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Update: Kevin has now announced, via Facebook once more that due to the financial issues regarding the script, it will now be a stage musical.

Original story below.

Kevin Smith has announced his next project after Tusk via a screencap on his Facebook page.

Originally titled Christzilla, Helena Handbag – apparently a nod to David Lynch’s unproduced apocalyptic screenplay One Saliva Bubble follows “mankind teaming up with Hell to save existence from extinction at the hands of a Rapturing giant Jesus.”

like Tusk, this script is based on an episode of his SModcast podcast which can be seen on the title page.

Smith realizes that “NOBODY’S gonna wanna make that movie” and that is the very reason to do it;

I realized that film isn’t in my blood… MY films are in my blood. And some of ’em are still in there, so I better get ’em out!

Smith fans will know this isn’t the first time he’s danced with the apocalypse with the original, radically different ending to Red State involving the Rapture and God appearing to John Goodman’s character.

After Tusk, Smith will begin shooting Clerks III before this project. Not bad for a guy who was supposed to be retiring.

Source: Facebook

Is this something that is up your alley? Or does Kevin Smith leave a bad taste? Comment below.

Star of Fresh Prince, Voice of Shredder, War Machine and a host of other roles has sadly passed away at 65 on New Years Eve. Avery’s co-star and on screen son, Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton), announced the news on Twitter this morning:

I’m deeply saddened to say that James Avery has passed away. He was a second father to me. I will miss him greatly.

He also took to his Facebook page to say;

The world has lost a truly special man. I am very saddened to say that James Avery has passed. Even though he played my father on TV, he was a wonderful father figure to me in life. He will be deeply missed.

It was confirmed today that he passed due to complications from open heart surgery. He will be sorely missed.

Marvel Studios have today released the first image from James Gunn’s highly anticipated film ‘Guardian’s of the Galaxy’ which you can check out right now below!

For me, this is the first big test for the large, multi platform franchise since its inception and I think there’s a degree of knowing this for the cast and crew.

“Maybe it’s a risk, I dunno,” Chris Pratt told Empire magazine this month.

“I think every movie Marvel’s made has been a risk and they’re risks that pay off really big. So I hope for the movie’s sake, and my sake, that this one pays off. The story’s really good and Marvel really knows what they’re doing.”

The official synopsis, also released reads:

From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team–the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Peter discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand – with the galaxy’s fate in the balance. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is presented by Marvel Studios. The film releases August 1, 2014, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Source: Screen Crush

are you looking forward to next years movie? Comment below.

My New Year’s Resolutions are usually the normal ones. You know, exercise more, lose 10 pounds, blah blah blah. Since I’m eating marshmallows straight from a bag while writing this (only because I already ate all the cookies, obviously), I’m going to go ahead and rule the healthy ones out for 2014. So I’ve drafted Ash to help me come up with Ash & Fern’s 14 Geek Resolutions for 2014. Wish us luck!!

Me first:

1) I will FINALLY get Netflix. It’s getting embarrassing. Someone who watches as much TV as I do should never have to say “no I haven’t seen that, I don’t have Netflix.” So for the record, no, I haven’t seen Orange is the New Black or the new season of Arrested Development. But I will. As soon as Ash shows me how to use it.

2) I will find and read a new series. I’ve been in a bit of a rut the past few years. I haven’t been reading a ton, but when I have, I’ve gone back and forth between A Song of Ice and Fire and various Tolkien binges. I really need to expand my literary adventures. A friend has suggested The Kingkiller Chronicle, but I’m definitely open to more suggestions, so have at it in the comments!
3) I will get Ash to watch Battlestar Galactica. I finally got her to watch Firefly this year, and she loved it (well so far, she has somehow turned the shortest lived show ever into a 3 month ordeal). I realize this should be one of her resolutions, but I’m not sure she really understands the importance of this for both our friendship and her overall awesomeness.

