There are only a few new shows starting up in the coming week, but the next seven days brings some precious gems of telly programming...

Your humble, scouring servant of the telly schedules is not a huge fan of medical dramas. But last year's first series of Nurse Jackie has undone an admirably long run of avoidance of hospital-set shows and ruined a perfect record. Edie Falco (Oz, The Sopranos) owns the role of pill-fuelled ER nurse, Jackie Peyton, a character who's almost as equally admirable as she is deplorable. Jackie's addiction leads her to make amoral choices, while her nearly ferocious dedication to her job makes her almost heroic at times in her defence and care of patients and family. It's a brilliant performance, first shown on Showtime (which also distributes another grey character in Dexter) and the second season of the dark drama with rays of hope airs here on Saturday, January 22nd on BBC 2 at 10:40pm, with Comfort Food, the first of twelve episodes in the series.

Then, keep your spot on the couch clear for Sunday night, which sees the return of the eagerly awaited supernatural series, Being Human. In the third series opener, Lia, the bitiest of shared housing companions, the vampire and werewolf flatmates, Mitchell, George and Nina, are making a move. Let's hope they get unpacked and settled in sharpish, because Annie's in need of rescuing from her current digs, Purgatory, before she gets sent on to Hell. The excellent series returns Sunday, January 23rd on BBC 3 at 9:00pm for an eight-episode stay, and we hope to have our first review soon after. For now, you can check out Annie's final pleading words and the trailer for Sunday's premiere here.

Have you been searching all your life for a bar or pub where everybody knows your name? Does the girl or guy you fancy from afar disappoint you week on week by refusing to move in slow motion to Dreamweaver? If you can't walk across the street to reach your job, don't hear applause and laughter at every clever utterance among friends and strangers, and still haven't enjoyed your own personal soundtrack to your everyday deeds and chores, Charlie Brooker's new show is for you. How TV Ruined Your Life premieres on Tuesday, January 25th on BBC 2 at 10:00pm and each week, for six weeks, will look at how the chasm of TV versus reality has us either hankering for the small screen version of life, or, as shown in the premiering episode, Fear, has left us frightened by TV's particular spin on the world's goings on, using archive footage, interviews and sketches.

Now, on to the films showing through the weekend and a bit beyond. In a wonderful display of happenstance, there's a run of Arnie films to help you tick off (or rewatch and retick) titles from our recent list, among many other great films. As always, if we missed anything interesting, have a shout in the comments, with our thanks.

Please also note: the ordinal numbers for dates will help you scan through this simple list with your browser's search function. Enter '22nd' in your browser's Find box or window to highlight and/or tab through all movies shown on Saturday. Enjoy!

Aladdin
On: Five
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 3:40pm

Babel
On: more4
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 9:00pm (and 00:50am 22nd Jan)

Beetlejuice
On: FIVER
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Fiver+1)

Brassed Off
On: Film4
Date: Tuesday 25th January
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Film4+1)

Children Of The Corn
On: horror channel
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 9:00pm

Clear And Present Danger
On: Film4
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Film4+1)

Crimson Rivers
On: Channel 4
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 02:05am (and 3:05am 4+1)

Dog Soldiers
On: Film4
Date: Monday 24th January
Time: 11:10pm (and 00:10am 25th Jan Film4+1)

End Of Days
On: Film4
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 11:05pm (and 00:05am 23rd Jan Film4+1, 10:45/11:45pm 27th Jan)

Eraser
On: TCM
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 9:00pm (and 1:20am 24th Jan)

Eraserhead
On: horror channel
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 02:45am

Falling Down
Channel: ITV4
Date: Thursday 27th January 2011
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm ITV4+1)

Garden State
On: Film4
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 01:30am (and 2:30am Film4+1, 3:15/4:15am 26th Jan)

Goodfellas
On: ITV4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 11:00pm (and midnight ITV4+1, 10/11:00pm 25th Jan)

Gorky Park
On: TCM
Date: Tuesday 25th January
Time: 01:25am

Green Zone
On: Sky Movies Premiere
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 10:00am (and 11:00am Premiere+1 & 8/9:00pm, then daily at similar times through 27th Jan)

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
On: Film4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 3:05pm (and 4:05pm Film4+1)

Layer Cake
On: Five
Date: Monday 24th January
Time: 9:00pm

Lethal Weapon 2
On: Sky1
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 9:00pm (and 9:00pm 25th Jan & 9:00pm 27th Jan Sky2)

Logan's Run
On: Five
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 1:20pm

Magnum Force
On: ITV4
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 11:00pm (and midnight ITV4+1, 10/11:00pm 24th Jan)

National Treasure: Book Of Secrets
On: BBC 3
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 7:05pm (and 8:00pm 26th Jan)

Night At The Museum
On: Channel 4
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 6:55pm

Pandorum
On: SyFy
Date: Monday 24th January
Time: 01:20am (and 2:20am Syfy+1, 10/11:00pm 24th Jan)

Point Break
On: BBC 1
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 11:30pm

Pulp Fiction
On: BBC 2
Date: Sunday 23rd January 2
Time: 11:25pm

Predator
On: Film4
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Film4+1, 11:15pm/00:15am 26th/27th Jan)

Project X
On: E4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 3:55pm (and 4:55pm E4+1)

Radio Days
On: TCM
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 1:15pm (and 5:00am 22nd Jan)

RoboCop
On: SyFy
Date: Wednesday 26th January
Time: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm Syfy+1)

Silkwood
On: BBC 1
Date: Wednesday 26th January
Time: 11:35pm

Solomon Kane
On: Sky Movies Premiere
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm Premiere+1, then daily at similar times through 27th Jan)

Star Trek: First Contact
On: Film4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 1:00pm (and 2:00pm Film4+1)

Star Trek: Insurrection
On: Film4
Date: Monday 24th January
Time: 6:45pm (and 7:45pm Film4+1)

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith
On: ITV1
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 3:30pm

Stardust
On: Channel 4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 5:10pm (and 6:10pm 4+1)

The 40 Year Old Virgin
On: ITV1
Date: Saturday 22nd January 2
Time: 10:30pm

The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian
On: BBC 3
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 8:00pm

The Commitments
On: Film4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 11:25pm (and 00:25am 24th Jan Film4+1)

The Eye
On: Film4
Date: Tuesday 25th January
Time: 01:15am (and 2:15am Film4+1)

The Fifth Element
On: Five
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 5:35pm

The Fountain
On: Film4
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 11:40pm (and 00:40am 22nd Jan Film4+1)

The Iron Maiden: Flight 666
On: BBC 4
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 10:00pm (and 00:30am 24th Jan)

The Neverending Story
On: ITV2
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 12:10pm (and 1:10pm ITV2+1)

The Princess Bride
On: FIVER
Date: Wednesday 26th January
Time: 8:00pm (and 9:00pm Fiver+1)

The Seventh Seal
On: Film4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 01:35am (and 2:35am 23rd Jan)

The Transporter
On: Five
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 9:00pm

True Lies
On: TCM
Date: Friday 21st January
Time: 9:00pm (and 9:00pm 26th Jan)

True Romance
On: Five
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 10:50pm

V For Vendetta
On: Watch
Date: Saturday 22nd January
Time: 10:00pm (and 11:00pm Watch+1, 9/10:00pm 23rd Jan)

What Lies Beneath
On: Film4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 9:00pm (and 10:00pm Fim4+1)

Withnail And I
On: Channel 4
Date: Sunday 23rd January
Time: 00:10am (and 1:10am 4+1)

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It's going to be a fine weekend on UK telly, thanks to the return of Being Human to BBC Three. And to help count down the few remaining days to the show's return, we've got a couple of new videos for you.

