Following on from last weeks slow-paced entertainment focused episode, we get another of the same type where nothing major happens but still manages to be a solid episode.
The episode focuses on the group of Ash, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie at a Pokémon Centre. Having only just arrived, the power goes out and so the group all pitches in to help. Even though this episode is technically a Clemont-focused episode, we still get a lot of screen-time for the other heroes and their Pokémon. Ash’s job is to help repair the roof where leaks are coming through and Serena and Bonnie wear Nurse Joy outfits and assist Nurse Joy in helping trainers and their Pokémon. Meanwhile, Pikachu, Dedenne and Luxray restore the electricity through electrical attacks (albeit Dedenne sleeps through most of it).
Seen as the episode is Clemont-focused, we do get great scenes with him doing his best to restore the electricity in the Pokémon Centre. But, he can’t do two things at once (work on the machine and get a fuse he needs to finish the job) so he sends his Chespin and Bunnelby to fetch it for him. As I’ve said before, I really do like scenes that only feature Pokémon in them and so the scenes with Chespin and Bunnelby were fun to watch. They’re especially interesting because in previous episodes it’s (kind of) shown that Clemont’s other Pokémon are wary of Chespin, but this episode definitely shows it with both Bunnelby and Luxray.
By the end of the episode, Chespin and Bunnelby manage to wade off a Fearow and battle Team Rocket (only barely needing Ash’s help when he arrives) to reach their destination and get the fuse Clemont needs. A job well done, but I’m sure we can all agree that Clemont gave Chespin too much congratulatory Pokémon food… not that Chespin needed any encouragement to eat all of it.
I have to say, Serena and Bonnie looked really amazing in the Nurse Joy outfits. Is Ash finally starting to ‘notice’ Serena? Even though he doesn’t answer her question to way she asked it (she asks him how she looks), Ash does say great and that she could be the real Nurse Joy. Hmmmm…
In my opinion, this was another good Pokémon XY episode, but another that is unlikely to be significant in the long run as no major events happen. That said, the episode does have its good parts that I liked- seeing more scenes with only Pokémon involved (the Chespin/Bunnelby scenes) was something I’ve wanted to see more of, Serena and Bonnie getting to wear Nurse Joy outfits was really nice to see and watching the group pitch it to restore a Pokémon Centre’s power was a nice idea to follow. Not great but slightly better than last week’s episode with more of a story to follow.
My rating: 7.5/10
By Ruari Williamson
*The opinions in this article are of the writer and do not represent the views of all of the Everything Geek Podcast staff*.
Hi everyone, every weekend we’ll be posting an article recommending an interview of ours we think you should check out.
In the first edition, we recommend you give our interview with producer Gary Kurtz a listen.
“Join host Ruari in this special guest interview recorded at London Film and Comic Con with producer Gary Kurtz, producer of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, The Dark Crystal, Friends and Heroes, Executive Producer on Return to Oz and the Co-Producer on American Graffiti. In the interview they talk about whether Gary is enjoying the event so far, how Gary decided he wanted to become a producer, whether Gary has any regrets leaving Star Wars after The Empire Strikes Back and had he stayed did he think he would have been able to convince George Lucas to use the original story for Return of the Jedi, the original story details Gary remembers for what the prequels and sequels were originally going to be about, whether it’s true that Gary came up with the title for Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Gary’s upcoming producing works and other projects.”
Be sure to leave your feedback on the interview and enjoy!
Following on from the premier episode of the third season in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, the second episode of the season continues the great start to the season. The episode features lots of action, some interesting character appearances and a few surprises.
The main focus of the episode was Fitz’s aim to rescue Simmons and bring her back to S.H.I.E.L.D. The previous episode hinted that Simmons was on another world (which was later shown in the end-credits scene). While the previous episode (and this episode) didn’t reveal what the world she was on is, I have a feeling it’s bound to show up again and prove to be significant.
The episode features several character returns and the debut of a very interesting character. Agent Melinda May (absent in the Season 3 premier) returns and is shown to be looking after her father, Dr. Andrew Garner (May’s ex-husband) returns and has several significant scenes (including evaluating Joey Gutierrez and the end-credits scenes while I’ll talk about later) and Professor Elliot Randolph (only previously seen in the Season 1 episode “The Well”) returns and proves useful in helping to unlock the secrets of an ancient monolith, which helps Fitz save Simmons.
