Trollheart

Yup. It's on the list. But there's a lot to come before it. I'll definitely be doing it though. Watch for an intro soonish.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

2.7 "The usual suspects"

Dean has been arrested on suspicion of murder of a young woman, and Sam is soon taken by the police too. It's fairly obvious the pair have been tracked by the cops across the states, racking up offences such as credit card fraud, identity theft and so on, but now the change is a lot more serious and a SWAT team bring Sam in. The other problem --- as if murder wasn't enough --- is that Dean is supposed to be dead. Remember when they left his doppleganger back in season one? Well that body is now being exhumed, Sheridan, the lead investigator on the case tells Sam, and they're interested to find out what they will uncover back in St. Louis. The female cop, Ballard, tries to get Sam to cut a deal, telling him his brother is already bound for life in jail but he can get on with his life if he helps them.

Sam begins to tell the story in flashback mode. Tony Giles was a good friend of their father's, so when they heard about his death in the local paper they came at once to investigate. Seems Giles, a lawyer, was killed in his office by having his throat slit. No suspects, no CCTV camera footage, no signs of entry and no DNA or fingerprints. When they arrived and spoke to Giles's wife Karen, she mentioned that her husband had had a nightmare the night before he died, of a pale woman with red eyes standing at his bed. This is the part of the story Sam tells the police officer. What he leaves out is...

When Dean and Sam broke into Giles's office, they found a sheet of paper on the desk with one word typed over and over again: danaschulps. The same word has somehow been carved or blasted or burned into the top of the glass table. As the guys try to crack Tony Giles's password on the computer (well, as Sam does) Karen is visited by the ghostly woman, and her printer clacks out the same word: danashulps. Dean arrives at the house to find Karen murdered, her throat slit in the same way as her husband's was. As he kneels beside the body the police suddenly burst in and he is taken into custody.

Now we're back in the present, and Sam is trying to impress his brother's innocence on the cop, but it's hard to give a reason for his presence in the house with a corpse just freshly killed without giving away their secret and possibly being locked up as madmen. Left to think about it by the cops, Sam concentrates on the word danashulps. They both thought it was someone's name, but haven't been able to come up with a single example in the whole Baltimore phonebook, so perhaps it's something else? An anagram? Both brothers, held in custody separately, get the same idea and each work on rearranging the letters to see if they spell anything else, anything significant.

Dean's lawyer, rather nonplussed that his client does not seem to be taking seriously a charge which could see him face the death penalty, mutters when asked that one of the words Dean has made, or part of it --- Ashland --- is a street not far from where they are. He gets a note in to Dean to let him know, and Dean appears to agree to confess to the murder, but instead tells the camera setup to take his “confession” that the two brothers believe that a vengeful spirit was responsible, causing considerable anger and mocking laughter among the cops. Dean is locked up, but when they go back to find Sam he has somehow escaped from a fourth-storey room with no fire escape.

Ballard encounters the pale woman in her bathroom at home; she notices the woman's throat is slit deeply and her eyes are red. The word danashulps is written across her mirror, revealed in the rising steam. When Dean sees her the next morning she starts asking about “all that stuff he was talking about” --- spirits, ghosts, life after death --- and he notices she has bruises on her wrists that are the same as those that were on Karen Giles. Dean tells her she needs to find Sam, who will help her. She is impressed that he is giving up his brother, whom she could arrest, but Dean advises her it would be better if she let him save her life.

When she meets Sam he is going through a stack of photographs, all women who have disappeared from the Ashland Street area. Ballard tells him that the spirit woman looked like she was trying to say something, but with her throat cut no sound would come out. She identifies her from Sam's photo collection as Clair Becker, who vanished about nine months ago. She was a junkie and although Ballard does not remember specifically arresting her, she did work narcotics at the time so it is possible. They go to the last address she is known to have been seen at, hoping to find her body and do the old salt-and-burn trick Dean and Sam are so adept at now, and find the ghost of Claire there, pointing towards where an old shelving unit blocks the window. The name stencilled on the outside, and partially blocked by the unit, is ASHLAND SUPPLIES, with the five last letters obscured. Sam gets a sledgehammer and breaks through the wall, but although he finds something there he is bothered.

Vengeful spirits are, well, vengeful, and they want to stick around to take their revenge. Leading Sam to her remains is going to mean Claire's vengeance will be at an end, so why is she showing them where she is buried? When they recover the body they see bruises on the wrists, as surely they expected since this is a hallmark of the murders the spirit has so far committed, and a necklace around her throat, which Ballard remarks she has one just like: Sheridan gave it to her. Sam makes the connection now: Claire is not a vengeful spirit, she is a death omen, and is trying to bring her killer to justice. Ballard now remembers that a while back some heroin went missing from a bust, but nobody was ever accused. Surely it was a cop, and if so, he would need a heroin dealer to fence it...

Sheridan it seems has already got Dean in the van, under the pretence of being transferred to St. Louis for the murders there, but Sam and Ballard catch him as he stops and there is a gunfight. Sheridan admits that he killed Claire, as she was going to turn him in for stealing the heroin. Tony Giles was laundering the money from the deal, but also ready to turn, so he had to go, and as it was likely he had confided in his wife, Karen needed to be removed from the picture too. There's nothing left now but for Sheridan to die at Ballard's hands as the ghost of Claire looks on, satisfied that she has been avenged.

Having realised that the guys were telling the truth all along, and that they saved her life, Ballard lets them go, pretending they escaped.

MUSIC
Another of those rare episodes where there are no songs played.

PCRs
Rather an obvious one, but Sam says “I'm not Scully, you're Scully.” Dean replies “I'm Mulder.” (Referencing the famous duo from “The X-Files”, of course)

Again Dean references Matlock when he calls the lawyer the name: “Hey, thanks for the law review, Matlock!” Sam also says the same thing when he meets the lawyer, Kraus. Well, he says “Sure thing Matlock!” leading Kraus to sigh “You two really are brothers, aren't you?”

Dean also references the cartoon ghost Casper, though he calls him “bloodthirsty” whereas we would generally know him as “friendly”. Or annoying. Especially since he started working for the CIA. I'm serious!

Dean says “I'm not joking Ponch”, referencing Poncherello, one of the TV heart-throbs from the series “Chips”.

On the note he passes to Dean are written the names “Hilts” and “McQueen”. We all know who Steve McQueen is, but I didn't know that Hilts was his character in the movie “The great escape”. Now I do.

When the guys are separated apparently they check in to motels or hotels under the name Jim Rockford. “The Rockford Files” was a detective series that ran in the seventies, very popular, made a star of James Garner. Frasier's father also watches his show, so if you're reading my writeups of that show you'll hear about him there from time to time.

At the very end, Dean grins “For some reason I could really go for some pea soup”. I'm assuming this is a reference to “The Exorcist..” Actually I see now that it is, as Linda Blair is in this episode.

Dean says “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” and also mentions “redrum”, two references to the novel/movie “The Shining”.

The "WTF??! Moment
Probably at the opening, where Dean is arrested. Though it's kind of not really...

BROTHERS
Of course you wouldn't expect either brother to give up the other to the cops to save their own skin, but Sam is given the choice here when he is told Dean is headed for a life sentence at best, the death penalty at worst, but that Sam does not have to be part of his fall. Naturally, the younger brother knows the truth but can't explain it without sounding insane, but he has no intention whatever of leaving Dean behind.

It is interesting that the two of them have been hunting for so long now that at times they operate almost as a single mind. While separated, and with no way, initially, to contact each other, they each come to the same conclusion about the word danashulps, believing it may be an anagram rather than a name. Of course, they've encountered this sort of thing before, but still it is impressive.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Let’s just get one thing straight from the start: I do not watch reality shows as a rule. I hate the bloody things. “Survivor”, “American Idol”, “Big Brother”, “Dancing with the stars” …. name any reality show you like and the chances are I’ll hate it. I hate the lazy programming, the formulaic way of presenting these things, and the constant hero-worship that seems to go with both the judges and the contestants, like everyone assumes you must be watching the show, and if you’re not then why not? Reality shows also show a bored, lacklustre attitude to television programming. Why look for, or make, new drama, comedy or (god help us) sci-fi shows when you can just take the current format, tweak it a little and hey presto! You have a new show. X-Factor? American Idol. Dancing with the stars? Dancing on ice. Not to mention the slew of programmes that then split off into national versions: Survivor UK. Survivor USA. Survivor Canada. I don’t know if this particular show spun off, so don’t post comments telling me I’m wrong. I don’t care: I’m just using it as an example, and certain shows have certainly been taken up by countries other than the one in which they began.

