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| art by Don Heck and Vince Colletta (from Avengers #45 1967) |
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Bend In Time
Dashing around the corner, the mysterious traveller ducked his head under the low pipe and carried on running down the industrial corridor. He glanced back at the rusty pipe, his eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean 'immutable'?" his attractive, headstrong companion cried out, just a step behind him with her head lowered so as to pass under the pipe. They'd been running for so long she was beginning to tire. Hopefully they'd stop soon.
For a moment, the traveller kept his gaze on the corridor behind them before turning toward his plucky companion.
"Unchangeable. The past. It cannot be changed", he replied offhandedly, as if this explained everything. They continued to charge down the corridor past one locked door after another, their footsteps echoing as they went.
The oddly attired gentleman studied the walls and the passing doors as they careened along the familiar looking corridor. Even though he was hurtling along as fast as his legs could carry him, he still took a strange sort of interest in his surroundings as if searching for something in particular.
"But you've gone back in time before. Many times! I've been there with you", his companion argued as she ran next to him, slim arms pumping whilst her long hair streamed out behind her. "And you've meddled and changed things", she added.
"I do not meddle", admonished her guide before continuing, "But yes, any point in time can be accessed and explored. However you can't go back and change things because, relative to the present, the past has already happened. It's in the past so, ergo, it must have already happened. See?"
In the distance they could see that the corridor they were rushing along was leading towards another corner. With a renewed effort, the traveller increased his speed towards it and his companion hastened after.
"Does that mean everything is fixed?" she asked, a little confused. "That we have no control over what happens or what we do?"
"Oh no. No, not at all. We choose what to do, what planet or time period to go to next, who to save, whether to get involved in the first place, whether to stand and fight or just run. Run towards or run away, it generally amounts to the same thing in my experience. Anyway, we choose and we try to make a difference. That's important!"
"But that doesn't make sense! So you're saying that we can change the past?" the assistant gasped as her breath was ripped from her lungs by the air rushing by.
They were now just a few feet from the approaching corner. The young woman stumbled slightly and almost tripped. The man slowed for a moment to help steady her and then together they continued to sprint onwards whilst he answered her question.
"No, because it's in the past. It all makes perfect sense. Time always does. The future is just the present waiting to happen and the present is happening everywhere and everywhen, right now. And the past has already happened so if you modify it, that alteration already occurred so you can’t have changed anything. It's fixed with respect to the present, for a given definition of 'present', of course. And every point in time is the 'present' for someone... or something".
At this, the curious man almost gave a furtive glance back down the corridor but stopped himself. What was behind them was not as important as what was ahead. And what was ahead was another corner.
"Time is immutable", the man exclaimed as he turned and then added, "Duck!"
Dashing around the corner, the mysterious traveller ducked his head under the low pipe and carried on running down the industrial corridor. He glanced back at the rusty pipe, his eyes narrowed, suspicious.
"What do you mean 'immutable'?" his attractive, headstrong companion cried out, just a step behind him with her head lowered so as to pass under the pipe. They'd been running for so long she was beginning to tire.
Hopefully they'd stop soon.
"What do you mean 'immutable'?" his attractive, headstrong companion cried out, just a step behind him with her head lowered so as to pass under the pipe. They'd been running for so long she was beginning to tire. Hopefully they'd stop soon.
For a moment, the traveller kept his gaze on the corridor behind them before turning toward his plucky companion.
"Unchangeable. The past. It cannot be changed", he replied offhandedly, as if this explained everything. They continued to charge down the corridor past one locked door after another, their footsteps echoing as they went.
The oddly attired gentleman studied the walls and the passing doors as they careened along the familiar looking corridor. Even though he was hurtling along as fast as his legs could carry him, he still took a strange sort of interest in his surroundings as if searching for something in particular.
"But you've gone back in time before. Many times! I've been there with you", his companion argued as she ran next to him, slim arms pumping whilst her long hair streamed out behind her. "And you've meddled and changed things", she added.
