50,000 Views!

Hey, folks!

This is actually just a quick post to say that I have just reached a milestone on this blog as today I just reached the 50,000 views mark on it, which is great!  So I'd just like to say a big thanks to everyone and anyone, who has read my posts on this blog so far and its certainly taking a good few years to get to this point but I am definitely pleased to reach this milestone.

So, thanks again and here's to the next 50,000 views and getting to 100,000 views!

Cheers!

P.S. My latest stats update for the blog is below.

Top 10 Friends Episodes Part 1 - No's 10-6

Right, well I figured it was time for a brand new top 10 list for a change and this list will cover my pick of the top 10 episodes of the hit American sit-com, Friends, which ran for 10 years with ten seasons from 1994-2004.  And I have been rewatching all the episodes (or nearly all of them) on Netflix as the whole series is on there. 

The premise of course as we all know (or most of us!) is about six twenty/thirty something friends, who live in New York and it deals with their friendships and own love lives.  The six friends are three men and three women, Ross, Chandler, Joey and Rachel, Monica and Phoebe.   

The series has it share of highlights and great episodes, which will make this difficult for me to pick out my selection, so I will do this first part and come back to the 2nd part later on maybe next month rather than try and tackle them in two consecutive posts.

Right, so without any further ados, let's take a look at my pick of the first five in the Top 10.

Oh and just to warn you...

THERE WILL BE SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

10. The One with the Jellyfish (Series 4 - Episode 1)

Memorable quote "It so does NOT!!!"

So, to kick off the list is this very funny opening episode from the 4th series, which sees the story continue on from where the 3rd series left off with the six friends on holiday at a beach house.  And Ross (David Schwimmer) has to decide which woman he wants to be with, either his ex-girlfriend, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) or his new girlfriend, Bonnie (Christine Taylor).  So, Ross opts for Rachel as the two of them look to mend their relationship, however its not quite that simple as Rachel first wants Ross to read a long letter that she wrote him about their relationship and that she wants him to agree to before they can continue.

So, the following morning, Ross has dozed off and not finished reading the letter (as it is 18 pages long, front and back!) only for Rachel to come down and ask him re: the letter's ending "does it?".   Ross however, clearly has no idea what she means, bluffs it and says "It does", which for Rachel was the answer she was looking for, so the two of them then re-consumate their relationship.  However after Ross manages to get a chance to finally read the end of the letter, he looks up and angrily says "It so does NOT!!".

Meanwhile, Monica (Courtney Cox), Joey (Matt Le Blanc) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) are out at the beach and Monica ends up being stung by a jellyfish and Joey tells Monica the only way to take away the sting is to pee on it. So, this soon leads into the following scene where all three of them walk back to the beach house, too mortified to say what happened.

And while this is all going on, Phoebe has gone off to meet a woman, who turns out to be her actual real mother (Teri Garr) when she believed that her actual real mum had committed suicide years ago....

THOUGHTS

This is definitely a great start to the 4th series and it features some of the funniest moments in the show, particularly where  Ross and Rachael argue with one another near the end of the episode and also the moritified trio of Monica, Chandler and Joey over what happened on the beach with the jellyfish.  This episode is also somewhat curious because if you watch the end of the 3rd series, Matthew Perry had lost alot of weight due to his vicodin addiction.  However after the 3rd series ended, Perry had underwent rehab for his addiction, he put back on the weight he lost and suddenly looks alot healthier in this episode as a result.  So, its actually quite an astonishing change overnight when you look at it from the context of the episode! 

NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: spoilers are coming up!)

As for the episode's notable scenes there are plenty but I will try and keep it down to three, so first up there is the scene where Ross has fallen asleep in the morning having barely read much of Rachel's letter about their relationship.

So, Rachel comes down and asks Ross why he didn't come up after reading the letter and he tells her "Why didn't you come up?" and Ross pretends to have finished reading "Done!".  Rachel asks Ross "You just finished it?" and Ross says to her "I wanted to be thorough. This is clearly very important to you. To us. I wanted to read every word carefully. Twice!". Rachel then asks "So...does it?" and Ross looks at her uncertain what she means and asks "I'm sorry?" and Rachel asks again "Does it?" and Ross asks "Does it? You know I just want to give that "does it?" part another glance!".  Rachel however then becomes a bit annoyed and says "What do you mean? You said you read it twice. It either does or doesn't. If you have to think...!".  However Ross quickly interrupts and anxiously says "No, I don't have to think about it!  In fact I've decided.  I have decided it that....it does!" and Rachel looks moved and then hugs Ross, and starts to pull him out the room while Ross frantically tries to look at the pages of the letter on the table.

However in the next scene (I'll tag this onto it!) when we see Ross and Rachel, happily snuggled up on beach house couch, the others come back and look happy to them together.  So, Rachel then get's up and says to Ross "I have to go pack -" and she says in a heartfelt way  "And it really does?" and Ross smiles warmly at her and says "It does.  It really and truly does!" and Rachel, delighted walks off.  So, this leaves Ross to scramble frantically through the end of the letter to find out what Rachel means by "it does" but after reading it, he takes a pause and angry looks up and says "It so does NOT!!".

Then there is the scene where back in New York, Monica, Joey and Chandler reveal the embarrassing truth about what happened on the beach with her Jellyfish sting.  So, Monica awkwardly tells the others "I got stung. Stung bad. I couldn't stand. I couldn't walk. We were two miles from the house. We were scared and alone. We didn't think we could make it. I was in too much pain".  Monica then says "Then, Joey remembered something he'd seen on the Discovery channel about Jellyfish..." and Ross says "Yeah the Discovery channel, right and how...." and he looks disgusted and says "...eww! You peed on yourself?!".  Monica then embarrassed says "I tried but I couldn't bend that way....so..." and she looks to Joey as do the others, who all go "Ewww!".  Joey however proudly says "That's right!  I stepped up!  She's my friend and she needed my help!  If I had to, I'd pee on anyone of you!".

Joey however then looks embarrassed and says "Only I couldn't.  I got the stage fright!  So, I turned to Chandler..." and we see Chandler sit in the corner, head in his hands, he let's out an agonising howl.  Chandler then get's up and says "Joey kept screaming at me, "Do it now. Do it. Do it now!" Sometimes, late at night, I can still hear the screaming".  Joey then grins and says to Chandler "No, I just do it through the wall at night to freak you out!" and he pats Chandler on the back.

And lastly there is the scene where Ross and Rachel are cuddled up in bed together in Rachel's room (in Monica's apartment) and she ruins their happy mood by reminding Ross about the letter.  So, Rachel says to Ross "I was so nervous about that letter. But the way you owned up to everything it just showed me how much you've grown" and Ross tries his best to hide his annoyance and says "I suppose".  Rachel then insists "No, you have Ross.  My mom never thought this would work out. She said, "Once a cheater, always a cheater. " I just wish we hadn't lost those four months".  Rachel then pats Ross's face as she says "But if time was what you needed to gain a little perspective...." and then Ross yells at her "WE WERE ON A BREAK!!!".

In the next moment, we see them get dressed and Ross angrily says to Rachel "I thought it took two people to break up this relationship!" and Rachel angrily spits back "Yeah!  You and that girl from the copyhouse, which you took full responsbility for!".  Ross, then says "I didn't know what I was taking responsibility for!  I didn't finish the letter!  I feel asleep!" and Rachel bemused asks him "You feel asleep??!".  Ross then angrily explains to Rachel "It was 5:30 in the morning. And you had rambled on for 18 pages. Front and back!" and he storms out the room.  And as Ross angrily walks toward the door he turns to Rachel and says "By the way, Y-O-U-apostrophe-R-E means "you are. " Y-O-U-R means "your"!".  Rachel furiously then says "I can't believe I thought of getting back with you!  This is SO over!" and Ross then pretends to choke up with tears and shouts back "FINE BY ME!" and storms out.  Rachel then stands at the door and shouts after Ross "Just so you know, it's not that common. It doesn't happen to every guy. And it is a BIG DEAL!!!" and she slams the door and storms back to her room, with Chandler moving forward and exclaiming "I KNEW IT!!".

SUM UP

So, "The One with the Jellyflish" is definitely one of the funniest opening episodes of any of the seasons and it more than deserves it place on the list here, so it takes a well deserved spot here at No.10.

9. The One with the Two Parties (Series 2 - Episode 22)

At No.9 is this episode from the 2nd series, which takes place on Rachel's birthday where Monica has arranged a lavish birthday party for her.  The only snag here is that Rachel's mom has been invited but her dad hasn't been due to the fact that they are now both divorced and can't stand to be in the same room as each other.  However on Rachel's birthday night, her dad unexpectedly turns up which forces the friends to put together two parties instead of one for Rachel in order to keep the couple separate.

And to make things worse for the guests, Monica's party turns out to be a real bore, as she is a strict host, who forces her guests to play some dull games.  So as a result, Phoebe decides to sneak out people so they go to Joey and Chandler's party instead, which is more fun and laid back.  And meanwhile this is going, Ross and the others tries and do their best to keep Rachel's mum and dad from seeing each other all night.

THOUGHTS

This episode is definitely one of the funniest of the 2nd series and the idea of the two parties works very well as Rachel's friends scramble frantically around to keep her parents apart without seeing each other.  It also amusingly shows how controlling Monica can be as a party host and its something she would be accused again in the future of being a bad host, who bores everyone to death and Phoebe's sneaking people out is also funny as the party guests come up to her like she is some sort saviour!

NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: Spoilers will be ahead!)

The episode also features its share of notable scenes, such as the one on the night of the party where Ross tries to calm down an anxious Rachel when her mum and dad both turn up and how she wants them kept apart.  So, Ross says to Rachel "This is your birthday, your party. Let's put them together. If they can't deal with it, who cares?!" but Rachel says "I do!" and Ross quickly says "That's who!".

Another good scene is when Ross, who doesn't get on well with Rachel's dad, Dr Greene tries to engage him in conversation but Dr Greene looks dispondent.  So, Ross asks him "Hi, Dr. Greene. So how's everything in the vascular surgery game?" and Dr Greene somberly says "Its not a game, Ross. A woman died on my table today".  Ross then says "I'm sorry. That's the good thing about my job. All the dinosaurs on my table are already dead!" and Dr Greene just gives him a look, making Ross more uncomfortable.

Then there is the next scene where Central Perk coffee house manager, Gunther (James Michael Tyler) who has also been invited to the party, tries to leave the apartment but Monica stops him.  So, Monica spots Gunther trying to leave and she says to him "Gunther! Where are you going?!" and Gunther indicates to next door's party "I was sort of thinking about maybe..." and Monica says "No! You can't go!  No, this is fun!".  So, shortly after, Phoebe goes up to Gunther and quietly says to him "If you want to go, just go" but Gunther looks afraid and says "I can't. She'll yell at me again".  So, Phoebe suggests creating a diversion "All right, I can get you out.  In a minute I'll create a diversion.  When I do, walk quickly to the door and don't look back".

Another good moment is when Ross tries to stop Dr Greene from going into Joey and Chandler's party where Mrs Greene is.  So, Ross says to him "Where are you sneaking off to Mister??" and Dr Greene says "I'm getting my cigarettes" but Ross stops him and says "No.  You see because that is the staging area.  You go in there, it'll ruin the whole illusion of the party".  So, Ross then tells Dr Greene "Take your scotch back in there and I will get your cigarettes for you, sir" and Dr Greene says "Get my glasses, too" and Ross says to him "All righty-roo!" and Dr Greene goes back into Monica's party.  So, Ross turns and sighs to himself and says "What a great moment to say that for the first time!".

Then there is the moment where some of Monica's bored party guests quietly go up to Phoebe and one of them asks her "Is it true that have beer?" and Phoebe looks at the guest and says to them confidentially "Everything you've heard is true".  And in the next moment, Phoebe get's the guests out only for Monica not long after to go next door to Joey and Chandler's party and finds some of her guests there instead.  And Monica, shocked, says to the guests "You are supposed to be at my party!" and she suddenly spots Gunther dancing with some people and she says "And Gunther! What are you doing here?!" and Gunther looks awkwardly at her and tries to think of something and he just shrugs and starts dancing again.