There's a little clip that should help bridge the gap from series 2 that reminds where we left ghostly Annie, and the premiere trailer for the incoming episode, Lia.

Enjoy...!

Ever since Red Dwarf was sort-of-brought-back last year, courtesy of the TV channel Dave, there's been persistent chatters that a full-on series would duly follow. Yet, until now, there's been no official sign of it being commissioned.

But that's all changed. Craig Charles let slip the news when chatting on Real Radio's breakfast show earlier this week, when he said that "They've commissioned another series of Red Dwarf. We're going to film at the end of November, December and January."

He went on to say that it was only worth doing if it was "as funny as it used to be", arguing that "we've got to recapture the highlights like series 5, series 6, that kind of stuff. If we can hit that mark, then brilliant. There's no point doing it if it's a bit so-so."

Robert Llewellyn confirmed the news on his website, revealing that it was a new six-episode run that was coming, and that once again, we've got Dave to thank for it. "The plan at the moment," he revealed, "and this could change, the plan is that we record the new series in front of an audience."

You can read his blog post on the matter here. And for now, we're just delighted that the show has earned itself another run.

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4.3 Movie

What I really enjoy about Not Going Out is that, no matter what the backing scenario for a particular episode is, it can generate 10-12 really solid laughs per instalment. For want of a better way of putting it, the ‘com' always takes priority over the ‘sit'.

For the latest episode, Movie, that equation is switched around. Much of the reason for that is that Lee Mack and co-writer Daniel Peak have come up with an idea for the episode that's grounded in lots of comedy potential. Namely, that, without Lucy's knowing, Lee rents out her flat to an American director for a movie shoot, only to discover that it's a porn movie that he's shooting.

As usual, they have a lot of fun with this, not least contrasting the straight-laced Tim with the shoot for the film, into which he ends up featuring. Much of the episode again leaves the excellent Sally Bretton and Katy Wix to the side, but we do get the bonus of Mike Wilmot as the suitably brash movie director.

But here's the thing. While the episode went for broke in maximising the situational opportunities that the porn movie concept offered, I can't help think that it's the weakest entry of the run so far. And the reason for that is that, while the sight gags and the terrific performances from Lee Mack and Tim Vine, generated giggles, the superb array of one-liners we've come to expect weren't in such bountiful supply.

To be fair, this is a bit of a churlish criticism, as Not Going Out on a day when it's not firing on all cylinders is still a far, far sight better than any currently running British sitcom that I can think of. But then, this is a show that's set itself very high standards, and Movie doesn't quite live up to them.

However, there's still little doubt that you get a good half hour of comedy here, and your ribs are still likely to be tickled. Plus, Lee Mack in his, er, ‘outfit' towards the end of the episode beats the hanging-upside-down-being-tortured moment from the series opener.

But what I'd really like to see from the second half of this series run is a bit more Katy Wix and a bit more Sally Bretton. Because it's when the full ensemble is firing on all cylinders, and shares enough screen time, that, for my money, the show is at its very finest.

Read our review of episode 2, Debbie, here.

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The 23rd James Bond movie is very much back in action, what with the announcement a week or so back that it was full steam ahead for a November 9th 2012 release. That means shooting will take place at the end of this year, that Daniel Craig is returning, and that Sam Mendes will be directing.

Back before the film was postponed for a while last year, it had also been mooted that Rachel Weisz might be on board to play the villain role. And according to a story at The Sun, the plan is to still keep her in the film (although the paper does seem to be simply recycling an old rumour in this case). It doesn't seem that there's any evidence that she's signed up or anything like that, so it's a case of wait and see with this one.

The paper also reports that there's a potential title for the film, too. It says that the movie "is tipped to be called" Red Sky At Night, citing other potential titles as The Property Of A Lady, Risico and The Hildebrand Rarity (from Ian Fleming stories).

To be clear: it's all on a take-it-with-a-pinch-of-salt scale right now, and we're a long way away from getting any of this confirmed. But you can find the original story at The Sun, right here.

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2.12 Asian Population Studies

After an extended Christmas and new year break, our favourite students finally went back to class for some long overdue study group action, the odd revelation or two, and something of a classic 80s TV cameo.

With the stop-motion antics of the Christmas episode long forgotten, Community brought the most intriguing season 2 storyline to a head this week, revealing to all that Shirley is not only pregnant, but that she may be carrying Chang-spawn.

The Halloween/bathroom shenanigans couldn't stay hidden forever, but thanks to Pierce's irritatingly big mouth, his incredible petulance and his desire for kettle corn, Shirley's secret shame has finally entered the group consciousness. And that's not even the biggest surprise of the week. Turns out Shirley used to be married to Theo Huxtable! So, Theo ran off with a stripper? Dr Huxtable would not approve.

Thanks to Annie's daddy issues, and therefore, her penchant for older men, she's now chasing the too good to be true Dr Rich, having fallen for him while they dredged the river together. And they say romance is dead. Anyhoo, to Jeff's smug horror, she proposes that Rich join the group. Cue much social manipulation as the ex-lawyer does everything in his power to stop the inevitable. Sadly, Jeff's power only stretches to bimbo blondes, and Ex-Senor Chang.

Yup, the diminutive comedy whirlwind that is Ken Jeong graces Greendale's corridors once more, and his return is heralded with one of the funniest, creepiest entrances ever committed to celluloid. The perfect antidote to Jeff's smugness, and Troy and Abed's silliness, Chang's complete and total creepiness ensures that show never gets too sickly sweet, or too self referential for its own good, and his presence was sorely lacking in the first half of the season. His need to join the study group may be bizarre, but it affords many a comedic opportunity, so let's pray to the TV gods that he's here to stay.