4) I will finally finish a costume for DragonCon. Every year I have bright ideas. And every year my Con buddy Kristina shows up with awesome costumes and I wear shorts and a t-shirt every day while pieces of my abandoned dreams hang out in my suitcase. This cannot stand. I have a plan for a Spartacus costume that basically involves buying some red fabric and finding a bow and arrow. Surely I can pull that off in the next 8 months. Come on Fern.
5) I will give horror movies another chance. I’ve avoided them for years, prompted by the terrible decision to see The Exorcism of Emily Rose during college kept me up until after 3am every day for MONTHS. My grades suffered a little that semester for obvious reasons. I’m not so afraid of chainsaw killers or guys in masks, I took a karate class once after I bought a Groupon and I’m pretty confident I can defend myself against any run-of-the-mill serial killer. But you start talking possession, demons, etc. and I get freaked out fast. Yikes. But seriously, I’m almost 30, and I know I’m missing out on some great movies. So here’s to another few months of sleepless nights.

Alright Ash, your turn:

6) I will watch ALL of the Oscar Best Picture Nominations. Every year I get close and then I regret not seeing The Artist and of course, it wins. So this year I will finally see all the ones nominated, even if it’s after the awards.

7) I will read an adult book series. Not that kind of adult book series…get your head out of the gutter. Just one that was written at the intelligence level of adults. With both my husband and I working in middle schools, too often we get caught up in the newest young adult crazes. Don’t get me wrong, I love Hunger Games as much as the next person, and I’m super excited to get going on the copy of Maze Runner that’s sitting on my nightstand, but it would be nice to read something that is a bit more challenging in the intellectual sense.
8) I will learn to count cards. I don’t know if this is technically geeky seeing that doing it is illegal, but I figure it all has to do with math, so it should count. I really don’t plan on ever using this skill in Vegas; I really just want to say that I know how to. I figure I’m mathematically inclined enough, why not sit down and take the time to figure it out.

9) I will finish a TV series of something (besides Firefly). Let’s face it, Fern is the television person in this relationship. I am not. I have so many TV series that I get into for a while and then I get busy and am so behind I never get to find out what happens. This leads to me consistently having to avoid social media the morning after big episodes. No, do NOT talk about what Jax and Gemma did to Clay last night. No, I do not want to know how Ted finally met the mother because I’m still on the season where he just broke up with Zoe. Don’t even start to talk to me about how much you love Matt Smith as the Doctor because I’m still in the David Tennant seasons. So this is the year I will finally finish one of these series, even if I have to give up a clean house and graded papers for it. My husband and students will understand. After all, this is about setting goals and sticking to them!
10) I will use more technology in my life. Now let me explain, I am NOT like Fern on this one. I understand technology. I couldn’t code anything per se, but I can operate most machinery and can even fix simple to moderate problems with my computer, phone, and appliances. I was the friend who always ended up hooking up all my friend’s desktop computers in college because they couldn’t figure it out. So my lack of use has nothing to do with lack of knowledge. For whatever reason, I just don’t take the time to set up and use basic apps and websites that would really make my life ten times easier, especially for my job. So this year, it’s going to happen. I’m letting computers do my mundane work and giving myself some more free time. I’m going to need it to catch up on all this television!

Finally, we are a duo, so we will face these last few together:

11) We will successfully get the US Men’s National Team through the Group of Death and into the knockout stage of the World Cup. This will not be easy, partially because we won’t actually be playing in the games. Also because our group suuuuuucks. But it can be done, and we will be there to help. Also, if we have any additional powers while there, we will attempt to keep Fern from being incinerated by the Sun. This is obviously secondary, but also important.