Speaking of the rescue, I have to go on record and say that the scene where Fitz and Simmons reunite (on the alien world) is one of the best scenes in the show. The visual effects are glorious, there’s a lot of tension in the scene (with numerous moments where it looks like Simmons’ hand is going to slip away from Fitz) and the eventual rescue is so superb you can’t help but feel happy watching the successful rescue and return of Simmons to Earth.
Getting back to the characters, we’re introduced to Werner Von Strucker- son of Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker (who appeared in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron). The scene where Werner knocks out Ward’s goon Kebo is great and teases that Werner will be a very strong character, so it will be interesting to see how Ward and Werner work together to build HYDRA back up. We already see that Ward has begun trying to re-strengthen HYDRA in this episode. Note: Anyone else find it funny when Ward said that Werner’s father died a meaningless death? I thought it was funny as I thought it was bad to tease him in such a way at the end of The Winter Soldier and then kill him off-screen in Age of Ultron.
It was also great to see Agent May outside of her battle gear and kicking ass. While I’ve always liked the character, I felt she hadn’t been fully developed until last season’s “The Cavalry” episode but that and this episode have done a lot to develop. Seeing her family lifestyle and her trying to help her father was very interesting (especially when she almost kills Hunter when she is suspicious of someone sneaking around). May later joins Hunter to go after Ward which we’ll likely see more of in upcoming episodes.
I have to say as well, I really liked the opening of the episode set at Gloucestershire, England, in 1839. The episode hasn’t featured many openings set in the very far past like that and I think the setting for the opening scene really suited this episode.
The post-credits scene features Werner Von Strucker enrolling in Dr. Andrew Garner’s class, setting up the latter as Werner’s first target.
In my opinion, the second episode in the third season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D brilliantly carries on from what the premier started. While we don’t see some of the new characters in the premier return (including Joey Gutierrez and Rosalind Price), we do see the return of original cast members who didn’t appear in the premier (Grant Ward and Agent May) and other nice character returns (Dr. Andrew Garner and Professor Elliot Randolph). While Ward doesn’t challenge our heroes in this episode, we do see him starting to rebuild Hydra and leads to the introduction of Werner von Strucker, who is a very interesting addition to the show. Now that Fitz has successfully rescued Simmons it will be interesting to see what effect the alien world had on her.
My rating: 9/10
By Ruari Williamson
Fun fact: Dr. Andrew Garner refers to Daisy’s team as the “Secret Warriors”, a comic series which this season will be heavily inspired by.
*The opinions in this article are of the writer and do not represent the views of all of the Everything Geek Podcast staff*.
The ninth season of The Big Bang Theory has gotten off to an interesting start with two big episodes, and the third episode of the shows penultimate season (unless it gets renewed beyond 10 seasons) continued in this vein.
Like the previous episode, this episode further carries on the two major events of the season so far- Leonard and Penny’s wedding and Sheldon and Amy’s break-up. While I’m still not happy with how the wedding was handled in the premier episode of the season, the aftermath has been handled really well and this episode continues that with celebrations- Bernadette and Amy throwing a mini- bachelorette party for Penny and Sheldon, Howard and Raj taking Leonard to Mexico for a weekend.
Like with the previous episode, this episode of The Big Bang Theory kicks off with a great humourous scene right away. I’ve always felt that the show’s episodes that feature a great humour scene right away are the most likely to continue that vein throughout, and like the previous episode this was the same. Sheldon’s ‘kidnapping’ and being carried to the car by the guys was a great opening scene and set the mood for the rest of the episode.
The episode features the return of Penny’s father Wyatt, who has only been seen on-screen in one previous episode (“The Boyfriend Complexity” back in Season 4). His inclusion was a nice surprise and the humour in the scene where Penny tells him that she and Leonard are engaged is great. We know from his last appearance that Wyatt didn’t like any of her previous boyfriends other than Leonard, so it’s natural that he’s happy for her. The humour when it’s revealed that Penny and Wyatt haven’t been telling her things is great (Penny waiting a week to tell Wyatt of her engagement and Wyatt not telling Penny that he ran over her pig Moondance).