And lastly there is the scene near the end where the friends just manage to keep Dr Greene and Mrs Greene from seeing each other as they both come out of their respective parties (Mrs Green, Joey and Chanlder's and Dr Green, Monica's).  However as Dr Greene appears, Joey suddenly grabs Mrs Greene and says to her "Thanks for coming Mrs Greene!" and he gives her a big kiss, just as Dr Greene is successfully ushered out before her.  So, after Joey kissing Mrs Greene, she looks speechless and he says to her awkwardly "You take care!" and Mrs Greene, flustered and also flattered says to Joey "Oh, you kids!".  Mrs Green then touches Joey's face gently and says "Well, this is the best party I've been to for years!" and she then leaves.

SUM UP

So, "The One with the Two Parties" is definitely one of the best episodes from the 2nd series and I've always enjoyed comedy where people try to stall for time to avoid two particular people from seeing each other (or however many people!) as it makes for a fun concept.  So, this episode is certainly worth a place on the list and it sits here at No.9.

8. The One with the Flashback (Series 3 - Episode 6)

Memorable "Here's your...penis!"

At No.8 is this very funny episode from the 3rd series "The One with the Flashback" where Chandler's girlfriend, Janice (Maggie Wheeler) asks him if there was any time in the past where the friends ever slept together.  And as they all answer "no" Janice then asks them was there a time where they "almost" did sleep with one another, which prompts a completely different reaction from them!

So, basically the episode is set three years ago where Ross is still married to his first wife, Chandler,  Monica and Phoebe are friends but they haven't met Joey yet and Rachel is still engaged to her fiance, Barry.  Rachel happens to be in the same bar where Monica and Chandler are, and she tells her other friends that she desires one last "fling" and to get it out of her system before she commits herself to marriage.  

Chandler is on the lookout for a new room mate with one of his primary candidates being a model photographer and the other being Joey.  However when the troublesome neighbour, Mr Heckles turns up at Monica's door to tell them to keep the noise down, after Phoebe tells him off instead, he pretends to be Chandler's new room mate to the photographer, who got the actual spot, who leaves instead, allowing Joey to get the room.

Joey, meanwhile eyes up Monica when they first meet, she invites him to come in for some "lemonade" which he mistakes as slang for sex, so he strips naked infront of her, much to Monica's shock and disbelief.  Joey however soon clicks with Chandler after he moves in as they begin to bond as Joey watches "Baywatch" and he also happens to have a cooler loaded with beers, which meets Chandler's approval.

Phoebe also at this time is living with Monica but she can't stand her obssessive tidiness and fussy nature, so she tries to discreetly move out pieces of her furniture one at a time as she sneaks off to another apartment she has.  Monica eventually confronts Phoebe when she spots her taking a lamp and Phoebe says she needs her own space and needs live in a place where she "can spill" which Monica sadly agrees to as Phoebe sees it the best way forward for them to remain friends.   

And then of course there is the other subplot where Ross discovers his wife, Carol, is a lesbian, leaving him utterly devastated, he goes to the bar where the friends hang out (which would later turn into their coffee house hangout, Central Perk) and finds Phoebe still there at closing time (although neither of them work there!).  So, Phoebe comforts Ross and as she does, they begin making out on a pool table, which doesn't end quite so well for them as it could....

THOUGHTS

This is definitely one of my favourite episodes from the 3rd series and again flashback episodes can often provide alot of fun in comedy and this one nicely sets up the characters in their time and place back before the six friends became established.


NOTABLE SCENES 

As for the notable scenes there is the one where Mr Heckles turns up and knocks the door of Monica's apartment to complain about any alleged noise they were making.  So, Phoebe opens the door and says to him "Mr Heckles, no one is making any noise up here!" and Mr Heckles says to her "You're disturbing my oboe practice!".  So, Phoebe looks at him and says "You don't play the oboe" and Mr Heckles says "I COULD play the oboe" and Phoebe smiles and says "Then I'm gonna have to ask you to keep it down!" and she shuts the door in his face.

Another good scene is where Rachel in the bar with her other clingy friends talk about her engagement to Barry but she talks about her urge to have sex with someone else to get it out her system before she actually marries him.  So, Rachel says to her friends "I feel like having one last fling just to sort of get it out of my system" and her friends react in surprise but Rachel insists "No I'm serious. I really think I need to have some meaningless sex you know?  With the next guy I see!".

And this whole time, Chandler (who is also in the bar with Monica and he is sporting a goatee beard!) has been anxiously overhearing Rachel's conversation and feverishly chalking the tip of his pool cue, suddenly takes the white ball and drops it and rolls towards Rachel's seat.  So, Chandler confidently stirdes up to her and says "Excuse me, I appear to have dropped my ball!" but Rachel, oblivious to his come on says "Yeah?  So?".  This leaves Chandler feeling embarrassed and he bends down and picks up the ball and says awkwardly "And now I've picked it up again!" and he heads back to Monica.   


Then there is the priceless scene where Joey starts moving in after Mr Heckles scared off Chandler's other potential roommate and while he is moving in boxes, he sees Monica and the two of them share a little smile.  So, as Joey grabs a heavy box and stands up too fast and suddenly falls back a little and he says to Monica "I stood up too fast!  Got a little head rush" and Monica says to him rather coyly "Its the heat and the humidity" and Joey flirts with Monica a little and says "Yeah, that's a tough combination".  Monica the smiles at Joey and asks him "Do you want to come in for some lemonade?" and Joey suddenly beams and says "Like you wouldn't believe!" so he follows her in.

And in the next moment as Monica prepares two glasses of lemonade, Joey quickly undresses himself and stands completely naked as Monica has her back to him.  So, Monica without turning around asks "Your thirsty?" and Joey feverishly says "Oh, yeah bet I am!" so Monica turns around with the two drinks and says "Here's your penis!" as she stands shocked at Joey being starkers.  Monica then shouts "Oh my God!  What the hell are you doing?!" and Joey says to her sexily "You said "you wanna come in for some lemonade?".  Joey however then realises his mistake and asks Monica "So, you were just going to give me lemonade?" and Monica exclaims "Yeah! Cover yourself up!".  And when Monica asks Joey "So, if somebody asks if you want some lemonade that means that want to have sex?!" and Joey starts to get dressed and says "Yeah not just lemonade.  Ice tea, sometimes juice".  Joey then apologises, embarrassed he says "Sorry.  I thought you liked me.  I'm such a jerk!".  Monica then awkwardly says to him as she looks at his trouser area "That's okay. By the way I can still see it!".

Then there is the very funny scene where a devastated Ross turns up at the bar just around closing time and Phoebe is still there.  So, Ross, heartbroken says to Phoebe "Hi" and Phoebe asks "What's wrong?" and Ross tells her "I think my marriage is over" and Phoebe shocked says "Oh no! Why?!" and Ross says "Because she's a lesbian and I'm not one.  And apparently its not a mix and match situation".  Ross then says "Maybe this wouldn't have happened if I'd been more nurturing or I'd paid more attention, or I had a uterus".  Phoebe then hugs Ross out of pity and she starts to kiss him on the cheeks and lips saying "Oh, Ross, you're so kind and sweet..." but then they suddenly start making out on the pool table, where Ross clunks his head on one of the overhead lights.

So, as they get on the table, Ross awkwardly says to Phoebe "My foot is stuck in the pocket.  I can't get it out!" and Phoebe says "Ross, that's not something a girl wants to hear" and Ross says "Come on, don't start!".  And as they continue to make out, Ross suddenly whinces and he says "Stupid balls are in the way!" as he moves some pool table balls, but they both laugh at his words and decide to stop and Ross tells Phoebe "Well that probably wouldn't have been the most constructive solution".  So not long after, Monica, Chandler and Joey come in and Phoebe and Ross it upright on the table and Phoebe says to him "I don't know why I always thought this was real grass!".  Monica then sees how down Ross looks and she asks "Honey?  Are you okay?" and Ross tells her "My wife's a lesbian" prompting a big grin from Joey, who says "Cool!" and then Joey is introduced to Ross and Phoebe.

SUM UP

So, "The one with the flashback" is definitely a favourite episode of mine and it features some of the funniest moments from the show and flashback episodes in most sitcoms can often be the source of great amusement, so it certainly deserves its place here on the list at No.8.

7. The One Where Emma Cries (Series 9 - Episode 2)

Next is this episode from the 9th series "The One Where Emma Cries" in which Ross is still mad at Joey for accidentally proposing to Rachel (which happened at the end of the 8th series just after Rachel had her baby in the hospital when Joey accidentally finds Ross's ring).  And this episode features two of the funniest moments in the series, which makes this one well worth putting on the list alone, which I will get to in a bit.

As for the actual story, the gist of it is basically that Rachel is struggling to adapt to being a new parent as she unwisely decides to wake up her baby girl, Emma from her sleep, which prompts her to cry non-stop.  And with Monica and Phoebe both visiting, the trio become desparate after a while to try and stop Emma crying, which Monica eventually does after she picks her up and sways her side to side making Rachel decide that Monica is to be her "official baby cryer stopper!".

Meanwhile, Ross is still mad at Joey for accidentally proposing to Rachel in the hospital not long after she gave birth.  So, Joey tries to confront Ross in the coffee house and tells him they need to try and get pass this and suggests why doesn't Ross hit him to make him feel better. So, Ross then tries to punch Joey, who ducks and Ross's fist instead hits one of the wall posts and Joey desparately tells it was reflex reaction that he ducked and he ends up trying to demonstrate ducking to Ross to prove his points but Ross doesn't get's hit in the face but Joey.  So, the two of them end up going to hospital to get Ross's hand checked out where they eventually end up making peace.

And lastly, Chandler is nervous about a big meeting he has in his work and he ends being unable to sleep the night before.  So this prompts Chandler the next day to fall asleep during the meeting where he unwittingly agrees to relocate to Tulsa, which is news that Monica isn't too keen to hear when he get's back home.

THOUGHTS

This is another priceless episode and the single funniest subplot in it is Ross and Joey's confrontation in the coffee house, where Joey tries to get Ross to get over being mad him by hitting him but as Ross swings at Joey, Joey instinctively ducks and Ross injures his hand on a metal post instead.  And this is followed up by one of the funniest end sequences of any episode in the series, which I will get to.

NOTABLE SCENES 

As for the notable scenes, let's start with the very one where Ross is in the coffee house getting a muffin from a rather resentful Gunther, who is not too happy having learned that Ross had a baby with her.  And Gunther tells Ross "So Rachel had your baby?" and Ross cheerily says "Yep. Can you believe it?" and Gunther bluntly says "Nope!  I can't believe she had sex with you in the first place!" and Ross looks puzzled at him and says "What?!".

At this point, Joey comes in and tries to reason with Ross over their situation and Joey says to Ross "Hey, Ross.  I know your pissed at me but we need to talk about this" but Ross says "No, we don't" and tries to walk away.  Joey then says to Ross "Fine.  But I got to say that technically, I didn't do anything wrong!" and Ross the angrily says "Let's put aside the fact that you "accidentally" picked up my grandmother's ring and you "accidentally" proposed to Rachel".  Joey however then stops Ross and says "Can I just stop you there for a second? When people do this" and he mimics Ross's inverted commas hand gesture "I don't really know what that means. You were saying?".

So, Ross continues "And I could even understand that you couldn't tell Rachel. But why couldn't you tell me? You had all day to, and you didn't!" and Joey says "I know. I should have!" and he uses the inverted commas hand gesture and says "I'm sorry!" but Ross looks bemused and tells Joey "Not using it right, Joe!".  Ross then says "I'm gonna go" but Joey stops him and takes Ross's bag of muffins and pleads "Ross, we have to get past this!".  So, Joey then says "No, I don't know what else to do. I said I'm sorry, now Now you should scream at me or curse me or hit me!" and Ross says "I'm not gonna hit you" but Joey suggests "You'll feel better!  You know you want to!  I can see it in your eyes!".