"I do not meddle", admonished her guide before continuing, "But yes, any point in time can be accessed and explored. However you can't go back and change things because, relative to the present, the past has already happened. It's in the past so, ergo, it must have already happened. See?"
In the distance they could see that the corridor they were rushing along was leading towards another corner. With a renewed effort, the traveller increased his speed towards it and his companion hastened after.
"Does that mean everything is fixed?" she asked, a little confused. "That we have no control over what happens or what we do?"
"Oh no. No, not at all. We choose what to do, what planet or time period to go to next, who to save, whether to get involved in the first place, whether to stand and fight or just run. Run towards or run away, it generally amounts to the same thing in my experience. Anyway, we choose and we try to make a difference. That's important!"
"But that doesn't make sense! So you're saying that we can change the past?" the assistant gasped as her breath was ripped from her lungs by the air rushing by.
They were now just a few feet from the approaching corner. The young woman stumbled slightly and almost tripped. The man slowed for a moment to help steady her and then together they continued to sprint onwards whilst he answered her question.
"No, because it's in the past. It all makes perfect sense. Time always does. The future is just the present waiting to happen and the present is happening everywhere and everywhen, right now. And the past has already happened so if you modify it, that alteration already occurred so you can’t have changed anything. It's fixed with respect to the present, for a given definition of 'present', of course. And every point in time is the 'present' for someone... or something".
At this, the curious man almost gave a furtive glance back down the corridor but stopped himself. What was behind them was not as important as what was ahead. And what was ahead was another corner.
"Time is immutable", the man exclaimed as he turned and then added, "Duck!"
Dashing around the corner, the mysterious traveller ducked his head under the low pipe and carried on running down the industrial corridor. He glanced back at the rusty pipe, his eyes narrowed, suspicious.
"What do you mean 'immutable'?" his attractive, headstrong companion cried out, just a step behind him with her head lowered so as to pass under the pipe. They'd been running for so long she was beginning to tire.
Hopefully they'd stop soon.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Being Human: Though the Heavens Fall
(Love the title of this week's episode)
Herrick's back and the brown stuff hits the rotating thingy!
By which I mean the old, immoral, police uniform-wearing Herrick returns to terrorise the gang. And McNair and son are back too. And Nancy, the policewoman investigating the Box Tunnel massacre, she's back too! It's all getting very busy at the Honolulu Heights B&B.
After a so-so episode last week, Being Human is back on tracks, delivering a cracking episode which ramps up the suspense to a cliffhanger ending. It also brings together a number of threads crashing together, specifically the McNairs and Herrick, and finally resolves the massacre from the end of the last series.
Not only that but this episode is full of shocks, from the pre-titles flashback when we discover Herrick was responsible for the cage fights and McNair Snr's 'condition' to the very end when Mitchell is caught by the police and photographed. All via two even bigger shocks - the death of McNair and poor Nina's stabbing!
But there were more surprises in between...
Nancy is still doggedly determined to find enough evidence to arrest Mitchell, helped (of sorts) by Annie who, as Nina comments, has taken up fighting crime. She believes Mitchell's story that Daisy was responsible for all those the deaths on the train but starts to have doubts when Mitchell begins to dodge the subject under Nancy's re-examination.
Meanwhile McNair, nursing a wound, learns that Herrick is living in the B&B's attic and, after revealing that he's already killed Daisy (the attractive Scottish one) pounces on the amnesic Herrick. But Herrick defends himself with the knife Mitchell left behind and, amazingly, ends up the victor!
I have to say that, considering how tough they've made McNair out to be, he seemed a bit too easy to kill. Herrick didn't even look slightly injured.
Nancy's questioning has an ulterior motive though - to get Mitchell's fingerprints. Then another little shock when a police officer on the case reveals the results to her - and promptly punches her in the face! Turns out he's a vampire in disguise but thankfully Annie is around to save her and stake the vamp.
But, now with the evidence revealed, Annie has finally realised that Mitchell was involved in the Box Tunnel murders. Cue a brilliantly protrayed emotional confrontation between the two of them.
