The original film is a curious beast. Supposedly beloved by many, I’ve yet to find anyone who genuinely enjoys Jim Henson’s film as an adult. Even as a child, I found it a slow, plodding affair that failed to excite any emotions. The puppetry was the only thing worth writing home about. Henson’s next film, Labyrinth, was an improvement in every single way.

So I’m damning Age of Resistance with faint praise when I say that it’s a marked improvement on the original film. A prequel, it shows the world of Thra under the benevolent dictatorship of the Skeksis. The various tribes of Gelflings pay tribute to their overlords, variously in a state of denial or blissful ignorance as to fact that they are being taken advantage of. Everything changes when one of the Skeksis discovers they have the ability to use the Dark Crystal to siphon life force from the Gelflings, and extend his own life. Meanwhile, a mysterious force known as the Darkening (seriously) is taking over Thra…

With an expansive cast of characters, Age of Resistance sees the individual story threads spread across Thra, then intersecting more and more frequently until it all comes together at the end. If you’re fascinated by fantasy world-building, then this show has it in spades. The different landscapes, flora and fauna, various tribes and races – there’s a lot to take in, and I don’t remember the last time I watched a TV show that paid this much attention to the setting.

I should make clear that Age of Resistance has wonderful production values. The score is bold and uplifting, even if the main theme sounds distractingly reminiscent of Tears for Fears’ ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’. The physical sets are incredible, and the costuming is stunning. When it comes to the puppets themselves, however, I’m on the fence. I’m not a huge fan of rubbery-looking puppets, so the Gelflings themselves are unimpressive. Then there’s the fact that the puppeteers aren’t providing the actual voices. Now, I mightn’t have noticed this if Brose Avard (head honcho of the Chatflix podcast) hadn’t mentioned it, but as with the original film, the voices are replaced by other actors’, which means that the physical ‘performances’ aren’t as impressive as they could be. Put simply, ‘Sesame Street’ puts on a better puppet show.

The voice cast is…overwhelming. Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jason Isaacs, Simon Pegg, Benedict Wong, Mark Hamill, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina, Eddie Izzard, Helena Bonham Carter, Lena Headey…I have to stop, because the list goes on. It’s basically a who’s who of actors from fantasy and sci-fi productions of the last 20 years. Also, could we take a moment to note that Simon Pegg has appeared in reboots of Star Trek, Star Wars, Tintin, The Chronicles of Narnia, ‘Doctor Who’ and now this? Are there any iconic geek properties from his childhood left for him to take part in?

Age of Resistance is a love letter to the original, but thankfully much more entertaining. I wasn’t exactly enthralled, and was regularly conscious of scenes or plot points that only served to pad out the episodes, but perhaps that’s because I’m aware that this is yet another example of a proposed film being changed to a TV series by Netflix (see also ‘Stranger Things’ Season 1). The potential for more big budget puppetry on streaming networks does get me excited, however. I’m glad that the art can still get the big budget treatment in 2019.

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Season 2 of GLOW ended with the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling taking up a permanent gig in a Las Vegas casino. This means that they’re doing the same show, over and over, every single night. Everyone feels like they’re stagnating, and for this reason, the writers of the show have decided to almost completely ignore the wrestling element altogether.

We don’t even see any proper wrestling until episode five. Instead, this season is determined to focus on some characters who’ve never been under the microscope. Gayle Rankin gets to finally flex her acting muscles as Sheila. Previously one-note (the woman who thinks she’s a wolf), this is the first time I feel like I understand who she is. It’s a similar story with Melanie (Jackie Tohn) and Jenny (Ellen Wong), who get possibly the most affecting scene of the entire season, as the writers examine the people behind the gimmicks. Carmen (Britney Young) and Arthie’s (Sunita Mani) relationship gets put through the wringer as well.

