Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor

From the very first moments of “The Day of the Doctor,” it was pretty obvious we were in for something special. They dared to go old school, with Hartnell-era style credits, coupled with a classic London bobby walking past a sign pointing toward the Totters Lane junkyard, which was then revealed to be on a wall outside Coal Hill Secondary School – all nods to the very first episode, “An Unearthly Child.” But things got modern quickly, upon discovering that we were not in the past, but the present, and Clara (Jenna Coleman) is now teaching at the school, gracing the very same hallways and classrooms as her predecessors Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright did 50 years ago (there’s actually a shout out to Ian on the Coal Hill sign if you look closely).

What happened to the Doctor and Clara being caught in his timestream at the close of “The Name of the Doctor”? Seems some time has passed, and some escapades have been glossed over. It’s business as usual, and Clara is off on a motorbike (the same one from “The Bells of Saint John,” right?) and into the TARDIS for more adventures. Soon enough she and the Doctor (Matt Smith) are on one, when they realize the TARDIS is caught in the grip of a crane attached to a helicopter, and they’re being dragged to UNIT HQ by Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), which was a far more thrilling sequence than expected. Or are they? Kate’s acting on orders from the Queen – Queen Elizabeth I, that is.

Read the rest of this recap by clicking here and visiting Vulture.

Secret Diary of a Call Girl: Season Two

At the close of the first season of Secret Diary, the show looked as if it was set to deliver a far superior second season. While Season Two is an improvement on the first, the bad news is that the upgrade in no way rocks the foundations of the series. Season Two’s dramatic arc is nearly identical to what it’s already given us. It does lead to a considerably different outcome, yet one can’t shake the feeling that this is mostly a case of “been there, done that.” If the show can’t scale some risky heights in its sophomore outing, it probably never will. The good news is that it is much funnier when it needs to be, and much more dramatic when it’s required. Clearly this is never going to be a “great” show, yet it remains, at the very least, an entertaining one – as long you embrace the seedy, duplicitous adventures of a London whore.

Season One saw the unveiling of Belle the call girl/Hannah the person (Billie Piper), and explored the relationship with her best friend/ex-boyfriend Ben (Iddo Goldberg), and what happened when she let him into her world. Season Two sees Belle/Hannah falling for a new guy, Dr. Alex (Callum Blue, cue obscure “Orb” joke here). Of course, the hook is that she hides her profession from him for the first half of the season. (Sound familiar to you Diary vets?) Alex discovers Hannah’s secret life in Episode Five, and the series must be given kudos for finding an engaging, melodramatic way for this to unfold. Yet it does it in such a way that you’re forced to side with Hannah. Manipulative or smart? You’ll have to decide, as I’m on the fence.

Read this entire DVD review by clicking here and visiting Bullz-Eye.

Secret Diary of a Call Girl: Season One, Ep. 1

I've started blogging the new Billie Piper series, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, for Premium Hollywood. It started on Showtime this Monday and will presumably continue on for the next seven weeks as the first season is only eight episodes long. Surprisingly, it isn't nearly as exploitative and trashy as I expected.

From the first recap:

As a Doctor Who fanatic, Secret Diary of a Call Girl was initially an easy sell. After watching Billie Piper as Rose Tyler for two seasons, I’ve since been game to watch her in just about anything. Sitting down and actually seeing Piper unveil her dual lives of Belle the prostitute and Hannah the typical London girl was a different matter entirely. There was something incredibly dirty about seeing her lube up her private parts, masturbate with a vibrator in front of a client, and ride another while he wears a saddle. It’s just so not Rose Tyler.

Read the rest of the recap by clicking here to visit Premium Hollywood.