'Doctor Who' Season 7 Premiere Review & Discussion

In the Doctor Who season 7 premiere, 'Asylum of the Daleks,' Steven Moffat takes on his first-ever Dalek storyline, transforming the Doctor (Matt Smith) from enemy predator to enslaved savior. But has the often-heralded Doctor Who scribe finally met his match with one of the Doctor's longtime foes?

Kicking things off with a visually stunning introduction with voice-over of equal quality, anticipation of the story to come was at an all-time high. Unfortunately, as the episode progressed, such anticipation turned into confusion. Not so much of what was occurring, but why, exactly, it was ' and why we needed to see it in the premiere. Though still representing some of most visually appealing, epic storytelling, the television medium has ever seen, Moffat's weaknesses (and challenges) may have finally revealed themselves.

Essentially a stand-alone episode, proving to be more of a future companion introduction than any type of continuation of past seasons, the Doctor's journey into the Parliament of the Daleks, then the Asylum of the Daleks, though thoroughly intriguing, leaves few story elements introduced still intact upon its conclusion. Largely lacking any type of attachment to previous episodes, even the newly parted Amy (Karen Gillian) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) storyline emotionally falls flat ' which may be for the best, as their marriage troubles last but a mere 48-minutes in the presence of the Doctor.

And for the companion introduction ' which logically becomes messy for fans who follow production news ' the ill-fated Oswin Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman) ' who will somehow be brought back, perhaps with a name change (Clara Oswin, like Doctor Donna) ' was too overpowered in her initial appearance. Though Moffat does make sense of it through his characteristically brilliant plot twists and ingenuity, the lack of Oswin's backstory for audiences to emotionally fall back on makes her participation in the premiere slightly overwhelming. In a sense, it felt as if Moffat was trying to prematurely sell the new companion to fans before it was actually needed. Still, there's more than poor character introduction and singular storytelling that make the Doctor Who season 7 premiere problematic.

Returning to the all too familiar, illogical combination of flesh and mechanics which burdened Michael Bay's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (amongst many other things), Moffat does little to change audiences perception of such sloppily conceived plot progressors. As one the Doctor's oldest foes, the Daleks are one of the series' few legacy enemies which don't require superfluous assistance in order to create a compelling story. And as the Doctor Who season 7 premiere shows, such assistance can unfortunately be more hurtful than helpful.

Taking into account the Daleks' emotionless mindset and will to destroy, there isn't anything that longtime fans can turn to in order to help make sense of the completely arrogant species ever looking to become lesser creatures (humans), even if it is to help progress their overall plan to conquer. With the same frivolity in which Daleks can become humans, Moffat completely cleanses the entire Dalek race ' and (almost) 50 years of Doctor Who ' of the combative relationship (and history) with the Doctor. It still remains to be seen as to the reason for this, but hopefully it's more than the Doctor wanting to return to the shadows and the premiere completely contradicting that fact.

Though the Doctor Who season 7 premiere may lead many to question whether Moffat has finally went the way of Russell T. Davies, in terms of blindly enjoying his work, it appears that there may have been too many new issues for the famed Whovian to take on at once. Putting aside everything that this premiere presents, Moffat is now dealing with having to cut 10-minutes out of every Doctor Who story, amongst other things. Typically coming in at 58-minutes, this episode clocks in at 48-minutes, which would be perfect for commercialized television but leaves much to be desired from the commercial-free, publicly funded, BBC.

Even though BBC America broadcasts of Doctor Who have always been edited for time, having to substantially do so at its origin causes problematic storytelling issues ' something that is clearly represented in the premiere (i.e. the quick TARDIS exit, Amy and Rory ending). What's likely the result of Doctor Who becoming more popular around the world, the production costs of each episode still roughly remain the same, just with less story.

Additionally, Moffat is also facing his first companion transfer, which is something that would make even the most skilled writer take pause. Being able to jump in and write iconic episodes of your favorite show is one thing, but Moffat, now leading the series, has to deal with transitioning the emotional attachment of the viewers from one companion (and Rory) to another. Wanting to establish the new companion early on is wise, and Oswin (Clara) shows promise as a character, but the execution of her introduction wasn't up to par with what we've seen him do with less-integral characters. A little too heavy-handed than need be.

