gingerbread house (Hansel & Gretel). This homage does not last long – and they don’t even show off any M&S foods or deserts, which seems like a missed opportunity really – because as soon as she walks into the house, the carpet begins to move under her feet, whisking her into the Arabian sky (1001 Nights) where she appears in her underwear once again, and is rejoined by the same creepy guy from before. They crash into a cloud and she wakes up in Oz, where she is joined by three companions who join her in skipping down the yellow brick road before they meet Helena Bonham Carter, who compliments our Dorothy equivalent on her red shoes. The integration of different fashion styles into each scene is skilfully done, and I can understand the logic in it (this is an advert after all, they are trying to sell this produce, and they have made an effort to do so in a more creative way than most) but it is hard to fully buy into the whimsical nature of the storytelling as a consequence. 

Back in the real world (which is looking very delightful, covered in snow and with no people about!) Helena Bonham Carter approaches the woman and gives her back her dog, before the caption reads “Believe in Magic & Sparkle”. The production values on this advert are very good, and the integration of produce is done very cleverly (at least as far as clothing is concerned) but I didn’t get that warm Christmassy feeling from it, which it surely had all of the right components to evoke. It could be that the advert is more directed towards a female demographic, and maybe I’m being a bit too precious about the innocent nature of childhood nostalgia, but for me something about the advert seemed a little off.

This year’s John Lewis advert is very different, and tells a much simpler story in a heartfelt way. The animated sequence tells the story of ‘The Bear and The Hare’ two friends making their way through a forest, before they arrive at a clearing where all the other woodland creatures are decorating a large fir tree. The Hare is delighted by the sight, but the Bear yawns and walks away to hibernate for the winter (so there is a logic as to why he had “Never Seen Christmas” before – as explained in text at the start of the scene). The Hare is very sad about this, but makes the effort to visit his friend’s cave, leaving him a small Christmas present.

Christmas Day arrives, and all the animals excitedly open their presents, but the Hare feels sad and alone, until ... the sunlight bathes the clearing in a gloriously warm glow, just as the Bear arrives, giving a hilarious open-mouthed grin. The Hare is delighted, and the two reunite before celebrating Christmas with the rest of the woodland creatures. The story is much simpler and coherent than that of the M&S advert, reading very much like a fable. It is then capped off by the slightly disappointing reveal that the Hare had bought the Bear a clock for Christmas (“...oh, you shouldn’t have!”). The overall moral is much warmer than the M&S advert, taking comfort in the more traditional and hearty attitude that Christmas is a time of year to be together with family and friends. This is certainly commendable, and I think that this is why the John Lewis adverts have become a hallmark of the holiday season. 

The advert is beautifully animated, a sign that plenty of effort went into its creation, and it uses a similar creature design to that of Disney’s “Brother Bear” as well as "Watership Down". Lily Allen’s cover of “Somewhere Only We Know” is rather twee, but then again this has been the case with every John Lewis Christmas advert (female artist covers a recognisable and inoffensive song) so I can’t argue too much with their winning formula.

Overall I think that the John Lewis advert succeeds more because it is much more straightforward, while the M&S advert is more muddled in its coherence and overall meaning. It may be something of an oxymoron to expect adverts to be un-commercial, but the John Lewis advert takes a much less materialistic approach in how it gets its message across.The only questionable factor is that it showcases very little of what you can actually buy - so while it succeeds as a short film, does it work from an advertising perspective?

Revamped, Rebooted, Reborn - Classic Game Franchises

With the re-emergence of the 90s PS1 classic “Abe’s Odyssey” in the form of “New ‘N’ Tasty”, the potential for other classic game franchises receiving a similar treatment will surely become a talking point within the videogame industry. If “New ‘N’ Tasty” proves to be a success, it will hopefully act as a call to arms other game developers to do the same thing.

In 2011 one of my favourite franchises – Mortal Kombat – received the reboot treatment, and the result was a fantastic game, with a plethora of memorable and iconic characters, plenty of fan service to lovers of the original arcade games (recreated hidden treasures, fighting arenas, background extras), and a full-length story mode. This last element was one of my favourite factors about the game, as it told the Mortal Kombat story in accordance with the pre-established series lore, before making some changes and leaving plenty of intriguing possibilities open for the series to continue. The storyline of Mortal Kombat is one of the main reasons why it is my personal favourite fighting game franchise, but it was never really told that well until this game was released. This particular reboot got everything right, and I really hope that a follow-up will be released at some point. I would be genuinely interested to see where the story would go from where it left off. Also, a sequel would give the developers an opportunity to make amends for the absolutely terrible “Mortal Kombat 4”. The reboot brought the franchise back to life in the best possible way, and I really hope that Netherrealm Studios put out a sequel soon.

The success of the Mortal Kombat reboot proved that there is more to these projects than just nostalgia, because the franchises have untapped potential, which the new technology would be able to facilitate. The return of “Abe’s Odyssey” got me thinking about another favourite PS1 franchise: Crash Bandicoot. The original trilogy of Crash Bandicoot titles – along with “Crash Team Racing” – were some of my favourite games of the 90s, but after Naughty Dog left the franchise to other developers, things were never the same. I am aware that the franchise still exists, but my interest in the new titles is non-existent (mainly because all of the new games look terrible). The original trilogy still holds up, and is as enjoyable as ever to play, but I would still be interested to see those games revamped with modern technology, à la “New ‘N’ Tasty” and then potentially followed up with something good. This idea is probably less likely than other possibilities, because the franchise has stuck around and reinvented itself (badly) over and over, so maybe it’s too far gone by this stage. Nevertheless, I’m sure I’m not alone in my opinion about this franchise, and how it used to be great.

The series that I would most like to see revamped though is the “Legacy of Kain”. In my opinion, there has not been a videogame franchise before or since that has even come close to the quality of storytelling shown in the “Legacy of Kain” series. The game-play was not always the most exciting aspect of the series (a lot of time was spent solving repetitive puzzles, or fighting with implausibly strong human characters – in the case of “Soul Reaver 2”) but this is one of many things that the modern technology would be able to remedy. The game-play, graphics and design could receive a dramatic overhaul, as long as the story remained intact. I would love to play updated versions of “Blood Omen” and “Soul Reaver”, with the capabilities of modern games at my fingertips; I’d like to see the sequels to those games done better this time (not many people remember “Blood Omen 2” with much fondness, because the story wasn’t written by the same people); and I’d want to see an ending the overall story this time. I am aware that this may never happen; it has been 10 years since “Defiance” was released, and one of the principal voice actors, Tony Jay very sadly passed away back in 2006; but the discovery of “New ‘N’ Tasty” got me thinking that “Soul Reaver” could receive the same treatment. There was an absolute tonne of content that was cut from the original “Soul Reaver” game, which could potentially be put back in; maybe if the original voice demos of Tony Jay were still available they could be re-used. There are so many possibilities for that franchise, and I really hope that someone takes advantage of them. If they don’t, then what we get instead are games like “Nosgoth” – which allegedly takes place in the same world, except without any of the original characters, storylines or settings, and will be released to the delight of absolutely nobody!

Are there any classic game franchises that you would be interested to see receive the “New ‘N’ Tasty” treatment? Please leave a comment, as I’d be very interested to hear opinions on this topic.