Joey then tries to coax Ross into hitting more and more, so Ross finally takes a swing at Joey, who ducks at the last moment and Ross's fist instead hits a metal post and he ends up squealing in agony and he turns away from Joey and his eyes meet with a delighted Gunther.  Ross then shouts at Joey "You ducked!!" and Joey desparately says "I'm sorry!  Its a reflex!  I couldn't help it!  When a fist comes at your face, you duck! Look!".  So, Joey then takes a swing at Ross but he doesn't duck and Joey ends up puncing Ross in the face and Ross reels back and shouts "WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!!" and Joey shouts back "You were supposed to duck!  Why didn't you duck?!".  Ross, then angrily says "Let's talk on the way to the hospital!" and Joey says "Good.  Yeah, maybe while you're there they can check your reflexes!".  So, as they go to the door, Joey the opens the door, which hits Ross's arm, who looks angrily at Joey, who apologetically holds up his hands in the inverted comma gesture and he says "Whoops!".

Then there is the scene at the hospital where Joey makes up with Ross as the two of them fill in a medical form for Ross's details.  So, as Joey offers to fill in the form for Ross, due to Ross's injured hand, Joey asks the questions from the form and he asks "Name? No, I know its Ross, but what is that short for?  You know, like Rossell?  Or Rostophor?" and Ross looks not amused and says "Just Ross".  Joey then looks at the next question and he asks "Occupation?" and he writes "Dinosaurs" and Ross starts to correct him "Actually, I'm a paleon..." and he decides to leave it alone "...dinosaurs is fine".

Joey then talks with Ross about the possibility of Ross getting back together with Rachel when raising the baby but Ross insists that he is more comfortable if they don't and just raise the baby as friends.  So, Ross says to Joey "Yeah I thought we were supposed to get back together.  But then she said she'd marry you" and Joey tells him "Come on, Ross, that didn't mean anything. She'd just had the baby. She was freaked out about doing it alone. She would have said yes to anybody!" but Ross tells him "Yeah, but I just want to be just anybody".  So, as they bury the hatchet, Joey tells Ross "Hey, for what its worth with Rachel, I don't think you'll ever be just..." and he at last correctly uses the inverted commas gesture right "anybody".  Ross then smiles, pleased that Joey finally got it right and says "There you go!" and Joey smiles back and does the gesture again and says "Thanks!" prompting a sigh from Ross.

Then there is the scene where Ross comes back home to his apartment where we see Rachel is exhausted from her efforts to deal with Emma, who is still asleep in her bedroom.  So, Rachel tells Ross "You know what I really, really want?" and Ross asks her "What Rach?" and she says "I wanna sleep.  I wanna eat.  I wanna take a shower.  I mean before she wakes up and we gotta do this all over again!" and Ross smiles and says "Right".  Rachel then says to Ross "I mean because I got news for you.  Emma: not easy!" and Ross smiles and reassuringly says to her "Well, that's what I'm here for".  However at this point we hear Emma starting to cry again and Ross says "You want me to get that?" and Rachel says "No, its ok" and she then calls out "Monica!" and Monica suddenly races in and says "Got it! Got it!" and heads off to deal with Emma.

And last of all is the funniest moment in the episode where back at the coffee house, Joey and Ross sit on a couple of stools having their coffee.  And Joey says to Ross "I've been thinking about this. And I gotta tell you, it's not my fault. It's a natural instinct".  At this point, Chandler walks and asks Joey "What are you guys talking about?" and Joey says to him "OK, what would you do if I did this?" and he takes a swing at Chandler, who instinctively jumps back and Joey's fist once again hits Ross again, who falls off his seat!  Joey then holds his hand up to Chandler feeling he has proved his point while a stunned Ross, slowly get's up and glares angrily at Joey.

SUM UP

So there you go "The one where Emma cries" is definitely one of the funniest and best episodes from the series and its great to see even after nine years of the show's run, it was still producing high quality episodes with plenty of good laughs.  And Ross and Joey's confrontation and the ending are more than enough to put this episode on the list.



6. The One Where Everybody Finds Out (Series 5 - Episode 14)

Memorable quote "Get off my sister!!!!!"

So to finish off the first part of this list is this episode from the 5th series, which is the one (as the title says) where everybody finds out about Monica and Chandler's secret relationship, although at this point Joey and Rachel already know but in this episode Phoebe also finds out.  And once Phoebe finds out she decides to have a little bit of fun with Monica and Chandler by kidding them on and Ross in this episode is on the lookout for a new apartment after his breakup with his wife, Emily.

So, the episode begins with Ross finding out that the ugly naked guy who lives in an apartment across the other side of the street from Monica is selling it (the character is of course an unseen running gag through the earlier series, although we do see him from the back in this episode).  So, Ross is really keen to try and get the apartment, however there are loads of other applicants also trying to get ugly naked guy's flat aswell.  So, Ross in an effort to tip the scales in his favour sends ugly naked guy a basket of mini muffins but when that fails he decides to just turn up at his apartment and agrees to also be naked with him (not in a sexual way though!) which in the end get's him the apartment.

Meanwhile, Phoebe finds out about Monica and Chandler after she witnesses them doing it through ugly naked guy's window.  So, Phoebe decides that it would be fun to mess with them as she pretends to come on to Chandler but this soon get's Monica suspicious and they decide to try and mess with them back and Chandler agrees to go on a psuedo date with Phoebe.  However on the night of the date as Phoebe pretends to seduce Chandler he is soon compelled to admit that he loves Monica and he declares his love for her infront of the others, but Monica insists that as Ross is the only one, who doesn't know that they say nothing.  However its not long before Ross actually does find out for himself......

THOUGHTS

"The one where everybody finds out" is another great episode from the series, which is great because not only does it have fun with the idea of Phoebe messing with Monica and Chandler but also the amusing extremes that Ross goes to, to try and get Ugly Naked Guy's apartment (by getting naked too!).  The episode also nicely has Chandler and Monica declare their love for each other infront of the others, cementing their relationship further more.  And Ross's reaction at the very end of the episode is priceless, especially as at this point he is on a sabbatical from his university job for anger management issues, so seeing Chandler and Monica at it, tips him over the edge!

NOTABLE SCENES

As for the notable scenes, well take your pick!

For starters there is the scene where Ross, Rachel and Phoebe have a look around ugly naked guy's apartment for viewing purposes (UNG isn't there in this scene!).  However while they are there, Phoebe suddenly notices Monica and Chandler starting to do it and she looks aghast and shouts "Chandler and Monica!  CHANDLER AND MONICA!!!!" to Rachel and she yells "THEY'RE DOING IT!!!".  Rachel then shouts back "I know!!" and Phoebe shouts "You know?!" and Rachel shouts "Yes, Joey knows!  I know!  But Ross, doesn't, so you have to stop screaming!!".  However at this point Ross comes back into the apartment (as he temporarily left) and Rachel springs back from the windows and shouts excitedly.  So, Ross asks "What are you doing?" and Rachel excitedly shouts "Nothing!  We're so excited that you might get this apartment!" and Ross says "Yeah it looks pretty good" and Phoebe joins in with the excitement "Pretty good?!  Its great!!  Get in here!!".  So, Ross seeing how excited they both, he joins and screams with delight and jumps up and down with them.

Then there is the next scene where Rachel and Phoebe are back at the coffee house discussing Chandler and Monica. And Phoebe asks "You mean whenever Monica and Chandler were doing laundry or going grocery shopping? The time Monica spent on the phone with Linda from camp?" and Rachel says "Doing it, doing it, doing it!".  Phoebe smiles excitedly and says "I can't believe its great.  For him, I mean she could do better!".  Joey then comes in and Rachel tells him that Phoebe now knows and he sighs with relief and tells them "Now enough of us know that we could just tell them we know. All the lying and the secrets will finally be over!".  However Phoebe has an other idea and says "Or, we could not tell them we know, and have a little fun. If they say they are doing laundry, we'll give them laundry to do!".  Joey however is not amused and says to Phoebe "You know what would be more fun?" and Phoebe asks "What?" and he firmly says "Telling them!".


Another good scene is when Monica and Chandler are about to go to do some "laundry" so in the scene Rachel asks "Mon, do you want to come and see a movie with us?" and Monica says "Actually, I was going to do some laundry".  Monica turns to Chandler then asks him "Do you want to some laundry with me?" and Chandler says "Sure, I'll do it with you".  However then Rachel says "Hold on a second" and she produces a big bag of laundry "Here you go.  That would really help me out!  Thanks!".  Monica looks a little bemused and says "You know what?  I don't have enough quarters" but Phoebe then produces a big bag full of them and she says "I have quarters!".

So, as Rachel and Phoebe are about to go, Phoebe teases Chandler (as she already did earlier) and goes up to him and sexily says "Bye, Chandler.  I miss you already!" and she pinches his butt, prompting a look of surprise from both Chandler and Monica.  So, after P and R leave, Chandler rushes over to Monica and tells her "Did you see that?!  With the inappropriate and the pinching?!" and Monica says "I did!".  So, Chandler asks her "So do you believe that she's attracted to me?!" but Monica susses it out "Oh my, God!  She knows about us!".  Chandler shocked asks "Are you serious?" and Monica says "She knows about us!  And she's trying to freak us out!  That's the only explanation!".  However, Chandler in a bit of denial asks "But what about my pinchable butt and my bulging biceps...." but Monica gives him a look and it dawns on Chandler "She knows!!".

Another funny moment is where Ross turns up at the Ugly Naked Guy's apartment and for the first time we see UNG in person (but from behind and not his face) as an obese, pasty skinned white man, carrying a large plastic cup of soda.  So, Ross awkwardly smiles and says to him "Good evening, sir. I'm Ross Geller. I'm one of the applicants. I realize that the competition is fierce but....".  Ross stops and takes a moment as he looks at UNG and says  "I'm sorry, I can't help but notice that you're naked. I applaud you. Man, I wish I was naked. I mean, this looks so great. That is how God intended it!".


Then there is the scene where Chandler and Monica decide to mess with Phoebe and Chandler sets up a date with Phoebe to come around to Monica's apartment.  So, Phoebe turns up wearing a sexy dress and she flirts with him and neither of them back down in their attempts to break the other.  So, Phoebe after a while goes outside into the hall where Rachel and Joey are and Phoebe tells "He's not backing down, he went to get some lotion!".  And Rachel says "The sooner we break him, the sooner this is out in the open!" and Joey suggests "Show him your bra.  He's afriad of bras.  Can't work them!" and he casually undoes the buttons on Phoebe's dress to reveal her bra.  Phoebe looks amazed and says "You didn't rip off any buttons!" and Joey grins and says "Not my first time!".


So, Phoebe goes back in with her bra exposed, which indeed makes Chandler uncomfortable as she moves in to kiss him, they both uncomfortably put their hands on each other.  So, as Chandler moves into kiss Phoebe he suddenly pulls away and gives in and shouts "Alright!  You win!  I can't have sex with you!" and Phoebe asks "And why?!" and Chandler says "Because I'm in love with Monica!".  So, Monica comes out (as she was hiding in her bedroom) looking surprised at Chandler's words and he points at her and shouts "That's right! I love her! I lover her!".  So, Monica touched moves to Chandler and they embrace and he says to her quietly "I love you, Monica" and she says emotionally "I love you too, Chandler" and they both kiss with the others looking on, moved.  And Phoebe smiles touched and says "I thought you were just doing it!  I didn't know you were in love!". 

And lastly there is another great end scene where Ross has secured UNG's apartment for himself and he speaks to the university dean as he shows him around the apartment.  So, in the scene the dean says to Ross "Its nice to see you back on your feet" and Ross says "I am that, and the whole rage thing is definitely behind me".  So the dean asks Ross "I wonder if its time for you to rejoin our museum team?" and Ross smiles and says "That would be great. I am totally ready to come back to work".  However, Ross steps over to the window and suddenly sees something that sets off his rage again and says "Wait a minute..." and he becomes even angrier and yells "What are you doing???!! GET OFF MY SISTER!!!!!!".


SUM UP

So, there you go "The one where everybody finds out" is definitely one of the best episodes from the show and it has plenty of great moments. Although perhaps the only thing that is a bit annoying about it is Monica and Chandler's continued insistance on hiding their relationship when by then surely they should have just made it public and got it out in the open!  And when it get's to the moment where everyone but Ross finds out and Monica still insists that to Joey that no one tell Ross yet, you can understand Joey's looks of annoyance at the end.  Just tell him guys!  But it does set up the final scene very nicely where Ross witnesses Chandler and Monica through his own apartment window.