12) We will be more entertaining on Twitter. We already are hilarious (at least to ourselves) the few times a week we actually tweet, so all we need to do is increase the exposure you have to our brilliant, witty retorts to everything. We’re hoping this will also include some live tweeting during the Oscars, our trip to Brazil, random days of drinking, and any other event that seems appropriate. So help us out on this one and reply to keep the geeky conversation going! (And be sure to follow @adonnell5 and @fernmays or we’ll just be tweeting each other. We do enough of that already!)
13) We will get to know you a little better and bring you the posts you want to read and reply to. Obviously, you guys are needed for this one as well. Respond, comment, email, tweet…whatever it takes to get your opinion to us. We want to bring you stuff that will entertain you but that requires a bit of information and feedback. Give it to us, we promise we won’t bite!

And finally…

14) We will keep having an amazing time writing Ash & Fern. This has already been so much fun for us, and we look forward to an awesome 2014 and beyond!

When Microsoft introduced Games for Gold, it was a blatant attempt to rival Sony’s Playstation Plus service. Many detractors were very vocal about its quality but I, at the time defended it. With initial announcements such as Halo 3 and Dead Rising 2 it would surely get better and better. Right?

After around two months the games began to take a downhill turn. Less and less full titles were being released. Instead we got little arcade games that were both disappointing and uninspiring choices. The service really has been shadowed in the investment Sony has put into playstation Plus. The quality and amount of games being realised for the Playstation Three, Playstation Vita and now Playstation 4 are a triumph.

Can this months free games change this trend for Microsoft? Who’s to say. But it’s certainly an improvement. Check out what you can install on your 360 next month.

Sleeping Dogs

Considered a sleeper hit by many, Sleeping Dogs is more than just a GTA clone. Boasting engaging fighting mechanics and an interesting take on the Kung fu genre. Whilst something Playstation plus users had a while back, it’s definitely a great improvement.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

Before we had the reboot adventure, Lara croft graced the xbox live arcade scene in a surprisingly challenging coop puzzle adventure that is both a visual treat and a fun experience.

Are you excited for Square Enix’ contribution to Games for Gold in January? Or it too little too late? Comment below.

If you’ve been to theater or read any reviews this year, you’re probably well aware that 2013 was a pretty good year for films. Not only did Hollywood rake in record-breaking profits on several movies, a good number of the flicks that came out were top-quality features. While sequels once again ruled the box office this year, there are also a number of original properties that debuted to great success. In terms of film, 2013 will certainly be remembered for its financial and critical successes in the years to come.

Of course, even in the slew of excellent films, some of them stand out among the rest. A few members of the INTERN-Net crew decided to weigh in on their top picks of 2013. Which films earned some extra praise from a bunch of unpaid internet chumps like us? Give our selections a look!

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Mason Daniel – 12 Years a Slave

As 2013 comes to a close, the Academy is left with a refreshingly diverse selection of award-worthy films to choose from in the next few months. While there are plenty I still need to see (Her, Nebraska and The Wolf of Wall Street being my top priorities), I doubt that any one of them will eclipse the filmmaking majesty of Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave. Harvesting key elements of his previous two films — specifically the attention to historical detail from Hunger and the raw emotion present in Shame — McQueen concocts what is surely one of the most riveting period dramas ever made, exposing the atrocities of American slavery in the bleakest manner possible to drive home the lowest depths of human cruelty. Along with its top-notch acting, gorgeous cinematography, and astonishing/emotionally agonizing long takes, the film is a bonafide masterpiece. It may not be one that most people would want to return to very often, but that makes for some of the best films when it’s all said and done.

Runners-up:
To the Wonder (Terrence Malick)
Upstream Color (Shane Carruth)
Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine)

Angelo Elauria – John Dies at the End

I have yet to see the better part of the Oscar season films (The Wolf of Wall Street, 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, etc.), and from all the films I’ve seen this year, it’s hard for me to pick favorites. However, John Dies at the End completely blew my mind so far out of my skull, it traveled to another universe in to a parallel skull, and blew it again. This was probably the most creative and original film I have seen in a LONG time.