In some ways, it’s more of the same for our lead trio of Ruth (Alison Brie), Debbie (Betty Gilpin) and Sam (Marc Maron). Since their falling out is arguably the crux of Glow, we know that Ruth and Debbie can never become true friends until the final episode (or maybe never), so the dramatic gymnastics here are no surprise. And similarly with Sam – it’ll always be one step forward, one step back for the guy, because otherwise we’ll lose that which makes him so entrancing.

In fact, there are only really two characters left who haven’t had their time in the spotlight, and that’s Dawn (Rebekka Johnson) and Stacey (Kimmy Gatewood) – the two women who have been unfortunate enough to also be stuck with the least interesting gimmick. Oh, and Reggie (Marianna Palka), who continues to get so little to do that I didn’t even remember her name.

But in case you hadn’t realised by now, GLOW’s secret weapon is Bash Howard. Chris Lowell, always destined to be runner-up in the ‘Veronica Mars‘ boyfriend game, is shockingly good in the role. Bash has more money than sense, yet his struggles with his domineering mother and his closeted sexuality mean that his childish naïveté is matched only by the tragedy that is his life. Poor little rich boy or not, the guy has issues.

And so, like Dear White People Season 3, we have a show that’s moved away from its own premise. If you’ve only been watching because of the wrestling element, then you’re going to be disappointed. If, however, you’ve formed an attachment to the characters like I have, then you’ll be happy to continue watching a show that’s now more about being an actor/woman/gay person/ethnic minority in 80s America than it is about wrestling.

As I understand it, GLOW used up the vast majority of the true story elements back in Season 1, perhaps because the creators didn’t believe it was going to run for this long. As one of the few well-publicised shows out there to feature a majority female cast, however, there are enough unique stories here to hold my attention.

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Never fear – the biting social commentary and incendiary dialogue is still present and accounted for, but as Season 3 opens, it seems the students of Winchester are having trouble staying angry. Samantha (Logan Browning) isn’t helming the titular student radio show or turning up to black caucus, and is instead focussing on her filmmaking work. Reggie (Marque Richardson) is also too distracted byhis studies to attend caucus. Lionel (DeRon Horton) is learning about and forging his new identity rather than honing his investigative journalism skills, and even Coco (Ashley Blaine Featherson) has been distracted from her political aspirations because of her own personal fears and regrets. The situation is best exemplified by Al’s (Jemar Michael) attempts to get his fellow students to sign a petition in episode 1. Everyone’s too busy or, many cases, simply exhausted by the outrage of the week.

If the show is a microcosm of the life of many an activist, perhaps this represents the characters in middle age with their own kids and mortgage, too busy with work to march in the streets to fight for the rights of others.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still razor-sharp observations to be had – the best of which is a jab at ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and its particular brand of white feminism; the most audacious of which is a self-referential criticism of third-season Netflix shows – but in many ways DWP is a shadow of its former self. To counter the disappointment, the characters are as interesting as ever, so although the season veers towards becoming a soapie, it’s still intelligent and fiercely intersectional.

I do wonder if this season was in the original planned outline for the show. The resolution to the shocking cliff-hanger from last season is dealt with in a perfunctory manner, and a couple of sub-plots are put on hold with the suggestion that the fourth, and final, season will pick them up next year.

As always, the show looks stunning. The cinematography is great, and the costuming and lighting has to be amongst the best currently on TV.

I wouldn’t say that Dear White People is running on fumes now, rather that it’s strange to see a more relaxed season. Gone is the urgency, the passion and the rage. Instead, we delve further into the personal lives of the characters. The self-referential jabs suggest this is all part of the plan, but I’d be lying if I said this season was just as compelling as the first two.

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The show’s format has morphed several times over the years. Season 4 is basically a 7-hour movie: a completely serialised eight-episode story. Here’s the biggest difference, however: where the film was unashamedly fan-servicey, season 4 is about giving the audience what they need, not what they want.

