Monday 26 May 2014

OJ's TV Review - Arrow season 2

Couldnt work out if Arrow fell into sci-fi? Well now you have your answer.


The first series of Arrow was quite enjoyable, the plot was mysterious enough to keep me interested but didn't drag on enough to annoy me. The same carries on into its second run but much better! Obviously a lot had to have changed since the season 1 finale and it goes into much more depth on a lot of the characters. The individual plots I think have gotten better and its fun to catch all the DC easter eggs it references for you; there are definitly a few episodes which flesh out certain characters which makes you all the more invested into what happens to them. The over all story arc is different from the last one in the way that it involves both present day and the flashbacks to past to create a long backstory. Nearing the finale it kept getting more intense and rested at a satisfying conclusion. In season 2 we got to meet the whole reason I started watching Arrow and that was the Flash; he does indeed appear (not yet with powers) and I loved all of his scenes, I hope more crossovers will be done as his spin-off series does look brilliant. In the end Oliver Queen's second year as the Arrow is TIME WELL SPENT.

Monday 19 May 2014

OJ's TV Review - Person of Interest season 3

I don't know why this series isn't getting more popular, it is absolutely fantastic.


Person of Interest has finished it's third season. Last time we had the evolving plot of the corrupt cop group called HR. That story arc carries on into this quite heavily and comes to a climactic end mid-season. I think they finished it well and at the right time before it got to annoying and weighed down; the results of the HR plot affects the series quite a bit and although it surprised me I felt it has a powerful punch to any long-time viewer. In season 2 a character called Root showed up and became a sort of antagonist to the series; this time round though she is less of a villain and more of an obstacle that keeps appearing and then as the series progresses she comes more of a main character and also evolving into what you could call an ally to the team. In the end I really like her character and she adds a lot to the series. The main team themselves have some brilliant episodes, each member has a huge revelation or a big dive into their story arc. During the latter half of the series, two story arcs rise up concerning the machine which eventually come together to make an awesome finale, they did the end so well and so climactic I honestly had to check if there was a season 4 being made (there is) because the whole premise now has changed and that is very exciting.  One thing I can say is that Person of Interest does emotion really well, some of the scenes and the way it's shot is so well done it makes you the love the series more and more. Another thing it does well is definitely the humor, the comedic timing of this is fantastic, quick one-liners or a bit of dry humor really do make the series an enjoyable piece of entertainment. All-in-all with all these brilliant elements mixed in I think season 3 is the best season of Person of Interest and I'm giving it was TIME WELL SPENT.

Wednesday 14 May 2014

OJ's TV Review - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D season 1

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a juggernaut of a franchise; can it translate well to television?


When I first heard that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was being made I was very excited; I couldn't wait to see how they were going to do it. I think nearly everybody loved Phil Coulson in the movies and were sad to see him go during The Avengers; now we have a entire TV series with him as the main character! Even the trailer look promising but that night I sat down and saw the first episode, it was unfortunately one of the biggest disappointments of 2013. I was expecting a clever spy thriller packed with awesome sci-fi concepts and Agent Coulson being cool; instead as the series went on all it was we got was stereotypical characters, cheesy dialogue and cliche scripts. Even a Nick Fury cameo didn't cut it for me. I am a Marvel fan though so I kept with it, I held hope and eventually it payed off. That's right, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. went on a break for a while and then episode 11 aired and this thing picked up. I was interested in the story, the lines were less cheEsy, the action got good. basically from that point each episode got better a better, towards the end I'd even say it had some strong emotion. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for me is a two-way split. First ten episodes were rocky and unentertaining shoving Avengers references down your throat like there was no tomorrow. After that it's a pretty fun ride; good fleshing out of the characters and even the ones tying into the movies didn't feel like it depended on them. After watching the whole series it is Very hard to rate it. After some thought though I'd give Marvel's first live-action television series a strong 7/10 - IT WAS OK+.