The film is really absurd and chaotic, but it’s not incoherent. Sure, there are MANY aspects of this movie don’t make sense: Girls exploding into snakes, door knobs turning into dicks, and Paul Giamatti in a Chinese restaurant. But if you just let these details wash over you, the narrative will really keep you guessing and the world they set up feels like you’re going full throttle through a rabbit hole. It’s as if a bunch of intelligent philosophical college frat boys talked about making a movie, decided to take massive amounts LSD, and then blacked out. When they sobered up in a hotel room in Mexico, they saw a bunch of film equipment scattered on the floor, and one completed film reel lying on the bed. On the reel, there was masking tape, and etched in blood were the words John Dies at the End.

Thomas Mariani – Before Midnight

In a year filled with many adaptations and sequels, it’s only appropriate that my favorite film of the year be an entry in a long running series. However, you’ll not find a single superhero or fantasy creature within my choice. Instead, there will just be a middle-aged couple having trouble with their marriage. Before Midnight managed to avoid every single pitfall some of the more disappointing sequels of the year fell into. It developed the characters Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have been playing for nearly 20 years in ways that the previous films Before Sunrise and Before Sunset didn’t, having them face the major road bumps of a long-lasting relationship that have no clear cut answers. Neither side is wrong, as they both have very solid reasons for their points and that’s what makes every single moment of this film so fascinating.

We’ve seen these characters grow from optimistic kids to seemingly dispassionate parents. When they worry about how their lives will progress, the fans of the series (like myself) feel their pain. It’s all so emotionally honest and heartfelt from Hawke, Delpy and writer/director Richard Linklater that it feels as if we’ve actually known this couple for years. I barely emoted from some of the bigger sequels of 2013, with their special effects driven moments of peril and forced love triangles. Yet, a film that primarily focuses on whether or not a couple will live a happy life together had me invested the entire time, which is why Before Midnight managed to rise to the very top of my favorites list for 2013 films.

Chris Harrison – An Adventure in Space and Time

I going to cheat a little with my choice. I didn’t catch the wide array of 2013’s films and to be honest, I’ve been entirely exhausted at the same old Hollywood paint-by-numbers collection. Sure, some of the blockbusters are decent, but they are financially bloated and quite frankly there’s much more interesting things elsewhere (such as Tim Buel and Cody Rhyse’s low-budget horror film!). So for my choice, I’m going to pick the docu-drama television movie An Adventure in Space and Time. Much like what the BBC did for the Coronation Street anniversary, AAISAT tells the story of the inception of Doctor Who and the struggles faced by those involved, especially first Doctor, William Hartnell (played by David Bradley).

Originally conceived by Mark Gatiss for the 40th anniversary, the 50th provided the perfect platform to tell this heartfelt story full of intrigue and emotion even for someone who isn’t into Doctor Who. The drama is a period piece, and 60’s Britain is recreated lovingly with an impressive cinematography to highlight the romanticized era. Much care is also took in the recreation of the beautiful original TARDIS set, the original Daleks and more wonderful goodies that will delight fans new and old. David Bradley is also a wonderful William Hartnell who I wouldn’t be surprised picked up a BAFTA nod next year, along with the show itself.

Dimitry Pompee – The Wolf of Wall Street

There’s nothing quite Martin Scorsese’s interpretation of a terrible person’s life. After watching The Wolf of Wall Street, I am considering leading a life rife with crime and corruption just so I have a chance of getting the Scorsese treatment. There is so much to praise about this one: the writing was solid, the story itself was sordid and compelling, and the atmosphere made me feel as if I was in those heady, wanton days of lax financial regulation.

Of course, the performances are what really sell The Wolf of Wall Street. Of course, Leonardo DiCaprio gives a stellar performance as the thoroughly despicable Jordan Belfort. He is the among the worst people whose lives have been adapted for film, but thanks to DiCaprio’s manic portrayal of the lout, I can understand why he was as successful at robbing the rich as he was. Even in the face of this performance, I thought that Jonah Hill was the most impressive actor in the entire picture. I knew he could be funny, but I had no idea he could be such a magnetic AND repulsive individual simultaneously. Martin Scorsese brought out the best in everyone who had a moment on screen, which is why this movie tops my 2013 list.