As is often the way in TVland, the group throws a party to decide on new group candidates the same day that Shirley's ex-husband/current boyfriend happens to be visiting, ensuring the revelation of Shirley's secret shame has maximum impact. Despite Jeff's ‘best' efforts, the group narrow the field of potentials to just two, Chang and Dr Rich, with Shirley as the deciding vote. When she votes Chang, Pierce's three-year-old psyche punishes her for crossing him by announcing the possibility of Chang-spawn to the room. Clearly, Theo is not best pleased with the altogether horrific idea of naked Chang action, and takes his leave.

Now, Community is generally a happy-go-lucky type of show, and not one to leave pregnant women stranded. Knocked up and no idea who the father is, sure, but not stranded. Theo doesn't even need to be persuaded to do the right thing, and it's possible he and Shirley will live happily ever after. Looks like Dr Huxtable did a good job after all.

That's the only happy ending for this week, though. Neither Dr Rich nor Ex-Senor Chang made it into the group, Annie still can't get a date, and Jeff has decided to learn Rich's too good to be true secret and use it to abuse people. Like I said, happy-go-lucky.

From the snappy celebrity look-alike-themed opener, to Jeff's decimation of Rich's character, and the presence of Malcolm Jamal Warner, Asian Population Studies is a sublime example of what Community does so well.

With blink and you'll miss it glimpses into how Brita does business, Troy's inability to not verbalise his every thought, and the fact the Professor Duncan can't get an erection, the episode is literally bursting with superb material. It's well worth multiple watches to make sure you catch them all.

While the four week break may be contractual, it's also a pain in the proverbial, and it's great to have the best comedy on TV back where it belongs, in your living room, insulting people so you don't have to!

Read our review of episode 11, Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas, here.

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The filmmakers of Hollywood have never been afraid to run rough-shod over the events of history. From the poorly researched calamities of Titanic to the frankly risible Brit-bashing of The Patriot, past battles and tragedies have been repeatedly moulded to suit the purposes of Tinseltown script writers.

Jackboots On Whitehall, Edward and Rory McHenry’s oddball animatronic war movie, mercilessly sends up Hollywood’s revisionist tradition, imagining an alternate World War II where English forces, having lost the pivotal Battle of Britain, is invaded by Nazis.

With a starry cast of voice actors, including Ewan McGregor as central character Chris, Richard E. Grant as a wild, foul-mouthed Vicar and Timothy Spall shaking his jowls as Winston Churchill, Jackboots is like Team America with added tea and crumpets – a parody not only of Hollywood’s view of England, but also of the pervading sense of self-righteousness that has pervaded post-war culture.

Like the two-dimensional view of war presented in British comics of the 20th century, Jackboots presents a mythical England of wholesome agricultural types and daring soldiers pitted against an army of identikit, leather-clad German forces.

Drilling up through the streets of London, Adolf Hitler (voiced by Alan Cumming) and his forces immediately seize control of the country, and it’s soon up to burly farmhand Chris to assemble an unlikely group of brave resistance fighters.

The McHenry brothers’ use of puppets is endearingly daft, and their recreation of a mythical England of green pastures and village fetes is amusingly nonsensical, clashing beautifully with the grey tanks and zeppelins of the kinky invading Nazis.

Their use of real-life historical figures is also brilliantly realised, from the cigar-chomping Churchill to Hitler himself, who wears (for reasons too convoluted to explain) the flowing dress of Elizabeth I.

Where Jackboots falls down, however, is in its script. Laugh-out-loud moments are surprisingly few, and once the targets of its parody are laid out, it has little else to impart. That’s not to say there aren’t a few moments of genuine inspiration - there’s an amusing reference to Independence Day late on in the film, and its repeated digs at Braveheart’s muddled view of history is a constant source of pointed jokes.

Sadly, Jackboots struggles to maintain its momentum, and there simply aren’t enough ideas to sustain its entire 90 minute running time – had it been condensed down to half an hour, the film’s better moments would have had more of an opportunity to shine. As it is, the middle of the movie sags, lacking the bite of Trey Parker and Matt Stone to carry it through the plot’s intentionally predictable slump.

Nevertheless, the film does rally in its closing scenes – like all great Hollywood epics, Jackboots culminates in a sprawling battle of bravery, tragedy and needlessly bloody violence, a sequence that would have Mel Gibson either punching the air with excitement, or quivering with embarrassed recognition.

As a comedy, Jackboots On Whitehall is far from perfect. But as a parody of all kinds of pompous, self-serving, jingoistic movies, its scattershot aim occasionally hits home with unexpected precision.

Film:

Extras: None

Jackboots On Whitehall is out now and is available from the Den Of Geek Store.

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So, it’s official - even 13 years in development hell and the death of studio 3D Realms couldn’t hold videogaming’s most crass, unreconstructed hero back, and having been given the finishing touches by Gearbox Software (not to mention a few 3D Realms ex-employees), Duke Nukem Forever has finally been given a release date, and will hit UK shelves on 6 May.

"When I said goodbye to 3D Realms and the original Duke Nukem 3D team in 1997 and soon after founded Gearbox Software, I never in my wildest dreams imagined that a day like today would come,” said an emotional Randy Pitchford. "Today I am proud, humbled and even astounded to announce that the day is coming at last for all gamers to be a part of video game history: Duke Nukem Forever will launch worldwide this May!"

Pitchford and his company, Gearbox, have been at pains to point out that, despite the game’s lengthy and troubled production history, Duke Nukem Forever is still a game that will have relevance to modern, post-Call of Duty gamers. Last October, Pitchford described DNF as “three times the size” of Modern Warfare 2, and full of “crazy set pieces.”

Aside from consumer apathy - and there must surely be an entire generation of gamers who’ve never heard of the name Duke Nukem - the game’s biggest rival comes in the shape of Epic/People Can Fly’s Bulletstorm. Even a cursory glance over the two titles reveals numerous striking similarities, from their irreverent sense of humour to their over-the-top violence.

Nevertheless, Pitchford plays down any talk of rivalry, despite the fact that both games are due out this Spring. “I have played Bulletstorm and it's going to be fine - it gets to have a couple of months to itself before Duke shows up and it's a great game,” Pitchford told Eurogamer, before going on to insist that his game was just as good. "Without question, Duke Nukem Forever is absolutely worth it for every gamer to play it, not just to get that feeling of experiencing videogame history in the making but because the game is simply a lot of fun."

The release trailer, which you can see below these very words (and it’s definitely NSFW, so viewer discretion advised), looks as vulgar, violent and politically incorrect as the Duke we remember, and features more pixelated-out rude bits than we can remember seeing in any game promo ever...

Eurogamer

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Warning: this review contains spoilers.

3.1 Lia

I’ve championed Being Human ever since the pilot episode aired back in 2008. It felt like a breath of fresh air, a promise of what a fine showcase for British talent BBC Three could become.