I think people who only ever dipped their toe in the show missed out just how broken Veronica (Kristen Bell) is. That was always my favourite part of the show: the darkness hiding behind her bubbly persona. And it’s just as well, because this season really dives into that aspect of her personality. Here is someone who was raped, and her best friend killed, all before her 17th birthday. She’s been clenching her fists ever since, and it’s definitely taking its toll. Like all noir protagonists, Veronica continues to be the instrument of her own demise – don’t expect that to change anytime soon.

The most enjoyable part of this season? Watching Veronica and her dad work together as equals. She may have gained her PI licence towards the end of s3, but this is the first time we really see them working side by side as co-workers, spit balling ideas and challenging each other’s theories. The most surprising part of this season? Seeing a different, more mature Logan (Jason Dohring) who, miraculously, doesn’t feel neutered. I never thought a post-therapy Logan would be an effective character, but Rob Thomas, Diane Ruggiero-Wright and others have shown me just how good they are at writing characters that truly evolve.

There are a lot of returning faces, but unlike the movie, it never feels like overload – people show up in places that make sense. Poor old Wallace (Percy Daggs III) is again only peripherally relevant, and my one wish is that he gets a more prominent role if we get another season. The guy’s been on the sidelines since s3.

The mystery concerns a bombing in Neptune during spring break. As usual, the story is full of twists and turns, and the list of suspects is long. J.K. Simmons, Patton Oswald and Clifton Collins Jnr are the big-name additions to the cast, and both are predictably excellent. Mido Hamada plays a congressman embroiled in the mystery, and his character is the only misstep. Throughout the season, his actions make little sense, and his motivations flip-flop depending on the needs of the script.

My only other complaint is far from integral. Visually speaking, this looks nothing like the first three seasons or the film. This show always had a California-noir thing going on, with lots of exaggerated colours – neon lights, stained glass windows – that served to exaggerate the shadows lurking in the corners of Neptune. This season, however, offers nothing but flat and bland lighting. It’s weird considering TV these days is just as stylish as feature films – if anything, the visuals are less impressive than the previous incarnations.

There’s been a subtle shift here too. As you’d expect, Veronica and Logan’s relationship is different to the early years. The writing is less soap and more kitchen sink (at least in the first half of the season) and there are a several arguments between them that play out quite realistically. As someone who seems to have come through the other side of trauma, Logan is the only one who really understands how broken Veronica is, and like I said before, her flaws have never been focussed on this much before.

As a character study, this season offers some of the best writing the show has ever seen. The central mystery won’t have the watercooler edge that s1 did, but the drama will definitely remembered by fans for years to come. If you’re someone who lost interest some time in s3 or perhaps when the movie came out, I can assure you that this is a much more confident run of episodes. We fans are in an incredibly lucky position – we love the show as much as the central cast do, and Kristen Bell has said time and again that she’s prepared to return to this character for as long as she’s on this earth. Not only that, but creator Rob Thomas has shown he’s adaptable to whatever format is going (serialised network TV, case-of-the-week TV, feature film, books and now streaming TV). Long may Veronica continue.

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Whilst I’ve only mentioned She-Ra in passing here on hoopla.nu, it’s a show of such high quality that it consistently surprises me. With Noelle Stevenson behind the wheel, it was always going to be good (seriously, ‘Lumberjanes’ is one of the best kids comics I’ve ever read), but this show excels on every level.

First off, the character designs are great updates of the originals. Whenever we’re introduced to someone new, it’s fun to Google the old toys to see how much they’ve changed whilst still retaining the spirit of the original. The background art is also reminiscent of late 70s/early 80s sci-fi and fantasy. Overall it’s got a Moebius-meets-80s-Miyazaki vibe.

The script is equally impressive. Snappy and hilarious, the dialogue ensures the pacing never drags. Even better, all of the villains actually have depth. It’s invariably a case of “doing the wrong thing for the right reasons”, which ensures that, whilst it’s a cartoon, the antagonists are never purely cartoonish. And central to the drama is of course the relationship between Adora and Catra – one of the most interesting examples of friends-turned-rivals-turned-enemies that I’ve ever seen in children’s programming.

