BOOK: Judge Dredd: The Kingdom of the Blind by David Bishop

As the Mega Cities try to reach an agreement on extradition, the Big Meg’s cleverest criminal tries to wreck proceedings using 20th Century technology. The premise, like a lot of science fiction, turns a story about the future into a warning for our own time. David Bishop throws in some fun parallels with today’s world, particularly the museum built in the shape of a Dustbuster and television references such as CHANCERS (Celebrity Humiliation And Nominal Career Enhancement Reality Show).

Unfortunately, The Kingdom of the Blind suffers from its use of stereotypes (the visiting Judges are all characterized as the countries their cities represent) and cliché (crime boss Jesus Bludd’s chat with Dredd includes the overused cop/criminal comparison: “We are more alike than you can bring yourself to admit”).

On the plus side there are some unexpected moments, but overall it lacks the tension needed to make it a real page-turner.

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TV: Star Trek Enterprise

Borderland
An attack on a Klingon ship is traced back to a group of genetically enhanced humans. Captain Archer conscripts Dr. Soong (Brent Spiner) from prison to help track them down…

For the first time this season an episode of Enterprise really hits the mark. This opening of a three-part story arc features Brent Spiner as Dr. Soong – the model for Star Trek: The Next Generation’s android Data. It’s easy for prequel episodes to be constrained by the fact that we know what comes after, but even with so much Trek Lore on show – the Eugenics Wars, Dr. Soong and the Orion slave traders – it still works.
Spiner is in playful mood, bringing Soong to life as a half-mad scientist. The well-crafted episode shows touches of realism, such as when T’Pol and an ensign are stuck together and she has to ask his name. This falters elsewhere, such as the enhanced humans killing the Klingon crew but only disabling the Enterprise personal.

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DVD: Death Valley - The Revenge of Bloody Bill

With all the great zombie films out recently, this is a bad time to be bringing out a (very) low-quality effort that doesn’t hold up to the competition. Small budget doesn’t always translate into poor movie in this genre, but Death Valley looks and feels like a student movie. You could fit the plot on the back of a cigarette packet and any discussion of ‘characters’ is being far too generous to these teen stereotypes.

If you like heavy metal music and mindless violence you may give it the benefit of the doubt, but it makes Resident Evil: Apocalypse look like a work of genius and that’s not a good thing. One out of 10 is being generous.

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DVD: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry runs away from the Dursleys and travels on the Knight Bus to London, before heading for the new term at Hogwarts. Sirius Black’s escape from the wizard prison Azkaban has everyone worried and the Dementors are called in until he is found, causing headaches for Harry...


This latest outing shows how strong the franchise is, creating the best Potter adventure so far. The movie starts in the usual formulaic way with an incident at the Dursley house, before moving the action to Hogwarts (following a great sequence in the Knight Bus, where the addition of a talking shrunken head voiced by Lenny Henry suits the fast pace of the scenes).

Apart from the darker themes in this movie, which seem completely natural as Harry grows up, the most noticeable thing is the accomplished performances by the three main actors. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) have lost the stiffness of previous movies and grown into the roles nicely.

For the most part the CG holds up on the small screen, it’s just a shame no recent movie seems able to create a convincing werewolf. The Marauder’s Map is also brought to life brilliantly and offers a great homage to Alien.

The extras are – dare we say it? – magical. Split into five sections they include Divination Class (interviews, featurettes, deleted scenes and more); Tour of Honeydukes; Great Hall (interactive games and karaoke); Defence Against the Dark Arts (quiz and interactive tour of Professor Lupin’s classroom); and Hogwarts’ Grounds (creature and effects featurettes). Highlights include Paul Whitehouse’s deleted scenes as Sir Cadogon and an interview with director Alfonso Cuaron and author J. K. Rowling. Rowling admits there are things in the movie that foreshadow what is to come in the new books – a surefire way to get fans obsessively watching the DVD.

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TV: Star Trek Enterprise

Home

Captain Archer goes climbing to escape the celebrity of his success, while T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) and Trip (Connor Trinneer) visit Vulcan...

Following their previous battles, this episode provides a buffer before the Enterprise crew begin their explorations once again. It’s good to see the effects of war aren’t swept aside, as Doctor Phlox (John Billlingsley) suffers from the
anti-alien feeling on Earth. However, it is the change in Captain Archer’s
personality that dominates the episode. The one-time explorer lets his temper dictate his actions and it takes an old flame to remind him of his humanity.

The other main storyline sees Commander Tucker and T’Pol visiting Vulcan. The introduction of an arranged marriage for T’Pol that effectively ends their relationship smacks of a reset for their characters, although may sow the seeds for later episodes. Having seen the eventual reaction when Trip lost his sister, it is disappointing to watch him lose his girl without putting up a fight.

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TV: Star Trek Enterprise

Storm Front, Part 2

With Trip and Mayweather captured by the Nazis, Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) is forced to meet with Vosk who offers Enterprise a way back if they join forces...

The opening of this episode is superbly done, playing with the change in the
timeline by showing Forest Gump-style newsreel footage of Hitler arriving in New York. From there, it’s back down to mediocrity. The politics between the Nazis (who are desperate to get their hands on new weapons) and Vosk (who is reluctant to hand them over) doesn’t come to more than posturing between the two commanders. There are some clever ideas, particularly the similarities between the aliens and the Nazis that appear in Vosk’s speech about how time travel can be used to perfect his race.

The only real moment of tension comes when the crew realize how the changes in the timeline were brought about, centering on an event in history that occurred before Vosk arrived. However, the thought that even if they manage to kill Vosk things may not revert back to normal is quickly glossed over in the wrapping up.

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