Combining these two elements with Moffat touching his first-ever Dalek story and there's more than enough reasons for him to fall of his familiar path of quality. Up until now, Moffat has essentially only written for new characters that he's created. While completely enthralling and absolutely successful, having to take on the weight of so many years of character story can be difficult for someone as nimble with their writing as Moffat. That's not to say that he can't successfully do it, he just hasn't ' yet. Whether it be from boredom or not knowing what to do with the characters, there's a reason why we haven't seen a whole episode featuring a legacy enemy from Moffat, and this episode may be why. He may simply not know what to do with them.

All that said, Moffat has certainly delivered more than his fair share of terrific episodes, and his role as executive producer and head writer has lead the series down some amazing paths. Still, missteps do happen, and this episode is one of them. Having so many mismatched pieces being combined in a single episode is something that fans have come to expect now and then, but deciding to make this the premiere episode is something that probably shouldn't have happened.

Likely not representative of the type of storytelling that fans can expect to see in the whole of Doctor Who season 7, the premiere doesn't exactly have fans biting at the bit to see dinosaurs on a spaceship. Not because it couldn't be amazing (because it could), but because the new season simply hasn't built us up to a point where that's something we'd like to see.

Hopefully the coming episodes will shift the series back to the quality that fans know Doctor Who can deliver. Because with Amy and Rory's exit coming near, and a new companion entering the series at Christmas time, the last thing this series can be is weak on story. Not to mention the fact that nobody wants to see dinosaurs on a spaceship go to waste.

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Doctor Who returns next Saturday @9pm on BBC America with 'Dinosaurs on a Spaceship.' In the meantime, check out our Doctor Who Viewing Guide: Tips, Suggestions & Complete Episode List!

Follow Anthony on Twitter @anthonyocasio

Movie & TV News Wrap Up: September 1st, 2012

This week:

Bryan Cranston and Catherine O'Hara Rock; Hawke, Delpy, and Linklater have been here Before; watch The Mindy Project as well as Ben and Kate online, and what is Sony's Console War Movie?

Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston and Catherine O'Hara look set to make an appearance on 30 Rock.

O'Hara will portray the mother of Jack McBrayer's Kenneth Parcell, while Cranston will play her 'friend'.

Details are sketchy at this point, and it's unknown when the pair will appear, but it looks like Kenneth's relationship with Hazel (Kristen Schaal) might hit a family speed bump.

Source: TV Guide

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Ethan Hawke has confirmed that he is in Greece with Richard Linklater and Julie Delpy developing a follow-up to cult hits Before Sunrise and Before Sunset.

Hawke is quoted by MTV as saying:

'We're here writing a third installment to Before Sunrise. If it works out, we'll film it, and if it doesn't, we won't. It's not really worth talking about. I'm just here developing.'

It's super good. We're just here workshopping it and developing it, trying to create a great script.'

It sounds like we might be seeing it sooner, rather than later.

Source: MTV

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The times they are a changin' and the way we watch television is changing too. You can now catch the pilots for The Mindy Project as well as Ben and Kate online ' here and here respectively.

According to IMDB, The Mindy Project is about a 'young Ob/Gyn doctor who balances her personal and professional life, surrounded by quirky co-workers in a small office', while Wikipedia states that Ben and Kate 'focuses on the lives of a brother and sister who are exact opposites.'

Watch them and see if they'll become part of your regular TV viewing.

Source: Collider

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Sony Pictures has registered a slew of domains featuring different combinations of Console War Movie. Does this mean that there is something in the pipeline?

The full list is over at Fusible, who speculate that it may be a new film, or potentially viral marketing to help sell the inevitable PS4 games console, that will be released against new machines from Microsoft and Nintendo ' console war indeed.

Time will tell ' however, feel free to chip in your thoughts in the comments section.