And this episode more than deserves its place on the list and it nicely concludes the first part of the list being at No.6.

Right, so that's it for now and I will return with the second part of this post next month I think.

So, till then its bye for now!

Star Wars Episode IV (Revisited) Review - 500th Blog Post!!!

OK, now I've had a bit of mull over what to do for my 500th post on this blog and now the day has finally come, I decided to do yet another revisitation.  However, this isn't just any old revisitation of any old film, this is of course quite a special one, so this post will be on the original Star Wars film (or Episode IV, its confusing!) which I reviewed quite a while back, so this time I thought I would give the post a bit of a re-write.

So, after 40 years just how does Star Wars fair???  Well, let's ignite that lightsabre and find out....

And yes OK I know we all know the story of Star Wars, so do I really need to bother with a SPOILER ALERT for once???  Nah!

STORY

So, as we all know the story is set during a civial war between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance.  And the story starts with an attack on a ship belonging to the Rebell Alliance, which has Princess Lea (Carrie Fisher) on board, who happens to have stolen plans of a new technological weapon called the Death Star, built by the Galactic Empire.  Imperial stromtroopers board and kills many of the rebel troops and the evil lord Darth Vader (Dave Prowse in physical form and James Earl Jones in voice) captures Princess Lea.  However before Lea is captured she manages to conceal the stolen plans inside a droid named R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) along with a hologramatic recording of herself.  R2 escapes the ship with fellow droid C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and they land on the surface of the planet Tatooine.

On the surface of the planet the two droids argue and split up as a result R2 is captured as is Threepio by Jawa traders.  The Jawas then sell the two droids to a family of moisture farmers, Owen and Beru Lars (Phil Brown and Shelagh Fraser respectively) who also have their nephew, Luke Sykwalker (Mark Hamill) stay with them.  Luke however is bored of his normal chores and longs to join the rebels and fight for them against the Empire and while Luke tries to clean R2, he accidentally triggers part of Leia's mesasge which says "Help me Obi-wan Kenobi you're my only help".  Luke says he doesn't know anyone named Obi-wan Kenobi, but he does know a Ben Kenobi, who is an old hermit that lives on the planet.

The next morning, R2 goes missing as the droid is intent on finding Obi-Wan, and Luke and Threepio go out and find the R2, but Luke is attacked by sand people, native of Tatooine, but he is rescued by Ben Kenobi (Alec Guinness) who then reveals himself to indeed be Obi-wan Kenobi.  Ben takes Luke back to his home and tells him about his father, who was murdered by a young Jedi who turned to the Dark side of the force, named Darth Vader.  Then all of a sudden R2-D2 plays Leia's ful l message for Ben, revealing that she wants Ben to help take the Death star plans to her father on the planet Alderaan.  Ben asks Luke to come with him to Alderaan, but Luke declines at first, but soon after realises he must when he goes back to his home and finds it has been destroyed and his aunt and uncle both killed.

And from here Luke makes that crucial journey with Ben, R2 and Threepio to Mos Eisley spaceport where they meet a smuggler, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his first mate, Chewbacca, a wookie, and they agree to take them to Alderaan.  However the imperial stormtroopers are on the lookout for the droids and they narrowly escape and flee in Han's ship, the Millenium Falcon.

Meanwhile Leia is interrogated onboard the Death star by the callous Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) to try and find the location of the rebel base, and Tarkin demonstrates the Death star's power on her home planet of Alderaan, which is totally destroyed as a result.  As a result of this the Falcon, having made a jump into light speed, comes out of it to arrive at Alderaan's location, where there is nothing but debris from the destroyed planet and Han notices a imperial fighter ship pass them, and he decides to follow it only to eventually find the Death star.  Han tries to turn the ship around but is unable to as it is drawn in by a tractor beam and they are forced to dock on the Death star.  The crew then hide in Falcon's compartments, while the stormtroopers search for them and they manage to infiltrate the station by diguising themselves in stormtrooper outfits.

Luke, Han, and Chewie soon manage to locate Leia and they rescue her only to fight off the imperial troops in the process.  Meanwhile Ben splits up and goes to locate the tractor beam which he disables so the Falcon can escape and then has a showdown with Darth Vader, at the cost of his own life, it allows Luke and the others to escape the Death star, as Darth Vader cuts down Ben.

Onboard the Falcon they are followed by four imperial fighter ships, which Han and Luke manage to destroy and they make their way to the rebel base on the planet Yavin IV.  However the Empire had placed a tracking device oboard the Falcon which let's them know where the base is.  On the planet Yavin, Luke, Han, Chewie, Leia and the droids join up with the Alliance where they reveal their attack plans to destroy the Death star, once the plans have been analysed.  And from here Luke plays his part in the rebels aerial attack on the Death star by flying in rebel fighter as part of a squadron who are set to try and destroy the Death star and strike a blow for victory....

THOUGHTS 

There is no denying that Star Wars is an incredible film and its influence has been so huge over the years that it also remains one of the most seminal films in cinematic history.  It also saw a big step forward in the visual effects industry as prior to this film there weren't really any films up to this point like this, with the exception of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but here Star Wars took it to another level.

George Lucas also was heavily influenced by Akira Kurosawa, the Japanese filmmaker, and especially the film, The Hidden Fortress and also Yojimbo, where it shows the basis for the hero, Luke, and the smuggler, Han Solo.  And like all great films, Star Wars was made under incredible adversity from 20th Century Fox, who put Lucas under alot of pressure as he was forced to meet deadlines for the production and also the British crew were often scornful of the film itself and deemed it would be a failure.

And even some of the cast themselves had doubts about how it would turn out, such as Kenny Baker and Harrison Ford was also outspoken about Lucas's writing, as he famously said "Well you can type this shit but you can't say it!" (but he did of course!).  But despite all that once the film came together and was completed it was absolutely incredible how big a success Star Wars actually became.  And it also rejuvanted an almost ailing industry at the time, where cinema had become about social commentary and grimy reality in the 1970s and Star Wars succeded brilliantly in bringing a fun experience back to the big screen.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (No spoiler warning for a change! I mean why bother?!)

Getting onto the performances well this is where Star Wars actually does very well, despite Lucas's corny dialogue, the cast do a wonderful job in their memorable roles.

Starting with Mark Hamill, who does a fine job as Luke Skywalker, the plucky youngster, who is desparate to join the rebels and fight against the empire.  Hamill has plenty of good moments in the film, such as his scenes with Ben Kenobi, and their first scene together at Ben's home where he tells Luke about his father and asks that he learn about the force and join the rebels.  And Luke says "I can't get involved.  I've got work to do!  Its not that I like the empire, I hate it!  But there's nothing I can about it right now.  Its all a long way from here!".

And also one of the film's more powerful moments is the scene Luke desparately goes back to his aunt and uncle's film only to find it burnt out and that they have both been killed, and we get a strong graphic image of their smouldering charred bodies, and Luke looks down sadly and then up again with anger.  And he heads back to Ben and says that immortal line "There's nothing here for me now.  I wanna learn the ways of the force and become a jedi like my father".

Hamill also has some nice moments of course with Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, as they all shared a natural chemistry with one another.  Hamill also has some fun moments in the film, such as where he rescues Leia from her prison cell and she says to him "Are you a little short for a stormtrooper?" and he says "Oh the uniform! I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you!".  And as Leia asks him "What?" Luke repeats "I'm here to rescue. I'm here with your R2 unit and Ben Kenobi!" and Leia surprised asks "Ben? Where is he?!" and Luke says "Come on!" and they run out together.   

And later when they are all trapped into the garbage compactor together, Luke is pulled down by some of sort of underwater beast, and he comes back up covered in tentacles and he yells at Han saying "Blast it will you?  My gun's down!" and Han shouts "Where???" and Luke yells "Anywhere!!".  Then as the compactor starts up and begins to close in on Luke, Han, Leia and Chewie, Luke get's on the comlink to Threepio and shouts at him "Will you shut up and listen to me?!  Shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level, will ya?!" and he has to repeat it over and over until R2 finally shuts them down.  And once the compactor stops, Luke shouts with relief while Threepio listens in horror and says "My God, listen to them R2!  They're dying! Curse my metal body!  I wasn't fast enough!" but Luke shouts back "We're alright!".  

It also rather bizarre and interesting in a kind of peverse way that Luke is attracted to Leia as when he first sees her on the hologramatic image he says "Who is she?  She's beautiful!" and he even later asks Han "What do you think of her" and he answers flatly "Tryin not to, kid" and Luke replies "Good!".  And this is followed by Han saying "So what d'ya think?  Do you think a princess and a guy like me..." and Luke quickly says "No" and Han smiles as he registers Luke's jealousy, although he obviously doesn't know at that point that he's related to her!

Another good moment Hamill has is in the scene where he goes up to Han near the end of the film, when they are on Yavin and Han is taking his payment and getting ready to leave, as he doesn't want to get involved in the fight.  So Luke says to Han "Alright, take care of yourself, Han.  I guess that's what you're best at, isn't it?!".

Harrison Ford is also great in his role as Han Solo, and it was an early role in his career and in many ways one of his very best.  Ford since has played parts almost too close to his own real life persona, in a very dry way with little in the way of real zeal, passion or enthusiasm (not to say that is how Harry is in real life!).  But here Ford has alot of fun with Han as he plays him with the perfect amount of charisma, bravado and humour.

Ford has his share of great scenes suchas the one in the proper and original version of the film with the alien smuggler, Greedo, where they share an exchange over a table in the saloon at Mos Eisley, where Greedo says "I've been looking forward to this for a long time" and Han says "Yes, I bet you have!" and he shoots Greedo in cold blood and as he leaves he throws some money to the bartender and says "Sorry about the mess!".  

Ford pretty much get's all the film's best dialogue and there quite a few examples which I can mention.  And the first is the scene where Luke practices his ligthsabre skils on the Falcon, and Han mocks Luke and says "Hokey religions and old weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid!" and when Luke asks Han if he doesn't believe in the force Han says "Kid, I've been all over the galaxy and I've seen alot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there is one all powerful force controlling everything!  There is no mystical force field controlling my destiny.  Its all alot of simple tricks and nonsense!".

And in one of Ford's funniest moments in the film, after a shootout on a Death star detention block, Han answers the com controls and explains "Everything is under control, the situation is normal.  We had a slight weapons malfunction, but everything is fine now, how are you?!" and he later shoots the speaker when the trooper on the other end asks who he is and Han says "A boring conversation anyway!" all of which was ad-libbed by Ford himself and shouts back to Luke "LUKE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE COMPANY!!".  

Ford has some great chemistry with Fisher and they share some good moments, especially when they try and escape from the Death Star, and as Han and Luke try and fight off the stormtroopers on the detention block, Han yells "Wonderful girl!  Either I'm gonna kill her or I'm beginning to like her!".

And in his first scene where Han meets with Luke and Ben, he says to Ben "You mean you've never heard of the Millenium Falcon?  Its the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs".  And also in the scene where R2-D2 defeats Chewbecca a holographic game of chess with monsters, Han says "Let him have it.  Its not wise to upset a wookie." and Threepio replies "But nobody worries about upsetting a droid" and Han says "That's because droids don't pull people arms out of their sockets when they lose.  Wookies tend to do that!".

And in the scene where Han and the others are trapped in the garbage compactor, he has another good line as it closes in around them Han looks worriedly up and says "Well one thing is for sure we're all gonna be alot thinner!".  And lastly another favourite line of mine of Han's is during the dogfight onboard the Falcon when Han and Luke engage the TIE fighters and Luke celebrates when he destroys one and Han says "Great, kid.  Don't get cocky!" which is again an ad-lib by Harrison.

And lastly there is the scene near the end where Han after leaving the rebels to go off and pay his debts to Jabba, he changes his mind and comes back and helps Luke during the rebel assaults on the Death Star.  So, the Falcon ends up destroying one of the TIE fighters just before Vader locks in on Luke's X-Wing fighter, and Han shouts "Yahooo!" followed by "You're all clear, kid, now let's blow this thing and go home!!" which Luke does of course.  And after Luke has destroyed the Death Star, Han shouts excitedly "Great, kid!  That shot was one in a million!".  

Carrie Fisher is also great as Princess Leia as she appears in her career defining role as the small, feisty princess with two hairy buns attached to the side of her head, as a hairdo.