Another of my favourites (the only other really), “Dragons Den” did it, although technically I don’t count that as a reality show, as it doesn’t follow the tired and banal format of other shows. But nevertheless you have Dragons Den Canada, Dragons Den Ireland and the US version which they decided to call, for some reason, the Shark Tank. Yeah. Um. These reality shows take away interest, finance and support from other shows which should get an equal chance, but no. If you don’t have four judges (one of which has to be smarmy and/or nasty) and people voting in --- probably texting, though Twitter is no doubt just around the corner --- then we do not want to know. A show about cowboys? Who’s going to watch that? Eighteenth-century period drama? Do me a favour, pal! And as for that show about Pan Am! Doomed to failure, son. Doomed to failure.

Because of course what makes or breaks a show is not how good or bad it is, it’s how many people watch it, and by extension how much advertising space the networks can sell. Ratings, in the world of television, are the great leveller. Many a great and long-running series has fallen foul of the ennui of the jaded audience, who lose interest and so the ratings plummet and the show is axed. Conversely, some shows that have clearly been on the air for far too long rather than being put out of their misery remain there because enough people are watching them to make them commercially viable, even after many years of the same tired and boring storylines. Sure it’s the whole soap opera idea. Families all across the UK and Ireland sit down to watch “Coronation Street” and “Eastenders” two or three times a week, and often will look at each other in bemused indifference as another lacklustre episode ends. But they keep coming back to it --- it’s almost a tradition at this point --- hoping it will pick up, and so the viewing figures remain steady and Britain’s two best-loved soaps are in no danger of cancellation, despite both being clearly well past their prime.

And everyone loves a reality show! You’ll hear them talking about them in work, at the shops, at school, whereever you may happen to be. Who will win “Dancing on ice?” Didja see that fella on “Britain’s Got Talent?” When is “Masterchef” on? It’s like a shared national, or global, consciousness, and people the world over look forward to the return of their favourite reality show as it comes back for season one billion, never fearing the axe because these shows are giving people what they want, and when you give people what they want they will always come back for more. Or, to put it another way and to quote Lisa Simpson: you’ll never go broke appealing to the lowest common denominator.

So yes, I hate reality shows and so by definition I should hate this show. Massive egos walk in the door and tell everyone how great they are, like nobody ever ran a business before they showed up, and suck up to the boss in the slim hopes of beating the other candidates and landing a plum job at his company. It’s all about the nasty, cut-throat world of business and there’s little or no room for sentimentality. A show like “The Apprentice” should have me reaching for the channel changer as I try not to bring my dinner back up.

So, why does it not? Why am I so drawn to this show, which I should hate? Why do I look forward eagerly, like the sheep who count the days to the next American Idol or whatever, to the new season and then lose myself in it? It’s not for research and it’s not to prove that I’ve at least tried it and hate it. And it’s certainly not for irony. The truth is, I don’t know why I enjoy this show but I do. Don’t get me wrong: there are a lot of things about it that I dislike, and I often catch myself thinking “WTF am I watching this?” but I never turn it off. In fact, the very idea of featuring it here must mean that I really do enjoy it, and that it’s among my favourite shows. And it is.

I realise fully that ninety-nine point nine nine nine recurring to infinity percent of you here could not give a pair of rat’s balls about this show and will pass over the writeups here with rolled eyes or shakes of the head, wondering what the hell am I doing wasting time and energy on this when I could be writing more “Spooks” or “Babylon 5” or “Futurama” or, well, anything. Some of you may be looking at it and saying “HTF did I get here? I meant to click on Janszoon’s journal link!” Happens all the time. But the point is that I know very, very few people, even those of you into reality TV, will be interested in reading what I write here, and that is just fine. But from the first I’ve wanted to find a way to expound on my thoughts about this show, and for a while that desire found its outlet with another website, but things did not work out and anyway it was only the current season they were interested in, and of the UK version too.

So I’m writing this more or less for myself. If anyone wants to comment they are as ever welcome, and I’d love to debate the ins and outs of the show with you. But I don’t expect that to happen. This is a show most of you will skip over, I know that. No problem. But I have a lot to say --- good and bad --- about it, and this is my journal and here is where I intend to say that. If you don’t want to read it nobody is forcing you. If on the other hand you are one of the few who are interested in, or intrigued by the premise of, this show, then you may find something here to entertain or even educate you. My hope is eventually to do all three series I have watched, that is, the US, UK and Irish versions, though finding a source for the middle one is proving very hard. But I have hopes. If I manage it then I intend to try to run them in tandem with each other --- okay, there are three: trandem? Whatever; I mean I’m going to run all three at once. What that would mean would be that I would first post, say, episode one of season one of the US Apprentice, followed by episode one season one of the UK and then the opener for season one of the Irish version. The latter only lasted four seasons so after that --- if I ever get that far --- we’d drop back to the UK and US ones, which are I think about evenly matched in terms of how many seasons they have so far run for.

For anyone who does not know, and wishes to know, what the show is about, here’s a basic rundown. Super-rich corporate magnate Donald Trump (and in the UK version Lord Sugar, formerly Sir Alan) selects fifteen of “the best of the best” to come to his headquarters in New York and take part in what he calls “the interview from Hell”. Basically, over the course of about twelve weeks or so, each candidate has to work with others in a team to do various things, and do them better than the other team. This could be anything from starting their own ice-cream parlour to putting on a lavish gala show for celebrities. After each task the two teams are called to Trump’s boardroom, where he announces who has won the task. Each team has a PM, or Project Manager, and in the losing team one person will be fired each week. It may not be the PM, but often it is.

As the weeks go on and the tasks get harder, the weak are weeded out and those unable to stand the heat are kicked out of the kitchen, till finally only two people are left standing and these are pitted against each other, the winner taking the prize of a senior position in one of Trump’s many companies. They are The Apprentice.

I suppose what I like about the show is that it can really trip the self-righteous, arrogant candidates up, forcing them to commit errors they maybe wouldn’t normally or putting them in an unfamiliar situation that they find hard to cope with --- someone who, for instance, can’t stand dogs might have to work with a team to groom these animals, or someone who knows nothing about fashion might have to help put on a fashion show ---- which sorts the men from the boys and the women from the girls. It’s gratifying, in a schaudenfraude way I suppose to see these self-aggrandising "business prodigies" argue over what how to properly identify something on a list of items they have to locate, or to see them snapping over what colours should be used on a logo. Also, people who are not used to taking orders have to learn to work within a team and do what they’re told. Not always easy.

But I think it’s mostly the way they cope (or don’t!) with the varied tasks they’re set that interests me most. Sometimes these tasks can reveal a real diamond in the rough, as someone discovers they have a talent for something they didn’t realise they had, as well as unearthing turds, where someone discovers they don’t. The interplay between these new leaders of tomorrow’s business world is always good to watch, and it’s funny when they make a simple mistake that you or I wouldn’t make, and you’re shouting at the screen saying “You idiot! There are two Ls in “appalling!” or whatever.

The tension as to who is going to win is another factor, as despite yourself you’ll find yourself allying with certain characters and candidates, and hoping they’ll triumph, or, more often, taking a dislike to others and waiting to see them sent home. The Boardroom (yeah, it requires capitalisation) always crackles with pent-up frustration, anger and recrimination, and Trump pulls no punches as, with his two aides, who shadow the teams as they go about their task and report back to the boss, he picks apart their failings and demands answers. Like sharks scenting blood in the water, the candidates almost always turn on each other, the teams disintegrating like smoke as everyone fights for his or her position, more than happy to throw one, two or more members of their group to the wolves. Sorry about the mixed metaphors, but I was going to say “under the bus” and I don’t like that phrase, not least because they use it a lot in the show.

And Trump, despite what he’d like to think, is not infallible. Over the seasons he has made some very questionable decisions, firing candidates who should have been kept and saving ones who clearly deserved to be let go. Even in the final selection he has, in my opinion, more than once chosen the wrong finalist. Whether this is for ratings or genuine on his part I don’t know, but perhaps it shows that behind the expensive suits and the limos and the apartments crammed to the ceiling with gold fixtures, the man is just as human as any of us, if richer possibly than God. It’s nice to know even he can get it wrong from time to time.

But in the final analysis, the last word is his and though he takes advice from his aides and listens to the results of each task, weighing a candidate’s performance sometimes on one task and sometimes over the course of several, his is the firing finger and his is the unalterable decision as to who goes, and who stays. To paraphrase CJ from “The fall and rise of Reginald Perrin”, he didn’t get where he is today by letting other people make his decisions for him!

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Season Two: "The coming of Shadows" (Part Seven)
2.11 “All alone in the night”

Ambassador Delenn has been summoned to stand before the Grey Council, who wish to consider her position both within that august body, and as representative to Babylon 5. She fears she may at the very least be removed from the latter. Ivanova tells Sheridan there have been strange reports of disturbances in Sector 92, and he decides to go investigate personally. Ivanova reminds him that General Hague is due at 1800, and is surprised that she was not advised of this important arrival, but Sheridan tells her it is a private matter and he should be back in plenty of time. When they get to the sector co-ordinates though, there is nothing to be seen … until suddenly a strange ship comes through the jumpgate and after a quick firefight with Sheridan’s escort, beams the captain aboard and leaves.