Although it seems Nancy has avoided turning into a blood-sucking creature of the night, she's just put off the inevitable. After heading back to Barry, she (and a bunch of armed officers) arrest Mitchell after Annie pleads with him to give himself up. Reluctantly he's dragged away, even though it will probably reveal the existence of vampires to everyone. Meanwhile, Nancy makes the mistake of investigating the attic and is sucked dry by Herrick, who finally understands who and what he is.
And if the police thought the Box Tunnel murders were bad, wait until they see the pile of dead officers in the B&B's living room! Not to mention the dead naked guy in the attic.
Nina and George come back after some worries about the size of Nina's bump (it seems werewolf babies develop quicker than human ones). George heads off to assist Mitchell (not sure what happened to Annie - we didn't see her at the police station nor in the B&B) whilst Nina goes inside where she painfully learns that the old Herrick is back, in a scene that is very similar to one from the old Marvelman comics. So is that the end of poor Nina? Is the baby lost? Will the truth about vampires come out?
A fantastic, bloodthirsty episode - probably the best this series - and I can't wait until next week's shocking conclusion.
Herrick's back and the brown stuff hits the rotating thingy!
By which I mean the old, immoral, police uniform-wearing Herrick returns to terrorise the gang. And McNair and son are back too. And Nancy, the policewoman investigating the Box Tunnel massacre, she's back too! It's all getting very busy at the Honolulu Heights B&B.
After a so-so episode last week, Being Human is back on tracks, delivering a cracking episode which ramps up the suspense to a cliffhanger ending. It also brings together a number of threads crashing together, specifically the McNairs and Herrick, and finally resolves the massacre from the end of the last series.
Not only that but this episode is full of shocks, from the pre-titles flashback when we discover Herrick was responsible for the cage fights and McNair Snr's 'condition' to the very end when Mitchell is caught by the police and photographed. All via two even bigger shocks - the death of McNair and poor Nina's stabbing!
But there were more surprises in between...
Nancy is still doggedly determined to find enough evidence to arrest Mitchell, helped (of sorts) by Annie who, as Nina comments, has taken up fighting crime. She believes Mitchell's story that Daisy was responsible for all those the deaths on the train but starts to have doubts when Mitchell begins to dodge the subject under Nancy's re-examination.
Meanwhile McNair, nursing a wound, learns that Herrick is living in the B&B's attic and, after revealing that he's already killed Daisy (the attractive Scottish one) pounces on the amnesic Herrick. But Herrick defends himself with the knife Mitchell left behind and, amazingly, ends up the victor!
I have to say that, considering how tough they've made McNair out to be, he seemed a bit too easy to kill. Herrick didn't even look slightly injured.
Nancy's questioning has an ulterior motive though - to get Mitchell's fingerprints. Then another little shock when a police officer on the case reveals the results to her - and promptly punches her in the face! Turns out he's a vampire in disguise but thankfully Annie is around to save her and stake the vamp.
But, now with the evidence revealed, Annie has finally realised that Mitchell was involved in the Box Tunnel murders. Cue a brilliantly protrayed emotional confrontation between the two of them.
Although it seems Nancy has avoided turning into a blood-sucking creature of the night, she's just put off the inevitable. After heading back to Barry, she (and a bunch of armed officers) arrest Mitchell after Annie pleads with him to give himself up. Reluctantly he's dragged away, even though it will probably reveal the existence of vampires to everyone. Meanwhile, Nancy makes the mistake of investigating the attic and is sucked dry by Herrick, who finally understands who and what he is.
And if the police thought the Box Tunnel murders were bad, wait until they see the pile of dead officers in the B&B's living room! Not to mention the dead naked guy in the attic.
Nina and George come back after some worries about the size of Nina's bump (it seems werewolf babies develop quicker than human ones). George heads off to assist Mitchell (not sure what happened to Annie - we didn't see her at the police station nor in the B&B) whilst Nina goes inside where she painfully learns that the old Herrick is back, in a scene that is very similar to one from the old Marvelman comics. So is that the end of poor Nina? Is the baby lost? Will the truth about vampires come out?
