Millennium: Season Three (2005)

After the mess they made of Season Two, neither Glen Morgan nor James Wong were invited back to contribute to Season Three. Good. Two new guys (Michael Duggan and Chip Johannessen) were given the task of cleaning up the apocalyptic shit-stains. Series creator Chris Carter also made a brief return, contributing by co-writing three episodes and overseeing some parts of the production.

Mostly the format returned to standalone episodes. It mimicked and attempted to recapture the psychological aspect that had made Season One a success. The event that ended the previous year is largely ignored; I've never been so pleased to have such an inconsistency.

Frank gets a new partner who's characterised by her overzealous enthusiasm in early episodes. But as the season progresses she takes on more useful traits, and by the end she becomes an integral part of the proceedings.

The Millennium Group are still sniffing around crime scenes, but the focus is primarily on Frank and his new role, which causes a minor internal conflict within him. His attentions are split unevenly between his daughter and his job. It seems as if the situation will elevate, but it peters out too soon and remains underdeveloped. There was something potentially sinister there that could've been brought to the fore but wasn't; perhaps they were holding that back for future seasons? We’ll never know.

There's another crap Hallowe’en episode, and an Xmas episode, but most of the bad comedy was excised; I'm pretending the episode with KISS didn't happen.

Extras include the Millennium/X-Files crossover. It was a great idea but it's a bad story with a very weak ending. It would've been nice if the writers had used the format to offer some kind of resolution or closure that the series was denied, but they didn't; it's simply an excuse to feature Frank Black in the X-Files.

22 episodes, approx 44 minutes each.

2½ chips off the old block out of 5

Deadwood: Season Three (2006)

Deadwood set the bar as high as it could go with the very first episode of Season One, and kept it close thereafter, right to the very end of this Season, which was to be the last because HBO cancelled it. Of all the TV shows that ever got axed, in all the years that I've been a viewer, I mourn the loss of Deadwood the most. The only thing it did wrong was be too damn clever.

The main story arc is the continued fight for control of town resources, a fight played out both diplomatically and via the business end of a knife. There’s a saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, but in Deadwood the enemy of my enemy is another fucking enemy waiting to snatch an advantage, hoping to profit from it either directly or indirectly. Multiple threats mean stakes are higher and casualties more notable. Not everyone makes it out alive. There are some quiet moments near the end, but only because tensions are purposefully buried.

The main cast members are unchanged. Joanie Stubbs (Kim Dickens) finally gets something interesting to do, which left just the character of Alma Garret (Molly Parker) as the only weak leak in an otherwise sturdy chain.

There’s not much of Brad Dourif this season. You get the feeling that he’s always around but he has less screen time.

I have to give special mention to Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert). Of all the women in the series, Jane is the most exceptional, for reasons I won't go into.

Let’s not forget the humour. William Sanderson had me in pains of laughter. His weasel attitude and ability to swing from self-effacing to self-important in the same sentence is pure genius.

Brian Cox joined the cast. He and his troupe seemed a little superfluous, but it’s Brian Cox, so even when he’s doing little of merit he’s still a joy to watch. I'm sure his role would've increased had it been given time to do so; there were definite hints in that direction.

There was the hope that some TV movies would get the green light to wrap up the threads of the story but that didn't happen.

12 episodes, approx 45-55 minutes each.

5 fights on the promenade out of 5

Tales From the Crypt: Season 1 (1989)

Based off the spirit and essence of the EC comics '50s horror line, Tales From the Crypt season 1 is a scant six episodes, introducing us to the cadaverous storyteller the Crypt Keeper and his tales of the macabre. Each episode delivers the frights and gore peppered with the tongue-in-cheek dark humor which made the originals so fun to read. While not an extravagant season, it excels in casting fine character actors like William Sadler, Larry Drake, and M. Emmet Walsh to play the outsiders, wackos, and kooks which inhabit the show.

High points include "Only Sin Deep" where a struggling hooker pawns her beauty to the wrong man and in "The Man Who Was Death" a former executioner gives criminals a shocking end. The low point being the episode "Lover Come Hack to Me", a bloody and almost pointless affair of keeping one's love pure.

While abbreviated, the first season sets the ghoulish mood and humorous tone for future stories of the weird, the gruesome, and the ghastly.

An included special feature, the mini-documentary Tales From the Crypt: From Comic Books to Television compliments the set well with an in-depth look at the rise and fall of EC Comics publisher William Gaines and his horror/crime series. Comic book and entertainment insiders discuss the true story behind the success, downfall, and everlasting allure which the Tales From the Crypt comics created.