The only survivor of the escort, Lieutenant Ramirez, has no choice but to head back to Babylon 5 and report the abduction, as his ship has been badly damaged. The general arrives on the station, and worries when he is told Sheridan is overdue: this is not like him. Delenn receives the judgement of the Grey Council. Due to her disobedience in refusing to wait until her transformation had been authorised, she is to be removed from the Council, can no longer be known as Satai. When she asks what about her ambassadorial position, she is told this is still being debated. It being her right to make a statement before the Grey Council, and she confirming she wishes to exercise that right, they will convene, and call for her when they are ready.

On the alien ship Sheridan is subjected to experiment and/or torture, then pitted in combat with an alien, and then another, a Narn, who asks Sheridan to kill him. But the captain just knocks him out, reasoning that whoever captured him --- and the Narn, and any other aliens --- are using them for their sport, and refuses to play. Ramirez dies, and the telemetry from his fighter shows the alien ship kidnapping Sheridan. Delenn discovers that she has been replaced by, of all people, Neroon, in the Grey Council. Neroon is Warrior Caste, and now that caste have skewed the balance of power on their side, which is unprecedented. Delenn is cast out, but allowed to remain at Babylon 5.

Sheridan manages to disable the control that was forcing the Narn to fight him --- and the other alien too, we assume --- and teams up with him to try to escape. Meanwhile back at the station the general has called in Sheridan’s old ship, the Agamemnon, to help out. They’re trying to track the alien ship, and are getting some help as it has made extra stops, presumably to collect more specimens. Sheridan has an odd dream in which Kosh speaks to him. On returning from her visit to the Grey Council Delenn is contacted by Babylon 5, and tells them she knows of this race. She gives Ivanova the co-ordinates of their homeworld, and the Starfuries along with the Agamemnon head to intercept the craft, joined by Ambassador Delenn.

Though the aliens space most of their captives --- eject them into space without any protection, basically executing them ---, the strike force destroys the ship. Sheridan and the Narn meanwhile have made it to an escape pod and are picked up. As he leaves medlab having checked up on his fellow captive, Sheridan runs into Kosh who says “You have always been here”, the same phrase he used in the dream the captain had aboard the alien ship. General Hague meets with him and it becomes evident that Sheridan’s original mission on B5 was to scope out the loyalties of his crew. He says he doesn’t enjoy being a spy, but now that they have all proved themselves Hague tells him that not everyone back home is convinced the death of the former president was an accident, and he asks Sheridan to help him gather information to help him prove that there was a military coup on Earth, that Psi Corps were behind it, and to help him redress the balance. Sheridan agrees, and his command staff, when asked, are in too.



QUOTES (Note: as the series moves more closely into the overall arc this season many of these quotes may directly reference or have a bearing on future episodes, events, etc., and so where relevant from now on I will be commenting on those that need commenting, advising how they link into future or previous episodes and how they fit into the overall arc, without of course giving away any secrets or spoilers)

Ramirez: “You’re crazy man! The Dodgers will never make it to the world series. Hell, they’ll be lucky if they make the playoffs without embarrassing themselves!”
Garibaldi: “Your diagnosis, doctor?”
Franklin: “The patient is confused, delusional, unable to separate his natural sense of loyalty to his home team from the fact that they stink, and only got into the playoffs on a technicality!”
Ramirez:” What technicality? The Mars team hit more home runs than any other team on the books!”
Franklin: “Only because Martian gravity is forty percent lower than Earth normal: the ball travels faster and further, skewing the results.. Once they hit Earth gravity, Helen Keller could bat better than any one of them!”

Delenn: “We can no longer allow ourselves to be separated by names and borders. Our two sides must unite or be destroyed. Do not make my sacrifice a vain one. Allow me to finish what I started. In the name of our friendship and the future of our people, let me remain on Babylon 5.”
Neroon: “I am more than happy for you to remain with the humans.”
Delenn: “You are the one who was chosen to replace me. I do not know you.”
Neroon: “Oh I believe you do.” (Removing his cowl)
Delenn: “Neroon! I do not understand. He is Warrior Caste, from the Star-riders Clan! What is happening here? What are you doing? When Valen called the Nine together he chose three from the Worker Caste, three from the Religious Caste and three from the Warrior Caste. My replacement should have been from the Religious Caste. Four of the Warrior Caste gives them unprecedented power!”
Neroon: “And why not? It was the Warrior Caste who died in the war against the Earthers! The Warrior Caste who have defended our world for centuries, while the Council floated among the stars, isolated from its own people.”
Delenn: “This is wrong!”
Neroon: “Is it? You say prophecy tells us a great war is coming. Should it not be the Warrior Caste who lead us against it?”
Delenn: “The Warrior Caste cannot be allowed to set policy!”
Neroon: “Have you done any better? When I was inducted into this circle I was finally told the reason we were ordered to surrender. I didn’t know whether to laugh or weep! If we had been told the real reason at the time we would have never surrendered!”
Delenn: “You do not understand…”
Neroon: “I understand that before me is a creature I do not recognise: one foot in two worlds. You’re an affront to the purity of your own race, and your belief that you are satisfying prophecy is presumption of the highest order! And yet, you are now the perfect liaison between our two peoples. You have no home with either of them. So by all means play your games, act out your little fantasies. Return to Babylon 5. And stay there!”
(Here Delenn tries to explain to the Grey Council how important it is that they unite with the humans to fight the coming darkness. We have already seen how prophecy has warned them that if they do not ally together they will not prevail against the great enemy who is returning, but the Council --- or at least, Neroon --- see her as being arrogant and presumptuous because she took it upon herself to go through the transformation she did without sanction from or approval by the Grey Council. Neroon, as new leader of the Council, banishes her but does allow her to retain her position at Babylon 5, which in the end will be the most important outcome from this meeting, as this is absolutely where she need to be.

Also, the ascension of Neroon to power does indeed tilt the balance of power in favour of the Warrior Caste, and it is now they who shall set Minbari policy. This will have massive repercussions, both for the Minbari and for the galaxy at large, and will divide one of the biggest and most important players in the war that is to come, at a time when they should all be fighting as one.)

Sheridan: “Why are you here?”
Kosh: “We were never away. For the first time, your mind is quiet enough to hear me.”
Sheridan: “Why am I here?”
Kosh: “You have always been here.”
(This will become very important later on, especially mid season three. It’s also important that this dream, as it were, comes partially true: when Sheridan meets Kosh on the way out of medlab, he repeats the final line to him.)

Delenn: “The last expedition of these aliens was into Minbari space. We tracked them back to their homeworld, and made sure they understood the depth of their mistake.”
(A simple but matter-of-fact statement that reminds us that nobody, and I mean nobody, messes with the Minbari and lives to tell the tale! They are a peaceful people at heart, but stir up the hornet’s nest at your peril!)

Hague: “You have an uncommon failing for someone in your position, Captain: you’re a patriot. You believe, as I do, that when we put on that uniform we took a solemn vow to protect Earth against threats from outside and from within.”
(Again, this first real possible confirmation of, if not a conspiracy to kill Santiago then the suspicion of one, will inform much of season three and four, and again, Clark may regret arming Babylon 5 as he does in this episode.)

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

IMPORTANT PLOT ARC POINTS
“Together we’re stronger”
Arc Level: Red
It has always been one of Sheridan’s strengths that he works with his allies to provide a united front. He is a great man for bringing people together, as we will see very soon, and he believes that allies work best together both when they trust each other and when they have, as G’Kar noted back in season one, “enlightened self-interest”, which is to say, if two races both have something to lose and can avoid that loss by teaming up with each other, it makes sense to do so. This attitude will be one of the defining factors in the coming war, and the coming seasons, and will show why John Sheridan is really the only man for the job.

He shows this here in simple but effective ways. He knows the Narn, knows that although they are now a warlike and somewhat aggressive species, they were originally peaceful and it is only through the invasion and seizure of their planet by the Centauri that they have had to turn to war to protect themselves. Therefore he knows that the Narn who attacks him on the alien ship can be reasoned with, and eventually allied with. It is this sense of shared purpose and the ability to see beyond the obvious --- that someone attacking you is an enemy and should be killed --- that makes Sheridan the man he is, and will define him as the leader he will become.