Speaking of characters not telling their parents things, it’s revealed that Amy hasn’t told her mother about her break-up with Sheldon (so like Penny with Wyatt she’s forced to tell her mother something she had been holding out on). Even though we see Amy on the phone with her mother, we still don’t actually see her mother which was disappointing. Amy decides that (due to her break-up) she wants to make a change to herself. You’d think this would mean a big change. Glasses? No. Hair? No. Shoes? No. She wants to get her ears pierced which Penny does for her.
Another funny part in regard to Penny and Amy, it’s revealed that neither of them gave changed their Facebook status (Penny to say she’s married and Amy to say she has had a break-up). I thought this was one of the funniest moments in the episode.
The reveal that the van belonged to Richard Feynman (one of Sheldon’s favourite physicists) is a nice reveal. Unfortunately, the guys discover that the van has a flat tire and they have to stop to (unsuccessfully) attempt to fix it, which they are unsuccessful in doing as they only end up putting the van on fire (and the episode ends with Leonard and Sheldon returning to the apartment).
As stated above, the episode ends with Leonard and Sheldon returning to their apartment, where they run into Penny. Leonard and Penny compare their weekends with Leonard winning when he points out he had to spend the weekend in Mexico with Sheldon.
In my opinion, while not as great as the previous episode it handles carrying on the aftermath of Penny/Leonard’s wedding and Sheldon/Amy’s break-up very well. The separate bachelor parties the guys and girls throw respectively provide good humour in the episode and the return of Wyatt was a nice addition to the episode.
My rating: 8/10
By Ruari Williamson
*The opinions in this article are of the writer and do not represent the views of all of the Everything Geek Podcast staff*.
On the one-hundredth and fourteenth episode and next LIVE episode of the Everything Geek Podcast this weekend, we’ll be interviewing actor Jonathan Todd Ross! Jonathan is best-known as the voice of Marik Ishtar/Yami Marik and Strings in Yu-Gi-Oh!. His other notable roles include Slade Princeton in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Sid Jones in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2005-2009, Red Pine in Sonic X, Tommy and Robin in Pokémon and Kohza in One Piece. We’ll be taking YOUR questions for Jonathan as well, so if you have any questions for Jonathan on any of his roles, please leave them in the comments or call-in when we look for questions or call-ins from our listeners on Channel1138! Jonathan’s full list of credits can be found here: Jonathan’s Credits Our Live Website
Marvel Studios’ announcement of a sequel to this year’s Ant-Man was enough to get many Marvel fans excited, but they’ve also revealed three new films will be coming out in 2020.
While Marvel haven’t revealed what the films are (or which characters they’re based on), they have revealed the release dates for each film in 2020- May 1st, July 10th and November 6th.
It’s expected that the three films will kick off Phase 4 of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe.
Thoughts on this announcement? What are you hoping these three Marvel films are based on?
Following the success of their Ant-Man film this year, Marvel Studios has made the decision to add a sequel to their Phase 3 line-up.
The sequel, which has been titled Ant-Man and The Wasp, is scheduled for release on July 6th, 2018.
Due to this announcement, a couple of Marvel’s other superhero films have changed dates. Black Panther has moved up to February 16th (2018) and Captain Marvel delayed until March 8th (2019). As a result, Ant-Man and The Wasp has become the first Marvel film with a female superhero in its title.
Ant-Man’s success is as follows: Despite rough patches (like original director Edgar Wright leaving the project), Ant-Man earned $178.5M domestically and $231.3M internationally for a global total of $409.8M. It’s also currently rated as the #9 film of the year domestically.
However, before the sequel Paul Rudd will be reprising his role of Ant-Man in next year’s Captain America: Civil War.
Thoughts on this announcement? Are you excited for Ant-Man and The Wasp?
Following the confirmation of The Incredibles 2’s release date, it has also been confirmed that Walt Disney Pictures have made a shuffle in the schedule of their upcoming Pixar films.
Cars 3 is taking Toy Story’s 4 previously reserved release date- which was June 16th, 2017. Toy Story 4 will now be released the following year on June 15th, 2018.
Thoughts on this news? Which of the two films are you more excited for?
After much anticipation from fans of the original film, Disney has officially announced the release date of The Incredibles sequel which they announced earlier this year.
The Incredibles 2 is scheduled to be released on June 21st, 2019.
Thoughts on this news? Are you excited for the sequel to The Incredibles?