Fisher also has some great scenes and dialogue, such as the scene where she is interrogated by Grand Moff Tarkin onboard the Death Star, although she does speak in a rather English sounding accent in this scene!  But in the scene itself, Fisher has some great lines, such as when Leia is brought to Tarkin and she says to him when they meet "Governor Tarkin!  I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash.  I recognised your foul stench when I was brought onboard!".  And she warns Tarkin "The more you tightened your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers!".     

Then there is the scene where Leia shows her plucky resourcefulness when Luke and Han rescue her but they are up against a squadron of stormtroopers.  And Leia says "This is some rescue! You got a plan to get me in here but not to get out!" and Han looks to Luke and shouts at her "He's the brains, sweetheart!".  Leia then suddenly grabs a blaster during their fight onboard the Death star and blasts a whole in the wall and Han stunned, shouts "What the hell are you doing???!!" and Leia says "Somebody has to save our skins" and to Han "Into the garbage shoot, fly boy!".

And later after they escape the garbage compactor, Leia huffily walks past Chewbacca and says "Would someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?!" and followed by the line when she looks down below and sees the Falcon and says to Han "You came in that thing?  You're braver than I thought!".

Carrie also has a great moment with Harrison when Han and Leia argue on the Falcon and she says the fight isn't over yet, but for Han it is and he says "I'm in this for money!" and she says sharply "You needn't worry about your reward.  If money is all that you love, then that is what you will receive!" and as she goes out of the cockpit she says to Luke "Your friend is quite the mercenary.  I wonder if he cares about anything, or anybody!".

Next is up Alec Guinness who is excellent in his role as the aged Ben "Obi-wan" Kenobi who brings a sense of old fashioned heroism and moral deceny to the film and also portrays Ben as a wily old fella who can still outwit his enemies and is handy with a light sabre.

Guiness's introduction in the film is great, as he wears the hood of his cloak over his head and he makes strange noises to scare away the sand people who attacked Luke, and he feels Luke's pulse and takes his hood off.  And Luke tells him that R2 is looking someone named Obi-wan Kenobi, and Ben "Obi-wan.... now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time, a long time" and Luke asks if he knows him and Ben says "of course I know him!  He's me!  I haven't been known as Obi-wan since, oh before you were born".

Guinness also get's some good lines such as in the scene where he gives Luke his father's light sabre and he says "It is the weapon of a jedi knight.  Not as clumsy or random as a blaster.  But a weapon of a more civilised age".  This is followed by the moment where Luke asks Ben "How did my father die?" and Ben takes a moment and says "A young Jedi by the name of Darth Vader, was pupil of mine before he turned to evil, helped hunt down and destroy the Jedi knights.  He betrayed and murdered your father".   

Also the moment where they arrive at Mos Eisley spaceport and they look over it from a hilltop above and Ben says "Mos Eisley spaceport! You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.  We must be cautious!".  And when they arrive they are stopped by imperial troops and Ben uses his jedi mind trick to hypnotise the trooper who questions them "You don't need to see our indentification.  These are not the droids your looking for.  He can about his business.  Move along" and the stormtrooper repeats his every word and let's them go.  And Luke asks "How did we get past those troops?! I thought we were dead!" and Ben tells him "The force has a strong influence over the weak minded".   

And when the Millenium Falcon arrives at the destination of the destroyed planet of Alderaan and they follow the TIE fighter and see the Death star, Han thinks it is a small moon, and Ben says "That's no moon.  That's a space station!".  And as the Death Star's tractor beam pulls in the Falcon in, Han vows "I'm gonna give in without a fight!" and Ben tells him "You can't win, but there are alternatives to fighting".   

Then of course there is arguably Guinness's most famous scene in the whole film where Ben fights with Vader.  And as the two meet each other, Vader tells him "I have been waiting for you, Obi-wan.  The circle is now complete.  When I left you, I was but a learner but now I am the master!" and Ben tells him "Only a master of evil, Darth!" and they clash sabres.   And as Vader taunts Ben by saying "Your powers are weak, old man!" Ben tells him "You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!".  

Peter Cushing is also excellent as the cold and villainous Governor Tarkin who operates onboard the Death Star.

And his best scene is where he interrogates Princess Leia and when she arrives and says he "Recognised his foul stench when I was brought onboard" he smiles faintly and says "Charming to the last!".  And as he questions Leia he moves close to her and says "I grow tired of asking this, so it will be the last time, where is the rebel base??" and Leia unbeknownst to them lies and says it is on another planet, Dantooine, and Tarkin says "There we are, Lord Vader, she can be reasonable.  You may fire when ready!" (on her home planet) "You are far too trusting!  Dantooine is too remote to make an effective demonstration, but don't worry, we shall deal with your rebel friends soon enough!".

David Prowse and James Earls Jones also collectively do a terrific job as perhaps the single most memorable villain in sci-fi fantasy cinema, Darth Vader.  George Lucas apparently cast David Prowse in the role after seeing him playing the part of a bodyguard in A Clockwork Orange and his physical presence lends immeasurably towards making Vader such an intimidating figure.

James Earl Jones also provides a wonderful voice for Vader, with his deep rich booming tones, he also delivers some great dialogue in the film.  Such examples include, the first scene Vader appears, where he makes one of the great entrances in cinema, and he later grabs one of the rebels by the throat and lifts him off his feet and interrogates the rebel who struggles to speak and says "This is a diplomatic ship!" and Vader sharply says "If this is a dioplmatic ship then where is the consolate?!" and breaks the rebel's neck and throws him aside.  And he angrily turns to his troops and says "Commander tear this ship apart until you've found those plans!  And bring me the passengers, I want them alive!!".

Another great scene with Vader is where Governor Tarkin convenes a meeting with some of his officers and Darth Vader says to one of the officers "Don't be so proud of this technological terror you have constructed.  The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the force".  And the officer then mocks Vader by saying "Don't try and frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader!" and Vader uses the forces to choke the man and he says "I find your lack of faith disturbing!".

Also prior to this when the Death star has just pulled in the Falcon with the tractor beam, Vader senses that Ben might be onboard.  So, in the scene Vader tells the imperial commander he speaks to "Send a scanning crew onboard, I want every party of this ship checked!" and then he says to himself "I sense something.... a presence I've not felt since..." and he walks off. 

Also later, Vader his famous light sabre duel with Ben Kenobi and as they draw their blades, Vader says "I've been waiting for your, Obi-wan.  At last the circle is complete.  When I left you I was but the learner and now I am the master!".  And as they clash sabres, Vader taunts Ben and says "Your powers are weak, old man!".   

Another great moment for Jones (and Prowse) is when we see Vader and Tarkin stand awaiting for the moon to clear the rebel base so they can destroy the planet Yavin where the rebels are.  So, Vader tells an anxious looking Tarkin "This will be a day long remembered. It has seen the end of Kenobi, it will soon see the end of the rebellion!".  

And perhaps one of Vader's most memorables lines comes later on during the assault on the Death star by the rebels and he goes out in his own TIE fighter and takes down some of the rebel X-wing fighters, and as he tries to target Luke's fighter, he says "The force is strong with this one!" and as he finally get's a lock on him he says "I have you now!!".

As for the actors playing the most famous robotic duo in cinema, R2-D2 and C-3PO, Kenny Baker and Anthony Daniels both do a grand job in their own right.  Baker himself was a stage comedian, and at a mere three foot five inches in height, he was handed the part of his career, even if we don't get to see him and he is placed in a motorised bin that makes bleeping noises!

Anthony Daniels also does great as Threepio, the haughty and neurotic sounding droid, who is a protocol droid who can translate into several million different languages.

Daniels has plenty of amusing dialogue in the film, such as in the scene where Luke accidentally triggers off part of Leia's message implanted into R2, and he removes a restraining bolt from R2 which turns the hologram image off, and Luke angrily tells R2 to replay the message, and R2 beeps, and Threepio bangs him on the head "What message??!  The message you've just been playing!  The one you have been carrying around inside your busty innards!".

Also later on when R2 takes off, Threepio and Luke have a quick look outside and they can't find him and Luke says "You know that little droid is gonna cost me alot of trouble" and Threepio says "Oh he excels at that, sir!".

And when Chewie plays a game of hologramatic chess with R2, and Han tells him its wise to let the wookie have the game because they tend to pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose, Threepio says to R2 "I suggest a new strategy, R2.  Let the wookie win!".

And one of the film's funniest moments is where on the Death star, Threepio and R2 desparately try to act fast to try and shut down the garbage compactor that Han, Luke, Leia and Chewie are trapped in, and R2 finally succeeds.  And Luke yells with joy as do the others, but Threepio thinks they are screaming in pain and says "Oh listen to them R2, they're dying!  They're dying!  Curse my metal body, I wasn't fast enough!".

And lastly I will mention a few other cast members starting Peter Mayhew as the large Wookie, Chewbacca, who at first is quite intimidating in his size and temper, but soon becomes an old softy for Luke and the others.

Mayhew as Chewbacca has some funny moments, such as the scene where Chewie barks loudly at Luke when he tries to put some handcuffs on him when they are on the Death star.  And later when they pretend to escort Chewie as a prisoner, a small robotic droid wheels its way around the corridors, beeing away it runs up to them and Chewie barks angrily at it and it scuttles away, and Chewie shrugs at Luke.

And yet later Chewie turns out to be a big scardie cat when some creature from the garbage compactor screams out after they have escaped, and the wookie runs away as Han says "Come here ya big coward! Chewie come here!" and Chewie shakes his head cowering.  Mayhew, who is 7ft 3 inches in size, apparently was the easiest member to cast as at the audition he merely stood up to greet George Lucas and Lucas instantly thought he was right for the part.

And finally I will quickly mention Phil Brown and Shelagh Fraser as Luke's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, as they only have a small screen time in the film.  However they do have a good scene with Luke where Owen is reluctant to let Luke go to the academy to join the alliance and Owen insists that he stay with them for another year.  And Beru says to Owen "Luke's not a farmer, Owen.  He's got too much of his of father in him" and Owen says "That's what I'm afraid of!" (come to think of it that is a rather dodgy sounding line!).

And finally last of all there is Denis Lawson who appears briefly in the film as Wedge Antilles, a rebel pilot, and he was the only actor to have appeared in all three films of the original trilogy aside the regular cast.

DIRECTOR, MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS

Moving finally onto George Lucas well as a director he done a tremendous job with Star Wars, especially given the logistical nightmares of the production alone as well as the time he took to develop the story which had been in inception ever since the early 1970s just around the time he made THX1138.

Lucas also directed the film with the perfect amount of thrills, fun, danger, drama and the pacing of the film is also perfect as it clocks in at two hours, there is not one moment where it drags and the action sequences are also spectacular as are the visual effects which as I previously mentioned were groudbreaking for their time.

And then there is the marvellous score by John Williams, which has to go down as one of the greatest scores in the modern era of cinema, as the main theme remains as memorable as ever.  The score also has plenty of other highlights and its worth even owning it to give it a listen and it thoroughly deserved the Academy Award it won back in 1978.  And in addition to the wonderful orchestral passages it also features that funky wee track played by the Cantina band during the Mos Eisley sequence. 

Also special note also deserves to go out to the sound designer, Ben Burtt, who did a superb job with the sound effects of the film, and he created some truly unique sounds which suit the film perfectly.  Such examples of the sounds Burtt utilised where the sounds of steel cable being struck under tension for the blasters, and a mixture of different animals for Chewbacca's growls, and he breathed through a scuba dive mask regulator with a microphone attached to get the sound of Darth Vader's deep breathing.

FLAWS 

As for the film's flaws????  Well Star Wars is so good you can forgive them, but if you want to nitpick then yeah OK there are one or two but you could probably imagine by now they've been nitpicked to death. 

For starters one of the film's silliest plot points, which was actually highlighted in the Family Guy remake of Star Wars where the Death Star has one vulnerable exhaust port, which you think if that could lead to the entire destruction of the space station, why didn't they just close it up!  Also why is there only one of them???  Given the massive size and scale of the Death Star it seems bizarre that it would have one on its own!