While BBC Three itself may have struggled for periods to live up to expectations, Being Human has only gone on from strength to strength. The show’s success was underlined for me this week when I saw the cover of this week’s Radio Times. "The Cult Hit You Can’t Miss", the banner screams, accompanied by Ms. Crichlow and Messers Turner and Tovey. Talk about the show finally getting the credit it deserves.

The other pointer to the show’s rise is apparent throughout the opener to this much-anticipated third series. Robson Green. Paul Kaye (otherwise known as Dennis Pennis, way back when). Lacey Turner (EastEnders’ Stacey). Hardly three blockbuster names, granted, but three well-known faces nonetheless, and proof that not only can the show now attract a slightly more well-known breed of acting talent, but that said talent is also keen to climb on board.

The most successful of the three actors in this episode, and someone who is going to play a major role throughout the series, is Robson Green, as werewolf McNair. I’ve read a few interviews with Green about the role, and as well as being a fan of the show, it sounds like he threw himself into this one with relish. That’s certainly apparent on screen. I’ve been impressed with him before in Wire In The Blood, but here he gets to flex his physicality as a very different kind of werewolf to George and Nina. McNair is a tough cookie, alright, and one who seems very at ease in his own skin.

Bringing up wolfie son, Tom, is high on his agenda, too, another confident little fella, quite prepared to do what’s necessary when the chips are down. Said chips in this instance being his dad, trapped in a cage by a pack of wild vampires led by Vincent (Paul Kaye). Ramming a stake through Vincent’s heart, it’s clear that Tom’s done this kind of thing before, so we can only assume that Tom and Dad are quite used to taking the good fight to the vampiric hoards. This should, of course, make for cracking entertainment in future episodes.

As for Vincent, I felt that Kaye was too overblown. Playing it as a cross between Sid Vicious and Benny Hill, I just wanted him to tone it down a bit. He came across as a crazy, dangerous vampire who’s watched one too many Joe Pesci performances.

The premise here, though, was intriguing. Underground cage fighting matches for the sole purpose of entertaining the vampire clans? Yup, I’ll have some of that, thank you very much. Great to see another offshoot of the vampire community, too. We’ve been used to seeing small clusters of them before in Bristol, all closely knitted to Herrick’s mystical hold. I’m hopeful that this series will open things up wider. Of course, the location move to Wales should help facilitate that.

It's good to see that the writers haven’t lost their sense of fun, too. For instance, one episode in, the writers have already got poor George accidentally involved with a dogging club (geddit?). In a beautiful bit of comic interjector, the forest dwellers unwittingly invited George into their lives, not realising that full moons and George don’t really mix all that well. A perfect opportunity, then, for the show to throw us right back into George’s ongoing torment: what do you do when you’re about to go all hairy in public?

Which brings me neatly onto the other big change for series three: the rise of Nina.

I’ll admit to having been a bit sceptical at first about upping her impact on the show. It’s always worked brilliantly as a three-piece and my fear was that turning this into a four-person number might not work.

I was wrong.

Nina is the perfect companion to George’s marvellous comedy medicine, the bedroom scene a case in point. She’s also crucial to the piece now, lending an added dimension to George’s time of the month by giving him someone to share his problems with, while also obviously carrying the guilt of putting her in that situation in the first place.

And I’ve not even got to the main plot strand of the episode. The ‘Lia’ of the title turns out to be one of Mitchell’s victims from last series’ genuinely harrowing train massacre. Played by Lacey Turner, the effect was a little off-putting at first. I’m not the world’s biggest EastEnders fan, you understand, but I couldn’t get that association out of my head for a while.

Once I moved past that, however, she was perfectly convincing, if a little too kooky (‘spit spot’), as Mitchell’s guide through purgatory. There to get Annie back, Mitchell had to encounter his own personal demons along the way and it was all handled rather well.

The final showdown with the massacre victims, in particular, was adroitly done. Aiden Turner’s acting chops were being given an early chance to be flexed, too, as we got to see the confident man reduced to a quivering, blubbering wreck. And the gore? Excellent.

Naturally, Mitchell succeeded in bringing Annie back home – well, to Barry, anyway – so that the series can put all that purgatory nonsense behind it. A quick resolution? Certainly, but I really couldn’t see them dragging it out for more than an episode, could you?

I absolutely loved this series opener. Successfully revisiting old relationships and introducing new characters, the episode had plenty of great lines (the throwaway café conversion about The Wolfman was a particular favourite), brutal violence, comic interludes and it re-established, as well as broadened, the Being Human universe within the space of an hour.

Good to know that, after a year’s absence, it’s still one of the very best shows on television.

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The actor reprises his role almost twelve years after his first appearance as the Jedi in The Phantom Menace, the first Star Wars prequel. Qui-Gon also received mentions in Attack Of The Clones and Revenge Of The Sith whilst he also appeared in the first 2D animated version of The Clone Wars from Genndy Tartakovsky (though not voiced by Neeson).

His return, part of a three episode story arc, sees Obi Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon's former Padawan, having visions of his old master as they discuss Anakin Skywalker's destiny as the "Chosen One".

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, who exclusively broke the news, the Irish actor said he wanted to return to the Star Wars world because "these characters resonate...even after all these years." Neeson added, "Growing up, my heroes were cowboys; they were strong and mysterious, and it seemed like they always rode off into the sunset. For kids today, Star Wars has that same kind of magic. I really wanted to be a part of that."

Qui Gon-Jinn's return starts in the US on Jan 28 and in the UK, February 5th on Sky Movies.

Entertainment Weekly

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Spartacus is back! Well, sort of.

This six part prequel series was conceived as a 'stop gap' while Starz made a decision about what to do regarding lead actor Andy Whitfield being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. While it looked  for a while that Whitfield may return to the role, a re-occurrence in the disease has forced him to pull out, leading to replacement, Liam McIntyre, stepping into his sandals.

It was a hard decision for Starz to make, as the show has proved to be very popular, in no small part due to Whitfield's driven titular hero. While many have said the show should just be cancelled or 'wait' till Whitfield is well enough to resume the role, that makes no sense from a business point of view and re-casting was an inevitability.

Time will tell how McIntyre, who was seen in The Pacific, will do in the role, but he does look very similar to his predecessor.

Anyway, on with the review of the first episode of the prequel series, Gods Of The Arena, which tells the story of The House of Batiatus before their success with champions Crixus and Spartacus. At this point in time, Batiatus and his gladiatorial school are low on the pecking order and he is doing everything he can do gain the favour of the local magistrate.

He does have an ace up his sleeve, however, prized fighter Gannicus, a 'rock star' gladiator who, with his good looks, charming grin and ability to beat the shit out of everyone, has made him a legend in and around Capua. He is the current champion in the House of Batiatus and has grown to prominence ever since the former champion Oenomaus (The man who will become Doctore, Peter Mensah) was wounded in his bout with The Shadow of Death.