A fantastic, bloodthirsty episode - probably the best this series - and I can't wait until next week's shocking conclusion.
Friday, March 04, 2011
Fishy Friday
Stingray
Strength: 6
Toughness: 5
Special Powers: 6
Status: 4
Of course, if there was any doubt as to which company had the greatest undersea superheroes, this guy would seal the deal. Not sure why I like him so much - mainly it's his red and white costume with those large manta-ray cape wings - but I do. He's also one of the few battlesuited heroes who operates underwater (and pretty much only underwater) though he can also sort of fly/glide with those big wings.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
1977
Nothing to do with anything happening today but I thought I'd just take a short trip down memory lane. Because.
Nineteen seventy-seven was the Queen's Silver Jubilee year, the year when the first personal computer - and the Atari 2600, my first (and probably still the "best") video games console - were introduced, the year when the comic 2000AD started, the year when I won a family bet on the Grand National (Red Rum won for the third time), and apparently the year when snow fell in Miami for the only time in its history. :-/
Nineteen seventy-seven was the Queen's Silver Jubilee year, the year when the first personal computer - and the Atari 2600, my first (and probably still the "best") video games console - were introduced, the year when the comic 2000AD started, the year when I won a family bet on the Grand National (Red Rum won for the third time), and apparently the year when snow fell in Miami for the only time in its history. :-/
But it was also a good year for films.
I turned 7 years old in 1977 and, up until then, I don't really remember going to see films at the cinema. I'm sure I had done before then but, given the fact that my sister is 3 years younger than me, I doubt we had been going for long. And when we did we would have gone only to see Disney animations and the like.
But in 1977 quite a few big films came out and these are the first I remember (I realise I may have seen some, or all, of these films in 1978 and not '77 because it took a few months for them to appear in UK cinemas).
Star Wars: A New Hope was probably the biggest of these. I think it is the earliest space-based film I saw and certainly the most fondly remembered. For years after I would collect several hundred Star Wars figures and toys whilst desperately looking forward to the sequels (I had to wait an even longer time to see the slightly disappointing prequels). The one thing I remember - mainly because my Dad would always reminds us - is that just as the film was starting my sister needed to go to the toilet. I remained behind and so, for many years, I was the only one in my family to see that spectacular opening sequence.
I also remember being slightly disturbed and somewhat bemused by Close Encounters of the Third Kind. To be honest, it's not really a film for young kids. I think I liked it, especially the iconic (and colourful) musical greeting, and I certainly remember it. For years after I would shape my mashed potato into a flat-topped mountain.
Those two films, together with Superman a year later (a film I neck-achingly watched whilst sitting right at the front of the cinema. Watch out for that falling helicopter!), kick started the sci-fi movie craze with both me and the general cinema-going public.
Then there was Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger which was probably my introduction to Harryhausen's wonderful stop-motion effects. At heart, I've actually always been a bigger fan of fantasy than sci-fi, and I like this genre more than my Dad, so this was a great treat for me. A pity then that fantasy films didn't get the same interest that sci-fi films did - not until Lord of the Rings anyway.
Of course, there were some kids films I enjoyed during this year - such as Pete's Dragon and the Rescuers (the latter, together with the aforementioned Superman, may have been one of only two or three films I saw with my Mum). The Spy Who Loved Me may also have been the first Bond movie I saw, though I probably only watched that when it appeared on TV years later.
All in all, 1977 was certainly an interesting year.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Outcasts (Episode 6)
I spent far too much time during this week's late night edition of Outcasts wondering why Forthaven did not have windows and only one generator powering the whole place. And why it appeared to take them so long to repair/switch on that one generator. Also, was that a prayer room we saw Stella in? I thought Forthaven was anti-religion?