Armed to the teeth
Arc Level: Orange
As I mentioned, the new armaments installed on Babylon 5 as a result of the visit of General Franklin are there for one purpose and one purpose only: to defend the station against alien incursions in the wake of the Narn/Centauri war, and to protect Earth’s investment and infrastructure. However, the way things pan out it will be to President Clarke’s chagrin that he armed the station, and to Sheridan’s relief and benefit that he did. Franklin grins that once the armaments are in place “Babylon 5 will have enough firepower to take on a warship!” Hold that thought…

The Grey Council, Neroon’s rise and Delenn’s Dismissal
Arc Level: Orange
Delenn has been a member of the ruling body of the Minbari for “twenty cycles”, she tells us. We assume this to be twenty years. Now she is being punished for her temerity and rash actions in proceeding with the transformation without waiting for it to be approved by the Council, but she believes there was not time for the Minbari to debate such a momentous decision back and forth. The war is coming, the old enemy has returned, and she needs to be ready. She did what she believes she had to do, and now she must pay the price. But her real worry is that she will not be allowed to return to Babylon 5, for she is certain that it is here she must be in order to properly fulfil or guide prophecy and ensure the dark enemy is defeated. So on the face of things, while not the best outcome for her personally or socially, the fact that she retains her ambassadorial position and can return to the station is a small victory for her, even if Neroon sees it as a worthless gesture, something he could care less about.

Neroon himself will have a huge impact on the future of Minbar. As a member of the Warrior Caste he now ensures that as leader of the Grey Council he has the power to set policy for his people, both foreign and domestic, and there is no doubt that he will begin arming them for the war that is to come, despite being ignorant as to who or what the enemy is. More importantly, he will surely set about removing, eliminating or neutralising any who stand in his way, and move the Minbari more onto a war footing, causing great unrest among the other castes. You would have to wonder though if his treatment of Delenn is based so much on her disobedience as rooted in his own personal enmity for her. Remember in season one’s “Legacies”, when she basically humiliated and castigated him over the Bremar affair? I’m sure he has lived that one down and doesn’t hold it in the least against her…

SKETCHES
Delenn
Time to begin exploring the character of the Minbari ambassador, and Babylon 5’s greatest advocate and ally. The story involving Sheridan is almost filler here, and the title, though it may indeed refer to the alien ship and the captain’s imprisonment upon it (and of course back to the opening credits) could just as easily be used to describe Delenn’s plight. Stripped of her rank and position, she is in a very real way now all alone, apart from Lennier, who will never leave her side as he has stated. She must face the coming darkness alone, try to best the old enemy without the help, support or sanction of her people, and it must seem a colossal task, especially now that she must do it more or less alone.

But Delenn’s resolve never falters, not once. When she was offered her place back on the Grey Council earlier --- although she retained the rank and title she had not stood with the Nine, it seemed, since the last days of the war with Earth --- she refused, saying that Babylon 5 was where she needed to be. Now, as she tries to convince Neroon and the remaining members of the Grey Council of the threat she sees as imminent, and of which we have already seen evidence, she is still unconcerned for her standing. Of course, she does not want to lose her title but more important to her is that her people recognise and help her to face the coming danger, and that she remain on Babylon 5, where she has said prophecy placed her. She will give up, has given up, everything in order to retain that position, and though Neroon laughs at her “silly games” and “fantasies”, he is doing her a great service by allowing her to go back. He thinks it will keep her busy, out of the way, unable to interfere in the plans he is making for his people now that he has been elected as their leader. Truth is, had he delivered the final blow and exiled her to some planetary outpost or somewhere far from Babylon 5 he would have hurt her far worse than he achieves by removing her from the Council. In the end, though it is a hard meeting, Delenn, no longer Satai, comes away from the almost interrogation with the one thing she wanted.

We will see this trait in Delenn as the series begins to get going properly. She will always sacrifice herself to her cause, will be willing to die if necessary, and will protect those she believes are important in the coming war. She will be a moving force in the resistance to the enemy, a focus around which to rally and she will prove that two, or more, races can work together for the same goal, even if those two races were recently at war. A salutory lesson the Narns will learn, but that the Centauri will not, to their cost.

It’s almost funny in a way that on the voyage home she’s asked about the aliens and can help Ivanova and General Hague locate their homeworld. Though she is a person of peace, cold anger is clearly brimming up inside her. She deplores the fact that with the election of Neroon as leader of the Grey Council the Warrior Caste have too much power now. She hates the fact the he cannot see past his personal enmity to her and see the bigger picture, putting the needs of his people before his own petty need for revenge. And yes, it surely must sting that she has been ridiculed, rebuked and eventually kicked out of the chambers she was so familiar with and so welcome in not so long ago. So the chance to expunge all that anger in a positive way must seem something of a godsend to her. You can hear it in the coldness and tightness of her voice as she tells Ivanova of the “mistake” the Streib made in attacking their worlds, and how they responded. She also joins in on the attack, no doubt taking the opportunity to let off some steam, though she would of course never admit to such.

ABSENT FRIENDS
This episode is totally human/Minbari centred, with the exception of the Narn Sheridan teams up with on the Streib ship. There is no sign of G’Kar or Londo, not surprisingly as they are no doubt both busy with the war, the former surely formualting defence and reprisals and the latter pressing his advantage and attacking Narn worlds. There’s also no role at all for Garibaldi, interestingly: beyond the opening exchange in the bar about football he’s nowhere to be seen afterwards, perhaps the first time such a thing has happened in an episode, though I couldn’t swear to that. Franklin, after his almost starring role in “Gropos”, is in it only in that scene and again as Ramirez is brought in dying. Lennier comes back and puts in a fine performance as Delenn’s ever-faithful aide and friend, Vir would be wherever Londo is and then there’s a surprise appearance by Kosh. Interesting episode.

NOTES
On the face of it this is almost as bad as the previous, nearly a bad Star Trek rip-off, with a very shaky concept about aliens going around snatching specimens and experimenting on them, pitting them in combat against each other as they have done a dozen times in the various Trek franchises, and it really doesn’t come to much in the overall arc of the story: the Streib fade out after this, are never, to my knowledge, heard from again. And if that was all there was in it the episode would go down as another weak one. But the Minbari side of things, the real story if you will, saves the episode.

We haven’t really, up to now, heard or learned much about Delenn’s people, beyond the fact that they all seem to be bald with a bone in their heads, are divided into three separate castes, and fought against Earth, surrendering when they realised the two races had a shared generic history. Well, we’ve learned a little more, but not much. This is the first episode where we see the inner workings of the Grey Council, where we meet Neroon again and begin to see the repercussions possible in his being chosen as leader. We find out that rather than just being miffed that Delenn did not wait for sanction before entering the chrysalis, it is a very big deal and indeed grounds for dismissing her from her post. We also see that Neroon is not one to let bygones be bygones, and will stand in Delenn’s way whenever he can.

We also see a burgeoning friendship between Delenn and Lennier, which is as touching as it is futile: it’s clear the guy loves her, but she is (at least, until her dismissal) of much higher social status than he, and anyway her destiny lies elsewhere. But it’s good to see that in the wake of all that happens to her, she has one person at least, one of her own people on whom she can rely, who will never desert her, and who will defend her to the death.

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The Batlord

I've never quite gotten the fuss about Supernatural. I've watched a bit here and there over the years, but it always just came across as a less good Buffy substitute.

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Trollheart

It's not something you can just look at an episode of and then come back later really. Well, after season two anyway. It gets into a very deep and involved story arc and things happen you would just not expect. That said, you're either into this sort of show or not, but bad Buffy substitute? Nah, I ain't having that!

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Trollheart

1.1 “Robin Hood and the sorceror” (Part One)

The village of Loxley, Nottinghamshire, England. The year is 1180 AD. Norman soldiers attack and burn the place to the ground, its people slaughtered by the mounted troopers. A young boy, Robin, is taken to safety by his father and left with a miller and his wife, while Eric of Loxley rides to a rendezvous with Robert de Rainault, who tells him the rebellion is over and Eric has lost. He demands “the arrow”, and says he knows Eric is the guardian. They meet in the shadow of a stone circle, de Rainault’s men all around the structure, and Eric knows he will not leave this place alive. As he dies, he gasps “He is coming! The Hooded Man!” De Rainault picks up his prize, a silver arrow (more like a crossbow quarrel really) and smiles.

Shift to fifteen years later, Castle Belleme, home of the notorious Baron de Belleme, said to consort with demons and traffic in dark magic. A tall man --- a giant of a man really --- cries a warning against this “Hooded Man”, whom he calls Herne’s son, and says a sacrifice is required: a virgin, pure and innocent. The Baron watches with cold, calculating eyes. The scene changes to Sherwood Forest, where we see Robin of Loxley, now grown to manhood, racing through the wood, trying to find his stepbrother Much, before the younger boy does something foolish, but it is too late: Much, pretty much a slow-witted child, has shot one of the deer in the forest, and they are now in big trouble. The deer, indeed all game within Sherwood Forest is seen as the property of the king, and the penalties for killing any of them are stiff indeed. It is of course already too late, and Robin and Much are arrested and taken to Nottingham Castle, thrown in the dungeon where they meet another man, who goes by the name of Will Scarlet. There are others there too, imprisoned for various reasons.