Source: Fusible

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That's it for now. See you at the movies.

Guy Pearce Calls His 'Iron Man 3' Role 'Cameo Stuff'

The casting of Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian was among the first details to tip us off as to where Iron Man 3's storyline might be headed. His character, and potential casting for Maya Hansen, suggested that Iron Man 3 would be taking on the 'Extremis' storyline from the comics, where Tony Stark adopts a more symbiotic relationship with his armor, becoming almost cyborg-like.

In the comics, Aldrich doesn't just help Tony Stark bond with his armor, he also adopts a few nefarious plans along the way, a detail we surmised might make him the film's big bad. However, the first footage of Iron Man 3 ' shown to 6,000 Comic-Con attendees ' confirmed that Ben Kingsley's character, revealed to be the Mandarin, would be at the center of it all.

Pearce is still an integral part of the Iron Man 3 storyline, but when talking to Vulture he reveals his role is little more than a cameo. Specifically, Guy Pearce is talking about starring in big budget summer action films, including his role in The Time Machine, when he reveals the info.

'The main difference was that, when I did The Time Machine, I was pretty much in all of it, so it was a really grueling experience. Prometheus and Iron Man are really kind of cameo stuff, so the experience of shooting them ' I mean, on some level, it's tricky because you feel like a bit of an outsider. You don't really live the experience that you do when you're there all day every day with everybody. But at the same time, it can be more fun sometimes because you're just working in concentrated spurts.'

This cameo talk from Pearce doesn't necessarily mean he is out as a villain or villainous character, but more than likely Iron Man 3 will only feature him as the creator of Tony Stark's new reverse-colored suit, and he'll be pushed to the side (or saved for a larger role in a future Marvel universe film). If he does return for the Iron Man 3 climax, however, that will mean he has some part to play in Mandarin's plans.

In Iron Man 2 the character of Justin Hammer (played by Sam Rockwell) could have been considered a cameo performance ' seeing as how he wasn't on set constantly ' but it was a pretty meaty role. If that's what Pearce is referring to by the 'concentrated spurts' of filming then there should still be plenty of screen time for moviegoers to discover more about how this new armor works.

Aldrich's partner, Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall), will also figure into that storyline, but there's no word on if her role is also considered a 'cameo.' Marvel was fighting pretty fervently to get these roles cast, and went with some recognizable faces, which leads us to believe they are integral to the entire plot (or the larger Marvel universe), not just the set-up.

This also isn't the first time we've heard Pearce possibly hide the full scope of a role ' as the actor had previously downplayed his screen time in Ridley Scott's Prometheus.

With director Shane Black now at the helm, audiences are going to get a fresh new perspective on the Iron Man mythos, and a chance to see the films take on one of the comics' more exciting storylines. We'll find out if it pays off early next summer.

Iron Man 3 hits theaters on May 3, 2013.

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Source: Vulture

Third 'Hobbit' Film Gets a Release Date; Second Film Now Titled 'Desolation of Smaug'

Back when Peter Jackson assumed the directorial role on Warner Bros.' adaptation of Tolkien's The Hobbit, it was envisioned as two films, one titled An Unexpected Journey and the other titled There and Back Again. The first film's title was a creation of the writing team while 'There and Back Again' was a reference to the book Bilbo writes to sum up his adventures.

Now that Jackson has revealed he's going to make three films out of The Hobbit, that original plan has changed. Most figured that the original two films would keep their titles, and Jackson's third film ' which encompasses ancillary pieces of writing from Tolkien and would bridge the gap between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings ' would adopt a new subtitle, but that is not the case.

In fact, as The Hollywood Reporter has revealed, the third film in the newly formed trilogy will be titled There and Back Again, and the second film will now be subtitled The Desolation of Smaug. Back when Warner Bros. registered domains for Desolation (and for Riddles in the Dark) we hypothesized that the third and second film might swap titles, and now that theory has been confirmed.

In addition to new titles for the second two films, THR reports that There and Back Again (now the third film if you're keeping track) will release on July 18, 2014, less than a year after the release of Desolation of Smaug (Hobbit film number two).