You see, this week Rudi - leader of the ACs - decided to send a couple of his men to sneak into Forthaven (if the past is anything to go by, they could've just used the front entrance), cause a blackout and kill Jack, leader of the XPs. What did Rudi have against Jack? I thought he didn't like Tate who, let's remember, is an older, weaponless man with no guards to protect him. Did Rudi somehow hear about Jack's secret mission (instigated by the wily Julius) to send three of his XPs to kill him? Perhaps.
Unfortunately, something happened to those three XPs and they've been missing for 2 days. After a wild goose chase following flares (what was all that about anyway?), Josie Hunter - one of the XPs - turns up cut, bruised, dehydrated, and with a nasty limp after apparently being attacked by some ACs. Instead of being sent straight to the medical bay, everyone in Forthaven - all two dozen of them - give her a round of applause. Without even getting new bandages, she heads to her children who soon start to notice that something isn't quite right with mummy. Maybe the fact that she's been attacked, cut up and then wandered the wilderness for two days might have something to do with it?
Eventually another one of the missing XPs is found and he has a different story to tell. It wasn't the ACs that attacked them but Josie herself who turned on the other two. And so the PAS officers (i.e. Cass and Fleur) arrest Josie and lock her up. It's a pity they didn't have some sort of mind-reading device that could help determine the truth of the matter. Oh, they do? Well, perhaps the DBV was being used at the time to help Stella or Tipper go on little memory 'trips'?
Meanwhile, the wife of one of the missing XPs has gone into labour and is about to give birth to what might be the last child born in Forthaven for a while. There are complications with the birth so they have to perform a C-section (I'm guessing that, unlike space travel, tech and medical procedures haven't improved much?). And that's when the sneaky ACs attack and the lights go out.
Of course, there's no back-up generator in the medical bay where what turns out to be a very long caesarian is taking place. And the locks on the cells disengage when the power's lost (someone should sack the design engineer!). Josie gets out but, thankfully?, the attacking ACs are prevented from killing Jack.
By morning it appears Josie's taken her kids and can't be found. The generator still hasn't been switched back on either so it's dark everywhere inside Forthaven, which is still causing problems in the medical bay. Puzzlingly though, Josie then turns up at the entrance to Forthaven, bruised, battered and claiming not to know what's happened.
It would have been interesting if they'd not shown the second Josie at the end of this episode. They could have left us uncertain as to whether there were actually two Josie's or just that the pressure of the job and the stress of the attack had fractured her mind and split her personality. Yes, there were already hints to there being two Josies - Stella hearing Josie Number 2's radio message whilst Josie Number 1 was still in her cell and the viewer seeing Josie Number 2 lying in the wilderness when Cass and Fleur (them two again!) went to look for her. However, I sure these could have been glossed over. Instead, it's now obvious that there's some sort of presence on the planet that can manifest itself as people. Which is certainly intriguing in other ways and a pity we didn't get this little bombshell in episode 1 or 2.
The ending was a bit silly though. Why didn't Cass of Jack or someone try to scramble up the rocks to get to the other Josie? Why not a bigger reaction from those that knew, such as Tate or Stella? Why did they just brush it off and "keep it to themselves"? My wife pointed out that they do a lot of that in this series. Everyone does it and it can get a little annoying.
I have been somewhat harsh in what I've written for this episode. Actually I found that it was quite good; not perfect but it did have a fair amount of action and intrigue. There wasn't too much gloom either - both mother and baby lived at the end (although the father, the third missing XP, died). A few plot holes aside, this series is shaping up to be reasonably decent, sort of like Lost set on another planet. So it's a pity we'll probably not see a second series and (no doubt) be left with a few mysteries still unresolved. I also quite like how the show is episodic whilst still having a number of major plotlines running through the series. Each episode tells an individual story whilst significantly advancing the overall plot. Yes, some characters you only see in one episode and never again, but otherwise it generally works well.
So, Outcasts continues to slowly improve. It's just unfortunate the first episode wasn't more like this one.