Unlike Oenomaus and Crixus, who fight for honour and their dominus, Gannicus is all about the glory and reward. It is no surprise, considering Batiatus throws wine and slave girls at him at the end of every victory. Of course, it has made the champion cocky, and considering he is nowhere to be seen in the main series, we must assume his fall is on the horizon.

Meanwhile, Oenomaus is trying to regain Batiatus' favour and his title as Champion, not an easy task when the current top gladiator is beating people blindfolded. It is clear that Oenomaus (who was one of the delights of the first season as the honourable Doctore) will have quite a journey over the next six episodes, as he replaces the current 'old school' Doctore.

However, that's the problem with prequel sequels. Along with familiar series regulars (Lucy Lawless' Lucretia, Manu Bennett's Crixus and Nick Tarabay's Ashur), there are a host of new faces we haven't seen before, which only means that they are destined to die. Among them are Oenomaus' wife Melitta, who, considering Oenomaus' single status in Blood And Sand, spells dark times for the future Doctore.

Apart from that, it's business as usual, but the first episode still manages to cram a hell of a lot in: Batiatus manoeuvring for favour against his youthful and snotty rival, Vettius, who has the favour of local socialite, Tullius (Neighbours' Max Hoyland, Stephen Lovatt), Crixus joining the House of Batiatus and having to prove himself among the new recruits, including Ashur and Lucretia's friendship with yet another status-obsessed vixen called Gaia.

Still, that means we get an inevitable lesbian scene, and if I was to have one complaint about the first season of Spartacus: Blood And Sand it was that it, er, was clearly missing a decent lesbian scene.

Bearing in mind we know the fate of so many of these characters, it will be interesting to see if the prequel series will be able to make us care about the likes of Gannicus in just six episodes, but considering the show has lost none its flair for gratuitous violence (geysers of blood everywhere) and sex (I swear there was more sex in this episode than in most of last season), all the ingredients are present for another rollicking time in ancient Capua.

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This review contains spoilers.

3.14 Witches Of The Mist

If the sight of Count Dooku, Asajj Ventress and Darth Maul's 'brother' engaging in a multi-lightsabre orgy of gargantuan proportions doesn't get the geekoid in you dripping in delight, then it's game over, mate. You're dead.

Actually, I say "orgy", but it's much, much better than that. The triumvirate of bad ass, and I mean bad ass, Sith have taken over The Clone Wars in the past few weeks and here, in the final part of the three-episode story arc, their battle comes to a glorious finale. But more on that later.

Concluding one of the most memorable stories of the Star Wars animated spin-off is this game of two halves. Witches Of The Mist begins with the Jedi becoming aware of the new terror on the block, Savage Oppress (the aforementioned sibling of The Phantom Menace's horny Sith), who recently dispensed some Jedi in a most monstrous of fashions.

Hearing the words "Darth Maul" uttered in disbelief by Obi Wan starts the geek-fest shivers early and the trembles continue as Dooku trains Opress. It's slightly reminiscent of The Bride's scenes with Pai Mei from Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol 2, Dooku performing cruelty as if taking a breath. There's also some neat nods to Yoda's training of Luke on Dagobah, with a discussion of just what is impossible.

The relationship between Dooku and his new apprentice highlights the cruelty of the Sith. Hate is the seed from which their faith grows. This hate also gives rise to the duplicitous nature of the dark side of the force. Trust is not in their vocabulary, as witnessed by Dooku, who is happy to surrender any sense of loyalty for more power.

But this tantalising set-up between the three parties, Obi Wan and Anakin, Dooku and Opress, and the vengeful Ventress, pales in comparison to the, frankly, scorching denouement, which finds them all, at various points, fighting one another, giving us the third week in a row for fans of manic and enlightening lightsaber battles. Amusingly, the Jedi seem totally out of their depth, as their enemies are Sith-bent on destroying whatever gets in their way.

It is a beautiful sight.

And once the dust settles (though it doesn't, really), there's yet a revelation to be had. I shan't spoil it for you, but it will leave Star Wars fans gasping, asking, "How can that be?". An insanely unexpected move.

As a final note to this trilogy, full marks and a gold star must go to the writer of these stories, Katie Lucas. Not only has Dathomir Trilogy proved to be an instant classic within The Clone Wars series, George Lucas' daughter has also added an incredibly layered and entertaining addition to the Star Wars galaxy and shown, with some incredible style, that there are many more stories to be told in this universe. One can only imagine and giggle with girlish glee at how essential and immense a Star Wars feature film by Katie would be.

Read our review of episode 13, Monster, here.

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5.11 Mrs Donaghy

At 30 Rock this week, love and marriage were going together less like a horse and carriage and more like a horse and another really pissed off horse. Following their blissful (if disorganised) nuptials on the fictional Caribbean island of L'Esclavage, newlyweds Mr and Mrs Donaghy were back in NY and straight into a war of the roses style battle of bartering, sabotage and revenge.

Not usually one for heavy handed 'life lessons' episodes, 30 Rock had two important pieces of advice for viewers this week. Firstly, don't let anyone into your wedding if they're wearing a state approved mosquito head net, and secondly, don't let a horny defrocked French admiral conduct your ceremony. I won't reveal any more, but let's just say that if Liz had studied French at college instead of Theatre Tech, things could have been a lot simpler for all concerned.

The Donaghys weren't the only warring couple in this week's new year comeback. Studio cutbacks had forced Jenna and Danny (remember Danny? Don't worry. No-one at TGS does either) to share a dressing room and the two were soon enacting that old sitcom trope, the bickering marrieds. Their over-the-top quarrelling was serviceable enough filler to mirror the main storyline and gave the increasingly directionless Kenneth something to do as the ersatz child of arguing parents. Seen before? Yes, but the Jenna/Danny/Kenneth scenes, while not breaking any new ground, did a sound enough job.

Over in Tracyland, the pudgy man-child was once again confronting his own mortality, this time prompting the welcome return of Dr Spaceman (Chris Parnell) and Tracy's wife ,Angie (Sherri Shepherd). Seeking the means to support her family in the event of her husband's untimely death, Angie showed herself to have the necessary attitude, arrogance and absurd sidekicks to star in her own reality show, one that we would all totally watch, by the way. (Check out the episode's closing credits for a pitch perfect spoof trail for Queen Of Jordan.)

Another blast from the past came in the form of NBC's human resource mediator, Jeffrey Weinerslav (it's pronounced ‘weener slave', no giggling in the back, please). Tasked with assessing whether Jack's recent marriage had affected boss-employee relations, Weinerslav ended up as an unlikely cupid for the warring newlyweds, who buried their respective hatchets in a heart-warming scene of diarrhoea, eye boogers and reconciliation.