Another troubling thing about the destruction of the Death Star is that it makes Luke a mass murderer and guilty of genocide, even if they are all bad, they might not have been, as there could have been some civilians onboard as it was a gigantic space station after all.  This of course was hinted at in Kevin Smith's debut comedy, Clerks, about Return of the Jedi when any of the contractors working on the incomplete Death star were victims of the rebels when it was destroyed.  But hey, it is a Hollywood film and genocide on any scale doesn't really matter, good or bad guys aside!

The dialogue is also very corny in places which was something Lucas is guilty of in his films anyway, especially in the prequels.  And one prime example is when Han is about to leave Yavin he says to Luke, "Hey Luke.  May the force be with you".  Also the lines where after Luke is attacked by the sand people he comes around and looks up at Ben and says "Ben??  Ben Kenobi??  Boy, am I glad to see you!" and of course when Luke finds Leia's prison cell on the Death star and enters he says "I'm Luke Skywalker and I'm here to rescue you!".

Also Lucas is guilty of writing in some pretty daftly named characters in his time and the first one is here, Porkins (played by William Hootkins) who just so happens to be overweight!  Not only that but he buys it in the first two minutes of the attack on the Death star!  But given the standard of his ridiculously naff screenplays for the prequels its not anywhere near as bad in comparison.  And yep then there is that incredibly cheesy happy ending where Luke and Han get their medals from Leia infornt of a large crow of the rebel alliance with Han winking to Leia (that's winking not the other one!).  Gawwwwddd!! 

Another issue isn't so much with the film itself, or not the original anyway, but its with the unnecessary tampering that Lucas did with the film since then, as he has remastered it so many times and re-released it with new scenes and effects.  The 1997 release wasn't too bad in itself but it was guilty of including that ridiculous scene where Greedo shoots first to make Han appear not so cold blooded!  And there was naturally a big revolt over the idea from the fans at the time, rightly so, and for the DVD release, Lucas re-did again except THIS time he had Han and Greedo shoot at each other at the same time, which hardly makes it any better! 

This version also had a couple of naff scenes in it such as the scene where Han meets with a CGI Jabba the Hut, who in the original was played by an actor, and also the scene where Luke is rejoined with his buddies on Yavin, where one of the superior officers looks accusingly at him, but then Luke's friend tells him who he is, and the officer changes his tune and says lamely "You'll do alright!".  And with all this tampering it hardly helped make Star Wars a better film as it was clearly already a close to perfect one without it!

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So to sum it all up, Star Wars to this day remains absolute classic film and a timeless one, which just about everybody can watch and enjoy whether you are a hardcore fan of the films or not.  And we all know its great pluses with its corny and enjoyable performances, the amazing visual effects (for their time) and of course to this day, the best directed Star Wars film in the franchise by George Lucas, not to mention a superb score by John Williams.  It all adds up to one of the finest and most memorable Sci-Fi/Fantasy films of all time.

Right, so that's it for my revisitation of the original Star Wars post I done and I think it makes for a fitting film to review (again) for my 500th post on this blog.  And here's to the next 500!

So, till the next post, may the force....you know what I mean!

Bye for now!   

Hitman Absolution (Revisited) Review

 
OK, so this post is actually more of a revisitation as it is one of my earliest posts on this blog and doing this one will be put me within just a single post of 500th on this blog.  So, whatever I choose for that has to be a pretty good one (or at least try to be!).

Anyway, so the post I am revisiting this time around is a game review I did on the stealth action game, Hitman: Absolution, which was released five years ago and I had been playing again quite recently having upgraded my PC (more for video editing reasons than gaming) as it was a game on my Steam account.

So five years later...is it any good???  Well, let's suit up, grab that fibre wire and those ballers and take a look...

And yes as I will mention a bit about the plot, you can expect the usual warning...

SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!

STORY

Right so the game's plot starts with Agent 47 (voiced by David Bateson) who is tasked with having to kill his former agency handler, Diana (Marsha Thomason) who has gone rogue.  On entering Diana's apartment, 47 shoots Diana while she is in the shower and 47 comforts her as appears to be dying, she hands him a letter saying and pleads with 47 to keep a young girl named Victoria safe from the Agency.  47 agrees to protect Victoria and he hides her at a catholic orphange and contacts an informant named Birdie, who asks his to perform a hit on a Chinatown gangster.  47 does the hit and in exchange Birdie informs 47 on the whereabouts of Blake Dexter (Powers Boothe) who may have more information on Victoria, Dexter being the corrupt and very wealthy CEO of Dexter industries.

47 learns that Dexter is staying at the "Terminus" hotel and as 47 enters the hotel and evade's Dexter's men, and eavesdrops on a conversation Dexter has in which it is revealed that Dexter intends to auction Victoria off to the highest bidder.  47 tries to strangle Dexter's large bodyguard, Sachez, who knocks him unconscious and Dexter has 47 framed for the murder of a housemaid.  Dexter then sets the hotel room on fire and leaves 47 for dead who eventually regains consciousness and evades the patrolling police.

And from here the plot thickens even more as 47 must try and find out why the agency want Victoria so badly and also fend off his enemies in the process.

THOUGHTS 

After a six year absence, Hitman Absolution sees the game series return in fine style as this game definitely has alot going for it and it manages to largely keep with the same tone as the previous Hitman games.  It also manages to keep the balance of stealth and action just about right although with its more free flow movement system than the relatively static movement in the previous games, it feels at times more like playing a Splinter Cell game than Hitman, however this is no bad thing.

Absolution also explores an interesting theme in 47's character where he is now put in the position that he must care and protect for someone rather than just be a cold calculating killer who acts purely on orders.  It also shows the Agency in a more negative light too as they wish to kill off Diana and obtain the young girl Victoria, who turns out to be a genetically enhanced clone who was bred for killing, and Diana wished for 47 to stop that from happening.  And 47 even realises this himself that a young girl such as Victoria should not be allowed to become a killer at the hands of an amoral agency and this does show once more that he does have some morality and decency in him.

GAMEPLAY 

Moving onto the game's control system and gameplay which are both excellent and the movement is a big improvement on the previous games as 47 can now walk and run faster around the environments.  47 also has some melee attacks such as close one on one combat with enemies where you have to press a button at a specific time in order to retaliate.  In addition to this 47 can now also subdue his victims with a chokehold or he can also snap their necks, as well as this 47 can also pick up objects such as a screwdriver, wrench or a bottle to kill or knock out his victims with.  47 can also do fake surrender moves where say e.g. a policeman tells him to put his hands up but when they approach, that's when 47 will attack them but you need to time your moves carefully when using hand to hand combat in this instance. 

Objects in the game can also be used by 47 to create distractions so he can bypass guards or whoever else, so 47 can throw a bottle for e.g. to distract a guard from his post so 47 will sneak by.  Similar to the previous games, 47 can also hide in dumpsters or cupboards and take a sneak peak as to see if someone is nearby.  47 can also use dumpsters or crates to dump dead or unconscious bodies in them and usually you can fit two bodies in there which is quite handy!   

Weapons wise 47 has quite a large array of guns to choose from in the game as you can use 47's classic silver baller silenced guns, or sub machine guns, rifles, shotguns and machine guns.  47 will also access his trusty old fibre wire as well, which has always been 47's classic method of dispatching enemies silently and effectively.  The game also introduces a new feature in combat called point shooting where 47 will go into a slow motion mode and target his marks and he will execute them in a chain automatically.

Also in addition to 47's use of disguises, such as when he takes the clothes of a person he has killed or incapacitated, he can also use his senses to blend into his environment.  An example of this is when 47 may have subdued a policeman, after he takes his clothes and walks into an area where there are cops he will holds his head down to conceal himself or pretend to go on his police radio.  And while this happens 47 will have a bar which measures the suspicion level of others, which will reduce as 47's enemies grow more suspicious of his disguise.  47 in this mode almost gives you the impression that he can see through walls, as he will see normal targets in yellow, targets to be killed in red, and targets to be subdued in blue.

GRAPHICS, VOICE ACTING AND MUSIC 

Moving onto the game's graphics they are simply superb and as the game series has had a complete visual overhaul the environments look stunning.  There is also a great deal of variety in the environments such as hotels, diners, bars, public buildings, industrial factories and even open desert.  The character models are also excellent and Agent 47's familiar bald visage looks that bit more lifelike and refined than before (although he appears to have heavier eyebrows!).

The voice acting in the game is also really good with David Bateson once again doing a great job as 47 as he delivers that assassin's dialogue in a very cool, calm and logical tone.  The supporting cast is equally impressive as there are some well known names here such as Keith Carradine as Dexter the main baddie, Powers Boothe as Travis the Agency head, Vivica Fox as Lasandra Dixon (not a far cry from her character in Kill Bill!) and Steve Bauer as Birdie, 47's informant.

The game also has a very good music score written by Thomas Bartschi which while it isn't in the same league as the previous scores by the superb Jesper Kyd, it is still worth paying attention to.  In fact I would have to say its a pity that Kyd didn't return to the series (and still hasn't since) after Blood Money but regardless of this, Bartschi's score still holds up well. 

FLAWS (Warning: this section may refer to a spoiler!)

As for the game's flaws does it have any???  Well perhaps one or two but nothing much, first off I would have to say that in its new format the game does seem to borrow heavily from Splinter Cell in its new more free flowing movement, and while that isn't a bad thing it does make it does detract from the qualities that made Hitman unique in the first place.

Some of the features of the game don't really come much into play during use either, such as the pointing shoot mode, which is only really used sparingly in one or two scenes and in that annoying mission where 47 has to compete and win the best score in a shooting competition, which in itself is a real pain in the ass!  The other is when (SPOILER!) 47 has to take out the bad guy, Kurky when he holds a man at gunpoint and if you mistime it then you will get killed.   

Some of the inane chatter from the characters in the game can also be a bit annoying, such as when 47 uses his sense mode to blend in and for e.g. someone may look at him and say "Do I know that guy from somewhere?? Isn't that guy the guy that...." and so forth.  It get's a bit samey after a while to listen to, it has to be said.

I also found one sequence in the game that was a bit unpleasant to watch was when Victoria is forced to show her enhanced fighting skills and kills off some of Dexter's men, which left me a bit uncomfortable.  The idea of Victoria I thought was to protect her and keep her away from leading the life of a killer, so I found it a bit disturbing that they would choose to show her killing abilities.  However I guess it was maybe to satisy the curiosity of the gamers to see just what she is capable of.

I also found the whole idea of 47's enhanced senses a bit silly aswell given that when you use it, you can see through walls in an almost infrared style its like 47 has Predator vision (well its a bit clearer than that!). You also get this bizzare fire trail effect when 47 is in this mode and it acts like a leading line to your next target or location.  Its amazing ability for any assassin to have but in the context of the game its just a bit far fetched.

Another issue is to do with 47's fake surrender moves when he is approached by armed guards, cops etc, 47 puts his hands in the air but will engage in a fist fight when they get real close.  The problem here though is that it happens in a slow-mo, bullet time fashion, which is pretty tedious and you've got to time the hits by pressing the correct button.  I would rather they just did the fist fights at normal speed rather than rely on this bullet time crap yet again (that damn Matrix film has alot to answer for!) ;-). 

And last of all I thought it was a bit ridiculous the amount of gunfire that 47 can take before he actually dies as when he is often rumbled by guards or enemies, who armed with guns, they have to fire off hundreds of rounds before 47 finally goes down.  Perhaps that's to do with him being a genetically enhanced clone maybe but its still pretty daft to imagine that 47 can take a hail of bullets before he actually snuffs it! 

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

Right, so to sum up, Hitman Absolution is a worthy follow up to Blood Money and the six year wait in between the two games were definitely worth the wait.  The game's gameplay is solid and is aided by a very fluid movement system for 47, plus the graphics are also terrific and it is backed up by some excellent voice acting.  And any of its niggles don't seriously detract from what is a very sold entry in the Hitman series.

OK, that's it for now and I will be back again soon with the 500th post on this blog but I will need to work what it will be.

So, until then its bye for now!

Doctor Who - Spearhead from Space "Smith...Doctor John Smith!"

Right, well this will be my first proper review post of the new year and it will be on a Doctor Who story I have already sort of reviewed (but not properly!) as I did it as part of a double bill from the Jon Pertwee era of the show.  The original post in question featured Pertwee's two Auton stories, Spreahead from Space and Terror of the Autons.  I have since created a separate post for Terror of the Autons but not for Spearhead from Space, so the latter story will be the focus of this post.