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Those are our picks, now we want to know yours! Which of 2013’s films were among your favorites? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Swedish writer and director David Sandberg has a fanatical obsession with everything about the 1980’s. He cites the decade’s music, clothing, hairstyles, and especially its movies as driving influences in his work. Therefore, when Sandberg decided to make his own film, it was only appropriate to create a movie that expressed his love for the time period. After an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign, Sandberg’s Kung Fury, an action comedy about a time-traveling-kung fu master-renegade cop who crosses paths with Norse gods during his quest to kill Hitler, will be released online, free for the public’s viewing.

In his own words, Sandberg describes the plot of Kung Fury as this:

During an unfortunate series of events a friend of Kung Fury is assasinated by the most dangerous kung fu master criminal of all time; Adolf Hitler, a.k.a Kung Führer. Kung Fury decides to travel back in time, to Nazi Germany, in order to kill Hitler and end the Nazi empire once and for all. Kung Fury is a visually spectacular action comedy that has it’s foundation in 80s cop movies.

The time travel narrative and Sandberg’s limited funds required a bit of visual effects magic. The film is set in Miami in the 1980’s. Since present-day Sweden looks nothing like sunny, neon-drenched Florida, most of the film involves green screen backdrops.

What started as a self-funded pet project has grown into a globally-supported effort. Sandberg has extensive experience in post-production, thanks to a career making commercials and music videos. Originally, he only had these talents, $5,000, and the support of his friends in Umeå, Sweden to help him bring Kung Fury from script to screen. Most of the 30-minute film was shot when the Swede decided to seek crowdfunding to finish the movie. Sandberg launched his Kickstarter on Christmas Day and aimed for $200,000, which would allow him to hire a team of 7 visual effects artists to work on the post-production for 6 months to complete the film. In only 5 days, the Kung Fury Kickstarter has raised over $350,000 in donations with 25 days to go.

Given the success of the funding effort, Sandberg has discussed his plans to expand the film’s length and exposure. Sandberg has expressed interest in turning the 30-minute movie into a full-length feature in the future. In the mean time, backers will receive a number of rewards, such as posters, Blu-Ray copies of the movie, t-shirts, and the film’s soundtrack. Without a doubt, people far and wide will know the tale of Kung Fury.

While the movie has been fully funded and then some, its crew would certain not bar you from donating if you so choose. After all, the Thor’s helmet and hammer reward is still unclaimed at this moment! Check out the film’s trailer and the link to the Kickstarter down below:

Via Kickstarter

The Expendables is a franchise that I should love. All the big action names from my youth coming together for one big slobberknocker movie sounds better than a good idea, it sounds like the best idea in all of human history. Why then does the teaser of this third installment mean so little to me?

I was more than excited when the first Expendables movie came out, and then more than disappointed when I actually saw the film. It seemed it the film was more about having the names and trying to be cool, then it was about doing anything interesting with them and making a cool movie. Add in some beyond crappy CGI effects and you have a movie that left a sour taste in my mouth. I decided to opt out of the sequel in theaters due to word of mouth that it was just more of the same, although it is one my Netflix list so I do intend to watch it.

The third go-around here, set with an August 15, 2014 release date seems to be once again making the same mistake. This installment star Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mel Gibson, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Kellan Lutz, Ronda Rousey, Victor Ortiz, Glen Powell and Kelsey Grammar, but having the names alone doesn’t impress me anymore. I’m not asking for high art, but give me something more than the tired “look who we got this time, isn’t that cool?” schtick. Been there, done that, didn’t do it for me. I guess why I’m so hard on this series is because I desperately want to like it, I want nothing more than to leave a theater excited and go talk with a friend or two over a beer how cool the movie was and so far this series has denied me that pleasure. Here’s hoping this third movie has some bite this time to back up all its bark.

So my good people, are you excited about The Expendables 3? Sound off in the comments soldiers and let us know!

