Arrow: Sharp and on point

Apparently I've not written about Arrow on here yet. Which I find amazing because it's probably the best moving picture* content DC is putting out right now. Over the last two years Arrow has become one of the my favourite programmes currently running. So I'm gonna spew random thoughts on the series to date, so I can look more closely in the future.

Ever since Kevin Smith rebooted him, and more explicitly Brad Meltzer did a run straight after, Green Arrow has been a one of the DC heroes I really enjoy. I've always liked the characters that have no powers, but hang with the big names. Batman sort of exemplifies that, but he's The God Damn Batman. He almost doesn't count. But Oliver Queen most certainly does**. Partly because of his social politics, and that they moved him so far away from just a Batman clone who uses a bow and arrow. So it's a little odd then that I love a show that puts him right back under the shadow of the Bat.

For The Greater Good, Spooks was rather bloody brilliant

As I said on Saturday, after three years I finally finished watching Spooks. Which I feel took me far too long for silly OCD collecting reasons (it involves the sizes of DVD cases). Ignoring that, Spooks might just be one of the best espionage programmes that has ever existed. At the very least, it was topped off by an absolute genius final season.

I'll admit I was kind of worried it wasn't going to be. While the first only had six episodes, proceeding series quickly jumped to ten. After five of them, it slipped back to eight because of ratings, and the final series was back down to six. I remember thinking at the time series 10 was announced as the final – I was probably into second or third season at that point – that less episodes and the lead female spy being swapped between seasons sounded like it was being given a slow death, despite all the claims it “was going out on top.” It would be a sad death for a show that had been amazing.

It's Been A Long Time

Wow it's been a long time since I wrote anything here. Sorry about that. Life's been pretty busy and the blog slipped through the cracks. Mainly because at the end of January I moved back to Dundee. Which is awesome. And my renewed social life is one of the factors.

Unfortunately, my mostly hermit lifestyle in Scunthorpe resulted in my return to hanging out with people giving me one all mighty cold that knocked me on my arse for most of a week. There's also the flat has needed a fair bit of DIY and various other things have needed sorting now I live here. The little time I have found for writing has gone on stories or a part time gig I've got. Also, it's pretty great having easy access to a comic shop again.

Apart from the Hawkeye - which I never stopped picking up and is still immensely brilliant - I'm also getting the new X-Factor because PAD. Black Widow as the art is gorgeous and Nathan Edmondson knows how to do super-spies, but I've only managed to get the first issue so far because I arrived too late and having to pick up second printings. Also New Warriors for more standard superheroics, and it basically being a continuation of Scarlet Spider. As I get into more of them I'll probably have a post about them individually.

TV wise, especially during my cold, has carried on as normal, except I finally finished Spooks. But that definitely gets it's own post. I started King & Maxwell, a series cancelled after ten episodes. But so was Firefly and that was amazing, and I love David Baldacci's King & Maxwell series so I at least needed to try. So far, after the first episode, I can see why it was cancelled. And that one was an adaptation of The Sixth Man, which was great.

Gameswise I've been mostly grabbing the odd half hour in Forza Horizon, which is a fantastic racing game and makes up for Need For Speed: Most Wanted. The one time I have sat down properly with a game was Resonance, a Wadjet Eye published point and click which was bloody genius. While a slow start I hit the halfway point and couldn't stop playing. Easily one of the best point and clicks I've ever played. I feel a bit guilty that has sat in my Steam library for so long untouched.

I also have various plans in the fire for new projects, or returns to old ones. But more news as and when they happen.

Strategy Informer: Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD review

There's not a lot I can say about Assassin's Creed: Liberation here that I didn't say in the review, other than reiterate I am no ready to play Black Flag as soon as possible. Which will make more sense when you go read the review.

Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD review

Agents of SHIELD and Disney's fear of big heroes

We're now into the back half of the first season of Agents of SHIELD, and everyone is still complaining that the show just isn't matching up to expectations or the movies that gave the series a chance to exist. The cast and crew are going all over the place for interviews to assure fans and viewers that they've listened, and that they have plans to address a lot of the worries. Though part of the problem is the producers are seeing "It doesn't live up to the movies" as that the audience expects movie style special effects or Captain America to join Coulson's team. That's not the problem at all. Just go look at Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead. They're gripping drama on TV. Meanwhile Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. feels like a program that is stuck to the old approach to television.

I'll give the producers some credit. The mythology is starting to firm up a lot more now. Remember that first throwaway episode where Skye goes undercover with an arms dealer to rescue a scientist. That seemed to have no connection to ongoing plot, didn't it? Well now that arms dealer has been tied to the season's big bad, and that mad scientist is obviously going to return. Not to mention the episode with the exploding eyes also tying to Centipede. Though I still say you could make Centipede just a division of A.I.M. and not lose a single thing. In fact you'd be making the villainous organisation of Iron Man 3 look that little more badass and all encompassing. But that's not the problem I feel Agents of SHIELD really has. The main problem is that the producers are scared of wasting Marvel's catalogue.