Television Heaven Cult Special

 The latest issue of TVH, Television Heaven's online magazine, is now available to download for free.

The new Cult Special features John Winterson Richards with an in-depth history of classic caper series The Avengers, plus biographies by TVH supremo Laurence Marcus for the two leading ladies we sadly lost this year: Diana Rigg and Honor Blackman. Nur Soliman pens "What Way out for the Free Agent?" on the surreal classic The Prisoner, while J. D. Collins provides an overview of Torchwood. 

Plus, there are two articles from yours truly: an overview of the TV version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and an updated (and typo-reduced) version of my anniversary article on Red Dwarf.

Not to forget, our previous issue, the Doctor Who special, is still available too. 

Two new critical review books are upcoming from Pencil Tip Publishing.

What the Fans Think presents "unapologetic and critical fan reviews and assessments" of popular sci-fi and cult series. The series now presents What the Fans Think: Torchwood and What the Fans Think: Blake's 7. 

The Torchwood volume covers all forty-one televised episodes of Torchwood including Children of Earth and Miracle Day, while the Blake's 7 volume covers all fifty-two episodes from all four television seasons. Each book includes one review by me ("From Out of the Rain" from Torchwood season two and "Time Trap" from Blake's 7 season one).

 Both books will be available to order via Lulu in late summer or early autumn this year. The exact price is yet to be announced but a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Quickie reviews: Doctor Who and Torchwood

Some short reviews for the latest episodes. Trying to stay concise for once.

If people like these, I might do some for the summer's movies.

Extra Torchwood rant

The Daily Mail ran a story over the weekend complaining about the gay sex scenes in Torchwood. No, don't worry, I'm not a Mail reader, but occasionally I pick up a newspaper of someone else's table and have a flick through. There've already been a few complaints about Jack's gay pick up in an earlier episode - scenes that were cut heavily for the UK, which is a strange about face - and now, the episode 'Immortal Sins,' which was about Jack's affair with a man named Angelo in the 20s, has caused 'outrage.'

"Hundreds complain over 'pointless' Torchwood sex scenes" yells the headline. OK, let's put some perspective on that. Hundreds complain, out of an average audience of 3.4 million.  So, it's hardly a majority of viewers. Still, two things from the article really piss me off. One is the idea that science fiction shouldn't involve sex scenes. "It's sci-fi, not sex-fi!" It seems we sci-fi fans can't win. If we're not being mocked for being sexless geeks, we're being told that our genre of choice can't look at sexuality or romance. Regardless of the complaints, the scenes were not pointless. They illustrated the relationship between Jack and Angelo, which was the crux of the entire episode, and, as we have had hinted already and will no doubt have explained this week, will have consequences for the Miracle Day story as a whole. It's on after the watershed, so any young sci-fi fans of a delicate age and disposition shouldn't be watching Torchwood anyway. It's not like it's ever been shy about sex since it started, five years ago. (Although I do agree that a watershed means nothing when any kid can click 'Yes, I am over 16' on iPlayer at any time of the day).

The second thing that angers me is that the complaints stem, not from the fact that it was a sex scene, but that is was a gay scene. I haven't heard of anyone complaining about the straight sex between Vera and Rex earlier in the run. Clearly, to some people, gay sex is offensive. Fine - that's your view. You don't have to watch it. This is a series notorious for its broad view of sexuality. Surely people can realise by now that there might be some men kissing in it, or a brief flash of willy. (Hardly the 'explicit' scenes the article infers). "Some questioned the needs for sex scenes, gay or straight," it says, the only suggestion in the press that perhaps some people can accept that gay scenes have the same validity as straight ones.

I know, I should hardly be surprised that the Mail is running a homophobic article. I'm surprised they didn't pick up on the fact that Angelo was an illegal immigrant. But honestly. Complain that the scene went on too long, or that the dialogue was terrible, or that it was all a bit rubbish, really, when you get down to it. It wasn't a terribly good sex scene - but that is irrelevent. It could have a work of true, beautiful art, and the bigots would still be complaining, and hatesheets like the Mail would grant them exposure.

Shut Up, Hitler!

Well, Doctor Who returned tonight with a deeply strange, but extremely fun episode. With a title like Let's Kill Hitler, it had to be a bit of a barmy one, but I wasn't expecting it to play out like it did. Some beautiful performances, great writing, a strong mix of humour and pathos, and some important forwarding of this year's ongoing storyline. Strange that after all the drawn out mystery of the past series-and-a-half, more seemed to happen to drive things forward in this one episode than in the last seven. I won't go into details here; not only will a lot of people not have watched it yet, but I'll be penning a full review for Whotopia magazine over the next few days. Make sure you catch it if you already haven't, though - it's a cracking episode.

Along with the trailer for next week's spooky-looking episode, it's boding well for a fine second half of the season. Far better than the current Torchwood revamp. That's not to say I'm not enjoying Miracle Day, but it's been hugely flawed so far. The central concept is sci-fi gold: what would happen if, one day, eveyone stopped dying? A deceptively simple high concept, taking to its logical conclusion to explore human nature - that's what science fiction's all about. So it's a shame that the actual series has had so much wrong with it. The plotting's all over the place; sudden twists and revelations pop out of nowhere at the end of episodes because it't time for another surprise, not because the plot demands them. The core character's are all deeply stupid, handing over vital evidence to obvious villains, and phoning their families in the middle of major crises, despite being on the run. In fact, the writers seem to forget that the main characters are fugitives for several episodes at a time. John Barrowman and Eve Myles really can't compete with the new American cast, either. Actors like Bill Pullman, Alexa Havins and Lauren Ambrose really up the game for a show like this. Having Eve Myles throwing a Welsh wobbly in the middle of an episode brings it all crashing back down again.

And, while I'm all for more gay sex on television, the sexy dialogue thrown about here should never have made it to paper, let alone film. Still, applause for the truly nasty elements on show. It's nothing compared to most horror films these days, but there's been some strong stuff for prime time TV.

Whatever, I'm deeply involved in it now, and there are only three episodes left. It finally feels like we're getting somewhere with the mysteries behind the Miracle. I'll watch it to the end, and no doubt enjoy it; it just seems like a drop in quality after the superb Children of Earth. Probably the best Who spin-off out there now is The Minister of Chance, which I'm glad to say is gearing up to produce a third episode. Check it out - it's only £1.29 an episode, and the prologue's free!