Last Saturday saw the conclusion of the first two-parter of the new series of Doctor Who. The story was arguably the most anticipated of the series, as it saw the return of fan favourites The Weeping Angels, who hadn’t been seen since their debut in series three’s near perfect Blink.
The episodes zipped along with the usual wit and flair that we’ve come to expect from scribe, and now show-runner, Steven Moffat, while Matt Smith continued to defy the laws of the universe by proving to be (whisper it) a better Doctor than David Tennant. Yet something just didn’t feel right. Or to be more specific; something just didn’t feel scary.
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When it comes to the appreciation of good writing, you have to try pretty hard to find a medium lower on the cultural pecking order than video games. Even as a self-confessed hardcore gamer, I find it hard to argue with this general assumption. Storytelling in games is often little more than an afterthought, something used to paper over the cracks as game designers desperately try to crowbar together action set piece after action set piece.
Modern games offer us fantastic worlds to explore, cutting edge graphics and complex yet intuitive gameplay. So why is it that as soon as they try to put one word after another the whole thing falls apart? Can the games industry simply not attract talented writers, or are there other factors at work here?
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Last September illusionist/mentalist/goatee-enthusiast Derren Brown announced that he would, on live television, predict the result of the UK’s National Lottery. Although Brown’s numbers were correct, no-one, bar a couple of shall we say intellectually un-inquisitive individuals that appeared on his show, bought his explanation of ‘deep maths’ and ‘the wisdom of the crowds.’ Pretty soon a consensus emerged that the method he employed was most likely a form of split screen camera trickery. ‘Superhero of scepticism’ Captain Disillusion recently put together a brilliant video that comprehensively explains how the effect was probably achieved. He then goes on to deride Brown’s own explanation as “pseudo-scientific mentalist drivel” and criticises him for lying to the nation. Brown has always recieved a chorus of critism from sceptics, but after his lottery stunt he may have a new problem: even the general public aren’t buying it anymore.
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After the critical and financial success of last year’s Star Trek reboot the pressure for a sequel was inevitable. However, it’s reassuring that when the writers/directors/producers are questioned about it they seem determined to wait until the right script is in place. It’s all too common for modern Hollywood studios to set a release date first and then desperately scrabble around trying to put a film together to meet it (see the dire Quantum of Solace for a recent example.) I was a massive fan of the Star Trek reboot, and it’s great that J.J Abrams and the gang are taking their time, but there is a word present in pretty much every discussion about the sequel that has me worried: Khan.
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This is the story of my four years in office, from the beginning of 2002 through godforsaken 2005. It may look like a comic, but it’s really a tragedy.
With this sentence we are thrown into Brian K. Vaughan’s excellent sci-fi political thriller Ex Machina, a comic book which charts the rise and presumably, given the sentence just quoted, fall of Mayor Hundred aka The Great Machine. The book deals with what happens when the world’s first and only superhero hangs up his jet pack and runs for political office. Vaughan has said that the series will run to fifty issues, the first eleven of which are collected in this handsome hardcover edition.
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As the final season of Lost approaches articles (and must-see youtube videos) are popping up online questioning whether this last eighteen episode run can possibly answer all of the questions the show has raised during its time on the air. The general assumption seems to be that after five years of build up, viewers finally deserve a season packed full of explanations. Like everyone else I’m hoping the final season serves as a great resolution to the series, but I can’t help thinking that anyone claiming the Lost writers have been stringing us along by withholding answers for five years, simply hasn’t been paying attention. Lost has been answering questions and solving mysteries every step of the way.
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