It's a lot of new information for Hobbit fans to take on, but it also makes sense in terms of the films' presumed layout. An Unexpected Journey is most blatantly a reference to Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) taking on the major quest in The Hobbit, while Desolation of Smaug establishes the setting in part two. Some spoiler-phobic moviegoers are reading the film's subtitle as telling of its climactic conclusion, but really it's only a reference to where Smaug the dragon resides.

As was mentioned before, There and Back Again is a title that references Bilbo's book, and makes for the perfect way to round out the trilogy. This third film will still, likely, encapsulate mostly non-Hobbit storylines, and will be a perfect place for Lord of the Rings' cast members like Elijah Wood to reappear.

In essence, fans now know how Peter Jackson would like to lay things out in The Hobbit trilogy, and more importantly when they will be able to see each film in theaters. There's still plenty more to be revealed about the movies, including where An Unexpected Journey ends and when Desolation of Smaug begins, not to mention what we'll actually see in There and Back Again, but we'll get to that in due time.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey releases on December 14, 2013; it's sequel Desolation of Smaug releases on December 13, 2013; and the final film in the trilogy, There and Back Again, releases on July 18, 2014.

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Source: The Hollywood Reporter

'God of War' Movie Writers Talk Adapting Sony's Popular Video Game

When Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton were given the high task of revising the script for the God of War adaptation it appeared as if the project, which has been gestating for the better part of three years now, was finally gaining some traction. Working off a David Self-penned script, the Piranha 3DD duo was brought in to breathe a little more life into the popular video game's big screen adaptation.

While we have nothing to announce as far as a new director or cast is concerned, Dunstan and Melton have provided quite a substantial update regarding how they are approaching the script. Fans of the Sony-published video game might scoff at the idea of the writers behind films like Saw IV and The Collector handling such a precious property, but the two's take appears to be rather unique.

In its video game form, God of War follows the tale of Kratos, a Grecian warrior who turns to the god of war Ares for assistance. A byproduct of that allegiance is the destruction of Kratos' hometown and family, which sets him on a revenge quest to kill the god. If this sounds like Clash of the Titans, that's because in many respects the Sam Worthington-starring films borrow heavily from the game series.

Dunstan and Melton are well aware of this, citing that when original writer David Self turned in a script it was well before films like 300, Immortals, and the two Titans movies were released. Each of those films, while still borrowing from their own source material, feature similar visuals and plot points to the God of War video game. The film's new writers were going to need to find ways to make those action scenes, which depict epic battles between Kratos and god-like figures, feel original again.

One of the key ways the writers plan to make the project stand out is with their development of the character of Kratos. In the game he's seen as a blunt instrument, hell-bent on revenge without any concern for self-preservation. In the film, however, Dunstan and Melton wanted to ground the character; give him some back-story before setting him out on this quest.

'In the same way that Batman was grounded with Christopher Nolan's rendition, we were attempting to do that with Kratos so that when we meet him ' like they're doing in this newest game, which is sort of a prequel to the original ' we're seeing him before he became the Ghost of Sparta, when he was just a Spartan warrior and he had family and kids.'

They plan to use (at most) the film's first 30 minutes to establish Kratos' family life and his humanity, before stripping all of that away. This should help audiences unfamiliar with the game series better connect with the character, and root for his success.

As well as giving Kratos an extra level of depth, the writers plan to provide the film's key antagonist Ares (also known as the 'God of War') a more expanded role. In the game he's only featured in a few minor cutscenes before serving as the final boss ' but in a film that cannot work.

'In the game, you know, he's immortal, and he doesn't really do much besides raid Athens. So we're trying to build him up a bit more, too, so that he can become a true villain.'

Die-hard fans may cry foul of the decision to alter the God of War base story, but if it helps make for a more compelling film we're all for it. The decision to establish Kratos as a human before making him simply a big white ball of revenge could prove successful if the right context is provided, and giving his villain more screen time should help establish the stakes.