Via Comingsoon

Today, we began by reflecting on the week before. Reflection is vital in creating an understanding on what has gone before, and how it ties into what we are doing now. We looked at the first sequence of Nadine George once more. It was interesting how different it was, I had much more tension this time so found it harder to relax. Working with Rowan again I also identified how she had gained in confidence throughout the process. It was clear that the process is always in a state of flux, there is no definite amount that you can take away from it. It can always change.

We continued looking at breath technique from Nadine, previously we were working in pairs and it was quite an internal process but this exercise was as a whole class, as an ensemble. There was a great sense of life and concentration throughout the circle.

We began to walk around the room, but continuing the same rhythm of breathing as before. I noticed that it required more focus to maintain a consistent rhythm of breath when also focusing on movement. On each breath, we changed direction – being clear and definitive in both the breath and direction. We explored being in the moment as ourselves, rather than being switched off, automatically. We noted how that changed the breath; it was more focused and loose. This exercise also demonstrated special awareness within the stage – we were concentrating on our path and power, but must at all times be aware of everyone else in the room. We made definitive movements with purpose as once again, if there is no purpose then it should not happen.

We began to connect with partners once more; walking around the room, on a clap we met with a partner, grabbing wrists and breathing together, putting the arms up on the out breath. There was a clear different sense depending on who you did it with. It was never the same “feeling”. Making eye contact with the partner, one could easily infer meaning and relationship each time, but it was important to let the breath lead, two bodies as one.

Next, we met with a partner and embraced in a hug. Once again, we breathed together as one. It was strange not having eye contact. It seemed to remove notions of person and personality. I noted that as we don’t usually hug someone without a given contextual reason to do (friendship, love,comfort etc etc) for me there was a clear sensation of life and power, not from the self as it was in the first sequence but from the other person. There was a clear feeling of their power and life force. It was incredibly profound experience.

Next, we moved onto the four levels of voice as set down by Nadine George’s research

Deep Male in the stomach on the vowel AW
High Male in the chest on the vowel AH
Deep female in the chest on the Vowel OO
High female in the head connected to the stomach on the vowel AH

On each type of breathe, we performed the sound in 3 or 4 notes higher and lower. Though we weren’t looking for pitch perfect notes, it was about the sound. We also added each of the lines, trying to deliver them from the level given. It’s difficult, it’s not an exact science, and it’s about “feeling” it and believing it. I found myself most comfortable with the Deep Male and High Female voice qualities – I feel they have a similar quality and relationship which is quite close.

Finally, we looked at the Macbeth text again from last week, Susan choose pairs and we began reading it in character, trying to embody those things we had learn about breath and noise. She reminded us of the energy exchange and how that has to keep going, it is what keeps the other actor going. She began to add certain parameters for the characters, for example, my parameters for Macbeth were all of my questions were actually statements and I was utterly mad. It was pretty astounding. I’ve realised Susan has a distinct capability of identifying what is strong in an individual and what is perhaps not as strong and allowing you to discover and reflect upon it. I felt a real emotional connection when watching the power and transformation in Rowan, Kirsty, Suzanne and Alison’s Lady Macbeth. Each different, but each incredibly powerful. I was genuinely impressed and more so inspired. The notion of the exercise ensured there was as much to learn participating as there was in watching and reflection.

Happy holidays folks, and welcome back to Big Finishing Move, where we separate the wheat from the chaff in terms of Doctor Who audio dramas from Big Finish. Well, the time has come to kiss 2013 goodbye and I can think of no better way to do that than to finish off our little Eighth Doctor mini-marathon with a story that begins on New Year’s. So prepare for all kinds of timey-wimey shenanigans as we dive into Seasons of Fear.