Spearhead from Space is of course Jon Pertwee's debut story in the role as the third doctor, so after 48 years, how does it still fair???  Well, let's take a look....

And yep, the usual warning applies...

SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY

So, the story begins shortly after the the second doctor (Patrick Troughton) regenerates into the third doctor (Jon Pertwee) as the TARDIS arrives on 20th Century Earth in England, the third doctor emerges and falls unconscious (as he has now begun his exile to Earth under orders of the Time Lords).  Meanwhile a swarm of meteorites lands nearby in a field not far from the Doctor, who is soon taken to Ashbridge cottage hospital.

At the hospital, the Doctor is soon met with by Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) who doesn't recognise the Doctor on account of his regeneration, however the Doctor does as he briefly comes round.  However, not long after the Brigadier leaves hospital, the Doctor is abducted by a strange man, Channing (Hugh Burden) along with some other men.  The Doctor escapes into a field where one of the UNIT soldiers, opens fires on him with a bullet just grazing his skull, he falls into unconsciousness again and taken back to hospital.

Meanwhile the Brigadier has recruited the help of a scientist, Liz Shaw (Caroline John) to aide UNIT with their investigations although she remains sceptical of the Brigadier's stories of the Doctor and alien invasions.  The Doctor soon regains consciousness and escapes the hospital, stealing a roadster car, he drives to meet with the Brigadier and Liz where he convinces the Brig that he is the same person. The Doctor agrees to help them with their investigation regarding the meteorites, as UNIT managed to recover a piece of plastic polyhedron, which the Doctor analyses and suggests its part of a collective alien intelligence.

In the meantime, Channing is revealed to be part of the alien intelligence known as the Nestenes, who can control plastic and use it to make facsimilie human beings and he has taken over a toy factory that is run by the weak willed, Hibbert (John Woodnutt).  Channing then sends out mannequin type facsimilies, called Autons to try and retrieve another meteorite taken by a local poacher, Sam Seeley (Neil Wilson).  The Auton sent to retrieve is forced to flee the scene when UNIT troops show up just as the Brigadier and the Doctor find the meteorite and take it back for analysis.

And from here, the Doctor, the Brigadier and Liz must find a way to stop Channing and the Autons from their plan to start an invasion on Earth....

THOUGHTS

Spearhead from Space must rank easily as one of the strongest opening stories for any of the doctors in the show's history, as it sees Jon Pertwee get off to a great start here as the Third Doctor, who has always been one of my favourite doctors overall.  And with the Third Doctor, it saw the series take a real change in direction as the Doctor is now exiled to Earth under orders of the Time Lords and is no longer allowed to travel in time and space but it did also introduce the UNIT family of the Brigadier, Sgt Benton, Captain Yates and Jo Grant (but not in this season).  The show also introduces one of the Doctor's most underrated companions in Liz Shaw, played by Caroline John (who bears some resemblance to Jodie Whittaker, the new Doctor (well I think!).  

The story was also a landmark for the show as it was the first one to be broadcast entirely in colour and it was also shot all on film, which helps gives the story a more polished feel.  Spearhead would also later be released on Blu-ray as it was one of the very stories from the original series that was shot on film and as such was an ideal choice for being presented in HD.

As for the villains of the story, the Autons, they themselves make for pretty effective ones as their mannequin masks are very creepy looking and the scene (SPOILER!!) where the mannequins break out of the clothes shops is very memorable.  Its just a shame however when the Autons appeared again in Terror of the Autons (which was also the debut story for the Doctor's arch nemesis, the Master) their masks and presences were much less effective.  

PERFORMANCES AND SOME NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: some spoilers might be in this section but I will try and cut this section down in size from now on as it is usually too big!).

As for the performances, well they are all excellent as you would with the new regular cast all in great form and the supporting cast also.

Starting with Jon Pertwee, who is great in his debut performance as the third doctor and he naturally has his share of good scenes.  Now this will be tough to cut down to just three scenes but that's what I will try and do, just pick three!

And the first scene that springs to mind is the one where the Doctor having escaped from hospital, drives up to meet the Brigadier at the UNIT building and he is met by a security guard at the gate.  So, the Doctor angrily says to the guard without giving the guard a chance to speak "All right, all right, I suppose you want to see my pass? Yes, well, I haven't got one. And I'm not going to tell you my name, either. Now you just tell Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart that I want to see him. Well, don't just stand there arguing with me, man! Get on with it!".

So, in the next moment the Doctor is taken to the Brigadier and Liz and the Doctor takes a look at his new face and says "What do you think of my new face, by the way? I wasn't too sure about it myself to begin with. But it sort of grows on you. Very flexible, you know. Could be useful on the planet Delphon, where they communicate with their eyebrows!".  So, the Brig then introduces the Doctor to Liz and the Doctor wiggles his eyebrows at her and says "That's Delphon for "how do you?!" and Liz laughs.  The Brig then asks the Doctor if he will help UNIT and the Doc asks "If I do, will you give me the key to the TARDIS?" and the Brigadier replies "Possibly!" and the Doctor says testily "Then go away and let us get on with our work!".  The Doctor then turns to Liz and asks her sharply "Do I really need to call you Miss Shaw?!" and Liz laughs and says "Liz, just Liz" and the Doctor smiles and says "Liz! That's much better".   

Another good scene is when the Doctor attempts to escape in the TARDIS as he tricks Liz into giving him the key, which the Brigadier had.  So, after failing to take off in the TARDIS, emerges from it as a puff of smoke appears at the door and he looks sheepishly at Liz and the Brig and says "Just testing!".  Liz, then angrily looks at the Doctor and says to him "Doctor, you tricked me!" and the Doctor admits "Yes, I'm afraid the temptation was too strong, my dear.  It's just that I couldn't bear the thought of being tied to one planet and one time. I'm sorry. It won't happen again".  The Brigadier then says to him "It won't.  Give me the key, Doctor!" and the Doctor says "Must I?  The TARDIS no longer works as you saw!".  And as the Brigadier asks the Doctor to try and not escape again, the Doctor says "My dear fellow, I couldn't escape now even if I wanted to!  They've trapped me here!" and the Brig asks "Who?" and the Doctor replies "That mean, dispicable, underhanded lot!" referring to the Time Lords.

And last of all is the final scene where after (SPOILER!!) the whole invasion has been thwarted, the Doctor then establishes a few conditions for him to agree to work with the Brigadier and UNIT.  So, the Doctor tells the Brigadier "Yes, well, before we go into all that, Brigadier, I think we must discuss terms".  The Brig asks "Terms?" and the Doctor says "Yes. After all, you do want to take advantage of my services again, don't you?" and as the Brig tells him the staff salary is adequate, the Doctor scoffs and says "Money?!  My dear chap, I don't want money!  I've got not use for the stuff!".  So, the Brigadier then asks "Well, what do you want?" and the Doctor tells him "Well, facilities to repair the Tardis, laboratory, equipment, help from Miss Shaw here". 

The Doctor then insists on the Brigadier getting him a car as he had taken a shine to the roadster he had stolen from the hospital.  So, the Doctor says "And there's that car, too. Yes, you know, I took to that car. It had character!" but the Brigadier insists "No, Doctor.  That car must be returned to its owner".  The Doctor looks dispondent and asks "Must it?! Yes, I guess it must.  Still, there's no reason why you couldn't find me something similar, is there? I mean, it could persuade me to stay, you know!".  So, the Brigadier says he will arrange it and before he goes he asks the Doctor "By the way, I've just realised. I don't even know your name!".  So, the Doctor takes a moment and then says "Smith!  Doctor John Smith!" and he breaks into a big smile (then roll credits!).

Nicholas Courtney next up is great as the Brigadier and he resumes his role with ease here and enjoys a good rapport with Jon Pertwee as the Doctor and Brigadier start their partnership together in this story.

And Nick has his share of good scenes also but again I will try and keep it down to just three, starting with the one where the Brigadier first meets with Liz Shaw.  And in the scene the Brigadier tries to explain to Liz what UNIT do and he says to her "We're not exactly spies here at UNIT" prompting Liz to ask "What do you do here exactly?".  So, the Brigadier replies "We deal with the odd, the unexplained, anything on Earth, or even beyond" and Liz mocks him saying "Alien invaders!  Little blue men with three heads!".  And at the end of the scene, the Brigadier explains to Liz that a series of meteorites landed in Essex and just six months ago, another shower landed in the same spot, leaving Liz in a state of disbelief.  So, Liz says to the Brig "The odds against two lots of meteorites landing in exactly the same place must be incredible!" and the Brigadier looks at her seriously and says "They are, Miss Shaw...they are".

Then there is the scene where the Brigadier goes to the hospital to visit the Doctor, while he is unconscious, expecting to see the second doctor.  So, the hospital doctor (who is the dead spit of Adrian Edmonson!) tells the Brigadier that the Doctor's physiology is completely different and his blood type is not identifiable, so the Brig smiles and says "Splendid!  That sounds like the Doctor!".  So, the Brigadier goes over to the Doctor, who lies on his side and he turns him over to see his face and looks puzzled.

Liz then asks the Brigadier "Do you know him?" and the Brigadier, disappointed says "What? No, I thought I might do, but he's a complete stranger. I've never seen him before in my life".  However at this point, the Doctor has started to come around and he looks up at the Brigadier and says to him quietly "Lethbridge-Stewart? My dear fellow, how nice to see you again".  And the Brig's second in command, Captain Munro says to him "He knows you, sir" but the Brigadier insists "But he can't do!".  So, the Brig leans toward the Doctor and asks "Look here!  Can you hear me?  Who are you?!" and the Doctor weakly says "Don't you recognise me?" and the Brig firmly says "I'm positive that we've never met before!".

And last of all is the scene where the Brigadier discovers that Liz has pinched the TARDIS key and given it to the Doctor, who attempts to escape in the TARDIS only for it to not work as the Time Lords changed the dematerliasation codes.

So, in the scene, the Brigadier angrily enters the UNIT lab just shortly after the Doctor has entered the TARDIS, and he asks Liz "Miss Shaw, where's that key?!" and after a short pause, he says "You've given it to him!".  Liz then says "He needed some equipment" and the Brigadier tells her "Equipment? I had no idea you could be so gullible. That's an excuse. We shan't see him again!" and we start to hear the TARDIS trying to dematerialise and the Brig says "Listen, he's going".  However the TARDIS noise goes wonky and it is followed by the sound of an explosion and a puff of smoke and then by an embarrassed looking Doctor, who emerges from the TARDIS, coughing.

So, the Doctor then explains that he is now trapped on Earth and he can't escape and that the Time Lords "Changed the dematerialisation code" and the Brig asks "The what?" and the Doctor says "The dema...oh it doesn't matter, you wouldn't understand anyway!".  The Brigadier then says "There's a great deal that I don't understand. But one thing I did understand, Doctor, was that you promised your help".  The Doctor irritated says "Yes, well, I've tried to help you the best way I can, but I need more evidence. I need more to go on!" and the Brigadier replies "Well, I think I might be able to help you".

Caroline John next up is also great as Liz Shaw, the Doctor's new companion, a well respected Cambridge scientist, who the Brigadier recruits into UNIT to help out with their investigations into the meteorites.

Caroline also has her good moments too that include her first scene where Liz is taken to meet the Brigadier for the first time and she is rather angry at all the security rigmarole she is forced to go through to meet him.  So, Liz angrily enters the Brig's office and tells him "Was all that nonsense out there really necessary? Identity passes? Guards? I was even searched!".  Liz then says "I have an important research programme going ahead at Cambridge!" and the Brigadier says "Yes, I know. An expert in meteorites, degrees in medicine, physics and a dozen other subjects. Just the sort of all-rounder I've been looking for!".  Liz however dismissively says "I'm just not interested in security work" and the Brigadier asks "Security?" and Liz mockingly says "Producing invisible ink.  That sort of thing".  The Brigadier then explains that UNIT don't deal with security exactly, more the unusual an unexplained on Earth and beyond and Liz mocks him by saying "Alien invaders? Little blue men with three heads?!".