Dunstan and Melton's enthusiasm for the project, as well, is hard to overlook. Leaving their genre of choice might give audiences pause about their suitability, but if there's one thing they are sure to get right it's the overly violent action.

There are still obviously more pieces that need to come together before the project can truly get off the ground ' including pinning down a director ' but for now we're intrigued by where the film adaptation is headed.

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Source: IGN

'Doctor Who' Viewing Guide: Tips, Suggestions & Complete Episode List

Once viewed by many TV lovers as a niche sci-fi program, Doctor Who and the TARDIS have been popping up with increasing regularity on television screens around the globe. In the past few years, the cult British staple has become a full-on global phenomenon. These days, being a Whovian is, as the eleventh Doctor (played by Matt Smith) would say, 'Cool.'

However, with over six seasons of the Russell T. Davies 2005 series reboot plus three spin-off shows (Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and K9) available online and in stores, it can be an especially daunting task to get started ' and that's not even taking the hundreds of classic Doctor Who episodes into consideration.

Fortunately, we've put together the following handy guide to help viewers figure out which episodes are a good barometer for whether or not someone will enjoy the series, where to find the show online (in addition to retail shelves), as well as a complete list of Doctor Who episodes, specials, shorts, prequels and crossovers ' including where the Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures, and K9 crossovers fit in (assuming you want the 'complete' Doctor Who experience).

That said, our guide will only focus on the Russell T. Davies reboot series (starting in 2005) ' since the copious amount of content in the classic series could be pretty daunting for most viewers who are new to Who. We recommend that interested viewers follow our guide and then, if they're up for it, go all the way back to the beginning of the franchise with Season 1, Episode 1: 'An Unearthly Child' (1963) ' which featured the first, and grumpiest, iteration of The Doctor (played by William Hartnell).

Continue reading for suggestions on where best to start adventuring with The Doctor'

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'Taken 2' Featurette: Liam Neeson Discusses His Character's Motivations

In the first Taken the story was simple: Liam Neeson's character Bryan Mills' daughter is captured, and he heads off to France to rescue her. In Taken 2 the various pieces have changed ' it's Mills ex-wife that is kidnapped, and Istanbul serves as the setting ' but the goal has stayed the same: recover his 'taken' loved one by any means necessary.

In addition to a new setting and problem, Neeson must match wits with a new foe, played by Rade Serbedzija.  Serbedzija's character Murad ' who lost his son whilst Neeson's character was on his first recovery mission ' wants Bryan to share in his pain, and so puts in motion a plan to capture and kill all three members of his family ' a plan that obviously doesn't go over well with Mills. In a new featurette for Taken 2, Neeson elaborates on his character's drive, the relatability of the story, and what he is willing to do to recover his ex-wife.

An important element of the series that Neeson hones in on is the idea that this man, who has been put through so much, has become a machine. In Taken we saw how far Mills was willing to go to just to get information about his daughter Kim's whereabouts, and in the sequel he appears to have pushed his limits even further.

It's a relatable story ' going to extremes for one's family ' and that, Neeson feels, is the real appeal of these Taken films. Audiences might say it's the chance to see Liam Neeson serve up his signature brand of vengeance that brings them to the theater, but that's a debatable issue.

In addition to the brief interview with Neeson, the featurette includes several new looks at the film's various action scenes. As expected director Olivier Megaton (Colombiana) seeks to ramp up every element from the first film, but also keep the focus on the character of Bryan Mills.

There's a few more bombastic action sequences this time around, a byproduct of a bigger budget and fan base, but the hand-to-hand combat that sold audiences the first time around appears to be in top form.

Though, if producer Luc Besson is looking to turn Taken into a franchise, where Mills must constantly try and save another member of his family, that might test our patience ' and, more importantly, our suspension of disbelief. But for now the sequel looks to be a fun return to form for Neeson, and a chance for the first film's supporting actors (like Famke Janssen) to play larger roles.

Taken 2 hits theaters on October 5, 2012.

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Source: 20th Century FOX