Season 3’s arc is epic, even if it only comprises six episodes. The mythos gets expanded in a big way, and we learn more and more about Etherea and Adora’s place in the world.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is effortlessly inclusive whilst also, at its core, being about your traditional good-versus-evil struggles. The emotional complexities put most of the 80s cartoons I watched growing up to shame. I can only hope that, like She-Ra, Kevin Smith’s recently-announced ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’ reboot also manages to be as good as I remember the original series being, and not as lame as it actually was. (Seriously, if there’s one show that should remain in your memories, it’s He-Man; don’t be tempted to try and relive the glory days by rewatching it, folks.)

From a show purely designed to sell toys to a complex, hilarious and inclusive cartoon, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power continues to go from strength to strength. I’d just prefer if they released each actual season in its entirely, rather than splitting them up.

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The first thing that strikes you about The Clear Card is how little has changed. It’s incredible just how much this feels like 90s CCS. The character designs have been updated ever-so-slightly, but this is definitely a show designed to appeal to people who grew up watching the original. The background art is where the biggest difference can be seen, with some beautiful 3D work and contemporary lighting techniques. Madhouse animation studio has created the perfect visual update.

The story is a reboot of sorts. There are more cards for Sakura to tame, a new mystery to unravel. Like the original series, however, it’s not the kind of show that’s in a hurry to advance the ongoing plot. The day-to-day struggles of life in junior high are the focus, as Sakura and Syaoran get – gasp – serious (or at least as serious as junior high relationships can be). This would be my main criticism – the story isn’t moving fast enough. There’s also a strangely obsessive focus on food. I don’t remember the characters being quite so food-oriented in the original show, but it’s on full display here. Be prepared to watch everyone cooking, looking at, anticipating, eating and then finally reminiscing about food.

The one thing I’m glad they ditched is Sakura’s continued surprise that the source of any one episode’s chaos is a card. The number of times she expressed shock when someone said, “Hey, maybe this is the result of a Clow card?” was mind-boggling.

At this point in the show, 11 episodes in, I have no idea if 2019 Cardcaptor can be more transparent in presenting the non-heteronormative relationships portrayed in the manga. Toya and Yukito seem to know where the other one is and what they’re doing at any one time – as if they were a couple – yet the show never actually says as much. I suspect that, in the interests of maintaining canon with the original anime, they will continue to simply insinuate, rather than be as up front as the manga was.

It’s – ahem – clear that The Clear Card isn’t simply made for grown-up fans of the original show. This is still a kids’ show, and as such don’t expect any complex stories or challenging plot twists. As an exercise in updating a dormant story without reinventing it, however, The Clear Card is excellent.

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The animation here looks stunning. I am completely in love with the visual style. The sharp-edged characters remind me of ‘Batman: the Animated Series’, whilst the backgrounds have a wonderful 60s vibe. The action is perfectly framed, and it’s clear that the animators have a good sense of how to both mimic live action features and take advantage of all that 2D animation has to offer.

The story is a mix of genres, including heist caper, James Bond-type spy movie and even a dash of Indiana Jones. Carmen herself, voiced by Gina Rodriguez, is a great lead, whilst Finn Wolfhard continues his ascent as the biggest star to emerge from ‘Stranger Things’, portraying whiz kid computer hacker, Player. But the MVP is truly Rafael Petardi as the clueless policeman on Carmen’s trail, Chase Devineaux. His delivery constantly gets the biggest laughs, even if the punchlines aren’t that clever.

Carmen has made the switch from baddie to goodie – strange when you consider we spent the original videogames trying to catch her, rather than playing as her – but the really weird part is how similar her origin story is to She-Ra’s.

I love the educational diversions here, precisely because they are so obviously shoehorned in. The basic geography lessons are kind of charming. It is frustrating, however, to watch the episode set in Australia. The accents are woeful, and what’s more they decided to go with a plot concerning a rocket launch near Uluru – a strange choice, considering there haven’t been any rocket launches in Australia since 1970. If I fancy some mental acrobatics, I could try to convince myself that the show is actually set in the 1960s (but a 1960s with internet and smartphones and etc. etc.)

