By Roy Mathur, on 2025-04-21, at 01:55:38 to 02:32:59 BST, for Captain Roy's Rusty Rocket Radio Show
I've talked a lot about being tired and stressed and under appreciated for doing this podcast lately and I'm sick of talking because talking isn't helping, so bugger it all and happy Easter.
2025 Marvel/Disney film about the second Captain America dealing with a Red Hulk president of America and a man warped by gamma rays into an genius supervillain. Directed by someone I don't know and written my no less than five writers I also don't know.
It wasn't bad, the effects and action were good, which is what we expect of Marvel, but it was forgettable. While topical---Harrison Ford as Trump-like president General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (Red Hulk)---it's an overly simple story that didn't spend enough time on the most fascinating character, Sam Sterns (Leader in comics), a Mekon-like evil super genius.
The first season comes to an end with the implication of a Dareveil team-up to take down Mayor Kingpin's Red Hook freeport project in the next season. I enjoyed the increased action towards the end, when there was less talking and more punching.
The season ends in a bloodbath, as Punisher shoots, guts, and dismembers the mayor's corrupt special cop squad (one of whom murdered White Tiger). It cuts no ice that these are cops who idolise him and have co-opted his skull insignia. Do you remember back to when real world police and military personnel, who should know better, and right-wing extremists adopted the skull logo? They did that much to Marvel's consternation, an anger I share as a Punisher fan. This is Marvel's definitive word on the matter and them explicitly taking back control of Frank Castle's symbol. If you're an evil bastard, Punisher is not your friend. It's in his name.
I was so wrapped in my own misery (see above) that, shock horror, I completely forgot about the second episode of new New Who until Sunday morning.
Ncuti Gatwa as fifteen and Varada Sethu is Belinda Chandra in episide 2 of season 15 of New Who or 2 on iPlayer and Disney+ (story 314 overall since 1963). Written by RTD and directed by Amanda Brotchie (Picnic at Hanging Rock; the new one, not Peter Weir's iconic Australian New Wave version).
On a rescue mission to save an audience who disappeared in a 50s American cinema, the Doctor and Belinda are sucked into a Cool World-like cartoon by Lux, the god of light, who has assumed the form of the cartoon Mr Ring-a-Ding. They are helped to escape by fictional fans of Doctor Who. Lux then tries to become real by absorbing the Doctor's regeneration energy, but overdoses and spreads out as light into the whole universe, when exposed to sunlight by an explosion of flammable film set off by the projectionist and all are freed.
I'm bored of visiting historical America in New Who; Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, now Ncuti, etc. Let's go elsewhere. The villain isn't bad, but too derivative of Loki's Miss Minutes and Roger Rabbit's Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd). Some of the dialogue is painfully on-the-nose. What happened to Rock Hudson, segregation, etc., for example. But then I thought, it's only obvious to me because I'm an old git. Later generations won't have a clue, without annoying exposition. Doctor Who is fulfilling it's historical imperative of educating, as well as entertaining. On Doctor Who, creator Sydney Newman said he wanted:
...a children's programme and still attract both teenagers and adults. Also, as a children's programme, I was intent upon it containing basic factual information that could be described as educational, or, at least, mind opening for them. So my first thought was of a time-space machine with contemporary characters who would be able to travel forward and backward in time, and inward and outward in space. All the stories were to be based on scientific or historical facts as we knew them at the time.He also said, regarding Doctor Who's topical content, which seems to get up the nose of some:
I love them (referring to science fiction stories of which he was a childhood fan) because they're a marvellous way---and a safe way, I might add---of saying nasty things about our own society.
The final, one assumes, of the evil gods series featuring Maestro the god of music, Sutekh the god of death, and Lux Imperator the god of light in the guise of Mr Ring-a-Ding. It was meta, weird, the effects excellent, dedicated to us nerdy fans, and the Disneyest one yet. The irritating and enigmatic Mrs Flood ominously says at the end, "If you want a good show, darling, I can recommend this one. Better warn you though---limited run only. Show ends May the 24th." Is this RTD drumming up drama or is he telling us about the supposed impending dormancy of Doctor Who? I'm not sure I want to know. As usual, I skipped next week's trailer because... spoilers.