Mrs Donaghy was a confident step into the new year and a promising start to the next half season, all the better for being a Liz and Jack-centric episode. It's worth remembering that we Donaghy fans have to soak up what little Jack we have left, as Baldwin is currently telling anyone who'll listen that he's outta there as soon as his contract's up next year. The exact nature of the apocalyptic 2012 scenario those Mayans were warning us about is now all too clear: it's a Baldwin-free 30 Rock.

So, much as it pains me to write this, when Jack finally has left the building, let's hope the rest of the show is laid to rest alongside him. While we Brits are happy to admit that the US is currently leading the field in sitcom terms, historically, we've always held the upper hand in knowing when to stop. It's true what they say: if you love something, set it free.

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This review contains spoilers.

I sat this week with my brother-in-law, who stated, "Oh, is this still on? Its not Doctor Who, is it?" And while I agree with him that the weekly dinosaur adventures are not up to the same level of quality as the BBC's Saturday night sci-fi offering, and while he, like myself and other geeks everywhere, are sitting in trepidation waiting until April when Matt Smith and co. return to our screens, Primeval is a servicable, if not quite great Saturday evening 'warm-up' event.

This warm-up act is not a mad thing, especially when this episode takes various nods from Doctor Who episodes of the past. From Horror Of Fang Rock to Warriors Of The Deep, there are so many little nods to sci-fi gone by, mixed in with a good dose of League Of Gentlemen, that the main star of this week's show could have been replaced by Peter Davison and companions. As it was, Connor, Abby and the rest of the team have very little to do and it's the locals and the sea serpent dinosaur that steal the show.

Investigating a weird death of a camper, the under-staffed team are called to a local coastal town to look around. With Becker still recovering from his poisoning last week and Matt tracking down Emily and Ethan, it's up to the duo of Connor and Abby, with a little assist from Lester back at the ARC, to track down what is going on.

With evidence of strange anomaly readings, the team have tracked down but cannot locate the problem. That is, until the locals start talking about a ‘worm', a mythical sea monster that has been spotted by a local yokel. And when I say yokel, I'm trying to be nice. But, frankly, all that's really missing is a banjo, and the locals (who drink in a bar called ‘The Cock'. Teehee) are only one interbred generation away from Deliverance country.

With dodgy accents and a dislike for snoopers, Connor and Abby come across a stonewalled approach, with the legends of myths and monsters covering up for the missing camper. The locals know something, but don't want snoopers prowling around. While it's not actually the monster they are protecting, but rather an illegal still designed for cheap petrol, the idea of having people snooping around really doesn't sit well, leading to a slightly silly stand-off with pitchforks in a barn.

And while both Connor and Abby are both holding guns, the old lady with a garden implement manages to subdue both of them. Still, at least Abby didn't do a lame karate kick to assist them in escaping. Oh, she did. Never mind.

Silly set-ups aside, the monster of the week is actually pretty good. The anomaly has appeared in a sea-filled cave, and in this cave, the worm, well, actually two, have made their home there. Looking like giant salamanders, the creatures are pretty impressive, and while some of the scenes in which the male creature is attacking a caravan site in broad daylight are a little dodgy effects-wise, all the slithering through the darkened caverns and jumping out of rivers make for quite a convincing creature of the week.

A sort of elongated crocodile mixed with a bit of Clash Of The Titans Medusa, the creature is quite formidable, only really having difficulty with camper vans, but happy to chow down on a yokel who is slowly poisoning its cave with their illegal fuel.

While all that flammable liquid could have made for an explosive Jaws-like finale, I guess the cost and pyros needed to bring down the beasts would have been prohibitive. So, we get the creatures being allowed to go back to their own time and the team having a ‘win' with the loss of only three lives. Something that doesn't sit well back at the ARC.

And speaking of the ARC, the rest of the team this week, frankly, don't do anything at all. As mentioned Becker, is out and Philip seems to be just pottering around looking dubious and talking about his secrets quite openly with Connor, while Matt has his own agenda, which really adds nothing to the overall arc.

Maybe Ethan is the old man he is talking to in his spare time, and Emily is integral to understanding the anomalies, but, boy, was that chase dull and not needed. And for those keen spotters of continuity, how did Emily hug Matt while her hands were still tied and then seconds later he unties them for her? Really, these characters need to do something fast, as there is nothing of any interest going on there.

Still, lack of narrative progression aside, this wasn't all that bad. The monster was fun and all the things the Myrka from Doctor Who should have been, the location was interesting, the coastline of Ireland looked lovely and having Connor and Abby chasing monsters across the countryside made a big difference to the usual creatures in a city scenario. And even if the series is, indeed, a warm-up act for Doctor Who, it's still fun and not at all bad Saturday night television.

Read our review of episode 4 here.

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This review may contain spoilers.

7.3 Clearance From A Deal

As a TV and film reviewer, it's often my job to jump on stories that don't make sense or have plot holes so large you could fit an Olympic stadium (any one, take your pick!) through them.

If I was to review Clearance From A Deal on that basis, then I'd be pulling it to pieces, because there is a revelation in the final act that jumps the shark and wrestles it between two slices of bread, before announcing it as a daily special at Subway.

But I don't care, oddly, because this was a charming piece of entertainment that had me giggling throughout, even if it was utter hokum from the very beginning to end.

It all starts in the 1800s, where Albert Stroller's great grandfather is accused of being a cheat by two brothers who run a floating gambling house on the Mississippi. This is the trigger for a story about a relative of the brothers and how Albert wants redemption for his wrongly maligned ancestor.

Mickey and Albert run up at a new casino, to be greeted by their chosen nemesis, Marcus Wendell. He's played by Michael Brandon, whom the older generation of UK viewers will remember from Dempsey And Makepeace. Unfortunately, he's not got Glynis Barber on hand, and is therefore forced to lay the ham thickly without her contributions.

The variation on the normal Hustle plot is that he's fully aware he's the mark, and who Mickey's team are, so the cards are all played above the table, in one respect. But then anyone who knows this show will have realised that a good audience con won't work if they actually give you 360 vision, and so plenty is held in reserve for when you think they've entirely mucked up. You know they've not instinctively, because this is Hustle, and they've rarely confronted failure, as such, and certainly not at this level.

Michael Brandon isn't the only guest face this week. They've also seconded Roger Lloyd Pack (Trigger in Only Fools And Horses) to be a stroppy forger called Clive. There are some hints of developing this character into more than a cameo by some needless interplay between him and Matt Di Angelo's Sean, but I doubt it will materialise.

Which begs the question, why did I like it? Two words, Robert Vaughn.

This is the most we've seen from him in a story in some time, and he's just magical to watch. When I saw him in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. as a child, he never stood out as a great actor, but I've since come to appreciate his work. If you're unconvinced, then I'd check him out in Bullitt, and he's not bad at all in The Magnificent Seven or The Bridge At Remagen.