The only other disappointment is that the plot features some ‘surprises’ that we adults can see coming from a long way off. This didn’t annoy me too much, since the narrative construction and characterisation is tight enough that said twists are quite cleverly plotted – everything makes sense, rather than having abrupt 180 twists for the sake of them.

As far as rebooting 80s IPs so that grown-up kids of the era can watch the shows with their kids, this cartoon is surprisingly lacking in cynicism. Where ‘Stranger Things’ annoys me with its habit of reassuring late gen Xers and Millennials that yes, their era was GOAT, Carmen Sandiego is a solid story, well-told. Bring on season 2.

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By the time you start part two, you’ve already had 35 episodes to gather a vast array of characters, many of which are kick-arse, unique heroines (who rarely, if ever, need saving – a shōnen rarity, in my experience.) Top of this list would be Izumi, teacher of the Fullmetal Alchemist. Despite being a powerful alchemist and martial artist, she constantly refers to herself as a housewife, and only ever seems to wear toilet slippers, like she just left the house in a hurry. There’s Riza Hawkeye, a sharpshooter in the military who serves under Colonel Roy Mustang; Lan Fan, masked bodyguard to Lin Yao; and May Chang, a young princess of Xing. All of them have depth, are capable and have their own ambitions. Last but not least, we have Olivier Mira Armstrong, Major General at the Briggs Fortress, which looks more than a little bit like the Wall in ‘Game of Thrones’.

And at this stage of the plot, it’s the supporting characters that really come to the fore. We know all about Ed and Al’s personal goals, and the evil plan that they need to thwart along the way. All that remains is a resolution of such things. And boy – does Brotherhood do its best to provide a suitably epic conclusion to the saga. The climax of the story, believe it or not, takes place over 18 episodes, give or take. It’s truly stunning just how many pieces are on the board at this point, and how deftly the series hops from plotline to plotline, all whilst keeping the same sense of impending doom hanging over our heads. That the pacing never slips up is remarkable.

The only disappointing part of all of this is that the final two episodes are…fine. Just fine. I didn’t sit back and think, “wow, the end of the story really knocked it out of the park” a la Steins;Gate, but neither was it disappointing.

As an action show, Brotherhood never fails – I regularly marvelled at its ability to up the ante – and the quality of animation, the music and the acting all contribute to slick piece of storytelling. There is less philosophical musing in this half of the story – whether that be concerned with the repercussions of civil war, or the moral implications of trespassing God’s domain through alchemy – but that’s to be expected, I guess.

This collection includes the four OVAs, each of which are only 15 minutes long. These are one-off side stories that either take place before or during the bulk of the series. Out of the four, three are excellent (particularly the one focussing on Izumi) and one is a strange misfire. They are definitely worth watching, particularly if you want to go back to the simpler times, when the fate of the world wasn’t hanging in the balance. It’s much like those who prefer the simpler, story-of-the-week episodes that featured in seasons 1-3 of ‘Buffy’, before it became quite so epic and arc-focussed.

That Ed and Al are the least interesting part of this concluding half of Brotherhood is the only sticking point. It didn’t bother me much because the supporting cast are so fun, but I can see others finding it frustrating.

That we can see the entire series, from start to finish, in two huge box sets is a blessing. It’s a marathon, but it’s one worth setting out on.

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For those who don’t know, Brotherhood is the second anime adaptation of the popular manga. This version sticks closer to the source material than the first, however. The alchemist in question is Edward Elric (Romi Pak). In a classic Promethean move, Edward and his brother Alphonse (Rie Kugimiya) attempt to bring their mother back from the dead – with terrible consequences. Edward loses limbs in the process, whilst Alphonse’s body is utterly destroyed, leaving his soul imbued in a suit of armour. The two of them set out on a quest to undo the damage they did to their bodies, no matter what it takes.