Robert de Rainault, now the Sheriff of Nottingham, meets with his brother Hugo, who is an abbot and is complaining about Robert’s inability --- or the inability of Sir Guy of Gisburne, he who it was who arrested Robin and Much, and who is the Sheriff’s right hand --- to keep poachers off church land. Robert snaps about not having the finances to be able to hire more foresters to help his brother, though it’s clear that even had he the resources he would not assist him. The two obviously do not get along. He soon has other things to concentrate on though, as the Baron de Belleme arrives at Nottingham Castle, to be wed to Lady Marion of Leafort, who is the legal ward of Abbott Hugo and lives in the castle under the “protection” of the Sheriff. However there turns out to be a snag: Abbot Hugo has arranged for her to enter a nunnery. This angers the Baron, who remarks that “marrying her to God” will ensure that the Church gets all her lands. He snarls that the two brothers will give Marion to him, "when the Hooded Man comes to the forest."

Robin and the other prisoners stage a breakout and head off into the castle, taking the guards by surprise. In the courtyard though they are challenged and fight a pitched battle. Some get away but Robin is forced back into the castle, pursued by Gisburne. He ends up outside Lady Marion’s chamber. She lets him in: it’s love at first sight, and she hides him, sending Gisburne away when he tries to enter. He then makes his escape through the window and makes his way towards Sherwood Forest, to meet up with the others. But first he encounters the strange figure of Herne the Hunter, a man who wears animal skins and a large deer head on his shoulders. Mist surrounds Herne, and the sense of something ancient and magical hangs heavy in the air. It’s clear this is a meeting of significance, which will have a major effect and influence on Robin, and shape his destiny from this day. Herne tells him he must be the helper of the weak, the liberator of the enslaved, the hope of a people. He calls him Wolfshead, and Outlaw. He shows Robin a vision, in which he sees ther Baron de Belleme (whom he does not know at this point, never having seen never mind met him), a woman struggling on the ground, an arrow splitting another. He sees battles, a huge giant of a man (the one we have already seen) fighting near a river with a quarterstaff. He sees Belleme making strange gestures in the air, and he sees his father die as Robert de Rainault takes the silver arrow from him. Confused at what he has seen, and probably a little frightened too, Robin turns and runs, as Herne shouts after him and tells him he cannot escape his destiny: he is Robin i’ the Hood.

The Baron consults his runes and tells his giant bodyguard to find the Hooded Man, who has come to the forest, and to kill him. With a glazed look in his eyes the giant nods. The two meet in the forest and fight, by the river as was foretold in the vision Herne showed Robin. Robin manages to take the big man by surprise and knock him out, then he erases the pentagram Belleme had drawn on his chest, the magical symbol that bound him to the dark sorcerer. Grateful to be free of the dread influence and his own man again, the man tells Robin his name is John Little. Laughing at the incongruous name, Robin names him Littlejohn, which pleases the giant. But as Littlejohn joins him and they listen to the others talk about splitting up, getting away from Nottingham, keeping their heads down his spirits sink, and when Herne calls for him he follows the old man, across the river and into deep dark caves, where Herne presents him with a gift, something to aid him on his quest and give it form.

Albion, one of the seven swords of power forged by Wayland the Smith. He tells Robin it is “charged with the powers of light and darkness.” He then tells him to string the bow, and returns him to the forest, where Robin appears as a new man, almost baptised by Herne, and rallies his friends, telling them they should not run but should face the Normans, fight them, take them on and struggle for the sake of the people they are oppressing. They must be heroes, leaders, beacons of hope in an almost eternal darkness of occupation and poverty and near-slavery. They ambush the guard taking Marion to the abbey and rescue her, sending Much to take care of her as they lay a false trail for Gisburne and his men.

(To be continued in part two)

QUOTES
Much: “The King wouldn’t mind. Not one deer. Wouldn’t miss it, would he? The king has plenty of deer. I’d tell him I was hungry.”
Robin: “And then he’d say, better to be hungry and have both hands.”
Much: “Both hands?”
Robin: “And then he’d lop one off, so you’d remember what he’d said.”
(The first line here shows just how, not just dimwitted but how naive Much is. He truly believes that if he tells the ruler of the land that he was hungry, the king will be okay with this. He doesn’t understand that the king, apart from being a nasty, spiteful, greedy and unprincipled person, is the sole authority here in the forest, and he would not allow such a deed to go unpunished. It would be seen as a bad example, and he could not have that. Everyone must see what happens to those who break the law of the land.)

Sheriff: “Gisburne’s brains are in his backside! It’s not more men he needs, it’s more … up here!” (points to his head)

Belleme: “Marry her to God? So that the Church gets all her lands?”
(This was standard practice in the Middle Ages. When an unwed woman, who had property or lands to her name --- usually those of her father --- was married, title for that property would pass to her husband. Women were not permitted to own property of their own: any Marion had would be held “in trust” for her by her guardians until she married, whereafter it would transfer to her new husband. If she became “a bride of Christ”, then the Church --- ie Abbott Hugo --- as God’s representative on Earth, would take the title to all her lands. Dowries such as these were often the reason many women were married, often to men they did not love, for the sake of alliances, or to reward loyalty. The woman rarely had any say in the matter, and was moved around like a bartering chip, just another piece of property).

Hugo: “Belleme’s possessed. He’s insane. They say a demon took his soul while he was in the Holy Land.”
Sheriff: “Do they? Probably sunstroke.”
Hugo: “Gets up to all kinds of nastiness. Devil worship.”
Sheriff: “Ah, but which one? There are so many, aren’t there? And only one god. Hardly seems fair.”

Herne: “They are all waiting for you. The blinded, the maimed, the men locked in the stinking dark all wait here. Children with swollen bellies, hiding in ditches, wait. The poor, the dispossessed they all wait. You are their hope.”

Robin’s Speech: “Not bewitched: awakened! Chosen by Herne the Hunter: his son. You were sleeping. You’ve slept too long. We all have. It’s time we woke, time we stopped running. Nobody ran at Hastings! At least they died like men! And what’s happened to the English since then? I mean, where are they? Stay out of trouble? Do as you’re told and they’ll leave you alone? Is this the spirit of England? Villages destroyed so that princes can hunt unhindered? The people bled white to pay for foreign wars? No voice? No justice? No England? Well it’s time to fight back!”

Robin (to Gisburne): “Tell the Sheriff that Robin Hood holds Sherwood. Tell him that Herne’s son has claimed his kingdom.”

Will Scarlet: “You should have killed him. You’ll have to, one day.”

“Nothing’s forgotten”
One of the central motifs of the show is the desire to strike back at the oppressor, the yearning to be free and the determination to pay the occupier back for the wrongs they have wrought on the English. England at this time is of course ruled by the Normans, French nobles who have taken over in the wake of the victories of William the Conqueror in 1066, and who are hated and despised by the native English, and who in turn hate and despise them. Most of the farmers, merchants, previous lords have been made into vassals or serfs, subservient to the local Norman lord. They are treated cruelly and with contempt, and are seen as little more than slave labour and a revenue stream by their new conquerors.

So there is a lot of enmity and animosity building towards them at the time of Robin Hood, with rebellions such as that at Loxley occasionally breaking out and being brutally put down. The people are waiting for a hero, a leader, and Robin will be that man. He will give hope to the hopeless, alms to the poor and a way to strike back to those who are tired of bowing every time a Norman lord or noble rides by. But there is more. When Robin meets Herne the Hunter, he tells him “Nothing is forgotten. Nothing is ever forgotten.” The old ways, though the pious Normans have tried to destroy or twist them, are still there and the old gods still live in the forest for those who have ears to hear them. Herne is their herald. They do not relish the tramp of the conqueror’s boot in their leafy bowers, and Robin, as Herne’s spiritual son, will be the instrument of their resistance.

Those clever little touches
Whether it’s coincidence or not, as soon as Gisburne kills the miller, in that very instant the millwheel, which had been turning under the impact of the water a moment before, stops dead. It may mean nothing --- perhaps it was going to stop anyway --- but it’s like the idea of a clock which has never lost a second stopping when its owner dies, and never working again. It could also be taken as a metaphor for the idea that the peaceful way, the way of the farmer and the miller and the thatcher, is over, and as Robin is saying even now in the forest, the time has come to fight their enemy.

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Trollheart

Season One, Episode One

With his partner (both sexual and professional) taken by a suspected killer, Detective Chief Inspector Sam Tyler is on her trail when he is hit by a car at high speed. He wakes to a much changed landscape, with David Bowie’s “Life on Mars”, which had been playing before he got hit, still playing, but now instead of the SUV he was driving he is beside an old Rover 2000, and his ipod has been replaced by an eight-track cassette. A policeman approaches him and tells him that according to the papers he has in his car he is being transferred to another station, but that he is Detective Inspector only. As he stumbles away, disoriented, from the police officer he meets he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror of a parked car and is horrified to see what he is now wearing. What is this? The seventies?

