April 2013

Detective Comics #19

/ / Comics

Detective Comics #19At $8 Detective Comics #19 is overpriced for anyone who isn’t a huge fan of Man-Bat. All but one of the stories (involving Bane created a Venom-powered army to continue his vendetta against the Court of Owls) contained in this issue deal with Batman responding new a Man-Bat outbreak (which includes a Man-Bat version of Zsaz) started by Emperor Penguin to steal Gotham blind during the chaos or its consequences.

In an inexplicable chronological snafu set by the launch of the New 52 (and Grant Morrison‘s insistence to keep using Man-Bats as Talia‘s soldiers), we get out first introduction to Kurt Langstrom (the scientist who invented the Man-Bat serum) and, in the New 52 version is far, far, far from being the first to transform into a half-man/half-bat hybrid.

Other stories involve Emperor Penguin’s soldiers bilking Gotham out of millions, the Penguin planning his escape from prison and revenge against his former assistant, Mrs. Langstrom’s plans to save her husband, and a disagreement between cops, one of whom was infected by the Man-Bat virus, over Batman’s proper role in the city. For fans.

[DC, $7.99]

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XIII – Rampage

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: XIII – Rampage
  • tv.com: link

XIII - Rampage

Following the bombing at Synequanon, whose 84 victims included Amos’ (Greg Bryk) wife and daughter, President Carrington (Stephen McHattie) extends the powers of the Patriot Act to track down The Veil. Meanwhile mysterious double of XIII (Stuart Townsend), who is actually responsible for the bombing, returns to The Veil to accept responsibility and convince Vargas (Bruce Ramsay) and the other members of the activist organization to continue down the road he has started. Meanwhile the real XIII remains trapped in the brainwashing facility as his double continues to try to convince XIII that he is responsible for the terrorist attack, which is exactly what Jones (Aisha Tyler) believes when Carrington shows her security footage of the attack.

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Nikita – Tipping Point

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Nikita – Tipping Point
  • tv.com: link

Nikita - Tipping Point

Michael‘s (Shane West) obsession into finding the secret organization Dr. Heidecker (John Billingsley) once worked for leads Michael and Nikita (Maggie Q) to an empty high security office building and an unexpected gift of a new hand for Michael. However, to earn the help of  attaching the new hand Division is offered a deal – the surgery in exchange for Nikita stealing a biotech device from a lab in China. Although Nikita and Michael are able to make it out with the technology, the third member (Patrick Kwok-Choon) of the team isn’t so lucky which does nothing to help Division’s low morale.

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Elementary – Snow Angels

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Elementary – Snow Angels
  • tv.com: link

“Who’s driving you around?”
“Pam.”

Elementary - Snow Angels

On the eve of a brutal Northeast snow storm Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) and Watson (Lucy Liu) are called in to consult on what initially appears to be nothing more than a straightforward robbery and homicide. However, when Holmes discovers the thieves threw away all the brand new cell phones hours after killing a guard for them he begins to suspect the case may have more to hold his interest than he initially believed. Returning to the building, Holmes and Watson perform a more thorough investigation only to discover the thieves true robbery wasn’t the phones but blueprints in an architectural firm twelve flights up.

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Doctor Who – The Mark of the Rani

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Doctor Who – The Mark of the Rani
  • Wikipedia: link

Doctor Who - The Mark of the RaniIn honor of the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who we continue to look back at some old episodes of the series. Although Colin Baker‘s run as the Sixth Doctor was short, and not without its share of controversy, there are a few Doctor Who gems during his three-year stint on the show. One of the best, “The Mark of The Rani” pits The Doctor as his companion Peri (Nicola Bryant) up against not one but two evil Time Lords when The Doctor begins investigating a time distortion and a series of deaths (each bearing an unusual red mark) during the Luddite rebellion in the 19th Century.

Although she only appeared in two episodes of the series, the Rani (Kate O’Mara) is a fan favorite. Just as devious as the Master (Anthony Ainley), the Time Lord arrives in the coal town of Killingsworth to steal neurochemicals from the miners in order to continue her immoral experiments which have left the entire population of the planet Miasimia Goria without the ability to sleep. The Master and the Rani come to an uneasy alliance based on lies, deception, and blackmail, targeting The Doctor.

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