Buyer's Guide:
Available on a 2-disc DVD set

3 sinners get their pun-uppance out of 5

Re\Visioned: Tomb Raider Animated Series (2007)

An anthology of short animated tales featuring the virtual bra-busting Brit, Lara Croft, from a number of different writers and animators. Each creator puts their own unique spin on the Lara character, which range from the wonderfully inventive (Keys to the Kingdom) to the piss-poor self-parody (Revenge of the Aztec Mummy). None of them bother to waste time giving back-story or history. They assume that most viewers will already have knowledge of that from the games. The short format really doesn't allow for that kind of exposition, anyhow.

Actress Minnie Driver voices Lara in every episode. I wouldn't have put her on the list of candidates, but she does a fantastic job and if ever there's a feature-length Tomb Raider animation she’d now be my first choice. Both Minnie, and the series in general, were great.

I'll post a full list of contributors in the comments section, so check there if you want to know who was involved.

Further series of ‘Re\Visioned’ set to feature different video game characters was promised, but to my knowledge only the Tomb Raider one appeared.

10 episodes, approx 6 minutes each.

3½ sacred artefacts are nothing but trouble out of 5

My Name is Earl: Season One (2006)

Earl Hickey was an opportunist. He'd take any opportunity that came his way and not give a damn about consequences. If you left your car door unlocked, he'd take your car. Earl was that kind of guy.

After a particularly hard day he's floored by an epiphany, which sets him on a path of reparation trying to right his wrongs in a way that he believes Karma would find appropriate. Nothing ever goes according to plan, but he struggles on, aware that Karma is watching his every move, because he believes that once he's cancelled out his misdeeds his life will improve.

That's the basis for the entire series. Each week Earl tackles a new wrong from his past that he feels should be put right. It's a concept that's perfect for an episodic comedy, but it needed a sympathetic and likeable loser to make it work. They found it in Jason Lee. He's the perfect loser.

Earl's friends and family are equally important to the show's dynamic, and there again the casting team lucked out. Everyone is entirely suited to their role.

My Name is Earl is light-hearted entertainment with real heart and real laughs. Most of us should be able to relate to his plight on some level.

24 episodes, approx 20 minutes each.

3½ roadmaps to a better life out of 5

Deadwood: Season Two (2005)

With characters and motivations already well-established in the first season, all that was really needed was to further increase the levels of antagonism and the uneasy alliances between disparate parties for S2 to build upon and keep fans happy. A new arc, picking up on something that loomed at the end of S1, gave the writers that basis upon which to heap more of the same.

In theory that works perfectly. However, partway through there's a slow but obvious slide into the dirtiest of words: 'soap' and 'opera.' A large portion of the middle of Season 2 feels like a soap opera with small stories of residents that aren't as crucial to the drama as they’d like to be. They’re shuffled around so as not to interfere too much but still be sympathetic to the larger issue of annexation that threatens to tear the camp from the grip of saloon owner Al Swearengen.

Speaking of Al (Ian McShane), he has a subplot with Doc Cochran (Brad Douriff) that had me in awe of their acting abilities. It also had me cringing; not because it was bad, but because it was so very good and so very believable.

New faces arrive in town; some of them set about trying to ingratiate themselves to one or other of the opposing parties, while some even feel it probable that they could position themselves above the established order.

Despite the middle section having some filler, the remainder retains the same level of quality writing that Season 1 showcased. When it gets back on track it again excels in every way. The wonderful 1870’s vernacular is used to even more comedic effect, often at the expense of E. B. Farnum (William Sanderson).

12 episodes, approx 45-55 minutes each.

4½ relative conditions out of 5

Gargoyles (1995)

We are defenders of the night. We are Gargoyles!

Having settled into their new home, the Manhattan clan patrols the city to protect those that need it while remaining hidden to the population at large and going on many fantastic, dangerous adventures with many themes like environmental conservation, acceptance and personal integrity. They will face numerous foes, new and old, that are both mundane and magical along with various allies.

New characters are introduced and older ones are expanded while some plots that had been hinted at come to fruition. Excellent work by the writers on that. The episodes also add many more myths and legends to the show's backstory that are a delight to watch. The drastically expanded episode count from 13 to 52 allows for plenty of time for all the science and sorcery with oodles of action, great writing and interesting, dynamic characters. Adults can easily enjoy it as well as kids and can possibly get even more out of it than the kids.

It's a perfect continuation as it is the same excellent quality of the first season. There is just more of it. Points against it are the same: The sometimes low quality animation for TV and some small animation goofs are sometimes visible, but nothing totally disengaging.

Buyer's Guide:
The first half of the season is available in a DVD box set with uncut episodes and special features, but Disney scrapped plans to release the rest citing low sales. They have made the season available on their YouTube channel. Though for some reason Disney omitted 2 episodes; Sentinel and Mark of the Panther.
 *EDIT* Disney has since released the second half on DVD and removed the YouTube episodes.

5 Villains laughing maniacally out of 5