He makes his way, confused and dazed, back to his office but it has changed completely. Everything is different, and when he meets his new CO, a tough, rough guy called Gene Hunt, he’s told it’s 1973! Mad as this may be, he has to accept it as the evidence is all around him. Televisions are black and white, the cars are all vintage and the whole makeup of Manchester is wrong, not twenty-first century at all. However, as he unsuccessfully tries to call his partner Maya’s mobile --- nobody here is even familiar with the term, as they have not been invented yet --- he suddenly hears what sounds like a defibrillator and voices of doctors, but no-one else seems to hear them. He hears someone calling his name, but before he can answer or hear any more the sound stops.

Chris Skelton, one of the detectives in the office, and the first one to greet him when he stumbled through the door, announces that a woman who had gone missing has been found dead. The road he mentions happens to be the same one from where Maya was snatched, and Sam can’t believe that’s coincidence. Gene Hunt goes to give a statement to the papers and leaves Sam in charge. At the morgue he’s told Suzy was not fed for at least a day before being killed. There’s no evidence of sexual assault and no robbery, the details paralleling the case he was working on when Maya got snatched so closely that Sam can’t believe this isn’t some elaborate joke or trick, and loses it as he shouts “Enough, okay? End of joke! Game over!” and so on.

Suddenly realisation dawns on him: this is the same killer he was hunting in 2006! He breathes “He’s killed before!” but his men are so worried about his odd behaviour that they take him to see the “Plonk”, a female police officer, who doubles as a sort of staff doctor. And so he meets Annie Cartwright, who will become the focus of his love interest and the one he confides most in. She takes him home to what is apparently his place, a dingy seventies apartment, where he tries to explain that he’s from the future --- yeah, great pickup line! Annie of course thinks he’s suffering from concussion and leaves him to it. Later he watches TV and is amazed to hear the presenter talk about, and to him, but he is unable to respond. Or, to be more accurate, he can respond but his attempts go unanswered and unmarked. He really starts to believe now that he is losing his mind.

At the station, another girl gives them a lead: she says she saw Suzy leave the car park where she was last seen and be pursued by a man with long hair. Gene’s interrogation methods shock Sam; it would not happen in his time! But still, his DCI has got the result. After something of ar argument between the two, Hunt challenges Tyler to take the case, use what he believes he knows about it to solve it. It doesn’t matter if what he’s saying is made up or from the future or if he read it in tea leaves: Gene wants to catch the bastard and will use any resource at his disposal to do so. Sam begins trying to school the seventies cops on the psychology of the criminal mind, but surprises them all when he asks for Annie’s help. She has a BA in psychology, but in this backward era women are not valued for their minds, and the boys are more interested in her tits and her arse than her brain. Nevertheless, Sam persists and realises that the synthetic fibres he found under the nails of the girls, both in the “real world” and here, must be down to soundproofing. The perp wants to keep the victims quiet but he doesn’t gag them, so he must be soundproofing wherever he’s holding them.

Just then they get word that Dora, the girl they were interviewing about Suzy, has been taken. Chris turns up the name Raimes, whom Sam knows to be Colin Raimes, the suspect he was after when he got hit in 2006. Raimes's grandmother, in something of a twist, had lodged a complaint three months ago but when they ask her back down to the nick she’s a little forgetful, so they have to try to jog her memory as to why she made the complaint. They eventually find out that she complained about the noise from next door, from the neighbour’s stereo. Looks like they have their man. They kick the door in, (this is the seventies after all: search warrants? Not around here mate!) rescue Dora and take the killer, a guy named Kramer, into custody. As they leave, Sam sees the young Colin Raimes watching; Kramer waves to him. The two obviously knew each other, and no doubt would renew their acquaintance when Kramer got out of mental hospital thirty years later.

Sam is then faced with a dilemma: he finds a note in Kramer’s house, a note from his doctor stating that Kramer is a borderline psychotic, and he worries that if this is presented as evidence the jury will not send him to prison but to a mental hospital. Once he gets out, Sam knows, he will kill again, and Maya will be on his list. Hunt leaves it as his call, and Sam destroys the note. He has already begun to “do things the Gene Hunt way” and is already starting to think more like a seventies cop.

As he sits alone afterwards, a man appears before him, telling him that he is a hypnotherapist, and that he, Sam, is in a hospital bed in Manchester. He urges Sam to wake up, telling him that he can do it: this world is all fantasy and he needs to return to the real world, where Maya is waiting for him, safe and sound. He goes to the roof of the building, intending to jump, in order to make the transition back to his own time, his own life. Annie however convinces him not to do it, and he begins to wonder how he could have constructed so elaborate, so detailed a fantasy. Is it, could it be real? And if so, if he jumps, will he not just die? Rather than find himself waking in his hospital bed in 2006, will he not just be a spreading stain on the ground below? Can he take that chance? What should he do? Take the hypnotherapist’s advice and “take that definitive step” --- literally --- or listen to Annie’s desperate plea: “Stay”.

QUOTES
Maya: “You used to believe in gut feeling Sam: what happened?”
(A quote that will put everything into perspective. When Sam ends up back in the seventies he’ll have no computers, no psych evaluations, no experts and no DNA. Nothing to go on but his gut, and his years of experience.)

Sam: “I was driving a jeep…”
PC: “You were driving a military vehicle?”
(This is hilarious and puts right into context the difference in attitudes between the 1970s and now. Back then, there were no SUVs. There were landrovers and range rovers, but nobody referred to them as jeeps. A jeep was still seen as something only the army used.)

Sam: “I need my mobile.”
PC: “Your mobile what?”

Sam: “Where’s my desk? Chair! PC terminal!”
Ray: “Who? You want a constable up here?”

Sam: “I need you to connect me to a mobile number.”
Operator: “A what?”
Sam: “A mobile number: 0770 ---”
Operator: “Is that an international number?”
Sam: “No. Look I need you to get me a Virgin number…”
Operator: “Don’t you start that sexy business with me, young man! I can trace this number!”

Sam: “The body should have been dusted for prints.”
Ray: “How the hell are you going to get dabs off of skin?”
Sam: “You’re … you’re right. How could you?”
(This sentence is important. Although disoriented, like any good detective Tyler has investigated his surroundings and come to the inescapable, if unbelievable, conclusion that he is now in 1973. And if he is, then it follows that such things as getting fingerprints off anything but fingers has not been developed yet. He is therefore quick to realise that he had better not argue the case, as his staff will otherwise think him mad. He must go along with this whole thing now as if he really is in the seventies, and operate accordingly. It’s a fairly quick acclimitisation, to be fair, and a good assessment of the situation he is in, even if he does not fully believe it.)

Sam: “I had an accident, and I woke up thirty-three years in the past. Now, that either makes me a time traveller, a lunatic, or I’m lying in a hospital bed in 2006 and none of this is real.”
(The central question that will inform not only the two seasons of this series, but the three of its spinoff, “Ashes to ashes”. Yes, I’ll be doing it too. Is Sam mad? Dead? In a coma? Or has he really somehow managed to travel backwards in time? Is this an elaborate fantasy world, constructed by his mind to allow him to cope with the fact that he is dying?)

Hunt: “We’ve managed to get hold of a bird who was the last to see Suzy. Dora Keating.”
Sam: “So you’ve arrested her? Is she a suspect?”
Hunt: “No. Just a pain in the arse.”
Sam: “All right. Brief me fully. What do I need to know?”
Hunt: “She’s a pain in the arse!”

Sam: “I need a drink.”
Hunt: “That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said since you got here!”

Hunt: “What’s your poison Tyler?”
Sam: "Diet Coke.” (Pause. Long pause) “I’m just joking. Pint of bitter.”
(Another example of Sam’s realising that he can’t pretend that this is all fantasy, that even if it is, to the people who inhabit this “world of the seventies”, everything here is real, and if he mentions something that hasn’t been invented yet they will not understand. He’s quickly coming to an accommodation with his situation, even if he doesn’t like it. If he’s to do his job --- even here, in what could be a fantasy world or a dream --- he must make sure he’s treated with respect and not as some sort of a lunatic. He will, in effect, have to do everything he can to become “one of the boys”.)

Sam: “Large whiskey please.”
Nelson: “Drink ain’t gonna fix things. What am I saying? I run a pub! Of course drink’ll fix things!”

Hunt: (to a bunch of kids) “Anything happens to this motor and I come over to all your houses and stamp on all your toys, got it?”