You see, this week Rudi - leader of the ACs - decided to send a couple of his men to sneak into Forthaven (if the past is anything to go by, they could've just used the front entrance), cause a blackout and kill Jack, leader of the XPs. What did Rudi have against Jack? I thought he didn't like Tate who, let's remember, is an older, weaponless man with no guards to protect him. Did Rudi somehow hear about Jack's secret mission (instigated by the wily Julius) to send three of his XPs to kill him? Perhaps.
Unfortunately, something happened to those three XPs and they've been missing for 2 days. After a wild goose chase following flares (what was all that about anyway?), Josie Hunter - one of the XPs - turns up cut, bruised, dehydrated, and with a nasty limp after apparently being attacked by some ACs. Instead of being sent straight to the medical bay, everyone in Forthaven - all two dozen of them - give her a round of applause. Without even getting new bandages, she heads to her children who soon start to notice that something isn't quite right with mummy. Maybe the fact that she's been attacked, cut up and then wandered the wilderness for two days might have something to do with it?
Eventually another one of the missing XPs is found and he has a different story to tell. It wasn't the ACs that attacked them but Josie herself who turned on the other two. And so the PAS officers (i.e. Cass and Fleur) arrest Josie and lock her up. It's a pity they didn't have some sort of mind-reading device that could help determine the truth of the matter. Oh, they do? Well, perhaps the DBV was being used at the time to help Stella or Tipper go on little memory 'trips'?
Meanwhile, the wife of one of the missing XPs has gone into labour and is about to give birth to what might be the last child born in Forthaven for a while. There are complications with the birth so they have to perform a C-section (I'm guessing that, unlike space travel, tech and medical procedures haven't improved much?). And that's when the sneaky ACs attack and the lights go out.
Of course, there's no back-up generator in the medical bay where what turns out to be a very long caesarian is taking place. And the locks on the cells disengage when the power's lost (someone should sack the design engineer!). Josie gets out but, thankfully?, the attacking ACs are prevented from killing Jack.
By morning it appears Josie's taken her kids and can't be found. The generator still hasn't been switched back on either so it's dark everywhere inside Forthaven, which is still causing problems in the medical bay. Puzzlingly though, Josie then turns up at the entrance to Forthaven, bruised, battered and claiming not to know what's happened.
It would have been interesting if they'd not shown the second Josie at the end of this episode. They could have left us uncertain as to whether there were actually two Josie's or just that the pressure of the job and the stress of the attack had fractured her mind and split her personality. Yes, there were already hints to there being two Josies - Stella hearing Josie Number 2's radio message whilst Josie Number 1 was still in her cell and the viewer seeing Josie Number 2 lying in the wilderness when Cass and Fleur (them two again!) went to look for her. However, I sure these could have been glossed over. Instead, it's now obvious that there's some sort of presence on the planet that can manifest itself as people. Which is certainly intriguing in other ways and a pity we didn't get this little bombshell in episode 1 or 2.
The ending was a bit silly though. Why didn't Cass of Jack or someone try to scramble up the rocks to get to the other Josie? Why not a bigger reaction from those that knew, such as Tate or Stella? Why did they just brush it off and "keep it to themselves"? My wife pointed out that they do a lot of that in this series. Everyone does it and it can get a little annoying.
I have been somewhat harsh in what I've written for this episode. Actually I found that it was quite good; not perfect but it did have a fair amount of action and intrigue. There wasn't too much gloom either - both mother and baby lived at the end (although the father, the third missing XP, died). A few plot holes aside, this series is shaping up to be reasonably decent, sort of like Lost set on another planet. So it's a pity we'll probably not see a second series and (no doubt) be left with a few mysteries still unresolved. I also quite like how the show is episodic whilst still having a number of major plotlines running through the series. Each episode tells an individual story whilst significantly advancing the overall plot. Yes, some characters you only see in one episode and never again, but otherwise it generally works well.
So, Outcasts continues to slowly improve. It's just unfortunate the first episode wasn't more like this one.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Captain Britain?
From Bleeding Cool here's a fascinatingly different version of Captain Britain from Dez Skinn (there's more at that Bleeding Cool link).
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