The fantasy setting is reminiscent of Industrial Revolution-era Europe, whilst the military have uniforms could have been designed by Hugo Boss in the early 30s, if you know what I mean. Very quickly, the show establishes the rules for its magic. Taking its cue from alchemy, the powers are all about transmuting the essence of the elements around the caster, whether that be turning water to steam (granted, most of us use a kettle) or extracting the iron from blood to make metal weapons.

My initial thoughts on the opening few episodes were that the writing team knew exactly how to move things forward without filler, perhaps because this was a second shot at the story. But since discovering it’s practically a 1:1 adaptation of the manga, all credit should go to the creator, Hiromu Aarakawa.

This is shōnen anime but it doesn’t fall victim to the worst excesses of the genre. I feels like this is a result of having a female creator. There are many interesting and varied female characters, and so far I haven’t seen any egregious damselling. Considering that even the all-female studio Clamp seemed to confuse shōnen with ‘the female characters must be useless’ for a good portion of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, it’s impressive that Fullmetal Alchemist isn’t aimed at teenage boys purely at the expense of the women in the show.

The action explodes onto the screen. The show strikes a great balance between detailed animation and fluidity. It isn’t afraid to use deformations/chibis for the more comedic moments, either, which took a moment to get used to in the face of such a serious story.

I’ve spoken before about how I classify science fiction (taking a cue from Mary Shelley). And Brotherhood is pretty much a literal reiteration of those themes. Time and again it speaks of man harnessing the power of God, and being punished for such hubris. As far as this collection goes, I don’t feel like they’ve got the humility bit down pat yet, as the Elric brothers are continually striving for new magical methods to regain their bodies.

The pacing, action, humour and visuals are all excellent in Brotherhood. This collection contains the first 35 episodes (along with commentaries) and as usual with Madman discs the visual and aural presentation is top notch. In fact, the only complaint I have is the arbitrary end point of the collection. Perhaps in an effort to make the two collections of equal size, this one stops abruptly, which is strange because there’s a natural narrative pause about six episodes earlier.

If, like me, you never got around to watching this show, now’s the time.

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So season 2 starts with a bang…and never lets up. A horde of Titans is on their way to wall Rose, and Eren and the other scouts set out to meet their enemies head on. Except, this being Attack on Titan, it isn’t long before plot developments flip our understanding of the world upside-down.

I can only assume that Hajime Isayama is making this stuff up as he goes, because the narrative shocks frequently feel like writing challenges. It’s all so completely nuts, and the show doesn’t pause to spend too long on any of these revelations, instead moving onto the next gory plot point.

And boy, does the gore come thick and fast. The titans are as horrific as ever, and there’s some pretty amazing dismemberment on show. The action is incredible also, and it never fails to get your pulse racing during the battle scenes.

You want to know how else AoT s2 was catering specifically to me? They gave us a Sasha episode! That’s right, the potato-obsessed scout is the focus of possibly the best episode of the season, which gives her a decent backstory too. As much as we all love Mikasa – who, make no mistake, is amazing – I love that a character as offbeat as Sasha gets her time to shine.

The narrative of season 2 overall is strong…up to a point. When we get to episode 34, the pace suddenly grinds to a halt, and the dreaded labored exposition rears its head once more. It’s almost as if the make-it-up-as-you-go-along technique has run out of steam, and the writer felt explanations were in order. As such, the season crawls over the finish line. It’s frustrating because, as I said, the first eight episodes are pure, unadulterated fun.

It goes without saying that the Blu-ray presentation is excellent. This is top-shelf animation, and the action practically leaps from the screen. The audio is excellent, although we only get a 2.0 mix in Japanese (which is, naturally, the One True Way to consume anime!) There are also commentaries, interviews, a quiz, galleries…basically it’s like the early 2000s back when everyone was competing to see how many special features they could cram onto a disc…

Somewhat disappointing conclusion aside, this is a strong season. Anyone who was on the fence the first time around should give this one a go…

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