Those clever little touches
“Life on Mars” is jammed with these, small nods to pop culture that sometimes only people of a certain age would get. The first I see is when Sam enters the police station he is to serve in, as Bowie’s song fades out and the last sound as ever on “Life on Mars” is a telephone ringing. Sam walks through the door as this happens and the sound of the phone on the song merges perfectly with the sound of phones ringing in the station.

Another good one is when Sam is trying to get information out of Mrs. Raimes, and though he’s being calm he is pushing her, telling her how important it is that she remember. Hunt, on the other hand, talks to her about biscuits, offers her more tea and relaxes her to the point that she does remember what her complaint was about. Reverse psychology, before it was even invented. The fact that Gene Hunt, the big tough no-nonsense kicker of suspects whose mantra is not “are you guilty” but “what are you guilty of?” turns out to be able to handle the old woman in a much more sensitive --- and effective --- way than can his twenty-first century counterpart.

And when Kramer is arrested he waves from the squad car to a little boy, who smiles back. Mrs. Raimes, coming home, snaps “Get inside, Colin!” We can now see that Colin Raimes grew up idolising the murderer, and decided to be just like him. Sam now knows that they were right: Raimes did know the killer: he lived next door to him. If they had only carried their enquiries to one more house.

Music
Another great thing about this series is the way it uses the music of the time to evoke the period. If you grew up in the seventies you’ll be right at home here, with everything from Sweet and the Who to Thin Lizzy and Roxy Music. Not only that, but where and how they use the music is really effective too. So unlike in the Supernatural writeups, where I just note the songs used, here I’ll be pointing out any interesting uses of the music, any scenes a particular song becomes the soundtrack to, or any other way the music is blended with the programme.

“Life on Mars” (David Bowie)

Like I already mentioned several times this is of course the theme music to the series, although interestingly it is NOT the theme per se and is used only the once, here, in the pilot episode. It’s the motif for the series but it has its own theme. I’ve mentioned about how the ending of the song dovetails with Sam’s arrival at the police station and the ringing of the telephones, but it’s also very effective when he “wakes” after being hit by the car in 2006. The song was playing on his ipod then but when he ends up in 1973 the volume swells, the camera does a dolly shot as he takes in his surroundings, and it the whole song just takes on a more powerful meaning.

“Stairway to the stars” (Blue Oyster Cult)


“I’m so free” (Lou Reed)


“Baba O’Reilly” (The Who)

Plays as Sam enters a record shop and gets his moment of inspiration about the soundproofing.

“Rat bat blue” (Deep Purple)

Used as Gene and Sam tear up in the Granada to carry out door-to-door enquiries as to the missing girl.

“Fireball” (Deep Purple)

As Gene and Sam both realise they have their suspect and barrel out of the interview room, on his trail.

“White room” (Cream)

Plays as Sam and Gene return to the station with Kramer, a triumphant arrest.

Tinfoil hat time?
Throughout the series Sam seems to get messages from ordinary objects which should not be able to transmit messages to him. Television is a recurring one: often, programmes will seem to freeze and voices will talk to, or about him, or sometimes the person on the screen will turn to him (or seem to) and begin telling him things. Telephones will often relay information about his physical health with doctors talking about blood pressure and heart rates, and sometimes cryptic messages will also come over his police radio.

The first time we heard this was when the sounds of a hospital seemed to come to him out of nowhere, and a voice called his name. Again this happens when Annie introduces her friend, who asks if Sam can hear him, but the illusion, if such it is, only lasts a few seconds. Later, when Sam is watching TV in his flat, a boring “Open University”-style programme about maths suddenly has the presenter begin to talk about him, as if he is in a coma. The man snaps his fingers into the screen, calling Sam’s name, but despite all Tyler’s attempts to respond, to show he can hear, the man turns away shaking his head and the programme ends.

PCRs
Oh yeah, you knew this was coming, didn’t you? If there’s one show that has more Pop Culture References than Supernatural and Buffy put together, it’s this one.

Hunt says “Bloody Hell! Where are you today? Here or the planet of the Clangers?” (The Clangers was a programme for children, about tiny little animals living on the moon who only communicated through a series of beeps and whistles).

Okay, there’s only one this episode, but more will come, thick and fast.

Welcome to the “Real World”
Throughout this series the question is constantly posed: is this real? And if it is, how can it be? Has Sam really travelled back in time to 1973? How? And why? If he has, how did his clothes change? Where did his ipod and his mobile go, to say nothing of his car? If he has not gone back in time, is he dreaming? Would someone dream with this level of clarity, intensity and detail? Admittedly, it’s the case he was working on before he got hit by the car that more or less takes precedence here in whatever this is, dream world, fantasy construct, or actual 1973: the case they’re working on here seems to parallel, predate in fact and presage the one he was following back in 2006. So is that an indication that Sam is trying to keep himself sane, by clinging to concepts he knows and which are familiar to him?

Or is he dead? Is this Hell? Or Heaven? Is he lying in a hospital bed, in a coma, actually in 2006 but believing he is in 1973? If so, can he escape from this fantasy world by waking up? Or is he fated to remain in the coma until he dies, never waking from it, never knowing which world is real? Has he gone mad? Was his brain scrambled by the accident and even now he’s sitting drooling and blank-eyed in some asylum as doctors and psychiatrists try to reach him, wondering what’s going on in his head? Is it even possible that he lives here in 1973, and that his life in 2006, as he knows it, is a fantasy construct in his head? But then how would he know all the details of “the future” that he tells to Annie, and why would he keep making slipups, like when he advises the guys to dust the corpse for prints, and mentions Diet Coke?

What’s with the “messages from the real world” he keeps getting, as detailed in the “Tinfoil Hat Time?” section? Could that be the doctors trying to get through to him? Or is that even possible? Has some force --- malevolent or benevolent --- seen fit to send him here, to 1973, to do something important? To solve crimes before they’re committed, to catch criminals before they have a chance to turn bad? To twist and change the future?

I’m sorry to tell you that even after two seasons of “Life on Mars” we will not know the answer, not definitively. You’ll have to sit through another three seasons of “Ashes to ashes” to find out what the final truth is. But if you’re too impatient, you could always watch the series box sets. Or catch it on Netflix. But believe me, if you spin to the end of “Ashes to ashes” season three you will be ruining the surprise, and the rest of the series for yourself. If anyone really has to know that badly, and can’t or doesn’t want to watch the whole thing, or wait till I’ve plodded my way through it, you can PM me and I’ll tell you. I’m not even going to attempt to put it in a spoiler here, or anywhere, just in case it gets inadvertently read by those who don’t want to know.

If you have to know, drop me a PM with “Life on Mars” as the subject and I will PM you back, in the full understanding between us both that you will be taking all the good out of the series for yourself. My advice is to do what I did: watch it episode by episode and bear witness to the story unfolding, getting more and more mysterious, clues here and there along with a lot of red herrings until finally the secret is revealed.

It’s much better that way.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Episode Five (Finale)

For the first time we see Hattie after she was abducted, running through the forest as if being pursued. Then it seems her hunter catches up with her. Gail leaves more messages for Linus, still ignorant as to who he is. Seth is released from prison as witnesses can place him well away from Hattie on the day, and so he has an alibi, whether he wants it or not: the confession was all in his mind. Linus has returned home to confront his father, at knifepoint no less. He accuses him of killing his wife, and Hattie. But Everett alleges that it was Linus who killed his own mother. In a bid to disarm his son, Everett lunges but cuts himself on the knife.

Fiona goes back into the attic, and this time finds the scrap of hair that her husband had said was a bird’s nest. It’s clearly not, and she at first throws it in the bin, then puts it into an evidence bag. Everett tells Linus that his mother died when she tripped over one of his toys he had left on the landing and fell down the stairs after an argument. He has been protecting Linus from the truth, shielding him from the guilt. Freed from jail, Seth goes back to Steve but his brother does not want anything to do with him. He has lost his son forever, and blames it on Seth.

There’s a memorial service held for Hattie. Gail attends, her head held defiantly high now that her husband has been exonerated. While in the church she takes the opportunity to ring Linus again and watches to see whose phone rings. She zeroes in on the young lad, who looks surprised. Seth bursts into the church, to try to tell everyone that Hattie is not dead, she will come back, changed. Outside the church Gail catches Linus, begs him to talk to her. Hattie’s father asks Steve to allow him talk to Seth, and in return he’ll square things with Steve’s ex-wife. After what Seth said in the church, the father needs to know what he meant. At least, that’s what he says. But when he does talk to him in the forest, he kills him, thinking him responsible for his daughter’s murder.

After betraying his brother into the hands of what he must have known was the man who would take his life, Steve goes back to the house but Angie is not interested in letting him see Harry again, despite what was promised. Fiona goes to see Everett, ostensibly to apologise for spying on him earlier. Gail asks Linus if he is a rent boy, which he denies. He tells her that he used to go into the woods with a girl and put on a show for Malcolm, and this was what her husband paid him for. She goes to give him the money she found in her husband’s briefcase but Linus says he can’t take it, as he did not turn up for that last rendezvous: it was Mayday. He goes to see Caitlin, who is babbling about her sister coming back, crying, and saying to Linus that he will not see her as she is again. Fiona has gone to the police station, to confess all she knows.