TARDIS Team: Eighth Doctor and Charley

Seasons of Fear comes to us from the minds of the husband and wife duo of Paul Cornell and Caroline Symcox. Cornell is a well-known name among the Doctor Who fandom. He has written numerous Doctor Who novels, comics, and audio dramas, and he is the creator of the popular spin-off character, Bernice Summerfield. Symcox is a noted author, theologian, historian, and minister. She is also the author of her own Doctor Who audio drama for Big Finish, The Council of Nicaea.

Back in Storm Warning, Charley mentioned that her reason for stowing away on the R101 was so that she could meet a young man at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore for New Year’s and the Doctor has decided to help her keep that date. Relaxing in a nearby garden, the Doctor is confronted by a man named Sebastian Grayle. Grayle, an immortal, claims that he and the Doctor are old enemies and that his masters, the new lords of time, now rule the planet and have set up this pocket dimension just so they could meet one last time as Grayle had already killed the Doctor. Not one to take the conquering of Earth, the possible overthrow of the Time Lords, and his own impending death lightly, the Doctor grabs Charley and hops inside the TARDIS in a dash across time to try and put a stop to Grayle and his masters’ plans.

When Doctor Who first began, it was in part a show that was going to teach children about history, something that this story embraces. You are going to learn all kinds of interesting historically accurate facts throughout this story. I found all the cool internal political and religious material to be fascinating and I wish that the franchise did that sort of thing more often. Another cool observation is that Seasons of Fear references to things that haven’t happened yet in the overall arc. There is a reason a Dalek briefly appears in Roman times, there is a reason they get a fundamental fact about America blatantly wrong, and there is a reason the Doctor is narrating parts of this story to an individual of great importance. Once you’ve listened to these other stories, you can work back to this one and understand what seemed like random elements at the time do in fact make sense. It is a fun bit of storytelling and goes to show the true inventiveness one can have with time travel plots.

Seasons of Fear is a fun yet severely flawed piece that suffers due to over-thinking. A good portion of the problems stem from the fact that we have authors that are too clever for their own good. They go out of their way to give reasons why the Doctor and Charley have to stop Grayle in this specific manner instead of dropping him off on a remote planet or something along those lines. Other stories would have just said there was some kind of time distortion or alien tech keeping them from doing half of these things, but Cornell and Symcox try come up with logical reasons for everything. Unfortunately, some of that reasoning is so flimsy that it ends up hurting the story in the end. I understand their motives and I applaud the effort, but this is one of those rare cases where trying to explain away plot holes actually makes them more pronounced.

I also feel that the villains in the piece are overly foreshadowed. When you set up a mystery to drive your narrative, a significant part of the enjoyment is working to pick out the clues and try to guess the solution before all is revealed. However, in this story the hints as to the identities of the big bads are about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the crotch. I don’t get to feel like a clever detective when the story is beating me over the head with the answer. Moreover, having the Doctor comment that he should have figured it out quicker once again makes the problem stick out even more. I will admit however, that having Stephen Perring give such an overblown performance as Sebastian Grayle was a nice nod to a certain character from the original story where the baddies were first introduced. The real mystery here is why writers as talented as these two could do such a great job subtly setting up all these cool situations that would pay off down the road, yet wrote such a boring and obvious mystery in their own story.

Despite all the flaws, I still have to recommend this one. It has a great sense of creative ambition and I rather enjoy something fail at being great than something that succeeds at being mediocre any day.

Purchase Doctor Who: Seasons Of Fear Here:

As we jump into the new year, Big Finishing Move will be on break until the release of the first episode of season three of the Fourth Doctor Adventures. Once that series starts again, I’ll be covering each of the Fourth Doctor’s adventures as they are released. I will try to also continue to do other reviews in-between releases, but you can count on at least one entry of Big Finishing Move per month through the month of August. So I’ll see you all in January, when we tackle:

Remember to check out our own audio drama series here on One Of Us, Infinite Variations! If you liked this Big Finish review feel free to check out my other ones:

Phantasmagoria

The Fearmonger

The Light At The End

The Spectre of Lanyon Moor

Storm Warning

Blood of the Daleks

The Chimes of Midnight