In this story, he manages to put an underlying tension and grit into Albert's family pride that makes what's at stake and up for grabs that bit more interesting.

The snag, as I've already alluded to, is that, when the twist comes, there was much head scratching in my lounge, as we tried to work out any plausible excuse for the narrative Snake River Canyon jump we'd just witnessed. Hustle didn't just bend reality on this occasion. It turned it into a pretzel of time and space.

If you're looking for joined up logic, then this probably isn't the show for you, but if you can stow the sense finding part of your mind for an hour, then Hustle can be a scream.

I was left feeling good about the contributions made by Robert Vaughn, even if he and the other cast members have probably given up asking obvious questions of the writers right after receiving the script.

Read our review of episode 2, Old Sparks Come New, here.

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2011 looks like it may be the year that Natalie Portman follows up her award-worthy performance in Black Swan with the Ivan Reitman directed romantic comedy No Strings Attached, pairing a serious and more 'worthy' film with something fluffier, presumably to cleanse herself of all the psychological trauma and baggage that comes with playing a demented ballerina. This has come to be known (by me) as the ‘Coens gambit'. The alternating of tones, I mean. Not the ballerina thing.

Portman's co-star is Ashton Kutcher, who is, of course, famous both for being Bruce Willis's son (apologies to Ricky Gervais) and for irritating other celebrities in MTV prank show Punk'd.

(A quick digression: the print of No Strings Attached I saw was accompanied by the trailer for Justin Bieber's upcoming 3D concert film Never Say Never, a surprise that was met with audibly pained gasps of horror from the audience. The Kutcher-helmed Punk'd finished in 2007, but it was recently announced that the concept was due to be revived and reimagined, Batman Begins-style, with a new presenter at the helm, Justin Bieber. Such is the intricate tapestry of asinine 21st century pop bullshit.)

Kutcher plays Adam, a wannabe TV writer who is struggling to get his scripts noticed, at least without employing some serious nepotism on behalf of his dad (Kevin Kline), who happens to be a famous sitcom actor. When Adam discovers Dad has been sleeping with his ex-girlfriend, he gets paralysingly drunk and calls everybody in his phone book in desperate need of a rebound hook-up.

Eventually, he wakes up naked and on the sofa of Emma (Portman), a girl we have already been introduced to in a couple of rather pointless prologue scenes that seem to exist solely to employ a couple of child actors and give the cast the chance to wear some different clothes.

After some flirtatious teasing, Emma eventually grants him the steamy liaison he was after, and the two begin seeing each other on a regular basis.

It soon becomes clear, however, that Emma has 'intimacy issues' and just wants sex, no romance, no hand-holding, no hugging, and no learning. Adam, however, can't help but wish things would go a little further. Yes, you read that right. The female lead in a romantic comedy is a commitment phobe, and the male lead is the one pushing for a relationship! Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria!

This is the big hook of No Strings Attached, and while it doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, it is quite good to see the conventions of the genre played with, even if it is only slightly, and to be presented with a relationship that doesn't romanticise and sentimentalise sex to the ludicrous degree that most romantic comedies end up doing.

For a mainstream studio comedy, it does actually make a decent fist of presenting us with a believable relationship.

This is largely down to Natalie Portman's performance, who is very convincing as a modern, career-focused woman who sees her sexual relationships as purely functional. It's hard to convey this type of character (of which, I'd argue, there are just as many as there are Darcy-obsessed Bridget Joneses) without veering into slutty and /or ice maiden territory. But she does an excellent job in avoiding both, making you care about her. It doesn't hurt that's she gob-smackingly beautiful either, obviously.

Kutcher is a slightly different story. His acting has never really threatened to rise above the stoned frat guy act he's been mining since Dude Where's My Car, and he certainly doesn't buck this trends here. He's not a great romantic lead by any means, but his role in the film is clearly as cheeky eye candy, whatever my personal opinion of his attractiveness may be, letting Portman do the bulk of the dramatic heavy lifting.

Most importantly, the two leads do have good on-screen chemistry, and their first sex scene is genuinely pretty hot in a way on-screen sex rarely is, particularly in mainstream romcoms. Having said that, some of the more risqué content creates a bit of a tonal imbalance with the more standard romcom tropes. I never thought I'd say this, but I probably could have done with one less fingering gag.

Another problem with No Strings Attached is its waste of an excellent supporting cast, especially Kevin Kline, who, as one of the finest on-screen comedic performers ever, really should have been given stronger material to work with.

Cary Elwes is another great actor who is criminally wasted, playing a complete nothing of a character. He literally has about five lines, and none of them are funny! This is Westley we're talking about. Show some respect, Reitman.

Also, as the film enters its final third, it begins to meander, before resolving itself with the kind of Hollywood sentimentality that it seems so eager to distance itself from in the early stages.

Despite its flaws, though, No Strings Attached is a solid romantic comedy with some decent laughs that is raised up a notch by Portman's likable performance. If you're not a fan of the genre, then it's not going to win you over, but it's charming in places and worth a look if you're after some slightly less demanding fare.

Follow Paul Martinovic on Twitter @paulmartinovic, or for more film babble, check out his blog here.

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I've got some sympathy for the person who arrived five minutes late for the screening of The Mechanic I attended. Sometimes, when you arrive a little late for a film, you miss the credits and an establishing shot.

With The Mechanic, a remake of the 70s Michael Winner-Charles Bronson action-fest, it feels like it's torn through ten to fifteen pages of screenplay on fast forward. Thus, to give a flavour of what to expect, and to help out the aforementioned latecomer, I thought it best to give an idea of just what he missed.

By the time five minutes has clocked up, then, Jason Statham has gone through two or three outfits, travelled what looks like thousands of miles, kicked off the bodycount for the film, escaped an impossible situation, had a swim, and the film's still also squeezed in a handy way to get through a traffic jam.

The Mechanic has a cunning plan, you see, to help it get through so much, so quickly. And it's a device that it employs regularly throughout the film. Appreciating the usual screenwriting convention is that, to keep the pace of a film up, you bring the audience into a scene as late as possible, and get out as quickly, The Mechanic manages to evolve the theory. It cuts things out in the middle of a scene, too. And by chopping out bits of both unnecessary and necessary, administration, it makes for an extremely lean and fast first half of the film.

It does, as you might expect, come at a cost. Going back to that opening five minutes (and we've left the best bit out of the description above), there's no logical explanation for how Jason Statham, even at his mightiest, could slip out of the situation he finds himself in unnoticed. So the filmmakers don't bother to give you one. They just cut to him escaping and move onto the next scene, quickly.

The film carries on with this approach, with Jason Statham easing into the role of an assassin for hire, right up until Ben Foster, as his apprentice of sorts, is introduced.