We now see a replay of what happened that fateful day. Alan met Hattie and told her that her father had been in an accident. He took her in his car, and when she got suspicious and tried to phone her sister he hit her and knocked her out. Interspersed with this replay we hear the sound of police sirens as Alan and Fiona sit in their garden: his time is almost up. She forces the confession out of him. He explains that Hattie used her powers to put a curse on him, so that he would not be able to sexually satisfy his wife. In the flashback we see him take Hattie into the forest to collect herbs which will, he says, lift the curse, but she says it’s all in his head: she has no powers.

He doesn’t believe her and they move deeper into the wood. He goes to cut off a lock of her hair but she breaks free and runs (the scene we saw at the beginning), but he catches her and drags her back. She tries to tell him again that the spell only worked because he believed in it. She tells him that if he kills her she will come back for him, and this pushes him to strangle her as Malcolm Spicer looks on from his concealed bird hide. In the present, a squadron of cop cars fly down the road, sirens blasting, lights flashing. Justice is coming on swift rubber tyres.

The cars pull up --- and the cops arrest Everett! Evidence is found in his house, the lock of hair planted by Fiona when she was there. The bitch has decided to protect her scumbag murderer husband and frame Everett because of what he did to her in 1992. Alan goes to retrieve the hair but can’t find it. Fiona tells him not to worry about it. She tells him there’s nothing more important than her family. As Everett is taken away by the police Linus’s world crashes down, and there’s not even Caitlin there to talk to. Sandra turns out to be more of a friend than Gail had given her credit for, letting her stay in her house in Cornwall as her own is being repossessed by the bank. Gail takes Malcolm’s ashes and mixes them in with the food for the dog…

Caitlin dyes her hair, and puts on Hattie’s clothes, the same dress she was wearing on Mayday. She takes her bike and as Alan and his family are out having a picnic, she rides by, stops her bike and stares at them, pointing at Alan, scaring the crap out of them and maybe making Fiona think that justice has come back to find them, after all. The evidence against Everett goes mysteriously missing and so the cops can’t hold him, but it was flimsy at best and would never have secured a conviction.

QUOTES
Everett: “I have been protecting you all your life you ungrateful little ****!”
Linus: “What are you talking about?”
Everett: “You killed her, Linus. You. You killed your mother.”

Seth: “No! I saw her, cradled in the tree of life! She was not dead! She’s changing! She’ll come back!”

Mr. Sutton: “Do you think he (Seth) did it?”
Steve: “There’s a side of him that’s capable of anything.”

Angie (to Steve): “You destroy everything. You kill what you love.”

Neighbour: “I think a tree is quite a nice place to put his ashes.”
Gail: “I don’t think a tree is very appropriate in the circumstances, is it?”

THE CULPRIT: SUSPECTS FINALE
Now we know who did it, and we can sort out the “suspects”, and see how they fit into the story, and why they were initially considered to have been responsible.

Alan

He is the killer, which is interesting really as of all the suspects bar Linus he had emerged as the least likely, even after Malcolm’s death. Apart from his cock-and-bull story about some internal investigation that was unexpectedly dropped, and the lock of hair in the attic he has not done or said really anything to make us think it could have been him. Clever really: the killer keeps a low profile and lets others fall under suspicion. Also, the fact that he is a cop makes him even less likely. But now we see that he killed Hattie in a rage because he believed she had cast a spell on him that would not allow him to make love to his wife.

Malcolm

Apart from his own financial problems and his predeliction for watching couples make love, Malcolm’s only involvement in the murder of Hattie is now seen to have been that he was a silent witness. He saw everything, but whether he was just scared to come forward, as he would have to explain what he was doing there in the first place and his own dubious record would have come to light, or whether some part of him rejoiced that the woman who had ruined him was getting what she deserved, is unclear. It could even be that the murder turned him on, though he does throw up afterwards.

Everett

Seen now to be innocent, and not so bad a father as we had been led to believe. He has been protecting his son against the awful truth about the death of his mother, and though he did something to Fiona --- we can only assume, though it’s never confirmed, this was to make her pregnant with Charlotte and not stand by her --- this is all he is guilty of. But because of her hatred for him, the ex-police woman violates her principles and ethics and frames him. He is later released, as the evidence goes missing.

Seth

We can probably assume Seth had nothing to do with Hattie’s murder, as he has been provided with an alibi for the time of the killing. But he was a suspect, and that was enough for her father, who exacts his own brutal --- and misinformed --- justice upon the troubled man.

Steve

Had nothing to do with it either, so far as we can see. Just a small man in a small town trying to make his small life a little better by temporarily making himself a bigger man, and hoping to regain the son he had lost.

Linus

Was never really a suspect, just a troubled kid around whom all this madness swirled like an out-of-control fairground ride. In the end though it’s almost as if two people are murdered, as he loses his chance to have a relationship with Caitlin when she takes on the persona of her murdered sister.

A FINAL TWIST
One of the things that totally blew me off the planet with this programme was the last twist. As I said at the beginning, there are so many viable suspects that it’s pretty much impossible to decide who is innocent and who is guilty, and as the series goes on deeper and darker secrets are revealed, some leading to answers, some asking more questions. But even when the killer is revealed and it looks like the law is closing in on him, there’s one final plot twist as Fiona frames Everett, leaving the lock of hair in his house so that he will be accused of the murder. However this reasoning is fatally flawed, as I will discuss in the next section. Even so, it’s a development I had not expected or anticipated. As the cop cars close in, and the scene alternates between their approach and Fiona and Alan in the garden, I expected at any moment the flashing blue lights to pull up outside their house and Alan to be arrested. When it’s Everett’s house they descend on, it really took my breath away. Just when you think everything is wrapped up in a neat little bundle, the killer is unmasked and caught and you’re just waiting for the feeling of the collar and the end credits to roll, this amazing little suspense thriller throws you a complete curve and demonstrates once more what a singularly unique drama this is.

FATAL FLAWS
Before I close this, I’d just like to examine the frankly often glaring plot holes in the last parts of the story. One is the fact that there is no explanation for Hattie’s being found up a tree. Alan is no hunk; he’s not a weed but he’s no stronger-looking than the average man. So how did he manage to get her body way up into the branches of the tree in which it was found? Or, did Seth do that? He called it “the tree of life”. Did he intend to try to engineer Hattie’s return to life by in effect offering her to the forest gods? It’s a rather large flaw in the plot that’s never answered or resolved, or even addressed, and yet it becomes the single reason for Malcolm being cleared of her murder.

As to the evidence found in Everett’s house: well firstly did the cops not wonder why it was in an evidence bag? Not to mention that if they dusted it for fingerprints they would find Fiona’s on the bag but not those of Everett, proving he never touched it. And what sort of evidence is that anyway? If he was proved to have known Hattie, perhaps even have had an affair with her, could she not have given him a lock of her hair? It’s not like it was covered in blood or anything. Flimsy at best, and the fact that it goes missing is probably the best thing for the cops, as by itself it would never hold up in court, and other than that the police have nothing else to link him to the murder.

There’s Linus’s accusations of course, but he retracts these and admits he was wrong. And if the relationship between Everett and Fiona is explored in court, it’s going to become quite clear that they had a fling, and that this is quite obviously the work of a woman who is framing her ex-lover for pure reasons of revenge and anger. No, there’s no case against Everett and I’m surprised the cops arrest him on such paltry evidence.

Final notes:
It amazed me too that someone who was made out to have such high notions of ethics and principles as Fiona would, having discovered her husband to be a murderer, protect him and not only that but frame an innocent man. He may have hurt her, but Everett is no murderer, and she knows this. Not only that, she knows she is being an accessory after the fact and is also seeking to pervert the course of justice. I thought she was an ex-cop? She is so worried and concerned about Hattie, and devastated when her body turns up: how can she now defile her memory like this? Shielding her murderer and framing a man Hattie was apparently once infatuated with? I had hoped that the final scene would be Alan, Fiona or both suffering a heart attack after seeing “Hattie” return, but that’s left up to our imaginations. One thing is for certain though: neither are likely to sleep easily ever again after this.

One final mystery remains though. Caitlin as Hattie singles out Alan and his family to accuse, but as far as she and everyone else knows, Everett was the one charged, and though Linus would have told her he was innocent --- if he managed to see her after the arrest --- even he did not know about Alan. Nobody did, other than Fiona. And Hattie. So was that really Hattie’s spirit come back in the body of her sister, taking her over so as to have her revenge, keep the promise or threat she made to Alan just before he squeezed the life out of her body?

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018