Then there is the scene where Liz and the Doctor first work together and he explains to her about his TARDIS, much to Liz's disbelief.  So, in the scene, Liz complains that they cannot analyse the meteorite structure "I can't understand it. We've tried a dozen different methods of analysis and haven't identified a single element!".  The Doctor then replies "Yes, what results can you expect with this primitive equipment?!" leaving Liz somewhat taken aback, who exclaims "Primitive?! We've got lasers, spectographs, micron probes...!".  The Doctor testily interrupts her and says "Yes, yes, yes, yes, I know all that!  But what we really need is a lateral molecular rectifier" and Liz, astonished asks "What on Earth's that?!" and the Doctor tells her "Not ON Earth unfortunately".

The Doctor then tells Liz that he has one in his TARDIS, leaving Liz very sceptical, who asks "Doctor, do you really have scientific equipment in there?!" and the Doctor tells her "My dear, Liz. I have an entire laboratory!".  Liz then laughs and says "Yes, I'm sure you have!" but the Doctor says "No, no, no, its true!  Well, you think that the Tardis isn't big enough, don't you? That's because you keep looking at it simply as a police box".  Liz laughs again and says "Well, it IS only a police box!" and the Doctor tells her "Oh no, not once you get inside it, it isn't. You see, Liz, the Tardis is dimensionally transcendental!" and Liz humouring him says "I see!".

And last of all there is the scene where the Doctor and Liz are constructing a device to combat against the Nestenes and the Doctor messes about with some wires while Liz looks very tired.  So, Liz wearily says to the Doctor "It's nearly half past five. Can't we take a break? I can hardly keep me eyes open!".  The Doctor however is more embroiled in what he is doing and says to Liz "And a red.  Here it is.  Hold onto this for me a moment" and Liz holds a wire and she yawns and says "Just think, the rest of world is fast asleep!" and she yawns.

Hugh Burden next up is excellent in his role as the creepy, main villain, Channing, an alien Nestene, who is in a human body and has taken over a toy plastics factory.

And Burden has some good moments in the story that include the one in the last episode where Hibbert tries to sabotage a tank containing a Nestenes alien creature.  So, as Hibbert hits the control panel of the tank with a metal bar, Channing rushes in and shouts "Stop!" and Hibbert yells "No, Channing!  You can't stop me now!".  Channing then says to him "You should not have left the factory, Hibbert" but Hibbert angrily says " Channing! I can think when I'm away from you. I know what's been happening. I know what I've done. You've been controlling my mind! The Doctor was right!".  Hibbert then looks at Channing fearfully and asks "Who are you?  WHAT are you?" and Channing replies "We are the Nestenes.  We have been colonising planets for a thousand million years. Now we have come to colonise Earth".  Hibbert fearfully asks "What will happen to man?  You will destroy us!" but Channing says "You will be spared, Hibbert.  You have helped us".

Channing then tells Hibbert "There is nothing you can do, Hibbert" but Hibbert defiantly shouts "If I destroy this, I destroy all of you!" and he hits the tank again with the metal bar but then an Auton shoots him in the back.  Channing then looks on with anger and says to the Auton "Destroy!  Total destruction!" and the Auton fires again at Hibbert, who's body vanishes into a puff of smoke.

John Woodnutt is also very good as Hibbert, the weak willed toy factory owner, who is controlled by Channing for most of the story.

And Woodnutt has his good moments aswell but I will only mention one of them as I mentioned his other one already in the paragraphs above for Hugh Burden.  So, the scene I will mention is the one where the Doctor, the Brigadier and Liz visit the toy factory to speak to Hibbert, who downplays Ransome's story, one of Hibbert's business partners, who at this point is on the run from the Autons after they discovered him in the factory.

So, in the scene, Hibbert laughs at the story Ransome told the Doctor and the others "What an extraordinary story!  What made him say such a thing?" and the Brigadier says "We have to check on it, Mr Hibbert, no matter how extraordinary it might be".  Liz then says to Hibbert "He was going to come with his but then he disappeared" and Hibbert says "Ah, he was a brilliant young man, in many ways".  Liz asks "Then why did you dismiss him?" and Hibbert tells her "Oh, he had some wild scheme for making electronic dolls. The design was quite impractical. He was very unpleasant when I turned him down".

The Doctor then asks Hibbert "What exactly are you making here?" and Hibbert says "Er, plastic dolls of course, but our new line is display mannequins for shops. We send them all over the country".  The Doctor, curious, then asks "And can these mannequins actually move?" and Hibbert says "Well, they're flexible, of course. That's why we've captured the market. But I can assure you, they can't move on their own".  The Brigadier then asks "So you think Ransome was simply trying to make trouble" and Hibbert says "Hmmm, I can't think of another explanation".  So, the Doctor says that's all they can think of and sorry for being a nuisance and Hibbert replies "Not at all.  I'll see you out".

John Breslin is also good in his role as Captain Munro, the Brigadier's second in command, who has a couple of good scenes worth mentioning.

The first being where the Brigadier meets with Munro after the Doctor had just been returned to the hospital after trying to escape from Channing and his men when they captured him.  So, Munro shows the Brig a box containing the partial remains of one of the meteorites they landed earlier.  So, the Brig asks "Where is this meteorite you chaps found" and Munro tells him "Right here, sir" so he opens the box and takes out the section of meteorite and hands it to the Brig who says "Its light, very light".

So, as the Brig asks about the men who tried to abduct the Doctor, Munro tells the Brigadier that he got a picture of Channing "I've got a picture of one of them, sir. He was here earlier posing as a reporter".  The Brig asks "How did you get this?" and Munro says "I made a check on all the press men, sir. One of the photographers took this shot when you arrived with Miss Shaw, and two of the nurses saw this man leading the raiding party".  The Brigadier then asks "What about the others?" and Munro tells him "I only got a glimpse of them, sir. But there was something odd about their faces".

And lastly there is the scene where the poacher, Mr Seeley is questioned by Munro when Seeley says he is looking for a reward for finding one of them but he is reluctant to tell them if he has one (which he does at home).  So, Seeley tries to bluff his way out saying he needs to get home to the his missus but Munro tells him "Don't worry, Mister Seeley, we'll let your wife know where you are. Now, about the meteorites?".  Seeley then says "Look, sir. It was a mistake.  I haven't seen nothing!" and Munro says "If you tell us where it is, you can go home".  Seeley then changes his tune and says "Worth a bit of money, I reckon" and Munro asks "So you do know where there is one" and Seeley remains tight lipped and says "I might!".  Munro however is now growing impatient and he says firmly to Seeley "Seeley, I'm not going to bargain with you. You tell me everything you know, and tell me quick!".

Derek Smee is also good in his role as Ransome, Hibbert's business partner, who Hibbert snubs under the orders of Channing and Ransome turns up to confront Hibbert in his office.

So, I will mention that scene only for Smee where Ransome shows up and complains to Hibbert about his treatment of him.  And Ransome angrily says to Hibbert "When I invented this doll, you promised me full backing. You sent me to the States to interest the Americans in joint production. You said, that if it all worked out, you'd make me a partner. Well, here it all is. Agreements ready to sign, advance orders, the lot. And what do I find on the mat when I get home? A letter giving me the push. Look, we worked on this project together. Well, you helped me finish the designs. Now you've put the chop on it just like that. For heaven's sake, George, you owe me some sort of explanation!".

Hibbert then nervously stands up and says "Its, er new policy.  We have a new policy" and Ransome asks "What's happened to this place?! Most of the staff gone, security notices everywhere" and Hibbert tells him "We're developing a new process.  Its all very secret, we've changed everything".  Ransome then says "I'll say you have. The whole layout of the factory floor is different. And my workshop, what's in there now?!".  Hibbert then turns and gives Ransome a serious look and says "Stay away from there, John.  You shouldn't have come.  Its not safe".  And at this point, Channing enters and Hibbert grabs his neck (as Channing controls his mind) and he sits back down.  Ransome, concerned then says to Hibbert "Look, if there's anything wrong, perhaps I can help you" but Hibbert flatly says "There's nothing wrong. My letter explained everything. Goodbye" leaving Ransome no choice but to leave.

And last of all is Hamilton Dyce, who does well enough in his role as General Scobie, who Channing and the Nestenes make facsimilie copy of in their effort to override UNIT's interference although Scobie is pretty much your typical cliched senior British military figure.  However Dyce also plays Scobie as a facsimilie copy of the real general, so that allows to change up the character a little.

So, for Hamilton, I will mention only one of his scenes and its the one where the facsimilie Scorbie takes the Nestene energy unit from Munro at UNIT HQ while the Doctor, Liz and the Brig are away.  So, Munro asks Scobie "May I ask what you intend to do with it, sir?" and Scobie replies "The government is sending it to the Royal Geophysical Laboratory".

Munro then says "With respect, sir, I think the Brigadier ought to be informed first. I have no authority to part with it" but Scobie sharply tells him "You can tell Brigadier Stewart I ordered you to hand it over!".  Munro stands his ground and says "My orders come through UNIT, sir" which then forces Scobie to say "Captain Munro, you may be attached to UNIT but you're still in the army. Will you give me the globe? Or shall I take it and arrest you for mutiny?!" and Munro resignedly gives it over to him.  

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

As for the direction, Derek Martinus does a fine job here with the story and he directs it a nice, brisk pace and he nicely balances out the action and he succeeds in creating a creepy atmosphere, especially as the Autons make for very eerie, effective villains.  In fact unless I am mistaken, I think Martinus makes a short appearance in the story as the security guard at UNIT HQ, who the Doctor snaps at let him in.  This was also the last serial that Martinus worked on in the series as he also directed stories from the Patrick Troughton era of the show.

P.S. Further this paragraph turns out I was mistaken as it wasn't Derek Martinus that played the camero role of the security guard but it was in fact the show's producer at the time, Derrick Sherwin that played the part.  This however was the last serial that Sherwin produced as Barry Letts would take over the producer role for the remainder of the Pertwee era. 


Moving onto the music score it was composed once again by Dudley Simpson, who by then had become a semi-regular composer for the show but he would from this point on, be the real main composer.  And Simpson's score here is very good as it has a good mix of orchestration and some synthesizer work and there are plenty of good sections of it that are suspenseful and well suited to the tone of the story.

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

As for flaws....yes well Spearhead does still have the one or two.

For starters, one of the main problems I had to do with the story was just why did Channing want to kidnap the Doctor in the first place???  It simply doesn't really make much sense and isn't explained, I mean even the Brigadier asks this question and we aren't given a proper answer.  However in the story, Hibbert asks Hibbert if it was possible that the Doctor had taken one of the Nestene energy units, which would probably account for why they would abduct him to get it back. Having said that though, its still not very clear or well explained and that scene feels hastily done and not very well thought out.

One of the other issues was to do with the giant octopus that was concealed in the tank at the end of the story, which frankly looked ridiculous and laughable when the Doctor is attacked by it with its tentacles everywhere.  It was a very silly end to an otherwise excellent adventure where the Doctor has to deal with a big octopus and that's really all it takes to knock out the Nestenes and Autons!

And lastly, I thought it seemed a bit out of character that the Doctor would want to just run away from Earth rather than help out Liz and the Brigadier when they have a situation on their hands, as the Doctor usually would always help out rather than just be selfish and impulsively try and run away.  So, this was a rather strange and selfish move by the Doctor, who gladly at this point scarper in the TARDIS once Liz sneakily handed him the key and leave the Earth to the fate of the Nestenes!

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, summing it all up, Spearhead from Space is definitely one of Jon Pertwee's best stories and one of the best debut stories of any doctor in the show.  The story is also very well acted by its cast with Jon Pertwee stepping into Patrick Troughton's shoes very confidently (well they might have been a bit too small for him!) as the Doctor.  The supporting cast are also great and the return of Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier was a welcome one as well as the new companion, Liz Shaw played by Caroline John and the guest cast are also very good too, particularly Hugh Burden and John Woodnutt.  And the story is also very well written of course by Robert Holmes and directed by Derek Martinus.

And if you are a fan of the show and haven't seen it yet, then I would definitely give Spearhead from Space a go, or if you have seen it, I'd certainly recommend giving it another watch.

Right, that's it for now and I will be back soon with another post.

Till then its bye for now!