And it's there that The Mechanic properly sparks into some kind of life. For it's Foster who gets the better role, and has the most fun with it, coming across as a slightly unhinged and dangerous protégé.

Plus, once the film has put the relationship between Statham and Foster into place, director Simon West starts bringing his toys out to play.

West will always have a fond place in our hearts for the might of Con Air, and let's be up front: The Mechanic comes nowhere near matching it. But what it does have is an appreciated old-school approach to its action, eschewing massive effects, fussy editing and assorted distractions, choosing instead to blow a lot of shit up. Often.

This, as it proves, is quite a wise plan, and the second half of The Mechanic is the ride you're likely to be expecting it to be.

Freed of the need to bother too much with throwing us whatever morsels of story it can spare, West's take on The Mechanic becomes a lean Jason Statham vehicle (and Statham is a fine match for the material, to be fair), that's pretty much stolen from underneath him by Foster.

West finds a small amount of running time for a quick bit of Statham humping, and a surprisingly brief Donald Sutherland cameo. Yet, he directs most of the film as if he's aware that the audience can only get a babysitter in for so long. It feels constantly that he's galloping forward at speed, giving us a bullet point summation of what's going on, to help us get from A to B as quickly as possible.

The end result works, though. It's not a memorable movie, by any measure, and it's fairly obvious fairly soon how it's all going to pan out. But Simon West is good at this stuff. Jason Statham is good at this stuff. And Ben Foster might just be a bit of a star in the making.

The combination of these factors? The first enjoyable, forgettable, entertaining action movie of the year. Warts and all.

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This review contains spoilers.

3.10 The Firefly

I've missed Fringe since it went on sabbatical, as season 3 has been consistently strong from a character and narrative perspective. Unfortunately, it's not been getting the viewers that Fox wanted, so they've sent it to the Friday 'death slot', from where there is generally no return.

But unbowed by being treated in this fashion, The Firefly is one of the most interesting stories they've done on this show, and forms part of sand building exercise for the end of the season (and possibly the show).

The premise it explores is a common science fiction subject, best described by the ‘butterfly effect', where small, seemingly insignificant events can have massive downstream consequences. The event that has these effects is the saving of Walter and Peter from the icy lake by the observer 25 years previously, and the story works around this point in time and the changes saving them ultimately caused.

As Fringe odd starts go, this was a pretty lightweight one, where an aging musical performer is visited by the 'ghost' of his dead son in his retirement home. The old man, Roscoe Joyce is played quite charmingly by 'Doc Brown' himself, Christopher Lloyd. The character he delivers is actually more like Reverend Jim from Taxi than the time travelling Dr. Emmett Brown, but he's very watchable and more than capable of delivering the quirky but serious content he's given. It made me wonder, if he'd done more serious work over the years, if he'd be more respected these days? Maybe.

The best scenes are undoubtedly those between Walter and Roscoe, who played in a band that the professor followed. Their relationship, and the unforeseen connection that they have, is the pivotal axis of the story, and how the Observer wishes to address the damage he's done to the timeline.

What we're presented with is the Observer doing seemingly unconnected acts that then start to form a sequence of events where Walter is pressed to make a choice that might end Peter's life. It's a test of sorts, but also a preparation for a greater, as yet undefined challenge.

So, where does The Firefly come in? Well, the according to the Observer, saving Walter and Peter had some curious effects, one of which is that Peter caught a firefly. That seemingly minor act caused a small girl who was looking for one to wander deeper into the wood, and consequently her father to panic, who then skidded in his truck through a junction killing a pedestrian, the son of Roscoe Joyce, no less. I think the hint was that the little girl was, in fact, the woman with asthma that the Observer, and then Walter, subsequently  saved, although it wasn't expressly revealed.

What the creators of Fringe cleverly managed to do was tell a modest but interesting time paradox story while keeping the characters interacting in a dynamic way, with some dialogue allocated to the issues that Olivia still has about being temporarily replaced in Peter's affections by Altivia.

Overall, it was an excellent return, and one that will keep me watching this show, irrespective of where Fox, in their wisdom (if that isn't a contradiction in terms), put it.

Next week, the team head off to see Nina at Massive Dynamic, which is usually a precursor to something nefarious and unpleasant.

Read our review of episode 9, Marionette, here.

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Given the fact that we're in the UK, we're not able to enjoy the currently ongoing Sundance Film Festival, and in turn, that means that we didn't get to see the world premiere of Kevin Smith's Red State that took place at the festival. But heck, we wish we'd been there.

Not just to watch the film, which we remain keen to see. But to see what happened afterwards.

In the weeks leading up to the premiere, Kevin Smith had been promising some kind of auction for the distribution rights to the film. But while we wrote about the unusual marketing and distribution campaign for the film here, we - and pretty much everyone else - never saw this one coming.

At the end of the screening, and bearing in mind we're going on third party reports because we weren't there, Smith pulled a left turn. He announced that he himself would be distributing the film, and promptly bought the rights to do so for $20.

He then gave a 20-30 minute speech (depending which report you read) where he discussed, we understand, the unfairness of the movie distribution system. He then announced that Red State would be released on October 19th 2011 under the Smodcast Pictures banner (marking the 17th anniversary of Clerks' release), but in advance of that, he'd be taking the film on the road and showing it in selected cities across the USA. He's announced the initial schedule here.

Slashfilm has about the most comprehensive report on what Smith said (link at the bottom), and they report that he also confirmed that his next film, Hit Somebody, would be his last as director. Again, we weren't in the room, so can't confirm this. But it appears that his intention is to work on producing and distributing movies, amongst many other things, no doubt, in the future.

If that means that more and more indie movies have a chance to break through, then his expertise there would be welcomed. It certainly seems though that Smith, and the worst edges of the Hollywood system, are through.

It sounded a fascinating screening and event to attend, and you can read what Slashfilm had to say about it, here.

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There are a couple of assumptions circling the soon-to-shoot Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. One is that Christopher Nolan will tie up his Batman trilogy, and leave the franchise once it's done. And the other is that this will also be the final movie for Christian Bale as Batman, too.

We were curious, then, when we awoke today to a couple of stories suggesting that Christian Bale's Batman days weren't likely to be done by the summer of 2012. But, as it turns out, the actor is taking a pragmatic approach, and tying his future in the franchise to Nolan's.

Talking to Empire, Bale said, "All I know is the likelihood that this will be the last one ... Well, I wouldn't say definitely. If Chris goes, 'Hey, I've got another story I think could be interesting,' then yeah, great, I'd go do that. I always assumed it would be three, but I could be wrong. I don't know if there's something wrong with me, but I don't feel any pressure."

We think that's the position pretty much everyone assumed. And Nolan, to be fair, hasn't outright confirmed that this is his last Batman movie. Yet, once The Dark Knight Rises is released, we'd be genuinely amazed to see either of them around Gotham City again.

Empire

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